A bounty of birds in Sonoma County Birding in our own back yard
Despite the near-freezing temperatures, a dozen people gathered one early Saturday morning in January at the base of Warm Springs Dam at Lake Sonoma. The group was mixed, including both young and old. Some brought walking sticks, others had binoculars hanging from their necks. These men and women all had one thing in common: birding.
Todd Snider Back in the ’Burg
Todd Snider is pretty much who, and what, he says he is: an alright guy. He’s a bit shaggy, his wardrobe does not appear well thought out, and for years he performed barefoot on stage, with his dog, Cowboy Jim, napping a few feet...
Wheel of Light
The two most significant astrological events this month are Venus turning retrograde on December 21, the same day as the Winter Solstice when the Sun enters Capricorn. The Winter Solstice was celebrated by many ancient cultures as the most important day of the year. It marked the time when the Sun had traveled as far south as it could go, turned around and was heading north. This symbolizes the return of the light; the promise that the growing season was coming back and that life would continue for another year. This could be used as a time to look deeply within, to define what we would like to achieve or accomplish when the warmth and promise of spring are renewed. This is probably the basis for making New Year’s resolutions based on the idea that we will have the time and resources to create new parts of our lives even as we maintain those that continue to have value.
Lucha Familiar
Mounting a production of a little-known play in these pandemic and inflationary-influenced times is something of a risk for most theater companies. Audiences have yet to return in full-force to live theater, so a significant leap of faith is required to produce material that...
Silkroad Ensemble Pulls into Green Hall
By Dave Gil de Rubio
The adjective “Renaissance” is often overused when describing someone proficient in a wide range of fields. In the case of Rhiannon Giddens, the term is drastically insufficient to describe the ride she’s been on since releasing her 2015 solo debut,...












