Test PB Collection: FTE

My mother adored pepperblack, red, green, hot, sweet, any kind. She used so much cracked pepper in our meals that most of them looked as if they were dug out of a gravel pit. I used to sulkily scrape it off while she told me I didn't know what was good. Times and tastes have changed, though.

Hearing a queen bee piping is music to her ears. So is the shimmering sound of the harp.

A wide variety of citrus fruits brighten winter gardens and winter menus this month. Tasks Control cool-season weeds before they mature and go to seed. Plants planted last spring and fall may need water if rainfall has been inadequate.

Just because it is wintertime doesn't mean that bees, which are important pollinators for our flowers, fruits and vegetables, don't need food. Plants and shrubs can provide pollen, nectar, or both to bees in our late winter and early spring.

The annual UC Davis Bio Boot Camps not only connect youths with nature, but with each other. Meet Cole Cramer, and Connor Hsu, both 15, and both students at La Canada High School, La Caada Flintridge, Calif.

It takes some time, patience, and an eye for the ultimate look, but you will be amazed during the whole journey! Tune in and get small! Learn more and listen to "In The Garden" radio show podcasts.

Santa Claus and the monarch butterfly share a commonality. Both are icons, easily recognizable. One may become extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Dec. 10 its plans to add the monarch butterfly to its list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Delta rice acreage has been steadily increasing, and yields are comparable with the statewide average. I estimate that acreage approached, if not exceeded, 15,000 acres in 2024. This article is my seasonal update on UCCE Delta rice research and observations.

Back in 2010, UC Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and yours truly, department communications specialist, wondered why no insects appear in "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Zero. Zilch. Nada.

If you have some free time during the holidays--free time, what's that?--and you're interested in insects, you'll want to watch a series of UC Davis insect "infomercials.