Spring might have officially started mid-March but judging from the wonky weather it was hard to tell. We did experience a “Miracle March” complete with a pretty good dose of needed rainfall along with some very cold weather. You never know what to expect in March around here.

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.

It was Easter oh so many years ago when my son Kim was 8 years old that he discovered yet another one of life’s reality lessons, ‘there is no cure for the facts of life.’

Last weekend, the community of Boulder Creek proved sometimes the solution to a problem means putting in a little old fashioned hard labor.  

Thomas Hogye, an avid fly fisherman, won a hat for knowing the San Lorenzo River is 29.4 miles long. This was the first of many interesting facts shared at the State of the San Lorenzo River Symposium held at the Zayante Fire House last weekend.

The heavy rain wasn’t going to stop Evan Morrison, intake and outreach specialist for Supportive Services for Veteran Families with the Homeless Services Center, from doing his work.

Twice a month a group of people meet at the Senior Center at Highlands Park in Ben Lomond. The goal is to have a space to talk about the inevitable—how to best support someone before they die.

The redbud are just starting to show color in my yard. Flowering plum, tulip magnolia, manzanita, forsythia, flowering currant and quince are blooming in many a garden. Even the deciduous trees and plants that look bare now are starting to grow new roots deep underground. It's time to plan this year's garden. Think about how you can blend artistry with ecology.