On a local level, the national issues have inevitably trickled down and impacted our way of life here. However, so has the hope of an economic recovery and a return to a normal way of life. With a new year beckoning, here are 10 hopes for 2010. It is indeed a wish list, but it’s the kind of positive thinking we need as a follow-up from last year.
Judging from initial readings, the Christmas holidays may turn out to be a jolly good season — and a respectable finish to a tumultuous year. This is not to sugar-coat a U.S. economic landscape with a 10 percent unemployment rate, a ballooning national debt, and a chaotic political scene. Or to be insensitive to those of us falling upon hard times. Let’s count our blessings either way. Remember, just one year ago, things looked a lot worse than they do now in the financial and economic senses.
Doing business locally when possible in our own backyard is more important than ever in the current economic environment. Local residents should remember the ghosts of Christmas past and think twice before spending dollars outside of Nassau County, Florida this holiday shopping season, and throughout the coming New Year.
A University of Florida faculty member and Nassau County Extension Horticultural Agent, Rebecca Jordi addresses some of the questions she receives about landscaping and gardening in northeast Florida, in GARDEN TALK. The Extension also offers helpful clinics throughout the year, providing assistance to local gardeners…