Snapshot

Shakespeare got it right, says Pierre Ratte. From her balcony, young Juliet laments her sweetheart’s name is Montague, an enemy. And yet at a tender age, she recognizes, “’Tis but thy name that is my enemy … What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Wouldst Juliet’s wisdom leap into our dangerous political rhetoric.

Approximately 20,000 bee species are recognized globally with 4,000 native to North America. Only about 10 species are true honeybees.

Nigerian Dwarfs often give birth to twins and triplets. The cuties in the photo here, two rams and a doe named “Hope,” were born last week and are seen here less than 12 hours after their birth.

Famous and quirky chess players include: Jose Capablanca (1888-1942), a famous Cuban grandmaster who continuously smoked cigars while playing; Alexander Alakine (1892-1946), who brought and petted his cat named “Chess”; and Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) who had all of his dental fillings removed to escape radio transmissions.

It’s the 77th year of Formula 1 racing. It’s also a year with a new “formula.” What’s a formula? Great question.

Redwoods are magnificent trees whose beauty we get to experience in Sonoma County and Healdsburg. These beauties are set in the picnic grove at Riverfront Regional Park. The park includes three miles of trails for walking through redwoods plus boating, hiking, horseback riding and picnicking.

From 1956 Chet Huntley anchored NBC’s nightly news, until in 1970 he retired to help start Big Sky Resort in his home state of Montana. The resort is located in the beautiful Gallatin Gateway area, which is an entry into Yellowstone. In such a remote Montana location, Big Sky got off to a rocky start (pun done).

Hans Brinker was a hero. I dreamed of being Hans. I envied Hans’ skating long distances on frozen canals. I thrilled to my mother’s stories of the Bronx River freezing when people could skate from one town to the next. Once, in seventh grade...

Underwood is considered the first and best modern typewriter. Headquartered in New York, the machines were manufactured in Hartford, Connecticut. By 1920, Underwood produced over 1,400 typewriters per day.

Last week was the 46th happening of EcoFarm at Asilomar in Pacific Grove. EcoFarm was originally called “To Husband, The Earth.” Its goal is to encourage development of sustainable, regenerative, organic small farms in local communities in contrast to industrial agriculture.  It started with Amigo...