There was a time—baby boomers might remember it—when the introduction of a Mexican TV dinner revolutionized North American food choices. Well, maybe not revolutionized, but certainly expanded. And it wasn’t long after, in 1962, that an L.A. entrepreneur named Glen Bell started up a fast food idea called Taco Bell. Neutered of full salsa sexuality,…
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Renee Shepherd Explains How To Grow Vegetables and Herbs From Seed
The seed packets from Renee’s Garden—marked with their characteristic watercolor illustrations and descriptive, owner-tested growing instructions—can be found in independent nurseries and garden centers across the country. But it all began here, in the mid-’80s, on Renee Shepherd’s sandy-soiled Felton property. “A thousand years ago, in the mid-’80s, this used to be just a big…
6 New Releases from Santa Cruz Mountain Wineries
As the year rolls on, new releases from our beautiful local wineries are rolling out. Here are some of the best: Windy Oaks 2015 Rosé, Monterey: Named “Bastide La Combe” after a lovely guesthouse where Windy Oaks proprietors Judy and Jim Schultze stay in Provence, one sip of this blush beauty takes me straight…
Santa Cruz Food Events 2017
A calendar of the most enticing Santa Cruz food events and festivals May 19-21 — Santa Cruz Greek Festivals Ever just get a hankering for all things Greek? Surprisingly, Santa Cruz has got a pretty great Greek game. For the immediate hunger there’s the 10th Annual Greek Food Faire on May 19-21—three glorious days of…
How to Prepare Your Yard for Mosquito Season
This winter’s heavy rains mean more potential breeding spots for mosquitoes, which is why Santa Cruz County Mosquito and Vector Control (MVC) is putting locals on high alert for the spring and summer months. Keeping mosquitoes out of your yard is always a good idea—besides their itchy bites and annoying buzz, they can carry West…
Plant Lovers are Going Wild for Jungalow Decor
It’s sort of ironic, I know, that my smartphone serves as a portal into nature, but my Instagram feed is full of green foliage and cactus flowers. On Instagram, this is not hard to do. The social media platform is teeming with design enthusiasts and plant lovers, who, more and more, seem to be becoming…
UCSC Farm Celebrates 50 Years
In the late 1960s, Orin Martin was “allegedly in college,” as he puts it, on the East Coast, but he rarely went to classes. He was in Washington, D.C. for the anti-Vietnam War march on the Pentagon in 1967, and was actively resisting the draft. A year later, unsure of what to do with his…
Home & Garden Event Calendar 2017
If you have a set of green thumbs, or just want to enjoy the laborious fruits of those who do, be sure to mark your calendars for these home and garden events taking place this spring and summer in Santa Cruz County. 4/29 Farm & Garden Spring Plant Sale This year’s annual Spring plant…
Thinking Outside the Box: Artists Give Signal Boxes A Makeover
What started as a graffiti removal program has blossomed into one of the County’s most beloved artistic endeavors. One by one, traffic signal boxes are getting artistic makeovers. The Santa Cruz County Parks Department’s Outside the Box (OTB) program has employed more than a dozen local artists to beautify otherwise dull utility boxes. They are…
70 Years of Mystery: The Mystery Spot Continues to Baffle Locals and Travelers Alike
Follow the yellow brick road. Actually, follow the yellow signs. Drive up a windy road and down a rugged driveway and you’ll find, nestled in a grove of redwoods, Santa Cruz’s very own Mystery Spot. Mystery Spots, more than a dozen of them across the nation, rose out of the pain caused by the Great…
