Columns

Wisteria are one of those vines that you either long for or lament ever having planted. They are all fragrant with a delicious sweet scent that varies from faint to strong to almost overpowering. Bees and hummingbirds love them. Here are some tips to...

January was Mental Wellness Month—a great time to start fresh and focus on prioritizing your mental health. Mental wellness is an important part of our overall health and wellbeing. It not only affects our emotional and psychological state, but also plays a vital role...

“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...

In this final series, I speak with Jason Borgen, the Chief Technology Innovation Officer at the Santa Cruz Office of Education (SCCOE), and with two local businesses, BraLisa and The Gather Community.  In this concluding segment of our three-part series on AI in Small Town...

Easter Sunday was supposed to be spent with my visiting elderly parents. They had set out on a road trip from Arkansas to see friends along the way, spend time with other family in Clovis, Calif., and then make their way here for the...

Scotts Valley became a city 57 years ago on Aug. 2, 1966. Scotts Valley is still a young city and still evolving. The city’s population has grown from approximately 3,600 in 1970 to about 12,000 residents living in some 4,600 homes today. Forming a new...

I love Asparagus, whether fresh or canned, or green, purple or white. And I just recently discovered that asparagus seems to resonate with people and their likes and dislikes, much the same way as do brussels sprouts. Asparagus falls into the “love it or...

You know it when you see it. That combination of plants that cry out “we get along.” Because it’s fall already after a way-too-short summer, I’m drawn to grasses and warm-toned flowering perennials.  I’m thinking of ways that will have any garden bursting with interest...

When you have kids who live in L.A., you find a way to visit that city on a regular basis. And when you add a sweet granddaughter to the mix, the visitation intervals really intensify. I am not, however, a fan of the drive.  I...

At the end of last month’s column, I wrote that “2023 would no doubt bring new challenges and opportunities.” What none of us could have imagined was how quickly those challenges would present themselves in the new year. The series of atmospheric rivers that pounded...