Well, for better or worse, another Earth Day is upon us. I think we are all pulling for the earth and its varied inhabitants, lands and waters and air that we breathe. At least I hope so. It is a beautiful planet and though we have turned much of it into a ghastly hellscape of strip mines and strip malls, pipelines, clearcuts, belching refineries, monocropped megafarms and ur...

Today, December 19th is the new moon and Sunday, the 21st is the winter solstice, the start of the real new year. So close. The last time the new moon and the winter solstice were on the same day was 1991 and the next time will be in 2028. But let’s let good enough be good enough. A barely visible newish moon is nothing to sneeze at. We’re practically starting the year with a...

It’s that time of the year. We have finally gotten some good, heavy rains though also some  sunny and unseasonably warm days. No complaints. As long as we get a good snowpack in the mountains by the end of winter, all is well. It’s a comforting feeling to look out at the eastern horizon and see snowcapped peaks. That’s our picturesque insurance policy. It’s easy to take ...

Easy is a relative word. Though the details are different, the basic work to be done doesn’t change a lot from year to year except when special projects are necessary, like gravelling the pathways, renewing the wooden borders, breaking new ground in the garden borders and other enhancements. What does change is the weather and its effects on the plants. This year we have been...