Columns

August brings us to the time of year of all things agricultural. There’s the busyness of another harvest and the excitement of the Sonoma County and Gravenstein Apple fairs. It all happens with our county’s golden sunlit backdrop of open lands, fertile fields, trees and vines — and all under unobstructed skies. It’s a picture free of petty annoyances like traffic, urban noises, money woes or yesterday’s squabbles.

I am a long way from home.

In the fall, the city applied to the World Health Organization's Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities to become the first city in Sonoma County to receive an Age-Friendly designation. At the core of the Age-Friendly City concept is Eight-to-Eighty, meaning that when a community is designed for an 8-year-old, it also fits an 80-year-old and ultimately everybody. Age-Friendly communities have walkable streets, housing and transportation options, and access to key services and opportunities for residents to participate in community activities.

 I want it both ways, don’t I?

If you like to meditate and enter a profound connection to the hear and now—pun, drum flair—consider a sound bath. Although there are many ways to enter a meditative state, such as following the rhythm of one’s breath, another easy way is to focus on a single sense. Sound is often chosen because it is uniquely immersive

You can’t see them. You can’t swim in them. But groundwater aquifers are one of the most important sources of water in the North Coast.

Our “shelter in place” and declared public health emergency started here the day after all of Ireland canceled St. Patrick’s Day festivities on March 17. That cultural shock alone was enough to let us know this virus pandemic and economic disaster would be bringing permanent life-changes to all of us.