By Wendy Langhans. Mistletoe is a parasite and needs host trees, like this California Sycamore, to order to survive. That’s what most people think when they see mistletoe hanging over the door.  Any person standing under the mistletoes is fair game – you could be kissed by anyone – from Great Aunt Elvah to that “certain special someone”.  It’s all ...

By Wendy Langhans   Reindeer live in the tundra and boreal forests of Asia and North America. This time of year, there’s a story that is passed around on the internet about Santa’s reindeer.  If you recall, in every picture we have of a “miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer”, all the reindeer all have huge racks of antlers.  In ...

By Wendy Langhans   Todd Longshore Park Twenty years ago, when our daughter was a preschooler, we joined a group of parents and children that met weekly for playtime at a local park.  There were swing sets, slides and monkey bars to climb on.  There were shady trees and picnic tables, where the parents would sit and talk and keep ...

By: Wendy Langhans   Great Egrets stalk fish by walking slowly and deliberately through the shallow water. I really didn’t expect that bird to fly.  Maybe it was the six foot wingspan.  Maybe it was the rhythmic whooshing sound made by its wings.  Or maybe it was the slow-mo speed; after all, their average speed is only 25 mph.  I’ve ...

By Wendy Langhans   Perhaps because it was so short and sweet, I still remember the definition of marketing given by my business school professor in a lecture hall many years ago.   He said that the essence of marketing is to “find a hole and fill it”.   I’m reminded of that lecture every time I come across a granary ...

By: Wendy Langhans   Mallard ducks eat a variety of foods, including algae, plants and insects. People love to feed the wild ducks.  A few days ago I spotted a Mom and Dad with their two pre-school children, happily sitting on the grass and watching the ducks eat the food they had brought to share.  As I kept walking, I ...

By: Wendy Langhans [view:node_ad=5]Last weekend, I attended the Fire-Safe Landscaping workshop at Hart Park, which was put on by University of California Cooperative Extension.   They provided a great deal of useful information, and I’m providing hyperlinks so that you can access that information for yourself.   I want to share with you three ideas that I found useful and one ...

By: Wendy Langhans This before and after shot of a Manzanita shows how proper pruning not only makes this native shrub look better but also provides less dead fuel for a wildfire to burn. In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.   ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower   Now is a good time ...

By: Wendy Langhans   During the 2003 fire in Towsley Canyon, this gopher survived by hiding underground. Photo courtesy of Paul Levine Have you ever seen the Disney movie “Bambi”?  I did – a long time ago – when I was a child.  I vaguely remember the details of the fire scenes, but I distinctly remember that the flames frightened ...

By: Wendy Langhans   Mule deer teeth are designed to chew vegetation. Photos courtesy of Lilian Darling Holt It’s amazing sometimes how many things I take for granted.  Like getting from here to there, for example.  Ask anyone how it was last weekend in our valley and you’ll most likely get a raised eyebrow, crooked smile and raspy snort.   ...