Columns Archives

March 2026 Astrology Forecast: Magic is in the Air

March 1, 2026March 5, 2026 slvpost.com

By Catie Cadge PhD Springtime is upon us, Santa Cruz stargazers! I love it when the hills turn green and new little buds on the trees appear around our valley. We are in eclipse season. A time of new beginnings and rebirth! On March 3rd, we have a total lunar eclipse, 12°53’ Virgo, 3:37 am Pacific time. If the skies… Read More

Columns Gardening

Taming Winter Rains in the Santa Cruz Mountains Garden

February 16, 2026March 3, 2026 slvpost.com

Managing Drainage and Erosion in Your SLV Garden By Marielle Martin February in the San Lorenzo Valley means we’re in the thick of rainy season, and while our gardens desperately need this water, too much of a good thing can create problems. Between our steep hillsides and clay-heavy soils, many SLV gardeners are dealing with soggy spots, eroded slopes, and… Read More

Columns Food & Drink

Persimmon Wine

February 15, 2026February 28, 2026 slvpost.com and Thomas Andersen

By Tom Andersen ‘Round about January when the Hachiya (heart shaped) persimmons begin to ripen on the trees, persimmon lovers, realizing the end is near, snap into action. We’ve done about all we can do with the Fuyu (flat) ones. We’ve eaten our fill fresh from the tree; we’ve made a few – maybe more than a few dozen –… Read More

Columns Local History

Frank Capelli, Highway 9 Motorcop

February 9, 2026February 26, 2026 Scott Tucker

By Scott Tucker By the early 1900s, cars were becoming the predominant source of transportation in the San Lorenzo Valley. Back then, Highway 9 was a gravel road. There were few, if any, guardrails. The road was hazardous but horse and buggy and lumber wagons could not drive with much speed. With the automobile comes danger. In 1910, motorcop Frank… Read More

Columns Food & Drink Recipes

Immune Boost: Mushroom and Barley Soup

February 5, 2026February 11, 2026 Robin Hornrecipes, soup

By Robin Marie Horn | Seasonal Eating It’s winter. I don’t know about you, but it seems like everyone around me is sick, getting sick, or getting over being sick. From people at work to kids in the library to shoppers in the mall, why don’t these people just stay home? But since they won’t, we healthy folks need to… Read More

Columns History Local History

Flumes: Lifelines of the 19th-Century Redwood Rush

February 4, 2026February 8, 2026 Mary Andersen

By Mary Andersen In the Santa Cruz Mountains during the 1800s, the air frequently hummed with the thunder of falling redwoods and the distant roar of rushing water. Felton, then a nascent lumber boomtown on the San Lorenzo River, stood at the heart of this industrial activity. Here, flumes – ingenious wooden waterways engineered to defy gravity – transformed the… Read More

Columns Gardening

The Indoor Winter Herb Garden

February 3, 2026February 6, 2026 Bridget Giuffrida

By Bridget Giuffrida Now is a beautiful time of year to lean into cozy, fragrant, hard-working herbs that thrive indoors and bring warmth, nourishment, and a sense of tradition to winter living. Growing herbs inside during the darkest time of year offers not only fresh flavor for cooking and baking but also living greenery for decorating and simple homestead joy.… Read More

Astrology Columns

February’s Celestial Call for Compassionate Warriors

February 1, 2026February 5, 2026 Catie Cadge, PhD

By Catie Cadge, PhD February opens with a Full Moon in Leo, 13°03’, on the 1st, 2:09 pm Pacific time. We are in the heart of “Aquarius season” and the Moon opposes Sun, Mars and Venus (loosely Mercury and Pluto) all in Aquarius, the Sun conjunct the asteroid Vesta at 11°02’ Aquarius. This is a good lunar time to find… Read More

Astrology Columns

A Fresh Start | January 2026 Horoscope

January 4, 2026January 14, 2026 Catie Cadge, PhDastrology, horoscope, January 2026

By Catie Cadge PhD Every January, I think of the words of a Grateful Dead song, “The wheel is turning and you can’t slow down…” Where do we see a fresh start for our wheel moving forward? Where do we see planetary shifts and changes? For this month’s cosmic weather report, let’s briefly look at the next few weeks and… Read More

Columns Real Estate

Reading the Rain | Santa Cruz Mountains Real Estate

January 2, 2026January 25, 2026 MaryBeth McLaughlin

What Long-Term Rainfall Data Reveals About Timing the Market in the San Lorenzo Valley By MaryBeth McLaughlin If you live in the San Lorenzo Valley, you don’t need a forecast to tell you that the rainy season is upon us. You see it in the creeks rising, road damage, and the forest in winter mode. Still, the data behind our… Read More