Big, Bad & Ugly Surf Contest 2009
by Kevin Cole

Morro Rock by Dennis Young

USCG Surf Boats by Malcolm Riordan

Great Blue Heron by Nan Carder

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Peregrine Falcon Image on Banner by Cleve Nash

Atascadero Writers Group

Neptune, Roman
God of the Sea and Water,
needs some distraction
from his Godly duties.

Read More

Frustrated Local Writer by Rose Marie Zurkan (New Writer!)

She stands outside the door holding a can of hairspray. "Is this yours?" she asks. I say no. "Somebody threw it in the incinerator. You're not supposed to throw spray cans in the incinerator. They can explode."
"I don't use hair spray."
"Everybody uses hair spray." Read More

Genie's Pocket by Jeanie Greensfelder

Stowaway

She stows away inside me,
watches for shadows to tag,
and says, Don't step on cracks.

She waves at me in the mirror
and makes faces until I laugh.  Read More

Great Shots by Jerry Kirkhart & Steve Corey

Our photo editors bring you some of their favorite coastal images for the month. This month's featured local photographers are Dawn Beattie, Mimi Ditchie, Fred Moore, Bill Bouton, Bob Canepa, Tom Bronstad, Steve Corey, Gary Powell, Linda McDonald, Anita Ritenour, Cheryl Strahl, Jerry Kirkhart, James Crawford, Nan Calora, Don Henderson, Janice Darby, Beedie Savage, Michelle Maani, Don Quintana, Linda Tanner, Dave Lawrence, Elizabeth Haslam, Beth Sargent, Patrick James, Alice Cahill, Dave Pasillas, Lace Anderson, Ashala Tylor, Rob DeGraff, and Howard Ignatius. See More

Mostly Music by Dawn Starr (New Column)

Brett and Julia Mitchell make beautiful music together . . . and apart. But how these two got to their shared lives as local musicians took each down very different paths.  Read More

One Poet's Perspective by Jane Elsdon

Brilliant orange and black Monarch butterflies fluttered, drifted, and soared in the blue and gold sky of a perfect March day in Pismo Beach like a spring version of autumn leaves in flight.  The towering eucalyptus grove on Highway 1, known for its butterfly trees, is the migratory home of the plentiful fragile winged creatures.  Today it was like a monumental magnet aswirl with them.  Read More

Opera SLO by Kathryn Bumpass

Opera San Luis Obispo launches this year's salon series on Sunday, February 10, at 2pm with the Valentine's Day theme of "That's Amore."  The recital will be held in the elegant Garden Room of the Madonna Inn. Guest artists include Ben Bliss, tenor; D'Ana Lombard, soprano; and Kosta Popovic, piano. Read More

Practicing Poetic Justice by Deborah Tobola

When I was still working at the California Men's Colony, preparing to leave my position of artist/facilitator to start Poetic Justice Project, several inmates told me I had to meet Bull Chaney, a man who came into the institution to lead 12-step groups and Native American sweat lodge ceremonies. Read More

Shutterbugs, Featuring Donald Quintana

Wildlife and nature are my obsessions. I think they always have been. Often times I blame my Native American bloodline, though, much like my hairline, that excuse is getting a little bit thin. I have always had a passion for nature.  Read More

Slo Coast Cooking by Elise Griffith

Growing up, waste was a dirty word in my household. I attribute this to the fact that my mom was born at the end of the Great Depression, and her mother never, ever threw anything away that might still have a use. Therefore, the only time my lovely, classy, proper mom swore was when she was cleaning out the refrigerator and tossing unintended science experiments into the trash bin. Read More

The Joy of Sexus by Vicki Leon

Now that I've reached my seventh decade, people often ask me, "What has compelled you to study the ancient world all these years?" Less tactful friends are apt to mutter, "What on earth drove you to ruin your eyesight on such dry and dusty material?" Read More

 

Valencia Peak Panorama by Howard Ignatius