All the houses in my 1980s-built neighborhood were painted in just a few dull repetitive colors. They are essentially all the same. But I dream of living in a neighborhood with a full spectrum of vibrant colors in every combination. So, I did something about it by painting my house using the color palette of […]
Life + Outdoors
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Midsummer Puzzles ANSWERS
1. Syzygy. (Astronomically, a syzygy is when three bodies align, for instance the sun, Earth and moon during eclipses.) 2. French. You’re in Île de l’Est, one of the French Crozet Islands. (If you want to be pedantic, since the island is uninhabited, the correct answer is none.) 3. Letter F: 4. Toss your quarter, […]
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The Return of Mosquitoes and the Bucket of Doom™
Spring has sprung, and the copious rains we received this past winter and early spring are showing themselves in the lush growth of grass, trees, shrubs and (dramatic pause) mosquitoes. I don’t know about your yard/garden/place, but I have to either slather myself with mosquito repellent or wear some netting before stepping outside, especially early […]
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Midsummer Puzzles
OK, its not quite Midsummer, which (for obscure reasons) is the name given to the start of summer, i.e. the Summer Solstice, this year Friday, June 20, 7:42 p.m. PDT. So it’s time for our annual puzzle edition. (You can find the answers on page 37.) 1. What’s a six-letter word containing three Y’s? 2. […]
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Crabs Open Season with a Sweep of the Novato Knicks
The last Friday in May was the beginning of the newest chapter for the Humboldt Crabs. The ballpark has gotten a facelift, the team has turned over, but the sounds, smells and ambiance are all the same. The Crab Grass band, photographer Matt Filar and the notorious hecklers were all in attendance, primed and ready. […]
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Beyond Apples
Living in a special place like coastal Northern California, with its cool summers and wet winters, the challenge for a dyed-in-the-wool fruit grower is to find every possible fruit tree that might grow successfully here. Cool summers make it especially difficult for many types of fruit to ripen fully, and wet winters make it easy […]
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You Say Aluminum, I Say Aluminium
My wife, Louisa, and I recently found ourselves looking up at a statue comprised of 7,400 welded aluminum plates, the Winged Virgin of Panecillo Hill in Quito, Ecuador. It’s the tallest aluminum statue in the world with a total height of 135 feet. Based on a 48-inch-tall wooden sculpture created in 1734, the Virgin was […]
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Don’t Eat the Sand Turkey
A mysterious man sold me an elixir he said would make my stringy beard as thick and silky as an otter’s pelt. However, he did not mention the side effects. I drank the stuff and went for my regular beach walk. It wasn’t the hallucinations that produced a perfectly roasted Thanksgiving turkey on the beach […]