In the early morning hours of February 6, 2023, major magnitude earthquakes registering 7.8 and 7.5 struck with devastating force in a geologically and politically unstable region of southern Turkey and northwest Syria.

Something happens when I stand under a star-filled sky on clear winter nights.

For avowed animal lovers, life in the country can easily become an open-door policy.

When I think of aging well, my dear friend Suzanne Dunaway instantly comes to mind.

Observed over time, a river can be seen as having a life of its own.

Chef, restauranter and humanitarian José Andrés has spent the past decade plus preparing meals for victims of natural disasters and at times of war through his non-profit World Central Kitchen organization.

Recently The Union newspaper in Nevada County featured a front-page article about Charlie’s Café, a Grass Valley institution owned and operated by Kelly and Eric Grossmann since 2011.

The week before Christmas, The Polar Express played at our local movie theater.

These December days, Christmas memories abound.

A pantry is one of winter’s richest storehouses.

As I look out on snow that has fallen here in the Sierra Foothills, my mind travels back to a December almost thirty years ago when I watched as a white cat walked gingerly across our frozen pond at a place Kit and I called Breakfast Creek.

In December, dawn is the perfect time for a quiet conversation over our morning coffee.

In mid-November, I asked friends—new and old, across the miles and next door, vegetarians and turkey lovers—to share a recipe for their favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

As Thanksgiving approaches, holiday recipes have been on my mind. Fall pumpkins recently arrayed on the porch were moved inside when temperatures dipped into the upper 20s and a foot of snow blanketed our neck of Sierra Foothills woods.

The final day of October arrived as brilliant as the colorful pile of pumpkins on our porch.

Next Tuesday is Election Day. Campaign signs have popped up along roads and in yards like weeds as local and state candidates vie for votes.

In October, the world is awash in colors that are an artist’s palate of orange, plum, aubergine, gold, red, rust, and brown.

In life, there are moments that cannot be explained with logic or reason.

In our home in the Nevada Foothills, most mid-October days begin with chilly dawn temperatures and end with fiery orange sunsets that set our world ablaze.

There is something magical about the idea of traveling by train.