“Sometimes it’s good to be fresh!”

It’s all the rage in San Diego – haute cuisine is going slow, and featuring local produce and in-house crafted foods.  Think the Linkery, Whisknladle & Prepkitchen, Terra & Arterra.  These restaurants are sure to spark your taste for the finer things on your own table, and why not?  You can pick up an amazing variety of local foods, as close as your own neighborhood Farmers Market!

San Diego is blessed with an endless growing season.  Even in February, you can find fresh navel oranges, lemons, avocados, kumquats, strawberries, cauliflower, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, tangerines, tangelos, carrots, celery, cabbage, peas, beets, cherimoyas, guavas, mushrooms, eggs, fruit, nuts, lettuce, greens, & honey in a local farmer’s market booth. Gotta love the endless choices!

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“Can I get a hand here?”

The storms came last week and brought us some much needed rain. But they also brought us something else…Trash. Rain washes it into the storm drains and into the ocean. Wind blows over trash cans and sends its bounty on a free flight, which always seems to land on our beaches. Last week, we had heavy rains and gale force winds. That’s a lot of trash!

You can help & here’s how… (Hey, you still have those extra holiday calories to burn off, right?)

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Got water? We do. It’s everywhere we look!  Just gaze out over our endless Pacific Ocean, our numerous wetlands, lagoons, bays & estuaries. We’re flush with water!

“A round of water for everyone, it’s on the house!”

And it’s not just on the house, it’s all over the patio. It’s running down the driveway and making splatters on the back of our legs as we slog through it. It’s mushing up the flower beds and getting water stains all over our artsy wooden fences. It’s being forced upon us at restaurants and creating more work at hotels… We have too much water, right?

On June 1, 2009, San Diego County  effectively moved up to Alert Level 2: Drought Condition – Mandatory Restrictions

What in the Fiji water happened!?! It’s not like we’re all of a sudden drinking our recommended 8 glasses of water a day. On a grand scale of Level 1 -through 4 (4 being really really bad), we’re now at Level 2. So who is pilfering our water!?!

“Habit & Co is siphoning off our reserves…”

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.“When we work together, dreams become a reality…”

The San Dieguito River Park would unite the Coast to Crest trail system, providing 55 miles of trails & the rare opportunity to explore the entire length of our local water supply.

From the Volcan Mountain (by Julian), the SDRP winds its way through the hill &  valley, eventually making its way to the Pacific Ocean via a quiet wetland behind the Del Mar Fairgrounds.  The SDRP’s mission is to create a network of trails, allowing the public to enjoy the diverse beauty ranging from the high desert of Anza-Borrego to the wetlands of the San Dieguito Lagoon.

“Ultimately, 94,000 acres would be protected in the park and trail system…”

The San Dieguito River Park Joint Powers Authority [SDRP] is a collective agency empowered by the County of San Diego  & the Cities of San Diego, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Poway & Escondido. Working with local agencies & individual land owners, land use is negotiated & more property is acquired each year. United in purpose, the SDRP wants to make the land available to the public & ensure the health of our natural resources…

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“What do you get a girl who has everything for her  B-day?”

Spring has sprung… this week, it’s already feeling like Summer.  Could it be warming?  Better make nice and give Mother Earth a hug.  There are  lots of opportunities! So what if you missed  EarthFair in Balboa Park…

“Turns out Mother Earth needs quite a bit!”

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“The sea laps at the sand, but the sand also hosts a desert”

The San Diego coastline is graced by miles of land caressed by moist coastal breezes as well as arid Santa Ana winds. The sand, waving palms, fruit trees and flowers always in bloom…echo a paradise found.  But as you move through less populated corners of the coast, the true nature of the region shows itself. Left alone, a diverse mix of both parched and lush flora reside together in reckless abandon. The two worlds coexist in a delicate balance.

“There is a threshold that we are reaching in terms of sprawling growth and selfish habitation. Will we become a paradise lost?”

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