Lifestyle

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev. — Thunderous blasts of fireworks kicked off the destruction of the proverbial Burning Man Saturday night as residents of this temporary city in the desert cheered. The Man burn is the high point of a frenetic week in which 70,000 people build and occupy a city on the desert about two hours north of Reno.

Urban landscape design can be repetitious to extravagant, lush to ridiculously sterile. Landscape design is a contrived artistic system of imposed order. It can complement and encourage the ecology of an area or fight against it. Often designs are not integrated with the natural environment.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most significant greenhouse gas and it plays a major role in global warming and climate change. Organic carbon in the soil and plant biomass (plants and their debris) originates from atmospheric CO2.

Recently, a senior Chihuahua named Dash was reunited with his family — after eight years — all thanks to a microchip.

He had gone missing as a pup from his own backyard, apparently spent time with another family in between, then once again wound up lost. He did have a microchip, but his person had moved out of state and reaching her took longer than anticipated.

Whether you scent your linens, buy perfumed soaps, add it as a food flavoring, make essential oils or simply enjoy its flowers, lavender is a garden delight. On a warm summer morning, you will find it covered in bees collecting nectar and pollen. Lavandula angustifolia, commonly known as English lavender, is the hardiest species for our area.

I’m a fan of hummingbirds. They are amazing aerobatic wizards. They can fly in all directions including backwards and upside down at speeds of 30 to 45 mph. They can hover like miniature helicopters. They beat their wings 60 to 200 times per second. These tiny powerhouses weigh about as much as a penny, in some cases, yet they are fierce defenders of their territory.

My friend Ronni wrote me “Got a dilemma for you. Is there something attacking birch trees locally? I note not only is our birch looking sickly, but many around us are looking the same or are dead. Our once robust tree is only 17. Can I save it, or is it a goner?”

Reaching out to those who don't fit in at a traditional church - bikers, addicts, alcoholics, lost, lonely and broken.

12000 Highway 50 East, Gene Stewart, 775-230-2791.

Plants are more sensitive to changes in temperature than humans are. Not only are they stuck where they are planted, temperature plays a critical role in plant processes. Photosynthesis, the process by which green plants capture the energy of the sun and convert it to sugar energy (plant food) using carbon dioxide, nutrients from the soil and water, increases with heat.

Come join the fun! Bring your bike, helmet, and water and ride with us! A wonderful group of ladies is out there every week pedaling and encouraging each other! All levels welcome! Ride at your own pace, the group will stop frequently to regroup! Plenty of distance options! Participants will be asked to sign a waiver. Meet at Foothill Rd. off Winnie Lane in Carson City.

Since 1989 the annual Nevada Day Classic, an 8K Run or 2-mile Run/Walk presented by the Tahoe Mountain Milers, brings together hundreds of runners and walkers of all shapes and sizes — as Halloween costumes are encouraged — who hit the streets of the historic West Side of Carson City with Guide Dog Puppies-in-Training serving as course marshals to woof them on! Families and groups can participate in the walk, enjoy the race breakfast, and help celebrate Nevada by enjoying the Nevada Day Parade that immediately follows the Classic.

We just completed National Pollinator Week, a designation that recognizes all that pollinators do for our food supply, environment and economy. Last year the Obama administration released a “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators” led by U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Nevada Division of Tourism, also known as TravelNevada, has been awarded the public relations industry’s most distinguished honor — an elusive Silver Anvil — for its “Don’t Fence Me In” millennial marketing campaign.

People are asking about earwigs. Earwigs are easily recognized with rather alarming-looking pincers on their tail ends. These unappealing pests can devastate young vegetables, flowers, soft fruits or corn silks.

In spite of this, earwigs, believe it or not, are also beneficial. Being omnivores, they eat aphids, other insects, mites, nematodes, algae and fungi. They eat and break down organic matter, which includes dying and dead plants or ripened fruits.

Gardeners like to grow tomatoes. There are over 2,000 varieties available worldwide. Many are hybrids. Hybrid tomatoes were initially bred to reduce disease problems and increase yield. Now, breeders focus on developing varieties that not only resist diseases and other problems, but also taste good. Some popular hybrids include Early Girl, Celebrity, Big Boy or Better Boy.

Water restrictions began June 1 in Carson City. Even addresses are allowed to water on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while odd addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. Monday is a no watering day for everyone.

Wanted: A family, made up of one human or several, who will provide unconditional love, support and care, as well as a comfy bed, toys, yummy treats and unlimited belly rubs and the occasional long walk on the beach.

Nevada Magazine’s 2016 Great Nevada Picture Hunt is now open for submissions. For 39 years, Nevada Magazine has highlighted the most beautiful images from around the Silver State, captured by local photographers.

Vegetable gardening in containers not only rewards a gardener with tasty veggies, but also provides an enjoyable creative outlet. However, whether you plant your veggies in the ground or in containers, you may want to think beyond the traditional tomato plant.

"I’m Alexia. I’m an Angel Pet.” This statement is just the beginning of a special adoption campaign at Nevada Humane Society in Carson City.

Featuring nearly two dozen cats and dogs with unique conditions, Angel Pets highlight those who are in need of a loving home even more than anyone else — and from June 2 through June 12, you can visit with these precious pets and fall in love yourself, thanks to a grant provided by the ASPCA.*

I have discovered a new weed to hate in my yard. Although its scientific name is Galium aparine (Latin for “to seize”), I prefer its more descriptive common names: sticky weed, cleavers, stickywilly, robin-run-the hedge, Velcro weed, goosegrass, or catchweed bedstraw.

People use many fertilizer products to achieve a picture-perfect landscape and a high-yield vegetable garden, often without awareness of what is best for their plants, their soil or the environment. Timing of application and amounts of fertilizers are important because if applied in excess, they can be leached into groundwater and pollute our waterways.

Enjoy a bird walk, biking with Muscle Powered, and breakfast at the Red House this Saturday. The annual open house at Silver Saddle Ranch starts at 8 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m.
Go here for the Facebook page for more information and click second photo twice to enlarge the flier.

For some gardeners, a green velvety expanse of lawn is their horticulture motivation. To achieve a healthy lawn, a gardener should know how to reduce thatch through core aerification, how to fertilize and mow properly and how to irrigate efficiently.

Forgive me in advance because this is extremely personal but I felt it was something all of us can relate to. So many amazing people adopt senior pets from Nevada Humane Society, and we all know that many of them live long into their teens. Some of us raise them as newborns with them by our side for years. Inevitably, the end will always come, but my recent struggle was how do you know when to say goodbye?

Gardening can beat up an aging gardener. When we are young, we rarely think about the amount of strain various gardening activities put on different parts of our body. We are flexible and resilient in our youth, and even if an activity hurts, we recover quickly.

This spectacular Washoe Valley photo was submitted by John Spielmann.

Several hundred plants spanning 60 varieties, including vegetables, squash, strawberries, melons, cucumbers, herbs, and perennial and annual flowers will be available May 7 at Carson City’s Greenhouse Project behind Carson High School.

In the 1990s, new insecticides containing the active ingredient imidachloprid came on the market. They were easy for home gardeners to apply, reducing impacts on non-target organisms. They were effective against a variety of challenging insects including bronze birch borers and aphids.