This is for Louise, who asked me to blog about new treatments for migraine, involving injections, and for any of you who also suffer from migraine headaches. One recently approved treatment uses injections of Botox, the botulinum toxin used to remove facial wrinkles. It’s a poison which paralyzes muscles and has been approved by the … More New Migraine Treatments

One of the winter attractions in Santa Cruz is the eucalyptus grove at Natural Bridges State Park, where Monarch butterflies overwinter. This past week I took out-of-town visitors to see the Monarchs. We were lucky in that it was a rare (for this winter) sunny day, and the butterflies were active and flying. However, there … More Monarch butterflies at Natural Bridges

Whether you light the menorah, celebrate the solstice, or hang up a stocking and sing carols by the lighted tree (we do all three) or celebrate some other winter holiday, I wish you blessings in this dark time of the year. There are many traditions, but it seems almost everyone has some way of bringing … More Winter Holidays

Speaking of the Natural History Museum, I just got word of an adult learning series that will take place on four Saturdays in January and February. It sounds great! Take a look.

I want to put in a plug for the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History , for those of you in Santa Cruz or visiting here. It’s a tiny museum, but amazingly full. The current exhibit is called: Bones:An Inside Look at Nature. It shows how bones are adapted for the various ways of life … More Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History

I just looked back at my first posts on this blog back in March. At that time I wrote, “It’s just a beginning for me, but I’m excited to reach out and let you know about my writing and the other activities I’m involved with here in Santa Cruz.” I’ve been wondering, as I post … More On blogging

I’m sorry to have been absent from the blog for too long. Last week we celebrated not only Thanksgiving, but my birthday. I mention this because, with Facebook, it seems everyone knew it was my birthday. I kept running into people who wished me a happy birthday and I’d think, “How did they know?” until … More Freedom

There has been a lot of rewriting of the classics going on in recent years. I enjoy reading these new interpretations. Recently I had an idea myself along those lines and have almost finished a first draft of, in this case, The Wizard of Oz from a different point of view. This is not an … More Rewriting the classics

The fliers about the compost workshop I’m teaching on November 13 went out this past week in the Green Waste “curbsider” and Ana Maria Revelo at the county received an overwhelming response (over 200 phone calls). I’m glad there is such an interest and wish it were possible to put on more workshops. Without any … More Water and waste

This You-Tube video was forwarded to me by a friend. A Japanese scientist has developed a portable machine to convert plastic trash into usable oil or kerosene. It looks like a great idea. It can be used anywhere, but in third world countries where people have no adequate means to dispose of plastic waste, converting … More Plastic waste to oil