I'd like to start off up front this month by saying that if you're looking for some amazing new information on turf diseases that will change the way you do your job, then you'll probably want to skip over this article because you will be disappointed. I already shared my thoughts on snow molds last month. So far, so good. At this point over the last two years, most of the state had already received significant snowfall. It's too early to start talking degree day accumulation for seedhead suppression or early-season dollar spot, though the temperatures we have experienced so far this winter make me think I may need to bump up this topic. Instead, I'll share a little life lesson I picked up over the holidays from somebody apparently much smarter than me.

I'm nearing the end of a two week hiatus from all things turf related, and feel like I just shut down my office computer yesterday. My goal was to take a break from the day-to-day, enjoy time with family, and only use my brain for problem solving skills to maximize my food-to-plate ratio at each holiday function (unfortunately, my brain worked too well on that). Like most, I had my to-do list of all the things I was going to accomplish around the house on my time off. I had no intentions of learning anything new until after the New Year, but then something pretty cool happened.

As many parents do, we took our daughters to visit Santa at the mall. Our four-year-old, who has always been a little apprehensive of the jolly old man, reluctantly went only as close as necessary and sheepishly said she wanted an iPod and, of all things, paper. Santa and I exchanged a puzzled smile, we overpaid for the obligatory picture, and went on our merry way. Christmas came and went and too many high tech presents were opened from Santa, from us, from grandparents, and from other friends and family. We now had a new arsenal of gizmos and gadgets requiring batteries, online accounts, and twelve page instruction manuals for getting started. When things finally started to slow down, I asked my daughter what her favorite gift was. Her answer...paper! It doesn't get any simpler than that. Just construction paper and crayons to add to the ever-growing mound of masterpieces that she has already created but doesn't want to throw away. The innocent response from my daughter was an unbelievable reminder that we often over think things and forget the important KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid!). We assumed that all of the new technologies that would help her read, write, and think would far overshadow something as simple as paper, but apparently we were wrong. What a lesson to learn!

Now that the break is over, it's time to get the wheels churning again. My to-do list actually got longer than shorter, but hey, I was on vacation!. Since this is supposed to be about my life in the research world, I guess I'll take a minute to share what goes on this time of year for me. My typical routine for this time of year is to put the finishing touches on research reports from the previous season, get a few talks ready for winter conferences, and start making plans for the coming season. To make the most of my time at various conferences, I arrange meetings with various cooperators to hash out details for research projects. As the winter and spring progress, the projects will start to take shape with experimental design, treatments, schedule, locations, etc. In our industry, we often spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on the smallest details, and always walk a fine line between grass living and dying. My research (and most others around the country) revolves around finding new ways to help you do your job better. A lot of the projects will involve new technologies to help make our lives more efficient and, hopefully, simpler. I guess it will still have to pass the paper test before we know for sure.

Lastly, winter conferences are a time for turf managers to get together to network, socialize, swap stories on successes and failures, and learn something new from the so called "experts". To let you in on a little secret, this is also where the "experts" come to learn something new from the experts in the real world. I hope to see each of you at the VTC annual winter conference in a few weeks. Please pull me aside and let me know if there are any unique disease-related issues you have experienced. We may be able to come up with some solutions. If you are traveling to any of the other regional or national shows (such as GIS or STMA), travel safely and try to pick up some new tips. And if you run into Dr. Goatley at one of these events, be sure to congratulate him on his election as President of the Sports Turf Managers Association. This is a great accomplishment and speaks volumes to how he is perceived nationally.

Until next month, try to keep things simple and enjoy life a little bit before another brutal season.

David McCall is a plant pathologist, working with Virginia Tech as a research Specialist. David also writes columns for your monthly "LSI Connections"