Fresno County DA chosen for woman of the year
District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp takes the honor as the 2023 Woman of the Year from California Senator Shannon Grove
FRESNO COUNTY – On the senate floor at the state capitol of Sacramento, Fresno County’s district...
GARDENING GURU
Spring Curb Appeal, Central Valley Style
By Michelle Le StrangeUCCE Master Gardener
Is it true that most homeowners don’t really like to garden, but all want front yards with curb appeal and back yards for family...
NOTES FROM HOME
People v. Land
Recent news about rent increases and evictions, both locally and across the nation, have me pressing again to express something about land that we consciously ignore in this culture.Last week’s fine article...
GARDENING GURU
Composting: How to Beef Up on Organic Matter
Minerals, organic matter, air, and water are the 4 main components of soil. Soil minerals are derived from decomposed rocks. Soil organic matter comes from dead plant...
NOTES FROM HOME
Spring Planting
I was standing at the kitchen sink early Sunday morning, an altar of its own kind. Thoughts were flowing like Lewis Creek through my mind, beautiful Lewis Creek now flowing surely through its...
NOTES FROM HOME: Shock Waves
Not five minutes after I pushed “send” on last week’s column, “Stirrings,” news of our president’s presence in Ukraine floated across my screen. Actually, it was more like three minutes, close enough to make...
NOTES FROM HOME
Knowing Nobody
“We don’t know many people anymore, do we?” a friend said as we sat on his breezeway bench for our daily tablespoon of conversation. He said it surprised, as if it hadn’t occurred...
Notes from Home
Two Dreams
There is some struggle in me that I keep trying to put into words. It’s a struggle I see reflected in the landscape, in the emotional terrain of most organizations, in the news...
Gardening Guru
What Grows in Grandma’s (or Grandpa’s) Garden?
By Tulare Kings Master GardenersWhether you have grandchildren, children, or just your own sense of adventure, there are many attention-getting plants that will draw people into your garden...
Notes from Home
Gleanings
Sunday morning, driving to church to deliver my hard-earned gleanings from weeks of research for my sermon, the land spoke to me again. A month ago, in “Lonely Groves,” I confessed to hearing the...