Bringing flowers indoors, whether displayed in a simple mason jar or a crystal vase, brightens my day. I wish I had more flowers growing in my own landscape.

Now that you have an assortment of herbs growing nicely in your garden what do you do with them? Mine seem to be growing more exuberantly than I anticipated and if I don’t keep up with snipping them often some will go to seed or get leggy and unproductive. Then what would I do when I’m putting together my favorite nectarine-caprese salad with fresh basil and mint leaves?

I'd like to discuss tick bite and signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.

Your morning started off fine, but then you stepped on the scale. At that point your day either got much better or much worse. Why does this objective number trigger so much emotion? Weight is a useful number, but it is a data point, not a complete picture of your health or you as a person. 

The City of Scotts Valley annual 4th of July parade will once again be held on Scotts Valley Drive from 3 p.m. to 4:30pm. The route will be the same as last year’s (shown on the attached map). The parade route starts at the intersection of Scotts Valley Drive and Carbonero Way, heads north towards El Pueblo Road and loops back to Carbonero Way where it ends.

Butterflies are magical creatures. They captivate us with their beauty and freedom of flight. Often I’m asked when designing a garden to include plants that will attract them and design areas to provide habitat. Recently there was a hatch of orange Militta Crescent butterflies in our area. I’ve seen hundreds of them up here in Bonny Doon alone. What can I do to increase the chances of them sticking around ?

Visitors to the Loch Lomond Recreation Area, which is nestled up in a narrow canyon in the Santa Cruz Mountains accessed by a windy road up from Lompico, find it odd it is owned and managed by the City of Santa Cruz Water Department. Especially when the city limit line is a good ten miles down the valley.

 Our most common local stinging insects are yellow jackets and bees. Yellow jackets are attracted to our delicious picnic food and are more aggressive than bees. They sting defensively when they feel that their nests are threatened. They also sting when stepped on, sat upon, or have in some way been provoked.  If one is being attacked by many bees or yellow jackets, it is best to vacate the area and run away as fast as possible.  These insects are capable of flying up to 15 miles per hour and pursuing for distances of 50 to 100 yards.  So don’t run too slow or stop too soon!  

Getting kids out of the classroom and into nature has long been held by teachers and parents as the best approach to teaching the fundamentals environmental science. The planning for a Nature Discovery Park for children directly adjacent to the new community library in Felton takes this approach to another level- kids can use the park and the library without needing a ride between them, and will have access to both traditional educational materials and outdoor education at the same place.

Sam Martin is not your average high school student. At 16, Martin, who grew up in Ben Lomond, has qualified for Loretta Lynn’s Amateur National Motocross Championship. After placing first in several amateur youth competitions, Martin, 16, received an invitation to the National Championship. Sam will participate in the 125cc and 250cc in his age group during the races from July 30 to August 4 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee.