Community

Has the hot, dry, windy weather made your garden look like mid-summer? Our meager spring rains have all but disappeared from the soil and what hasn't evaporated the weeds have taken. The local water companies all have water conservation requirements that began last month. I'm getting lots of calls and emails asking for advice about the best way to use water efficiently so the garden doesn't look like the Sahara this summer. I'm helping others redesign their gardens with an eye towards ongoing water conservation.

I hike in the Bonny Doon Ecological reserve quite often but had never seen the waterfall. Since the Martin fire in 2008 I have written several columns about the remarkable comeback nature can make after a natural catastrophe. Each spring I eagerly await the new growth of manzanita, chinquapin, pine and the spring flower display. Recently I joined a group led by botanist and revegetation specialist Val Haley, who has been a volunteer at the reserve since 1993 and knows just about everything there is to know about this unique place on the planet.

I met Henri Jeanrenaud several years ago on a walk in our neighborhood.

At this time of year it’s easy to get the recommended nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

The rockfish season in our area — from Pigeon Point to Point Conception — began on May 1.