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Teen Crisis, Fixing Sprinklers, Spring Gardening

1 min

Teen Crisis, Fixing Sprinklers, Spring Gardening

America’s teens are in crisis and more distressed than ever before. Levels of sadness and suicide is on the rise according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Let’s start a conversation on how to help. Is your landscape irrigated with sprinklers? Are they in working order? It’s time to check the valves, pipes, sprayers, and drips. Save water and your garden! Throw open your windows! Inhale the sweet smells of the blossoms. Flocks of doves have begun their annua

Autumn Aromas

4 min

Autumn Aromas

By Cynthia Brian “ When it rained this past week, did you smell it? The scent of earth mixed with fallen leaves and decomposing plant matter signals the transition of the seasons. On the calendar, autumn began on September 22, 2022, but it wasn’t until November that I inhaled this intoxicating aroma that brought back childhood memories of the end of harvest, jumping in piles of leaves, and blazing bonfires. In just a week, it seemed that so many trees changed their wardrobe f

Preventing Gardening Injuries

5 min

Preventing Gardening Injuries

By Cynthia Brian “Do what you can for as long as you can, and when you can’t, do the next best thing!” Chuck Yeager Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2022/10/27/garden-safety/ One of the many lessons I’ve learned from my forty-plus years in the entertainment industry is that the show must go on! Except for the Covid 19 pandemic, actors go to work despite any personal circumstances. I’ve put on my acting mask when I’ve had walking pneumonia, broken bones, and deaths in

It's Happening at the Zoo

4 min

It's Happening at the Zoo

https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2022/10/18/transplanting-and-zoo-fun/ By Cynthia Brian “It’s a light and tumble journey From the East Side to the park; Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo!” Simon & Garfunkel When the squirrels start collecting piles of acorns, and pumpkins, gourds, and squash adorn front porches, we know that autumn has arrived. With the cooler weather, we welcome fresh air and respite from the heat waves. Besides gardening, I have always adored animals (th

Fall Forward

4 min

Fall Forward

https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1616/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Fall-forward.html By Cynthia Brian “Delicious Autumn! My soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive Autumns.” George Eliot The sweet smell of the recent rain-dampened soil stimulated my soul. Although it wasn’t enough moisture to revive a parched earth, my brown lawn exhibits more strands of green. This short respite from the h

Some Like it Hot!

5 min

Some Like it Hot!

By Cynthia Brian Press Pass: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2022/09/16/hot-hot-hot-2/ “What dreadful hot weather we have. It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.” Jane Austen In July 1808 when Jane Austen was thirty-three, the Central England Temperature series which dates back to 1659, recorded the 2nd hottest month on record with temperatures around the country reaching between 97-105 degrees. Following this oppressive heat wave, a thunderstorm so violent that hail

Plants, Pets, and Poisons

5 min

Plants, Pets, and Poisons

Digging Deep with Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian Plants, Pets, and Poisons By Cynthia Brian “Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men or animals. Some seem to smile, some have a sad expression, some are pensive and diffident, others again are plain, honest, and upright.” Henry Ward Beecher And may I add…some are very poisonous! Since I was a child growing up on a farm, I have adopted and raised every type of creature, both domesticated and wild. Dogs, cats,

Spring Succession

4 min

Spring Succession

By Cynthia Brian “I’m grateful for the opportunity to live on this beautiful and astonishing Planet Earth. In the morning, I woke up with a sense of gratitude.” –Earl Nightingale In California, May reigns as one of the most colorful months of the year. Mother Nature has fully awakened from lingering winter doldrums to burst into bloom. The radiant combination of lush green lawns against cheerful vignettes of glowing, flowing flowers, trees, and shrubs is mesmerizing. Beauty,

Designing for Drought

5 min

Designing for Drought

By Cynthia Brian “That which surrounds you is within you.” ~ Karl Schmidt Days of heat followed by days of near-freezing cold! Out of nowhere, a beautiful hailstorm covers the ground in white pebbles. The weather forecasts sunshine or cloud cover, but no rain in future days. According to the New York Times, the seven hottest years on record globally were experienced in the last seven years. The atmospheric river of December provided a respite and a hopeful prospect for drough

Support UKRAINE, Drought Preparation, Evan Wycliff Mystery, Taxes

4 min

Support UKRAINE, Drought Preparation, Evan Wycliff Mystery, Taxes

We condemn Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine is the Shield of Europe defending the world from tyranny, it’s now or never to show your support for freedom and democracy in Ukraine and the world. https://www.comebackalive.in.ua Days of heat followed by days of near-freezing cold! Out of nowhere, a beautiful hailstorm covers the ground in white pebbles. The weather forecasts sunshine or cloud cover, but no rain in future days. Goddess Gardener, Cynthia Brian is an eter

Fabulous February Flora

4 min

Fabulous February Flora

“No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” Booker T. Washington PRESS PASS: https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2022/02/18/february-flora/ For the past two months, I’ve been working on writing a series of children’s books, a bit of prose, a bit of poetry. But with the ubiquitous sunny days and warm temperatures, digging in my garden wins the race. In the past, February has notoriously been a drab and dreary month, bu

Why I Garden, Virtual Wine Tasting, Success, Poems to Inspire

4 min

Why I Garden, Virtual Wine Tasting, Success, Poems to Inspire

There are so many reasons that we love to garden–rain, sleet, snow, or sunshine. Cynthia Brian shares the reasons that she works in nature and offers tips to incorporate ways to make this world a more beautiful place. Sommelier Heather Brittany visits StarStyle® to announce the Danza del Sol series of hosted virtual wine tastings where people anywhere in the world can learn about various varietals from the comfort of their homes. Think and drink! Do you revel in your mistake

Final Days of Fall, Holiday Tipping, Back Issues

3 min

Final Days of Fall, Holiday Tipping, Back Issues

Without a doubt, autumn is a beautiful time of the year with cooler weather and spectacular, ever-changing foliage. Since the weather is mild, it is still a great time to re-seed your lawn, cover bald spots, or seed a new lawn. You can also keep planting. Find out what to do before winter arrives. Are you baffled by the etiquette of holiday tipping? Do you need to tip more? We’ll relate tips from Emily Post’s great granddaughter to give you a heads up. Do you find yourself cr

Season of Gratitude, Counterfeit Goods, Smell Study

3 min

Season of Gratitude, Counterfeit Goods, Smell Study

Are you feeling grateful? December marks the season of gratitude and giving. Autumn boasts cooler weather and nature’s spectacular showcase of colorful leaves on shrubs and trees as we ramp up for holiday festivities. We show our appreciation for living. Have you bought a designer bag at a discount price only to find out that it was a fake? How can you reduce your chances of buying counterfeit products? There are red flags to be aware of and you’ll find out how to be a more s

Millennials Versus Boomers, Halloween Garden Ghouls, Volunteer to Succeed

2 min

Millennials Versus Boomers, Halloween Garden Ghouls, Volunteer to Succeed

Cynthia Brian wrote the book, Be the Star You Are!® Millennials to Boomers, Celebrating Gifts of Positive Voices in a Changing Digital World. But how far apart is the thinking between these generations. Discover some interesting insights. Buy the book at www.StarStyleStore.net The hot topic of conversation this week, especially for kids, is what is their special costume for Halloween. Gardeners are more concerned with the wicked phantoms that prowl in hallowed ground. It’s Ha

Weeds, Computer Shopping, Home Ergonomics

3 min

Weeds, Computer Shopping, Home Ergonomics

Spring is the most colorful season of the year with a cornucopia of bulbs, flowers, shrubs, and trees in bloom. It is also the time when Mother Nature shares the ornaments that most gardeners loathe…weeds! As many people work from home personal computers have become essential communication tools. What are the choices for today’s models? What do you look for when getting a new computer? Get the computer you need without the bells and whistles you don’t. Poor ergonomics can cau

Fall in a Pot

5 min

Fall in a Pot

Fall in a Pot! By Cynthia Brian “Truth comes out in wine.” Pliny the Elder “The people who give you their food give you their heart." Cesar Chavez The fires and smoke have ravaged farms and vineyards throughout Northern California, including my family vineyards in Napa County. The grapes are plump, juicy, and ripe. Harvesting would normally be in full swing this month, but, sadly, with so much smoke suffocating fields throughout the region, wineries require red grape samples

Sirius is Serious

5 min

Sirius is Serious

Sirius is Serious By Cynthia Brian “When the ancients first observed Sirius emerging as it were from the sun…they believed its power of heat to have been so excessive that…the Sea boiled, the Wine turned sour, Dogs grew mad, and all other creatures became languid.” John Brady, 1813, a Compendious Analysis of the Calendar. Forever the optimist, when I penned my last column, The Dog Days of Summer, (http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1413/Digging-Deep-with-Cynthia-Bria

Dog Days of Summer

5 min

Dog Days of Summer

LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Digging Deep with Cynthia Brian, the Goddess Gardener, for August http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1413/Digging-Deep-with-Cynthia-Brian-the-Goddess-Gardener-for-August-The-Dog-Days-of-Summer.html 8-20 DD Dog Days of Summer Digging Deep with Cynthia Brian, the Goddess Gardener, for August The Dog Days of Summer By Cynthia Brian “Dog Days bright and clear, indicate a happy year!” The Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1817 Sirius, the Dog Star, rises in summer

Some Like it Hot!

5 min

Some Like it Hot!

https://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue1412/Digging-Deep-with-Goddess-Gardener-Cynthia-Brian-Some-like-it-hot.html By Cynthia Brian “Summer afternoon -- summer afternoon; the two most beautiful words in the English language.” Henry James The blackberry bushes flanked the horse stables on my grandparents’ ranch. My grandmother was a genuine horse whisperer. She lovingly cared for a herd of adopted steeds and rode in parades in her fancy Western wear. She even trained the

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