Earth Day celebrates the natural beauty of our planet and reminds us of what we can do to keep it healthy. Always on April 22nd, Earth Day is a day of education about environmental issues and is now a global celebration. In anticipation of this day I recently spent the morning in nature at the UCSC Arboretum where the birds and the bees were enjoying the nectar flowers. Whether you plant a tree, clean up litter, garden, hike in the woods or marvel at emerging wildflower, be in contact with the soil and breathe fresh air outside on this day.

   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.

Robert Stoll joined Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai in 1989 two months after it started. He and I have something in common. We both have won a bonsai specimen that remains one of our favorites. His will be featured at the club’s upcoming bonsai exhibit while mine lives a quietly on my patio.

Santa Cruz County has long been the gold standard in innovative programs that have become models for the others. Our Probation Department and the Sheriff’s Office have been recognized time and again.

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.