Harmony Outhouse by Kevin Cole
Cedar Waxwing by Cleve Nash
"Seasons Come, Seasons Go" by Judy Sullivan
Double-crested, Brandt, and Pelagic Cormorants by Maggie Smith
Be Back Tomorrow by Chuck Abbe
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Peregrine Falcon Image on Banner by Cleve Nash

Ask the Doc by Dr. Robert Swain

We made it through Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  Now we have Christmas and New Years to look forward to.  All those parties.  What is a person supposed to do? Read More

Beyond the Badge by Richard Hannibal

A breeze drifted gently in the tall trees and the morning sun sent shafts of light to the moss-covered floor of the forest. A stream passed over smooth rocks with increasing eagerness to join the sea. Gentle creatures scurried in the shadows preparing for the coming day. A constant chatter in the treetops joined the morning chorus, while butterflies danced in the advancing light.  Read More

Best Friends by Malcolm Riordan, DVM

There have been many times she has cried and said things, snuggled in all close and warm, her face buried wet and salty into mine. Damp soft sobs, breathing, murmuring words. I've never minded. In fact, I like it. That's just how my Best Friend and I are. Fifteen years of togetherness, we know each other's ways. But her crying is different this time, she's not saying things, she's holding me tighter.  Read More

California State Parks

Do we have a job for you! Become a docent for the California State Parks in San Luis Obispo County. Work with the public or behind the scenes to help people enjoy, understand, and protect the natural and cultural wonders of the Central Coast. The docent programs are a great way to invest your time in worthwhile activities, to meet people who share your interests, and to continue to learn.  Read More

Double Vision by Shana Ogren

Do languages tear us apart or connect us together?  English, Spanish, French, African Bantu languages, Hebrew, sign language . . . what a world!  Communicating with others is important to me, and hence it is necessary to learn many languages.  If you can't understand each other, how can you become friends? Read More

Exploring the Coast by Ruth Ann Angus

In merry olde England the Christmas table contained many delicious platters like plum pudding, roasts, codfish cakes, peas porridge and fruit pies. But the epitome of the holiday dinner had to be the main course, the Christmas goose. I suspect that this bird was the domestic variety, grown solely for the purpose of consumption, although wild geese have been and still are hunted in order to grace the holiday table. Read More

Feel Better Forever by Brian Dorfman

Scott had played in 119 consecutive games since 2004, yet was off the field recently due to an injury to his big toe. Scott is in good company. Chargers LaDainian Tomlinson, Darren McFadden of the Oakland Raiders and 49ers Terrell Owens and Pierre Garcon of the Washington Redskins have all suffered the same fate. Read More

Go Green by Lawson Schaller

Holiday shopping is upon us and the choices we make in gift giving have an impact on the environment and our local economy. Read More 

The Human Condition by John Bullaro

The Supreme Court's recent decisions dealt citizens of the United States two foul balls. One declares corporations as persons, entitled to First Amendment protection. The second foul ball allows Super PACs big pools of unregulated and non traceable funds, to sully the election process by buying media advertising that paints an opposition candidate with lies and distortions.  Read More

Northern Chumash Tribal Council

The Eagle and the Condor is an ancient Amazon prophecy that speaks of human societies splitting into two paths – that of the Eagle, and that of the Condor. The path of the Condor is the path of heart, of intuition, and of the feminine. The path of the Eagle is the path of the mind, of the industrial, and of the masculine. Read More

Observations of a Country Squire by George Zidbeck

This past October, I shared with Slo Coast Journal readers an incident wherein I, at age 11 or 12, drafted a younger brother and sister to help me bake a cake while our parents were away at the movie house. Although that first effort culminated in a fiasco, my mother later helped me to bake my first cake.  Read More

One Cool Earth by Greg Ellis

Before Wal Mart, Albertson's, Safeway, the downtown grocery, the market, even before agriculture as we know it, even before the agriculture our grandparents knew, there was the forest.  I mean this in two senses — not only that our modern food system is often built on top of the forest, but also in the sense that the forest was a sprawling, ancient, and abundant convenience store.  Read More

Surfing Out Of The Box by Charles Loe

There is a difference between people who surf and those who are true surfers. A person who surfs might be wearing the newest surfing fashion craze, but probably has not gotten in the water for weeks. A person who surfs likes to go to the beach to surf and to get a tan. A surfer, on the other hand, usually only goes to the beach to surf, and couldn't care less about what he looks like with zinc all over his face. Read More

As our world's most extreme recyclers, From War to Peace has decided to make the hippest, most meaningful jewelry created on our planet affordable to all in these challenging economic times. Two-thirds of all FWTP jewelry offerings will now retail for less than $30.