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Why this wildflower plant guide is what every gardener needs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

The National Audubon Society’s “Wildflowers of North America” (Knopf, 2023) is a tour de force in the realm of plant guides. Full-page profiles of more than 850 species are included, each of which features up to six or more opulent photographic close-ups. This is a book to be savored, plant by plant, page by page. Remarkably, the $39.99 book is available through online vendors for $31, an incredible bargain if you ask me.I was fascinated to learn that there is a California native spurge known as wild poinsettia or fire-on-the-mountain (Poinsettia cyathophora). The bracts that surround its tiny flowers are not solid red like those seen on the holiday poinsettia but red at the base and otherwise green. Snow-on-the-mountain (Poinsettia marginata) is another notable spuirge. Its tiny bracts are green in the center but surrounded by wide white margins. I once saw a manicured hedge of this species in front of a house in Atwater Village; it left an indelible impression on me.There is a map...

Can two cats of the same sex live together peacefully in Sunnyvale?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

DEAR JOAN: I had to part with my elderly feline buddy last month. I am not ready for a new kitty relationship; however when I am, I’m thinking of getting two cats.Do you recommend getting two males, two females or one of each? I want them to get along.— Linda B., SunnyvaleDEAR LINDA: Please accept my condolences on the loss of your buddy.When you’re ready to have cats in your home and heart again, I think the personality of the cat is more important than the sex. The popular notion that two female cats will not get along is not true. There are plenty of all queen households that have coexisted peacefully. The same with all males and mixed pairs. On the other paw, some matches are not made in heaven.I once had a male and female cat who weren’t exactly buddies, but they got along OK. But my experience also includes a male cat who was king of the castle, and when I introduced the idea of bringing in another cat, he shredded the sheets on my bed in a clear signal that he wasn’t go...

TasteFood: An easy breezy clam chowder riff

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

Chowder is an all-year, all-weather soup. When the weather is wet and chilly, there’s nothing more comforting than hunkering over a steaming bowl of chowder, with seafood and chunky potatoes jockeying for space in a rich and creamy stew. When the weather shifts to sunshine and warmth, a bowl of chowder evokes the sea and beach and memories of slurping piping-hot cups of clam chowder, filled to the rim with a milky broth speckled with tender littlenecks bobbing between oyster crackers and slicks of swirling, melted butter.My roots are in the East Coast, so a New England-style clam chowder holds a special place in my food lexicon. Which is to say that wherever I’ve lived since then (and quite far from New England), when the craving strikes, I will rally and make a chowder. This at times requires a good amount of improvisation, depending on geography and available ingredients.Over time, I’ve devised this simple recipe, to which I return when I need an easy fix. You mi...

Wish You Were Here: Portsmouth’s naval sights delight

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

Readers have been circling the globe in recent months, exploring intriguing destinations and taking in such sights as Northern Ireland’s spectacular Giant’s Causeway, Uganda’s Impenetrable Forest  and Kauai’s Napali Coast. And they’ve been sharing their experiences and travel tips along the way.Today, an Oakland couple shares tips from a recent trip to England that included a dash of British and Napoleonic naval history.Wish You Were HereOakland residents Caroline and Sean Sorenson’s recent trip to England included a stop in Portsmouth to see the historic HMS Victory, Lord Horatio Nelson’s flagship which once carried a crew of more than 800 men. (Courtesy of the Sorenson Family) Related ArticlesTravel | Wish You Were Here: Beachy Australia adventures Travel | Wish You Were Here: Easter Island adventures Travel | Wish You Were Here: Uganda gorilla adventures Travel | Wish You We...

In a gentrified Bay Area, the former ‘Rottenest City’ fights to preserve its history

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

Emeryville’s Oaks Card Club has been in Cole Tibbets’ family for over a century. He has memories of coming into the card room as a kid with his dad, hearing stories about the guys who lived in the boarding house-style apartments on the top floor. He’s now the manager, greeting regulars as they approach the front door, but he’s worked every job in the building.“I learned to play poker before I knew how to read,” Tibbets said.“It was part of the fabric of my life growing up.”The same is true for generations of Emeryville residents. In a city that’s now defined by retail outlets, biotech offices, Pixar studios and a Chevy’s Fresh Mex, the squat brick building on the corner of San Pablo Avenue now feels like the closest thing Emeryville, a tiny town of 12,000 wedged between Oakland and Berkeley, has to a cultural center.Oaks Card Club manager John Tibbetts at a table on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Emeryville, Calif. The Tibbetts family has owned the East Bay card room since the 1930’s. (Ar...

Buy Cheap Essay Online: 6 Cheap Essay Writing Services to Buy College Papers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

Sponsored ContentCollege is a must for a glowing career, but at the same time, it can be a challenge. You need to put a lot of things in balance, from studies and essays to exams and your personal life.Some people are well organized and can definitely cope with all the pressure. But for others, this task is nearly impossible. And when essays kick in, you feel like your whole world is about to collapse.Too much pressure will alter your private life and can seriously harm your concentration levels. In the worst possible cases, you may end up with health issues as well.Fortunately, there are options, and they do not necessarily imply doing everything yourself.We are here to give you a hand, so read on to find out more.So, where can you order essays? We have been through dozens of different essay websites in order to find the best one. Some of them can definitely stand out in the crowd. Here are the best ones, as well as what you should expect from them.Top 6 sites where you can buy an ...

Raging California rivers are replenishing historic Gold Rush spots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

BUCK MEADOWS — For 170 years, the gold deposits along Sierra streambeds have been so poked and prodded that easy supplies of the precious metal have grown scarce and are a challenge to find.This spring’s raging rivers are regifting them.“There it is!” said Kevin Bell of Sacramento, swirling a pan in the cold waters of Moore Creek, as glitter suddenly illuminated the inky black sand. A half bucket of material yielded 12 showy specks — nearly a tenth of a gram of gold, worth about $7 — about double the typical haul in previous years.Prospectors call it “flood gold” — fine-sized flakes carried by alluvial waters and then deposited as flow recedes.Glowing gold flakes stand out among black sand as Kevin Bell, California director of Gold Prospectors of America, pans for the precious metal along Moore Creek near Buck Meadows, Calif., Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Winter storms sent water blasting through rocks in the Sierra Nevada, leading to what is widely anticipated to be the biggest discovery ...

Finnish air force training jet crashes; pilots eject

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A military training jet crashed in central Finland and Monday, the Finnish Air Force said, adding the pilots ejected.The British made single-engine Hawk aircraft crashed south of Keuruu, which sits some 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Helsinki.The air force said on Twitter that the pilots were undergoing health checks. Police said they and rescue services were at the scene.It is unclear what caused the plane to crash.Source

IOC puts trust at risk by seeking ways to allow Russia to compete at Olympics, EU official tells AP

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s presidency urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from next year’s Paris Games, yet said Monday a boycott by the 27-nation bloc is not on the table.Swedish sports minister Jakob Forssmed told The Associated Press the IOC should reconsider its position to let Russians and Belarusians compete as neutral athletes in sporting events despite the war in Ukraine.Sweden holds the EU presidency until July. Being in office allows a member nation to help set the EU’s tone and the bloc’s agenda.Asked whether EU nations should use the threat of a collective boycott to pressure the IOC to backpedal, Forssmed said that option is not being discussed right now.“We’re not there,” Forssmed said on the sidelines of a gathering of sports ministers in Brussels. “But I do think that the International Olympic Committee, they really risk a trust issue here if they are not listening, and also making sure that no ...

Book Review: Savannah Bananas owner Jesse Cole writes a book about his baseball team’s origins

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:00:48 GMT

“Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas” by Jesse Cole with Don Yaeger (Dutton)Jesse Cole’s father shared the following wisdom with his baseball-obsessed 5-year-old son: “Swing hard in case you hit it.”To say the younger Cole has taken that advice to heart is an understatement. He is, after all, the yellow tuxedo-wearing owner of the Savannah Bananas, the Georgia-based ballclub that became a national phenomenon with its unique and cheeky style of baseball.Cole explores the team’s origins in his new book, “Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas,” which he wrote with journalist and author Don Yaeger.A highly regarded prep pitcher in Massachusetts, Cole landed a spot playing at Wofford College. But he suffered a torn labrum while at the South Carolina school, effectively ending his career on the diamond and opening the door to a career just off of it.After stints as a coach and as a minor league executive, Cole and h...