When I’m surrounded by horses, chickens, rabbits and the most charming Corgi in the world, it’s easy to take my cats for granted.
Courtesy Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock Use a ceiling fan to keep cool and cut down on energy costs. While you’re at it, switch out the incandescent light bulbs for extra energy savings. As Memorial Day weekend approaches, it feels like summer is just around the corner. Once temperatures rise, the average home spends almost 20 percent of […]
Photo by Rick Gush I love the orange poppies from my home state of California, but the red poppies of Italy are striking and exotic to me. One of the reasons I really like living in Italy is that so much of ordinary, everyday existence is exotic to me. For example, I get a big […]
Along with rhubarb and ramps, asparagus is in full-blown season here. Those gardeners who have patiently waited through three seasons of feathery ferns are rewarded by lots of fat purple spears.
Courtesy iStockphoto/Thinkstock Seed borrowers plant seeds from the San Francisco Seed Library, then return the seeds produced from their best crop. Seed-lending libraries are sprouting up across California, and with the recent opening of two seed-lending libraries in San Francisco, community members are bringing food safety, biodiversity protection and urban farming back into their own […]
Turn brown city lots green with the help of seed bombs.
I’ve been obsessed with animals since I was a little kid and have spent more time at zoos and farms than I have in playgrounds and parks. So it’s not often that I see an animal that really takes my breath away. But it happened this past weekend, right here in the town where I live.
Courtesy Clif Bar As part of its sustainability initiative, Clif Bar gives employees $500 to put toward their commuter-bike purchases. At a time when green-washing is rampant, it can be difficult to know which companies are working to minimize their eco impact and which ones are only pretending to do their part. Skepticism is on […]
Rapallo has many of the ancient shrub Pittosporum tobira. These shrubs, which are actually small trees, are really attractive year-round, particularly in spring when they bloom.
Reality TV meets urban farming in the documentary series The Urban Conversion.
Photo by Audrey Pavia My friend, Stephanie, and my rooster, Mr. Mabel, have a stormy relationship. Early last week, I got an email from my old friend, Stephanie, who lives in Pittsburgh. Her planned trip to Russia fell through, and she asked if she could come stay with me this week. I was thrilled—I hadn’t […]
