Holly Berry

The new year brought the early return of the robins (Erithacus rubecula), who swarmed our holly trees and stripped them of berries over the past week. The birds seem to prefer this variegated variety, which I have not yet been able to identify. ivermectin-pyrantel- generic to heartgard plus 12 months ivomec for cows The berries […]

A Donkey and a Dumptruck

What do ‘Pepe’ the donkey and the baby blue dump truck have in common? They’re both about the same age for starters. They also both inhabit the same 120 acres of mixed forest, meadow and orchard owned by our friends Richard and Lisa Ernst just outside of Occidental. Richard grew up in San Francisco and […]

Ideal States of Comfort

I was reading Ulla Maaria’s recent column “Renting is the New Buying” where she referred  to a survey she had made among students about what ‘luxury’ meant to them. The results helped to reinforce her larger point regarding assumptions we make about what constitutes well-being, “Instead of associating luxury with money or any imaginable form […]

Bay Copse

In our region the Bay Laurel grows prolifically in the understory of second growth Coast Redwood. When mature, the tree can grow quite large and shapely and its wood has a rich, nutty brown grain I use frequently because of its availability and versatility. Yet the Bay Laurel is considered by many a weed. what […]

Election Day Bed

I spent Election Day in the shop making a pencil post bed as a distraction from the culmination of my combined worry and excitement for the returns of the day.The bed will occupy the ‘Outlaw’, our guest home/vacation rental where my parents will be living when they arrive next week from Philadelphia for an extended […]