5+ mon, 2+ week ago  (480+ words) DEAR JOAN: We have an opossum living at the base of a shrub in our side yard. We generally don't go near there, only when we take the garbage to the curb weekly. My husband is talking about trimming some…...

1+ mon, 4+ week ago  (554+ words) DEAR JOAN: I have recently been dealing with an in-house rodent resident. With the help of a humane exclusion service we finally located its nest in the mattress of my sofa bed! I am now faced with the dilemma of…...

1+ week, 3+ day ago  (462+ words) DEAR JOAN: I am so confused about milkweed plants. A few years ago I read that the non-native plants, which we may have, are safe for monarchs if you prune way back well before spring starts, like January or February....

5+ mon, 1+ week ago  (435+ words) DEAR JOAN: There is something that I have noticed for years, and I finally decided to ask the only expert I know. At the southbound Thornton Avenue exit to Interstate 880 in Newark, there are some power lines that extend all…...

3+ mon, 1+ week ago  (608+ words) Inching through the beam of light, an alien creature crawled across the surface of the sand, resembling an inch-long cluster of ghostly leaves fringed with silvery filigree and capped with a pair of antennae-like stalks. "It immediately caught my eye,…...

7+ mon, 2+ week ago  (563+ words) The early September death of a female puma along the highway connecting Riverside and Orange counties in the Santa Ana Mountains has wildlife advocates calling for more protection for California's vulnerable mountain lion population. Officials from the'California Carnivores Program at…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago  (388+ words) DEAR JOAN: I'm a bit perplexed about these birds who prefer bathing and drinking out of my little flower pot drain dish rather than use the nice big bird bath. I keep having to fill up the little drain dish…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago  (740+ words) There's trouble in the Paradise Community Garden in Ashland after the U. S. Department of Agriculture abruptly canceled a key pipeline for young, underserved farmers in the Bay Area last month due to alleged discrimination that utilized "DEI" measures. Communities are already…...

1+ mon, 2+ hour ago  (535+ words) DEAR JOAN: Decades ago, garden snails were ubiquitous. They would leave tiny silver trails of slime on the walkways early in the morning, but I haven't seen a snail in years. The folklore I heard was that they were imported…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago  (561+ words) DEAR JOAN: I recently set up a birdhouse with a camera. What I initially thought was a bluebird checking it out turned out to be a scrub jay. It keeps peeking and jumping into the house but not staying or…...