Columns

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.

This is always an exciting time of the year as we get ready to welcome our new kindergarten students. Kindergarten will be your child’s first step in school and it is a privilege to be a parat of that journey. At Mattie Washburn, we are committed to ensuring that all students receive a challenging academic program as they begin their school career. We have a balanced curriculum that combines hands-on, real life experiences with the basic skills needed for success. Our focus is on early literacy with the goal that all students will be fluent readers as they leave first grade.

What do free range chicken eggs have to do with gardening? A little bit. They’ve actually got more to do with great flavor and nutrition and one of Windsor’s best hometown attributes. (Skip to the end if you just want the eggs-and-roses tip.)

Somewhere in the week after Nov. 3, in our country and our community, we will reach a deciding moment in our collective lives when a series of major choices will be required. The choice could be, and should be, more than turn left or right, or even just stay the course. It should be a conscious effort to build a new future or to try and claw our way back to a place we felt better regardless of the impact, or more likely find some middle ground.

The past three years in Sonoma County we have faced drought, floods, raging fires, a pandemic and, now, an opportunity to honestly confront racism, in our country, in our community, in our own hearts.

My three littlest nephews are coming for a visit in a few weeks, and I can’t wait!

The sound of the street sweeper is music to my ears. As the street sweeper drives down the street the sound of the vacuum unit reminds me that the sweeper is our first line of defense in preventing debris from entering the storm drain system. By keeping debris out of our storm drain system, the street sweeper is doing its part to prevent debris from entering our creeks and rivers.

Unexpected hiccup

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.

Remember how we all wanted the Clinton-Trump campaign to be over so all the noise, ranting and ugly attacks would end and we could safely watch TV and read the national news again? Who knew our post-inauguration world would also beckon a  regime of post-truth, alternative facts and government-by-Twitter?