Pine

Taking advantage of statewide moisture in the forecast, the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will conduct prescribed fire operations across several portions of the forest this week as part of the forest’s hazardous fuels reduction effort and active forest management program. Also, weather and conditions permitting, the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team will continue widespread prescribed fire operations this week in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

I glanced up from my paper this morning to see a news alert: "Hammerin' Hank Aaron Dies at 86!" Oh, no! My memory raced away, back to 1974, where in the face of numerous death threats, Hank went after the Babe's revered homerun record, and smashed it. I wish I could have known him.

Like Will Rogers, I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm an OLTACer, as in Old Lake Tahoe Athletic Club, "Old" being the operative word. Yes, we are 10 members strong, and our good-natured motto is, "I don't give a (fill in the blank with your own inappropriate word) what you think."

It has become my obsession over the past 10 months to ascertain exactly how little or next to nothing I can do, and still be counted as, "amongst the living." This act of social downsizing has taken me all the way down to the examination of lullabies.

One of the most overlooked pieces of noteworthy scientific advancement buried by the pandemic of 2020 occurred in Uruguay. Yes, right out of Ripley's Believe It or Not, a group of Uruguayan scientists announced that they had successfully modified the genetic makeup of a group of sheep to make them glow in the dark.

The 121st annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be held this Saturday Jan. 2, 2021. This event is counting all birds with a 15 mile diameter circle covering the area contained approximately by the Carson River on the north, the Pine Nut foothills on the East, Bodie Flats on the South and Foothill Road on the West.

Most of us might agree, 2020 was the annus horribilis of our lifetime. But just as the darkest cloud has a silver lining, 2020 has offered one thing about which we can all brag and be proud. I can't think of what that one thing might be just now, though it does occur to me that learning how to cut our own hair might be a thing to celebrate and be genuinely proud, unless of course you're a barber.

Federal funds made available through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency have been awarded to jurisdictions in the state of Nevada for Phase 38. The eligible spending period for Phase 38 is January 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021. The following is a list of the awards for northern Nevada jurisdictions (counties) including Carson City, Douglas, Lyon and Washoe.

This time of year I always think about Cappy. In charge of Ski Incline in the early days, Cappy Cook was a hail-fellow-well-met, on and off the slopes. He played in the Rose Bowl for Stanford in '52, ran a packing outfit in Yosemite, coached our Junior National Ski Team, and his handshake would leave me crippled for days, so of course I never ventured to give him a hug.

This evening was "The Great Conjunction" of Jupiter and Saturn. They started out low in the sky but were very visible. Photos were taken off of Pine Lane in north Carson City with a Nikon Coolpix P-1000, which has a substantial zoom. As an added bonus I just had to zoom into the moon and capture it as well.

Science has always been a passion of mine, partly because I flunked science in high school and have never understood why. But I stumbled upon a gemstone of science the other day that would make the most lettered academic in the world smile.

When Bobby Kennedy was tragically shot and killed in 1968, his killer was set upon and wrestled to the ground by Rafer Johnson. For those too young to remember, Rafer Johnson was the first black captain of a United States Olympic Team, and was crowned the best all-around athlete in the world when he won the decathlon in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

The Nevada State Museum, Carson City, will reopen Wednesday; visitors will be able to learn about pine trees during the Curator’s Corner presentations from 1 to 3 p.m. Additionally, the museum this Saturday will resume its weekly demonstrations of historic Coin Press No. 1, minting a special medallion honoring Nevada’s health care heroes.

Most of us have long known from personal experience that humor, laughter and smiling are good for us. So it is reassuring to read Doctor Miller's assessment: “Heightened stress magnifies the risk of cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes. Having a good sense of humor is an excellent way to relieve stress and anxiety and bring back a sense of normalcy during these turbulent times."


On our walk today I was commenting to my husband “I can’t believe two pine trees could lose that many needles!” This was after I spent a number of hours raking the needles up from the driveway. My next question was “Can I compost pine needles?”

The prevailing belief amongst leaders of nine nuclear powers is that Weapons of Mass Destruction are a deterrent. So far so good. However, there is also a belief simmering in the minds of a few revanchists, that WMDs might be useful in exacting retaliation or retribution for various grievances.

Miramonte High School didn’t have a swimming pool, so we students got together and dug one, well, we collected enough money from the community to dig one, and the entire village turned out for the dedication.

The USDA Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will begin selling Christmas tree permits online beginning Monday, Nov. 16.

Hobbes was wrong. Life is not nasty, brutish and short. Life is nasty, and brutish, but long enough to embrace civic grace, public good and a life of purpose. By coming together in 2021 we can turn a horse chestnut into a chestnut horse, and join Dinah Washington in singing, "This bitter earth may not be so bitter after all."

Phunny, the things our minds turn to when left to daydreaming in the midst of a pandemic. At times we torture ourselves with guilt over the slightest of grievances. Today, for me, it was my little brother, Luigi. His real name was Larry, but along the way, for some reason, I don't know why, we started calling him Luigi.

My friend Kristen and I were discussing that fall is the best time for planting almost everything. Not only are plants on sale at nurseries, the soil is warm and the weather is cool, which is less stressful on newly installed plants.

I have a Huckleberry friend who has kept me humored during the pandemic. Huck is a Steller's jay, his species is named for an 18th century German naturalist, but his name comes from a boy who had some adventures out on the Mississippi River in the 19th century, as immortalized by Mark Twain.

Heading into the weekend, there’s a bevy of activities around the Carson City region. The Nevada Day Golf Tournament in remembrance of Mayor Bob Crowell will be held at Silver Oak Ranch Golf Course on Saturday. Dozens of fundraisers, including the Benson’s Feed 4 Paws 4-H group, will be scattered throughout the Carson City and Gardnerville areas. Combined with live music and several dinner specials, the state capital will be buzzing with excitement! Read on for more information.

UPDATE 10:17PM: A 72-year-old male pedestrian was seriously injured and flown to the trauma ward at Renown Medical Center in Reno Monday night following a vehicle crash near a crosswalk at the intersection of Hot Springs Road and Pine Lane. Carson City Sheriff's Office Sgt. Nate Brehm said the driver of the vehicle is cooperating and told officers she didn't see the man.

Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor, said Brehm. The victim was conscious and suffered injuries to his leg and hip. NHP is also involved in the accident investigation.

It was a stroke of luck that Sam Clemens happened to hear a stump speech, satirize it, and send it over to the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City, as that speech, and the letter it fostered, would trail blaze the literary birth of Mark Twain.

CARSON CITY — Western Nevada College and the University of Nevada Reno Extension are among recent federal grant recipients to receive financial packages to make distance learning upgrades and aid in the expansion of educational services in 14 rural counties.

This Saturday I will drive a good friend with 93 years of knowledge to our voting place where we will cancel each other out. It's the American way. Voting is the most American thing we do. My mother and father took great delight in canceling each other every four years without damaging their sweet relationship in the least.

Ms. Moser. What a great lady. She knew what was happening in every time zone, and she understood adolescents better than any adult back when I was an incorrigible adolescent myself. She was our speech teacher in high school when I was deathly afraid of public speaking. I would rather have a coyote gnaw on my arm than to have to speak in public.

Six Carson City and one Lyon County project are among 16 statewide recipients of Community Development Block Grant funding through a federal program administered by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, officials announced Monday.

With help from the community of Carson City, Full Circle Compost received all sorts of green waste from residents in the first year of Waste Management’s green-waste recycling program.