Life Style & Travel

UNITED STATES—The inability to ‘say when’ conjoins a rainbow of addictions, from alcohol to ice cream. Whatever you can’t say no to, whether it gets you high or not—that’s an addictive substance. Food abuse—socially sanctioned, enthusiastically pushed, and even enshrined in Shakey’s Bunch of Lunch—isn’t punished like other alcoholic or narcotic abuses with loss of livelihood or liberty, but...

UNITED STATES—Long before people came here and imported exotic (non-native) plants from all over the world, native plants had been perfectly happy without any pruning, watering or fertilizing. They had always been perfectly happy with local soils, local climates and even occasional wildfires. Many are still happier in the wild than in seemingly more comfortable refined gardens and landscapes. It...

UNITED STATES—You know how Mom said, “Don’t eat that ice cream before dinner—you’ll spoil your appetite.” She was really saying you’ll be disqualified from having the meal, unable to appreciate the love and time she put into it, unable to feel the pit of your stomach and meet with gratitude the things she has made, even if she wasn’t...

UNITED STATES—Too much of a good thing eventually gets old. That is how so many of the good junipers that were so popular half a century ago became so unpopular. They became too common, and many were planted into situations that they were not appropriate for. As they matured, many became overgrown or disfigured. Only recently have a few...

UNITED STATES—On our rash plan to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, there are strict habits to adhere to. Make them indestructible habits. The deciding difference, the pivotal factor to achieving this weight loss successfully in this short span, is unilateral adherence to the regimen, which consists of: -- Pre-breakfast stretches and breathing  (20 min.) -- Fruit for the first five...

UNITED STATES—All of the popular fruit trees produce flowers. Otherwise, they could not produce fruit. The stone fruits, such as almond, apricot, cherry, peach, plum and prune, bloom very impressively this time of year. (Stone fruits have single large seeds known as stones. Almonds are the large stones of small fruits that resemble peaches.) The pomme fruits, such as...

UNITED STATES—On Monday mornings especially, I snap back to myself from slumberland and sometimes, for a brief window after dreams have taken me far beyond my current zip code, I don’t know what city I’m in or who I am. What I do know to be true is a gleaming fullness, a ripeness of being and guiltlessness. This is a...

UNITED STATES—Young trees are so impressionable. Too much water can damage their roots, or cause them to disperse too shallowly. Improper pruning can disfigure their branch structure, and ultimately compromise structural integrity. Improper staking to keep them stable can actually interfere with development of stabilizing roots, and interfere with trunk development.Newly planted trees will of course want to be...

UNITED STATES—A Buddhist monk, the last person on Earth I would have imagined expressing an interest in drastic weight loss, asked me what I did to lose 30 pounds in one month. That question launched this series of articles on losing 30 pounds in 30 days—to share all the stricter practices I adopted during that time of dramatic weight-loss. Drum-roll,...

UNITED STATES—Pussywillow is an odd cut flower. It is neither fragrant nor very colorful. It just gets cut and brought into the home because the distinctively fuzzy catkins are so interesting. They are appealing alone or mixed with other late winter flowers. The otherwise bares stems can get cut just as soon as the fuzz is beginning to become...