Community

Felton Library Friends will be hosting a “Branch Out!” event on Saturday, June 8, to reintroduce the community to the Felton Branch Library and Discovery Park. There will be free environmental activities from 14 local organizations. Attendees of all ages are welcome to come make...

“My two sisters and I always wanted to swim, but I never dreamed that one day I’d be standing on top of the Olympic podium with the gold medal around my neck,” said Linda McGuire of Santa Cruz. “I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for my teammates, friends and coach—but especially for my dad. What he gave me was far better than gold.”

By Ashley LaMorte As we bring in a new year, many of us set new goals for ourselves. Such as eating cleaner, or starting a weekly fitness routine to get in better shape. In order to make your new year changes stick and become a...

The other day I visited the campus of Stanford University to view something from their archives. The campus is beautiful with flowering trees in bloom everywhere you looked. I was told by a colleague that Stanford has a huge collection of trees, some planted back in the late 1880's when the university was first built and the landscaping installed. The designer, the famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, also created New York's Central Park. I wanted to find a mature specimen of a California native, the Catalina Ironwood, which is listed in their “Encyclopedia of Stanford Trees, Shrubs and Vines.”

   Biting into this banoffee (ban- o- fee) pie is actually ‘falling in love’ all over again; this time it is with a banana concoction poured over a layer of caramel sauce in a graham cracker crust and topped with billowy whipped cream.  Soo delicious, that when biting into this pie for the first time, you moan with words such as yum, ahhh, oh my, or this is the most delicious pie I have ever eaten.  I promise you, from the guest who really doesn’t care for bananas to the ones who love bananas, they will ALL love this pie.

The other day I stopped by historic Gamble Gardens in Palo Alto. I had some free time before my eye appointment and Sherman, my dog, wanted to stretch his legs. You can mark time with the events in the botanical world and this garden is packed with good examples. School kids were tending the vegetable starts and beneficial-friendly flower beds. Volunteers were looking after the formal rose garden and tulip beds. Visitors like me and Sherman just wanted to take in all the early spring beauty.

MEXICO — I'm halfway through my trip in Mexico. I started in Tuxtla, the capital of Chiapas, last week and will stop today in Campeche in Yucatan on the Gulf of Mexico. How different are the people, the soils, the climate, the weather and the landscapes of each locale. It's as diverse as going from Bonny Doon to Pasatiempo to Scotts Valley and then to San Lorenzo Valley.