The Mountain Gardener | Early March in the Garden
Almost overnight, although maybe I’m judging by rain storms, spring is upon us. The birds sure know it is and I’m seeing trees in bloom and new growth on the perennials. The tree frogs are croaking and looking for mates, the weeds are happily...
Guest Viewpoint | Strengthening Rural Resilience: The Vital Importance of Measure K
Within Santa Cruz County’s forests and mountainous neighborhoods, Measure K stands as a beacon of hope. For these residents—who have become far too familiar with the impacts of fires and our harsh winters—this proposition isn’t just about numbers and ballots, it’s about securing a...
Plain Talk About Food | Attitude Adjustment
“Attitude is the ‘little’ thing that makes a big difference.” —Winston Churchill
Each morning, I swing my legs over the side of my bed, slide my feet into “sadly worn” slippers and make my morning’s first cup of coffee where I will take my first...
The Mountain Gardener | How to Use Phenology in the Garden
Always on the lookout for potential problems in my garden, I can use all the help I can get. Solutions are out there. One of my go-to websites that I use to diagnose those problems is UC Integrated Pest Management or http://ipm.ucanr.edu. You can...
Finance | Landlord Tax
Chairman Mao once paraded landlords before crowds to their deaths and many today would confiscate landlord’s control over property without recompense. When tax clients ask why the rich pay few taxes, I puzzle depreciation expenses, passive income and Trump’s Section 199 qualified business income...
Guest Column | Why Have We Forgotten Our First Generation?
As a young child. I lived in Washington State in the ’30s in a boarding house owned by my aged uncle and aunt, where eight boarders lived, all men, and many whose ages ranged from 60 to 70 years of age. One or two...
Fitness | Staying Motivated When You Want to Quit
One of the biggest issues of why many of the population aren’t seeing the results of working out, is because they give up and lose their WHY way too early in the fitness journey. For your body to change, you need to be consistent...
The Mountain Gardener | Allergy Season is Here
My neighbor Sue answered her door sneezing and coughing with puffy eyes and a red runny nose that Rudolph would envy. We live among redwoods and it’s their mating season. Pollen.com predicts pollen levels will increase as alder, juniper and birch release their pollen....
Plain Talk About Food | Roses are Red, the Violet’s Blue…
It was in the year 1590, Sir Edmund Spense continued his poem… “the honey’s sweet, and so are you.” And the last two lines of this poem, “The lot was cast and then I drew, and Fortune said it shou’d be you,” has been...
Guest Viewpoint | Proposed Water Rate Increase Doesn’t Address Common-Sense Issues
There’s a rumor afloat that all San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board Directors support a rate increase. As one of those Directors, and speaking only for myself, let me set the record straight.
I oppose the rate increase proposal for the following reasons:
It unfairly punishes...
New Scotts Valley Council members look forward to making their mark
After first-place finisher Donna Lind, the incumbent for Scotts Valley City Council, local voters selected Steve Clark—a retired law enforcer, known for volunteering around...