Spring

Doug Bowler Think spring and a few things spring to mind: renewal, weeds, change, blooms, cleaning, eggs and fever. In keeping with the season our library welcomes a new addition to the staff and a good egg he is. Librarian Jim McCarty has signed on to head the reference department, pleading a feverish desire to work tirelessly to direct our patrons to the information they need and want. Jim, who comes to us after working a the University of Arizona Library and Stratford Academy, is looking forward to the change of working with patrons of all ages in a public library.

Lie on your back on a breezy sweep of beach and stare at the undersides of magnificent frigate birds. — Ellen Meloy in “Eating Stone” After cold days and rain, spring has arrived, albeit early, like an abrupt exhalation. Where there was only drab brown and gray, verdant, velvety green lies on the hills, mottled with splashes of orange, yellow, and purple. Caught up in the delight of it all, I drift off, somewhere else in my mind… Lying in the deep green grass, I can smell the red-brown earth beneath me, still damp from recent rain.

STEVE KAWARATANI "And in green underwood and cover Blossom by blossom the spring begins." --Algernon Charles Swinburne "A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." --Robert Frost Spring is in the air in Laguna ... a time for green growth and blossoms. It is nearing the end of winter and words like dormant spray and bare root roses return to the horticultural lexicon until next year. Fertilize everything ... shrubs, trees, perennials and the lawn.

Artists from the Sawdust Art Festival will teach a range of classes during the annual Spring Into Art seminars. Classes take place on three weekends in March -- March 11 and 12, 18 and 19, and 25 and 26. Saturday classes run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday classes take place from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Class offerings range from John Barber's class in glass blowing, to Olivia Batchelder's class in silk painting. There will be classes in wire-wrap jewelry, beginning acrylic painting, gourd and basket weaving, landscape painting, doll making, crocheting, floral design and more.

Surfers of all ages took part in the Laguna Surf and Sport Spring Fever Surfabout last weekend. Seven athletes won division titles at the 11th annual event, which started Saturday and concluded Monday at Thalia Street beach. Below are the top finishes in all divisions: * Girls: 1. Alisa Cairns; 2. Staci Diggins; 3. Marlee Grosher; 4. Maddy Kristensen; 5. Coco Putnam; 6. Dakota Shyres. Elementary: 1. Bobby Gavin; 2. Tre Lockhart; 3. Colton Gregory; 4. Julian Goldberg; 5. Tai Diggins; 6. Sam Nelsen; 7. Kiko Nelsen.

STEVE KAWARATANI "Nothing is so beautiful as spring..." --Gerard Manley Hopkins "The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible..." --Edwin Way Teale I've been surprised, like many of us, by early spring's desire to bring rain, wind and cold temperatures this week. But now, we really expect spring to March in. Nothing is quite as beautiful as a sunny day in Laguna. Catharine has dedicated her weekends to her orchids and has been harvesting snap peas, responsibly controlling the first outbreak of aphids with Ultra Fine oil -- without harming our lady bugs and wild birds -- and is contemplating the possibility of tomatoes.

Kathy Selevan When a person joins the PTA at a local school they become a member of a much larger family. All members of the PTAs at our schools also belong to the local PTA Council, the Fourth District PTA, the California State PTA and the National PTA. Members who are willing to get involved at any level are a valuable resource for starting and maintaining programs and projects to benefit our children and the ...