The Mountain Gardener | What’s New? Gardening Trends for 2026
I like to keep up with new garden research as well as the new trends. We humans started growing food about 12,000 years ago when we shifted from nomadic hunter gatherer lifestyles to settled farming. This happened independently in places like the Fertile Crescent,...
The Mountain Gardener | The 2026 Pantone Color of the Year
Last year Pantone chose Mocha Mousse as their color of the year, which I’m sure looks great in a living room but the garden? Maybe not—although an earthy wood mulch or rich compost looks great but not flowers. So this year they chose “Cloud...
Finance | Partnership and LLC Planning
Partnerships, filing March 17, enable two or more individuals or business entities to work together as a single business. Partnerships enable combinations of bright ideas, hard work and capital to make businesses as diverse as law, accounting, construction or retail ownership. LLCs protect personal...
Plain Talk About Food | A PG&E Christmas
I had my grocery list in hand while stuffing a bag full of string beans for our Christmas dinner last week at Safeway market. Happy that those beans were fresh, I moved on to the dried onions, which were a necessary addition to the...
The Mountain Gardener | Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year 2026
Well, it’s happened again—we made it around the sun once more. As the calendar turns to a New Year, these are some of my thoughts for 2026.
You, fellow gardeners, are unique. I can't imagine any group of people more diverse and feisty and independent...
Strictly Business | A Year-End Gratitude List of Women in Business
Perhaps you missed one of the articles this year that highlighted the collective power of women shaping the local business ecosystem.
As this year winds down and we gather in gratitude, I wanted to reflect on these women-led businesses not only for the services they...
Fitness | Healthy Habits Rather Than New Year’s Resolutions
Now is the time we all are thinking of changing a thing or two for 2026 to improve our lives. Many of us use the new year as a marker to turn over a new leaf, live healthier and be better people. This coming...
The Mountain Gardener | ’Twas the Night Before Christmas 2025—A Poem for Gardeners
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the garden,The creatures were stirring, the deer got a pardon. The hummingbird feeders were hung by the chimney with care,In hopes that the Anna's soon would be there.
The flowering cherries were nestled all snug in their beds,While...
Finance | Planning for the Price of Power
Hayek’s “Use of Knowledge in Society” illustrates the profound challenges that well-meaning but arrogant market planners have faced from widely dispersed market knowledge inadequately understood by domineering politicians, technical engineers, greedy corporations and suffering consumers.
Artificial Intelligence and battery-powered cars demand more energy. France and...
TherapyWorks | A Guide to Enjoying the Holidays Stress-Free
The holiday season may be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but it can also be a lot to manage. Between family expectations, busy schedules, travel, financial pressure, and the pressure to make everything perfect, even the most magical moments can start to...
Central Coast Good Fire Fair returns Saturday to Henry Cowell Redwoods...
California State Parks will host the third Central Coast Good Fire Fair and demonstration burn Saturday, Oct. 10, at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park.
The...





















