Feeling blue: Help your garden seem bigger than it is

San Lorenzo Valley High alumni and NFL lineman Andy Levitre caught up with me this weekend in a phone interview.

The Scotts Valley Bocce Club surprised everyone, including themselves, proving to be a tough contender at the 2011 U.S. National Championships at Campo Di Bocce in Los Gatos. The team took second overall in the national competition that saw teams travel from New York, Texas, Massachusetts and Maine to compete in the annual tournament.

To celebrate Loch Lomond’s 50th anniversary, I have organized another free watershed walk with the reservoir’s estimable caretakers: Chris Berry, manager of Santa Cruz Water Resources, and Chief Ranger Scot Lang.

Scotts Valley 9-10 year-old all-stars

Summer has finally arrived. It took a while, a long while this year, but now we can enjoy nice weather and our beautiful gardens. The extra rainfall (which continues to fall) has allowed many trees, shrubs and perennials to grow lush and full like never before.

The lack of wind has brought the water temperatures up, and our local fishing has been changing. Salmon fishing has started to wane, while inshore species provide fishing action for Santa Cruz fishermen. The weather has been calm, and sea conditions are nice for boaters.