Watershed Wise: Creek friendly home improvement and yard care
The days are long and warm, but many of us are anything but lazy. We are in our yards tackling our outdoor honey-do lists. We are refinishing our decks, painting our homes and taming our yards. After painting the house, sanding the deck, or trimming back the landscaping it would be convenient to sweep or pour the mess into the storm drain (or gutter). The problem is that everything that enters the storm drain eventually flows into our creeks untreated.
Composting: don’t throw it away, compost it
There are vast benefits to composting, not only environmentally, but also personally within your home. Using compost in your home garden adds nitrogen, potassium and micro-nutrients such as manganese, iron and zinc. These additions strengthen the structure of your soil, retain water in plant structure, prevent erosion and are ideal for drainage.
Allocating our human capital
Old Testament prophecies say that after flood and fire comes famine and pestilence.
Having just been battered by historic wildfires and more winter floods, we worry what may be next for Sonoma County.
But, unless we are unseeing to our natural surroundings and our collective human...
Old roots, young branches
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.
Off the Top of My Head: To all my cousins
I was raised during the Joe McCarthy era “Red Scare” times. Growing up in an ethnically mixed, working class community I remember very well the fear of that time. If you weren’t a “real” American you were suspect. If you supported unions you were a communist. We had people in our neighborhood disappear. Sound familiar?
Decoding Teenagers: Kool-Aid
Drum roll please all you wonderful readers out there. This self proclaimed Luddite, aka me, has finally succumb to the coolness of modern technology. I have officially swallowed the tech Kool-Aid. Not quite sure which flavor I like best yet, but I’m now willing to sip and taste some more. I can finally see the coolness in it all, swirling in a tall glass of Instagram and Twitter.
Arts & Entertainment
Movies a year-round obsession, not seasonal
“There are usually some fun surprises for us in the line-up of our ‘Audience Favorites’ program,” said co-founder Pamela Demorest. “Some films resonate more with our audience than they did with our celebrity jury, and we always want our guests to feel like a vital part of the process.”
