We have started the winter pattern with a few shots at light rain and storm fronts that bring southerly winds, with that the ocean temperatures are starting to cool. We had record-breaking ocean temperatures this year as the MontereyBay buoy read 68 degrees the third week of July. At this time the current sea temperature reading is 57 degrees.

Your best holiday shopping deals may just be a click away. But, did you know that for every online purchase you and your fellow Californians make and don’t pay tax, you are missing out on an opportunity to help fund public safety, education, and other vital services in your community?

Come to the opening of the 2015-2016 Season as the Santa Cruz Chorale presents their traditional December concert, “Christmas with the Chorale.”

For the 15th year, the Spring Lakes Park Choir will be performing two identical Christmas concerts in the clubhouse at 225 Mt. Hermon Road. The concert will include traditional, contemporary, folk, classical, sacred and secular music.

With the colder rainy weather, my feathered friends appreciate the seed in the feeders I have around my house much more than when it is warm and dry. The Anna’s hummingbirds still frequent their feeders regularly now that the pineapple sage flowers and flowering maple are about the only nectar source in my garden. I strive to attract wildlife to my garden with the right plants, water and shelter.