Raise your hand if you have already gotten the fall cold that’s in circulation. Did you wash that hand? Probably not—or not enough. Fall heralds the beginning of the flu season in the office and on …
Fabulous Figs
On the West Coast, summer tends to linger. Back-to-school sales may cede shelf space to Halloween candy, but even as the days grow shorter, golden afternoons beckon, encouraging weekend picnics and …
From Law to Lambs
“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from a cornfield.” —Dwight D. Eisenhower Dick Blair and Betty Hui are second-career farmers. Blair spent 35 years …
Small Grants, Big Impacts
Reduced carbon footprints and record numbers of pollinators are just a couple highlights of the early results farms are reporting as a result of the agriculture sustainability grants they received …
Quick Office Stretches: Simple Moves to Stay Active at Your Desk
Ever leave the office after a long day of sitting in front of the computer and feel like you’ve just run a marathon? Is your body sore and stiff, feeling a couple of decades more than its age? Think …
Asian and European Pears Share Ancestry
Separated at Birth What most of us recognize as a classic pear is the European pear (Pyrus communis), cultivated since the Bronze Age—the Botticelli form, Audrey Hepburn neck, and colors ranging from …
How to Can Perfect Pears
SANTA ROSA, CA—Marie Seppa knows her way around a canner. A spry 92-year-old with bright blue eyes, Marie has been canning since she was a child growing up on a farm in Eastern Oregon in the 1920s. …
Go Nuts!
Every so often I remember that as a kid, I didn’t like peanut butter and I’m shocked anew by how much I’ve changed. These days, I am a little bit obsessed with it. And by “a little bit,” I mean “a …
Perchance to Dream
There is nothing quite like waking up after a great night’s sleep. You revel in a refreshed, bright, energized feeling that catapults you into the possibilities of a brand new day. Consider that …
Great Grape
I have to admit that as a kid growing up on the East Coast in the 1970s and ’80s, I didn’t really know what real grapes were. I mean, I knew what they were, but somehow I thought that the two …
World Environment Day 2015
World Environment Day, celebrated each year on June 5, was started by the United Nations in 1972 as a campaign to raise awareness about the environment and encourage a positive impact on the planet. …
Fresh Apricot-Peach Tart
Adapted from marthastewart.com INGREDIENTS 3 cups peaches and apricots, pitted, and sliced (enough to cover the surface of the tart) 1–2 tablespoons jam or marmalade-apricot, peach, lemon, or …
From Pastry to Plow
Chocolates and Tomatoes Farm in Poolesville, MD, is a four-acre farm that strives to be sustainable, colorful, and delicious. And while we didn’t choose Chocolates and Tomatoes for a 2015 The …
Getting Started with Adult Team Sports
Are you in the exercise doldrums? Maybe your old, reliable Zumba class has grown stale or doing miles on the treadmill has lost its luster. Frankly, you’re having a hard time drumming up any …
Less Time to Chill
Cherries are finicky trees. They don’t like it when it gets too hot, when there’s not enough rain, and when it doesn’t stay cold enough during the winter. For the last few winters, California’s …
10 Ways to Save Water in the Office
The ongoing drought in the Western states has reached historic proportions. California Governor Jerry Brown has put statewide water restrictions for homes and businesses into place for the first time …
From Seed to Need
The FruitGuys Community Fund, a nonprofit fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, will award small American farms and agricultural nonprofits a total of $35,643 in 2015 for sustainability …
Lunch Maneuvers
How many times has this happened to you? You get in a good groove of taking your lunch to work every day and you’re starting to see some real progress on your weight loss and healthier eating goals …
How Office Carpooling Benefits Your Wallet, Work-Life Balance, and the Planet
Hey, you there—driving to work all by yourself with only those wacky Z-100 DJs to keep you company. Aren’t you lonely? Wouldn’t you like to save some money and help the environment? Achieving those …
Outstanding Oatmeal
Little orphan boys like Oliver aren’t the only ones craving extra bowls of porridge this time of year, especially when the porridge is a warming bowl of oatmeal. The humble bowl of oats earned a …
