Columns

Recently we were visited by hundreds of butterflies. I had over 20 drinking from the small puddle near my front door. One made it into the house as they fluttered around me when I opened the screen door. He’s going out today to join...

Warm days, short days, cold days and hopefully rainy days—all in the fall of the year here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s part of what makes our area so special to us. We are inspired by Mother Nature and our mountains. We feel...

When I think about precious stones, rubies, diamonds and sapphires come to mind. They are known as the “Red, White and Blue” stones in the industry. Recently, I visited William Greene Fine Jewelry Design out of curiosity. Little did I know about their rich...

It happened last Sunday morning at 2am. That’s when daylight saving time ended and clocks went back an hour. Sure I got an extra hour sleep, but the end of daylight saving time signals to me that autumn is really here in our mild...

2023 began with back-to-back extreme weather events that resulted in severe flooding, landslides and other impacts to our roads, neighborhoods and businesses in the mountainous Fifth District. Even as we continue addressing the damage, we are still grappling as a County with the aftermath...

The day wasn’t turning out to be one of the “best” in my life…I had forgotten to marinate my skirt steak hours before, and the dinner I was preparing had a lack-luster appearance to it, and as my hubby Norm walked by, I cried...

“Easter is the only time when it's perfectly safe to put all of your eggs in one basket.” —Evan Esar, an American Humorist Of all the holidays we celebrate in America, 12 of these are National and five are Occasions, with Easter being my favorite Occasion....

I’m embarrassed to confess that I don’t always take my own advice. Take my houseplants, for instance. Decades of research have shown that houseplants reduce stress and anxiety. They can sharpen our attention, make us more productive and give us a happier outlook. They...

When the huge numbers of California Tortoiseshell butterflies showed up around here on June 10, I learned a lot about the different species of ceanothus and how dependent we are on this plant. Because most of us live near or in a Wildland Urban...

While it might sound selfish or impossible to make time for self-care during stressful times of your life, self-care is crucial to keep you healthy, happy and balanced. During stressful periods in our lives we tend to focus outward, disregarding ourselves and our needs....