Columns Archives

Portolà Expedition: The 1769 Naming of the San Lorenzo River

October 30, 2025November 8, 2025 slvpost.com

On a chilly, fog-draped evening in October 1769, a group of Spanish explorers set up camp along the west bank of a river near towering redwoods. Led by Captain Gaspar de Portolà, this adventurous group — California’s first European overland expedition — had found a waterway so impressive they named it “Río de San Lorenzo” on October 17, after their… Read More

Columns Gardening

Autumn Gardening for Wildlife in the Santa Cruz Mountains

October 23, 2025November 3, 2025 slvpost.com

By Marielle Martin As the Santa Cruz Mountains settle into autumn, the cooling air and long shadows make it the perfect time to rethink your garden – not just for you, but for the wildlife that shares it. With the rainy season coming on, October’s the time to plant pollinator favorites, leave seed heads for hungry birds, and find clever… Read More

Astrology Columns

Claiming a More Authentic and Revolutionary You | October 2025 Horoscope

October 4, 2025October 11, 2025 Catie Cadge, PhD

By Catie Cadge PhD Ah, the sunny days of Fall, or Second Summer, are here in Santa Cruz. October can be such a beautiful time and the cosmic weather at the start of the month sets the mood for good conversation along with creative fun. Mercury in Libra, 22°34’, squares Jupiter in Cancer, October 1st, at 1:59 pm Pacific time.… Read More

Columns Food & Drink Recipes

Wild Blackberry Pie

September 28, 2025October 10, 2025 Robin Horn

By Robin Marie Horn It’s the end of blackberry season here in California. No more berries at the farmers markets, but they’re still ripening along fences and in fields here and there. There are fewer blackberries than in summer, but most berry pickers have forgotten about them. So it’s the perfect time for the last blackberry pie of the year.… Read More

Columns Gardening

Finding Balance in the Garden

August 30, 2025October 4, 2025 slvpost.com

Mindful choices in the garden invite a balanced, thriving landscape. (Photo by Naoki Suzuki) By Josh Reilly What follows is not intended to keep you out of our SLV nurseries or garden centers. Just the opposite. I hope you go. I just want you to pause and think before doing it. There are dragons at the temple gate. The path… Read More

Astrology Columns

Your Soul’s Path and Calling | Astrology September 2025

August 29, 2025October 4, 2025 Catie Cadge, PhD

By Catie Cadge PhD September’s cosmic weather begins with Saturn retrograde reentering Pisces at 1:06 am PDT, September 1st. The ringed planet remains in the sign of the fishes until mid-February, 2026. Saturn continues to be in range of a conjunction with Neptune at the beginning of Aries throughout September. Saturn asks us to define and give structure to our… Read More

Columns History

Filming the Elephant Anna May 1922

August 28, 2025September 28, 2025 slvpost.com

By Randall Brown In the spring of 1922 Boulder Creek welcomed the return of the movie people. Location scouts for the Thomas Ince company, searching for a place to film a picture, in “a wooded country with no snow,” with “plenty of river and mountain scenery,” found the town ideally suited their plans. A crew of carpenters went to work,… Read More

Columns Livestock

So You Want to Keep Chickens

August 27, 2025September 7, 2025 slvpost.com

The Starter Park By Laura Testa-Reyes (AKA Chicken Lady) Welcome to the world of backyard chickens! If someone was to ask me for advice on what they should know before keeping chickens, my first answer would be to make sure they have a coop that can’t be broken into. The second bit of advice I would give is to get… Read More

Columns Columns: Tom Andersen Food & Drink Recipes

Spicy Fermented Honey

August 23, 2025August 30, 2025 Thomas Andersen

By Thomas Andersen Of course most of us think of the Viking mead when there is mention of fermented honey. Mead, if you have never had it, is a little sweet and quite complex in flavor because honey itself is as varied as the pollen from which it is made. It can also be quite potent, beyond 15% alcohol even.… Read More

Sunflowers and star trails in a summer garden

Astrology Columns

Summer Fun and Joy: August Astrology

August 2, 2025August 9, 2025 Catie Cadge, PhD

By Catie Cadge PhD Warm August days are upon us, Santa Cruz stargazers, and how appropriate for the final weeks of Leo season! We cherish each other with some good ol’ fashion summer fun and joy. The month starts out with Venus in Cancer at 01°37’ forming a square with Saturn retrograde in Aries at 6:34 am Pacific time, August… Read More