I have already started to see tiny black and white polka dotted bugs on the railing of my back porch. Which means that it’s spotted lantern fly season. You can expect to see them more than you did last year and see them pop up in places you didn’t see them this year. The spotted lantern fly eats many agricultural crops. The damage they cause to the crops will reduce their yields, or make them vulnerable to disease. It is particularly devastating to fruit trees and grape vines. I have passed out a flyer to you all illustrating the 4 different life stages of the Spotted Lantern Fly look like. This will help you identify it as you are spending time outside this spring and summer. If you see a spotted lantern fly, squish it. As scouts we strive to practice leave no trace. Minimizing our impact on nature. When we travel to different cities, states, and countries it’s important that we don’t transport agricultural products (plants, fruit, veggies). Any time we agricultural products are transported, non-native pests that can negatively impact the ecosystem can be on those agricultural products. As you travel this summer either out of state or out of the country keep this in mind. Please join me in reciting the outdoor code: As an American, I will do my best to: Be Clean in my outdoor manners, be careful with fire, be considerate in the outdoors and be conservation minded. 
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Monday, May 4, 2026
Scoutmaster's Minute, 5 May 2026
Some of you who are fans of classic rock are familiar with the band The Doors. A few of you may be aware that its lead singer, Jim Morrison, also published poetry. In one such poem, he wrote: “The sniper's rifle is an extension of his eye. He kills with injurious vision.” This is deep and can be interpreted in many ways, but I tend to think of the inability for the actor to remove him or herself from the culpability of action. The tool (or weapon in this case) does not operate without a human in control. The individual makes judgement calls, good or bad. Society holds the individual accountable for bad decisions.
Just like in the physical world, we are responsible for our actions in the cyber world. Even though one might feel anonymity on the keyboard, one is not absolved from the content of his or her texting, tweeting, postings, etc. When we go on the Internet, we find that sometimes online content is rough. It is amazing to witness the heartlessness and cruelty of people when reading what they post online about others. Sometimes this horrible content includes cyber bullying, and cyber bullying can sometimes get so bad that the victim resorts to self-harm.
Take great care with what you post or publish online. What comes from your keystrokes is not without effects. The keyboard is an extension of what is in your heart. Show love – lift others up, neither tear them down in the physical nor the virtual world.
A Scout is Kind.