Dear February,

Hey there, it’s your good friend Mango :). Although you happen to be the shortest month of the year, it feels like forever since you first arrived. Before we return to the monotony of  30 or 31-day months again, I just wanted to thank you for your visit and reminisce about some wonderful memories.

First of all, it was Groundhog Day on the second day of the month. Our old friend Punxsutawney Phil happened to see his shadow and surprisingly he was right. Only then, do we endure endless lake-effect snow, crowded tunnels, and walkways covered in salt.

And don’t get me started on what had to happen this month. Every student was swamped trying to prepare for … wait, what are they called? Oh, right! MIDTERMS! Of course, you, the shortest month of the year, had to either slow down time or give us less preparation time for those dreaded midterms. Trust me, you do not want to see my scores for the (-cough-) chemistry exam!

Well, of course, there was Valentine’s Day, as in the day dedicated to public displays of affection, chocolate-covered strawberries, and everything pink covering the walls of classrooms. 

Thank you once again for your stay and your effort to make this shortest month of the year seem longer. Now, it’s time for those nice(?) long months to come around and for this harsh winter to end! Spring Break, here we come!

See you next year!

– Mango Ph.D.



A timely love letter to February

We teach the Dust Bowl as a cautionary tale. In every American history class, we learn how farmers in the 1920s and 1930s tore up millions of acres of native grassland across the Great Plains to plant wheat, how the deep-rooted prairie grasses that held the soil and trapped moisture were replaced by shallow crops and bare fields, and, when drought came in 1930, how the exposed topsoil turned to dust. Read More

A timely love letter to February

While a one-way ticket to Pelican Town wasn’t precisely in my cards, an evening of music with the “Stardew Valley: Symphony of Seasons" concert was. Read More

A timely love letter to February

The majority of the populations of both the U.S. and the U.K. evidently understand the need to move towards a renewable energy model for their countries. According to the DESNZ Public Attitudes Tracker, 80% of British adults support the use of renewable energy as of the summer of 2025. The Pew Research Center has reported that 86% of American adults support expanding wind and solar power as of May 2025. Read More