Life Style & Travel

HOLLYWOOD—The current strike involving the Writer’s Guild of America is entering its third week and it looks like there will be no end in sight anytime soon. The writers are asking for a reasonable paycheck for their work and addressing concerns involving AI that has become a major concern not just in the technological arena and how it is...

UNITED STATES—Spring bloom is the most colorful color in the garden here. It is not the only color though. Some deciduous foliage will provide color at the opposite end of the year. Bark can add a bit of color, particularly while deciduous trees defoliate for winter. So can colorful fruit. Furthermore, ornamental foliage, both deciduous and evergreen, can contribute...

UNITED STATES—It does not happen often. The average frequency is about 10 to 15 years. However, it occurred in both 2017 and 2019, prior to this spring. That is enough for 30 to 45 years! The current superbloom is only now finishing locally. It may continue through most of May near the coast farther North. The best bloomers enjoy...

UNITED STATES—Bloom that was delayed by the unusually wintry winter is making up for lost time. Spring bulbs, flowering cherries and deciduous magnolias were amazing. Wisterias and lilacs continue their pastel display within some climates. More flowers bloom during springtime than at any other time of year. Even roses of summer will begin their performance soon. Pollination is the priority...

UNITED STATES—It was not the “constitution” per se that got Allied Fruit Co. back up again and going. It was the energy behind the policies. It was a new deal, and the new deal was an old deal, going back to the lean and small Chamelecón Co. format, the minnow that swallowed the whale of Allied; it was a...

UNITED STATES—Home gardens are becoming shadier. Modern homes are taller to fit closer together. Modern fences are taller to compensate. Densely evergreen trees and large shrubbery compensate more. Taller homes and fences, and denser vegetation, shade more of their smaller modern parcels. Not much sunlight can reach the soil of modern home gardens. Portions of a garden that are too...

UNITED STATES—Some gardens continue to recover from the exceptionally wintry weather of last winter. Frost damaged some plants, and killed a few. Wind damaged trees. Excessive rain caused erosion and saturation. This collectively unpleasant weather inhibited some from maintaining their gardens. Yet, some plants that require vernalization are performing splendidly. It seems like an odd juxtaposition. Bloom of some plants...

UNITED STATES—California native plants seem like they should be very appropriate for home gardens. In the wild, they require neither irrigation nor maintenance. They are quite satisfied with local climate and soil. Of course, gardening with natives is not so simple. Home gardens are very different from wild ecosystems. Furthermore, wild ecosystems here are very different from wild ecosystems elsewhere....

UNITED STATES—After the Delaney’s second tenure, the company gradually but steadily slid in till the year Richard Nixon ran for president, the new Nixon (thank you Bernard Lukasey, the public relations wiz manipulator extraordinaire) who said there were indeed some people he would not work for, including Hitler, whose people had sought to contract him, but Nixon he didn’t...

UNITED STATES—Last winter was a doozy! It involved historic frost, snow, rain, wind, floods and mudslides. A few roads remain closed in some regions. Major electrical outages were too numerous for prompt repair. Weather alone did not cause such outages though. It merely dislodged vegetation that did so. This demonstrates the necessity for utility clearance maintenance. Utility pruning is a...