NOAA has run OSCURS (Ocean Surface Current Simulator), a numeric model for ocean surface currents, to predict the movement of marine debris generated by the Japan tsunami over five years. The results are shown here. Year 1 = red; Year 2 = orange; Year 3 = yellow; Year 4 = light blue; Year 5 = violet. The OCSURS model is used to measure the movement of surface currents over time, as well as the movement of what is in or on the water. Map courtesy of J. Churnside (NOAA OAR) and created through Google.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies are teaming up to document and track potential marine debris generated by the Japan earthquake and tsunami in March.
EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will issue a monthly bulletin to keep key stakeholders informed about tsunami debris activities, an effort resulting from an EPA lead marine debris workshop held in June in Honolulu.
The workshop, part of the regular Oceania Regional Response Team meeting, explored options for a coordinated response to the tsunami debris.
The ORRT, comprised of federal, state and U.S. Territory agencies, has an area of responsibility that includes Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Follow up meetings resulted in a coordinated strategy for reporting of debris sightings.
An advisory was issued to U.S. flag vessels at the end of September by the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) requesting voluntary reporting of significant debris sightings in the open ocean to better characterize the extent and nature of the debris field.
“EPA and NOAA's efforts with our federal and state partners will paint a clearer picture of the amount of debris that may be floating on the ocean,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “The federal government needs to be prepared to take action if tsunami debris poses navigational hazards or washes up on our shores.”
In March 2011 the Japanese tsunami triggered by the Great Tohoku Earthquake released what is estimated to be millions of tons of debris into the Pacific Ocean, according to the EPA.
Precise estimates are not available, although figures of between five and 20 million tons have been quoted. The Japanese Ministry of the Environment reported that the total quantity of waste from the earthquake and tsunami in that country totaled 25 tons.
University of Hawaii scientists have developed computer models that predict debris from the tsunami could potentially reach Hawaii by March 2012 and the U.S. West Coast by March 2013.
During the Sept. 17 Coastal Cleanup Day, the California Coastal Commission and U.S. EPA Region 9 worked together to evaluate what California's coast looks like in a “normal” year, which will serve as a baseline that can help identify debris surges in the future.
For more information on EPA Region 9’s marine debris efforts and to subscribe to the Tsunami Debris Bulletin and receive it via email visit: http://www.epa.gov/region9/marine-debris/ .
For more information on Tsunami Debris and the NOAA Marine Debris Program visit:
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following Saturday's showers, rain is expected to taper off but return later in the coming week.
The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for interior Northern California, explaining that a cold Pacific storm is bringing more winter weather, including snow over higher elevations in the Coastal Range and the Sierra Nevada.
Forecasters predicted a 100-percent chance of showers overnight Saturday and into Sunday morning, with showers likely to continue after 11 a.m.
Sunday is expected to be mostly cloudy with light winds and temperatures in the 50s, with a similar forecast for Monday and Monday evening, the National Weather Service predicted.
Tuesday could be partly sunny, with daytime temperatures edging into the 60s, but the National Weather Service said there will be a chance of rain throughout the rest of the week.
The rain caused some minor rock slides around Lake County on Saturday, including one on Highway 20 at Scotts Valley Road, reported shortly after 3 p.m., and another on Highway 175, where two large boulders had rolled into the roadway, according to the California Highway Patrol.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County's team of game wardens has increased over the course of this year, which is leading to more enforcement on the lake and the land.
In January, several new wardens joined the local ranks after having finished the California Department of Fish and Game Academy last summer, according to Fish and Game Lt. Loren Freeman.
That brings the number of local wardens to six, he said.
“We're real excited about that,” Freeman said.
Freeman said for about a year and a half there were only three local wardens working Lake and part of Mendocino County, with the other three positions existing vacancies.
New hires at the start of the year from the 54th academy include Mark Michilizzi, John Holley and Tim Little, according to Mike Carion, Fish and Game Academy director and assistant chief of Northern California.
Michilizzi is based in Middletown, Holley in Clearlake and Little in Lucerne, said Freeman.
“We're able to adequately enforce Lake County now with a full squad,” said Michilizzi.
The balance of the force includes Freeman, assigned to Lake County over the past four years and based in Clearlake Oaks; Erika Manes, who Carion said transferred to Hopland and whose husband completed the academy in August 2010; and Lakeport-based Warden Mike Pascoe, who transferred to Fish and Game from the Lake County Sheriff's Office about three years ago, and who Freeman called “an awesome warden.”
Thanks to the increased ranks of local wardens, Freeman said they're looking at increased enforcement efforts both on Clear Lake and local lands.
Increased interest in becoming a warden
“We're the law enforcement agency for the state as far as natural resource violations,” explained Freeman.
Not only does that include protecting animals, but also monitoring rules that apply to water bodies, including rivers, creeks or lakes, he said.
Fish and Game said California's 159,000 square miles is home to habitat and wildlife diversity that is unequaled by any other state, including more than 1,100 miles of coastline, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, 4,800 lakes and reservoirs and 80 major rivers, three of the four North American Desert habitats, scores of high mountain peaks, more than 1,000 native fish and wildlife species, more than 6,300 native plant species and approximately 360 threatened or endangered species.
The agency reported that it issues approximately three million licenses and permits annually, and more than 300 million pounds of fish is landed commercially in California each year.
Carion said the Fish and Game Academy runs once a year, for 30 weeks.
He said the academy is certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, and covers all basic peace officer training with additional Fish and Game topics and training.
The academy aims for about 40 cadets a year, and has about a 10 percent rate of those who don't finish for various reasons, Carion said.
This year, interest in a Fish and Game career is up, Carion said.
“This is one of the better years we've had in a long time,” he said.
He attributes that to the new television show, “Wild Justice,” on the National Geographic Channel, which follows the work of California's wardens.
“Our interest rate peaked quite a bit” after the show came out, said Carion.
As a result, earlier this year the academy moved classrooms around in order to accommodate 50 hopeful cadets, with 47 actually starting, Carion said.
“Once they get out of the academy they started a field officer training program, and that's 12 weeks long,” said Carion.
They can be paired with another warden anywhere in the state, at the end of which Carion said they're assigned to their own solo position.
He said they normally lose between one and three cadets per class during the field training process.
Before a cadet even enters the academy, they know where they will be stationed once they've completed their training. Carion said that's to avoid having people go through the training only to drop out if they don't like an assignment.
All vacancies in the ranks of wardens are advertised to current wardens, Carion explained. When no one in the field asks for the assignment, the positions are then offered to cadets, Carion explained.
The cadets' ability to pick their own spot is based on a formula that includes whether they're a current or past state employee, if they've ever worked for Fish and Game, if they have a bachelor's or associate's degree and an interview process, Carion said. “There's several layers of ranking.”
In the agency overall, about 60 to 70 percent of wardens have a bachelor's degree, said Carion, with a large part of the remainder having associates degrees or equivalent units.
The ranks of wardens have been cut back over the past decade. According to the California Game Wardens Association, there are fewer game wardens on the job today than in 1975.
Game Warden Patrick Foy, spokesman for Fish and Game's law enforcement division, said there are 240 wardens statewide. “Those are wardens on the ground, day to day, on patrol throughout the state,” he said.
That's the highest number of wardens since about 2000, due to very limited hiring from about 2000 to 2008, which Foy said was a result in part both of budget and hiring difficulties for the agency.
“Wardens are some of the lowest paid officers in the state,” said Foy, and during the last 10 years, as some other law enforcement agencies have hired aggressively, Fish and Game wasn't able to attract enough qualified applicants.
California Employment Development Department statistics estimate the median hourly pay for game wardens across the state is $32.36, with a median annual pay of $67,316.
Wardens are what Foy called “a one-stop shop.” They not only are out enforcing state regulations, but they also conduct investigations.
At one point the number of wardens throughout the state – who have a mandatory retirement age of 65 – dropped to below 200, Foy said. “It made it very difficult for us to protect California fish and wildlife.”
Foy has a biology degree and began working with the Department of Fish and Game in 1997, but not as a warden. In 2007 he went through the academy – which that year had only a class of 13 – because being a warden was what he wanted to do, despite the fact that he could have made $40,000 more a year working for the California Highway Patrol.
He said that he could have had more money, but he wouldn't have been doing what he loved. “That feeling is shared by the majority of wardens out there.”
Since 2008 the applicant pool has improved, which Foy attributes to the economy. “People wanted a good, steady job,” he said, and many other law enforcement agencies dramatically reduced hiring.
“For wardens it's an identity, it's more than just a career, its part of who we are,” said Foy.
Academy class sizes have grown, with 2010 – the year in which the new Lake County wardens graduated – being the biggest class in year, with 38 cadets, Foy said.
With increased interest in game warden careers, Freeman said staffing will be more competitive over the next three to five years. He said there are only a few openings across the state currently.
Last week, the deadline closed for the 2013 academy. For those interested in a career as a warden, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement.
More resources to protect local wildlife, environment
Freeman said Little will be Fish and Game's boating officer, primarily assigned to working on Clear Lake and increasing the enforcement presence.
“Lake County does have the first ever-invasive species ordinance as a county,” said Freeman, adding that Fish and Game is backing it “100 percent” and will conduct inspections to complement that program.
The importance of that ordinance isn't just because of its focus on invasive mussels like the quagga and zebra, but also because of the need to prevent the spread of hydrilla, he said.
He said the state is watching how Lake County handle its invasives program. “It definitely is a statewide issue and not just a local issue here in Lake County,” Freeman said, pointing out the prevalence of invasive mussels in Southern California waters.
Another increasing issue for local wardens is dealing with illegal marijuana grows on public lands, Freeman said.
“That's becoming more and more of a pollution issue rather than an illegal drug issue,” said Freeman, noting that growers are putting fertilizers into streams and doing other damage. “So we're having to assign wardens to try to prosecute the environmental crimes.”
Freeman said those problems are growing in Lake County, primarily because of the Mendocino National Forest – which encompasses a huge area of the county – being a major site for illicit growers.
Michilizzi, part of Lake County's team of wardens since December 2010, worked for the Department of Fish and Game for five years as a scientific aid, doing biological research, which he said gave him valuable experience before he went through the academy.
Having grown up in Cool, near Auburn, he has a bachelor's degree in public administration with an emphasis in law enforcement, and a minor in biological sciences. He said he's had a positive welcome in the county.
“I've wanted to be a game warden since in I was in high school,” he said.
An avid hunter an fisherman, Michilizzi said he wants to be able to protect California's natural resources. “And, of course, it's nice being outdoors as part of the job.”
Michilizzi said he enjoys speaking with members of the public and being able to answer their questions, and said most of his contacts with the public are positive.
While enforcement is a big part of his work, he emphasizes that wardens also are advocates for people who lawfully hunt and fish.
“Our primary focus is helping to ensure that the fish and wildlife resources will be here for future generations,” he said.
Freeman said the best way to contact local wardens to report issues and violations is to call Fish and Game's Cal Tip hotline, 888-DFG-CALTIP (888-334-2258). He said the automated system leads callers through a menu, with one of its last responses offering a chance to speak to an operator.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Effective Monday, Nov. 7, at 8 a.m., the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection will transition into the department’s winter preparedness mode.
The onset of cooler, wetter weather allows Cal Fire to reduce staffing through release of seasonal employees, the closure of select facilities and release of fixed wing aircraft.
However, Cal Fire is prepared to increase staffing and provide statewide response if weather or fire activity dictate.
The requirement for Cal Fire burn permits also expires with the end of fire season.
Property owners interested in conducting control burns should check with their local fire agency and air pollution district to ensure they meet all fire and air pollution permit requirements, prior to burning.
The Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit responded to over 383 wildland fires within the six counties during the peak season. The vast majority of these fires were less than 10 acres, due to aggressive initial attack by Cal Fire and local fire agencies.
Residents creating and maintaining 100 feet of defensible space around their homes had a major role in keeping these fires small, reducing the threat to life and property.
“The department’s successes this year can be contributed to a number of factors: the support from property owners creating and maintaining a defensible space around structures, cooler summer temperatures, and the public’s heightened awareness regarding fire prevention,” said Unit Chief Tim Streblow.
Cal Fire is a full service fire department and will continue to provide response to local emergencies such as fires, traffic collisions, medical calls and hazmat incidents through local agreements, as well as statewide or regional emergencies such as floods or earthquakes.
The unit includes the State Responsibility Areas within six counties, Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Yolo, Solano and Colusa.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This Sunday, Nov. 6, Californians will be rolling back their clocks as daylight saving comes to an end.
Cal Fire and fire departments across the state are reminding residents to replace the batteries in all smoke alarms as well as their carbon monoxide alarm when they change their clocks.
“We recommend changing the batteries in your smoke alarms twice a year,” said acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover of Cal Fire. “While you are spending a couple minutes to change the time on all your clocks, it’s so easy just to add an extra minute to ensure your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarm all have fresh, new batteries as well.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths occurred in homes without working smoke alarms.
Working smoke alarms increase the change of surviving a home fire by 50 percent.
For decades, firefighters have used the time change as a reminder for residents to change their smoke alarm batteries. This year, officials are adding carbon monoxide alarms to their message following a new state law requiring all single-family homes have a carbon monoxide alarm.
Cal Fire has the following tips on smoke alarms:
Test smoke alarms once a month.
Replace batteries in all smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms twice a year.
Don’t “borrow” or remove batteries from smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, even temporarily.
Regularly vacuum or dust smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to keep them working properly.
Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
Don’t paint over smoke or carbon monoxide alarms.
Practice family fire drills so everyone knows what to do if the smoke alarm goes off.
Find more information visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov.
Federal officials are planning the first-ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System this week.
On Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will conduct the test as part of their ongoing efforts to keep the nation safe during emergencies.
The test will last for 30 seconds. During the test, regularly scheduled television, radio, cable and satellite shows across the United States – including Alaska, Hawaii, and the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa – will be interrupted.
Federal officials are working to ensure that the public is aware of this test and that it will not be a real emergency alert.
The national Emergency Alert System is an alert and warning system that can be activated by the president, if needed, to provide information to the American public during emergencies.
NOAA's National Weather Service, governors, and state and local emergency authorities also use parts of the system to issue more localized emergency alerts.
Officials said the test is an important exercise in ensuring that the system is effective in communicating critical information to the public in the event of a real national emergency.
Under the FCC's rules, radio and television broadcasters, cable operators, satellite digital audio radio service providers, direct broadcast satellite service providers and wireline video service providers are required to receive and transmit presidential EAS messages to the public.
A national test will help federal partners and EAS participants determine the reliability of the system, as well as its effectiveness in notifying the public of emergencies and potential dangers both nationally and regionally.
The test also will provide the FCC and FEMA a chance to identify improvements that need to be made to build a modernized and fully accessible Emergency Alert System.
FEMA encourages the public to use this event as a reminder that everyone should establish an emergency preparedness kit and emergency plan for themselves, their families, communities, and businesses.
Visit www.Ready.gov for more information about how to prepare for and stay informed about what to do in the event of an actual emergency.
Two spiral arms emerge from the gas-rich disk around SAO 206462, a young star in the constellation Lupus. This image, acquired by the Subaru Telescope and its HiCIAO instrument, is the first to show spiral arms in a circumstellar disk. The disk itself is some 14 billion miles across, or about twice the size of Pluto's orbit in our own solar system. (Credit: NAOJ/Subaru)
For more than four hundred years, astronomers have used telescopes to study the great variety of stars in our galaxy.
Millions of distant suns have been cataloged. There are dwarf stars, giant stars, dead stars, exploding stars, binary stars; by now, you might suppose that every kind of star in the Milky Way had been seen.
That's why a recent discovery is so surprising.
Researchers using the Subaru telescope in Hawaii have found a star with spiral arms.
The name of the star is SAO 206462. It's a young star more than four hundred light years from Earth in the constellation Lupus, the wolf.
SAO 206462 attracted attention because it has a circumstellar disk – that is, a broad disk of dust and gas surrounding the star.
Researchers strongly suspected that new planets might be coalescing inside the disk, which is about twice as wide as the orbit of Pluto.
When they took a closer look at SAO 206462 they found not planets, but arms.
Astronomers have seen spiral arms before: they’re commonly found in pinwheel galaxies where hundreds of millions of stars spiral together around a common core. Finding a clear case of spiral arms around an individual star, however, is unprecedented.
The arms might be a sign that planets are forming within the disk.
“Detailed computer simulations have shown us that the gravitational pull of a planet inside a circumstellar disk can perturb gas and dust, creating spiral arms,” said Carol Grady, an astronomer with Eureka Scientific, Inc., who is based at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. “Now, for the first time, we're seeing these dynamical features.”
Grady revealed the image to colleagues on Oct. 19 at a meeting at Goddard entitled Signposts of Planets.
Theoretical models show that a single embedded planet may produce a spiral arm on each side of a disk.
The structures around SAO 206462, however, do not form a matched pair, suggesting the presence of two unseen worlds, one for each arm.
Grady's research is part of a five-year international study of newborn stars and planets using the giant 8.2 meter Subaru Telescope.
Operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Subaru scans the heavens from a perch almost 14,000 feet above sea level at the summit of the Hawaiian volcano Mauna Kea.
From there it has a crystal-clear view of innumerable young stars and their planet-forming disks throughout the Milky Way.
“What we're finding is that once these systems reach ages of a few million years – that’s young for a star – their disks begin to show all kinds of interesting shapes,” said John Wisniewski, a collaborator at the University of Washington in Seattle. “We’ve seen rings, divots, gaps – and now spiral features. Many of these structures could be caused by planets moving within the disks.”
However, it is not an open and shut case.
The research team cautions that processes unrelated to planets might give rise to these structures. Until more evidence is collected – or until the planets themselves are detected – they can’t be certain.
Whatever the cause of the arms, their reality is undeniable and the great catalog of stars has one more type. Stay tuned to science@nasa for future entries.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
An artist's concept of a comet storm around Eta Corvi. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected signs of icy bodies raining down in an alien solar system.
The downpour resembles our own solar system several billion years ago during a period known as the “Late Heavy Bombardment,” which may have brought water and other life-forming ingredients to Earth.
“We believe we have direct evidence for an ongoing Late Heavy Bombardment in the nearby star system Eta Corvi, occurring about the same time as in our solar system,” said Carey Lisse, senior research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., and lead author of a paper detailing the findings to appear in the Astrophysical Journal.
During the Late Heavy Bombardment, comets and other frosty objects from the outer solar system pummeled the inner planets. The barrage scarred our Moon and produced large amounts of dust.
Spitzer has spotted a band of dust around Eta Corvi that strongly matches the contents of an obliterated giant comet, probably destroyed by a collision with a planet or some other large body.
The dust is located close enough to Eta Corvi that Earth-like worlds could exist in the collision zone, suggesting that planets like our own might be involved. The Eta Corvi system is approximately one billion years old, which researchers think is about the right age for such a hailstorm.
Astronomers used Spitzer's infrared detectors to analyze the light coming from the dust around Eta Corvi. Curiously, the light signature emitted by the dust around Eta Corvi resembles the Almahata Sitta meteorite, which fell to Earth in fragments across Sudan in 2008.
The similarities between the meteorite and the object obliterated in Eta Corvi imply a common birthplace in their respective solar systems.
A second, more massive ring of colder dust located at the far edge of the Eta Corvi system seems like the proper environment for a reservoir of cometary bodies.
This bright ring, discovered in 2005, matches the size of a similar region in our own solar system, known as the Kuiper Belt, where icy and rocky leftovers from planet formation linger.
The comets of Eta Corvi and the Almahata Sitta meteorite may have each originated in the Kuiper Belts of their respective star systems.
About 4 billion years ago, not long after our solar system formed, scientists think the Kuiper Belt was disturbed by a migration of Jupiter and Saturn.
This jarring shift in the solar system's gravitational balance scattered the icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt, flinging the vast majority into interstellar space and producing cold dust in the belt.
Some Kuiper Belt objects, however, were set on inward paths that crossed the orbits of Earth and other rocky planets.
The resulting bombardment of comets lasted until 3.8 billion years ago. After comets hit the side of the Moon that faces Earth, magma seeped out of the lunar crust, eventually cooling into dark “seas.”
Everyone has seen them: Those seas form the distinctive face of the “Man in the Moon.” Comets also struck Earth or incinerated in the atmosphere, and are thought to have deposited water and carbon on our planet. This period of impacts might have helped life form by delivering its crucial ingredients.
“We think the Eta Corvi system should be studied in detail to learn more about the rain of impacting comets and other objects that may have started life on our own planet,” Lisse said.
Sage, pictured here, has one of the longest histories of culinary or medicinal use of any herb. Photo by Esther Oertel.
Sage is far more than a flavoring for the stuffing in our Thanksgiving turkeys.
It has a legendary history as a medicinal and culinary herb, and its use in that regard is longer than that of any other herb.
Up until World War II, sage had grown in popularity to become the favorite cooking herb in the United States. At the end of the war, its esteem was quickly supplanted by the oregano brought home from Italy by returning military personnel.
Its once-lost popularity is resurging, it seems, and I’m finding it as a centerpiece ingredient in the repertoire of many a modern-day cook.
While it’s held my respect for many years, I fell in love with it as a culinary herb when I experimented with its use in an intriguing soup recipe, the one that’s offered below. (One caveat must be given in relation to the recipe, however. Sage caramelized until crisp in brown butter is an addictive substance. You’ve been warned.)
Sage is native to the Mediterranean region, though it’s been naturalized in other areas of the world. There are modern sage cultivars that have leaves in shades of purple, rose, cream, or yellow, including in combinations of variegation, but sage’s most common color is gray-green, with a bumpy, almost velvety, texture on the top side of the leaves.
A popular addition to landscapes and gardens, its flowers are typically lavender, but can also be white, pink, or purple. The blooms of pineapple sage are brilliant red, beloved by hummingbirds.
Ancient folklore names sage as an effective remedy for numbers of conditions, including snake bites and infertility. It was believed to ward off evil and was described as having miraculous healing properties in old herbals.
It was one of the ingredients in Four Thieves Vinegar, a medieval blend of herbs that was thought to be a remedy for the plague. In the Middle Ages sage was also employed as a treatment for memory loss, fevers, intestinal and eye problems, liver disease, epilepsy, and infections.
Sage’s Latin name, salvia, is derived from salvare, meaning to save, a reference to the many perceived healing properties of the herb. The ancient Greeks, Romans, and Arabs attributed sage to long life, even immortality.
Pineapple sage has a taste worthy of its name. A wonderful fruity scent is emitted when leaves are crushed between one's fingers, and the bright flowers are a favorite of hummingbirds. The pineapple sage pictured here is from the garden of Hidden Valley Lake resident, LaDonn Morgan. Photo by Esther Oertel.
Sage has a strong, spicy flavor, with hints of musk and camphor, and is best enjoyed cooked, rather than raw. It holds up well to heat and should be added at the beginning of the cooking process, unlike some herbs which quickly lose their flavor. Sage becomes even stronger when dried.
It marries well with beans, particularly white beans, and a bundle of sage tied with cooking string can be thrown into the pot as they cook. Lentils are another good match, as is split pea soup.
Other favorites with sage are some Italian dishes, such as gnocchi and ravioli. It has an affinity for fatty meats, and is often used in the making of sausage. Pork is particularly good with it.
Onions and sage go hand-in-hand, as do some cheeses, particularly mild ones, and all manner of poultry. It’s a major component of poultry seasoning and flavors prepackaged stuffing.
I love finely chopped fresh sage in cornbread; I throw it into the batter before baking. Sage butter is another way to marry the herb with cornbread. It’s delicious spread atop it when warm and fresh from the oven.
Making sage butter is an easy process. Allow butter to soften to room temperature and mix in finely chopped fresh sage, either by hand or in a food processor. Put it in a little tub to store in the fridge, or roll it into a log shape in waxed paper for the freezer. The frozen butter can be cut into medallions for individual servings when needed, such as for bread or melting atop a sage-friendly dish, like chicken breast.
Sage marries well with the beautiful array of winter squashes available now. I especially love roasting butternut squash in the oven with apples and onions and then flavoring it with some crumbled crispy sage, a favorite fall ingredient of mine.
To make crispy sage, heat olive oil until a droplet of water makes it sizzle. Throw in a small handful of fresh sage leaves and cook a few seconds until crispy and darker green. (Don’t let it get brown or its flavor will be diminished.)
Remove the leaves from the oil and onto a paper towel. Repeat the process until the desired amount of sage leaves are crisped. These crispy treats may be crumbled on everything from salads to soups to meats to roasted vegetables, or left whole as an attractive garnish.
The oil used to crisp them may be used to add sage flavor to dishes, as well, such as drizzling atop soup. Since olive oil solidifies after a few days in the fridge, the oil in semi-solid form may be used in much the same way as sage butter.
Crispy sage, a flavorful garnish, is made by tossing fresh sage leaves in hot olive oil. It's shown here with a by-product of the process, sage-infused oil, which may be used in a variety of ways to add sage flavor to food. In the background and at top right is pineapple sage. Photo by Esther Oertel.
In addition to the boons offered by its uniquely strong flavor, sage has an array of health benefits.
Modern evidence shows possible uses as an anti-sweating agent, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent and antispasmodic due to the properties of its volatile oils. It has been shown to have potential for producing estrogen and controlling blood sugar.
In a double blind, randomized and placebo-controlled trial, sage was found to be effective in the improvement of memory, even in the management of Alzheimer’s disease.
In other words, much of what the ancients believed about sage has been shown to be true by modern scientific methods.
Today’s recipe makes an especially nice autumn lunch, especially when wind and cold weather abound. Use Lake County pears if you have access to them. Either way, enjoy!
Caramelized pear soup with sage
6 pears
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
Gray salt
Blue cheese bruschetta (recipe follows)
Preheat broiler.
Peel, halve and core the pears. In a large bowl, toss pears with lemon juice to prevent oxidization.
Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat and let cook until butter begins to brown.
Add sage to butter and allow it to caramelize.
Add brown sugar and a pinch of salt.
Add pears to mixture, and roll them around to coat thoroughly.
Broil pears in skillet, stirring occasionally, until pears are light brown, about 15 minutes.
Puree pears and brown butter mixture in a blender until smooth. (Esther’s note: You may also use a food processor or immersion blender for a more rustic texture.)
Pour into room temperature soup plates and serve with blue cheese bruschetta.
If preparing ahead of time, refrigerate and reheat slightly before serving.
Blue Cheese Bruschetta
1 loaf walnut bread or raisin bread
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, crumbled
Preheat broiler.
Slice loaf into finger-wide slices. Cover each slice with butter, then top with blue cheese.
Place bread on baking sheet and broil, with the door open, until the cheese begins to melt, about 30 seconds.
Esther Oertel, the “Veggie Girl,” is a culinary coach and educator and is passionate about local produce. Oertel gives private cooking lessons. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A Middletown teen lost her arm as the result of a Thursday night vehicle collision.
Seventeen-year-old Kya Hill's right arm was severed in the crash, which occurred inside the Napa County line on Highway 29, according to reports from the scene and the California Highway Patrol.
Hill was riding with her boyfriend, 22-year-old Samuel Weatherwax, also of Middletown, in his 2005 Dodge pickup when the crash occurred at about 6:55 p.m. Thursday, the CHP's Napa office reported.
The CHP report said Weatherwax was driving southbound on Highway 29 north of Tubbs Lane when the vehicle lost traction and left the roadway.
The pickup's right side hit a rock embankment on the highway's west edge. Hill's right arm – which was out the passenger window – also hit the embankment, the CHP said.
Weatherwax, who was uninjured, drove Hill back to the Middletown Fire Station, where Cal Fire paramedics tended to the girl until a REACH air ambulance few her from the station to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, according to the CHP report.
The CHP said the crash's cause is still under investigation.
In the wake of the crash and her injury, Hill – according to accounts shared by her friends – appears to be in good spirits, and is inspiring those around her.
A friend, CyCy Taylor, posted this message on Lake County News' Facebook page on Friday morning, which she said had been posted several hours earlier by Hill: “Hey guys!! I'm alive(: and now I'm left-handed because my arm got ripped off lol. Thank you everyone for the love and prayers!! And I get a fake arm(:.”
Readers and friends alike wished her a speedy recovery, and on Hill's Facebook page her attitude was cited as an inspiration.
Her friend Devin Negrete called her one of the strongest people he's ever met. “Her attitude through this whole thing is truly inspirational.”
Maria Gonzalez wrote that she learned a valuable lesson “from the most amazing person in the world last night” – which is not to dwell on what you don't have.
Does your estate plan adequately protect your loved ones should you become disabled? That is, do your power of attorney and trust instruments authorize your agent and trustee, respectively, to assist those who depend on you in the manner you would want were you to become disabled?
It is entirely possible that your legal instruments do not adequately address the needs of all your loved ones, particularly your adult children.
These documents focus on protecting your needs during your disability. Adjustments are needed if you want to protect persons such as your adult children who are no longer your legal responsibility.
Let us consider some scenarios that might present a hardship to the loved ones of a disabled person.
First, consider a parent whose adult child lives at home and take cares of the parent.
If the parent were hospitalized or placed into a skilled nursing home would that child still be allowed to live at home while the parent was away and unable to manage her own affairs? Would anybody else in the family object to the child staying? Who will pay the utility bills incurred by the child?
If the parent's plan is that the parent's resources are to assist the adult child then the parent's power of attorney and trust (as relevant) should specifically authorize the same. Otherwise that child may find himself in an impossible situation and be forced to leave the area; even if the parent might prefer the child stay at the home and be close at hand.
Next, consider a parent with a special needs child who lives independently in his or her own home.
The special needs child may still depend on the parent for supplemental financial assistance, personal care, and advocacy regarding to maintain SSI and Medi-Cal benefits.
What will happen to the child if the parent were to become disabled? Will the parent's resources still supplement the child's benefits? Will the parent's resources be made available to pay for an advocate to represent the child before the Social Services Department?
Now, consider a parent supporting an adult child at college. Will the child be forced to withdraw from college because the parent's money becomes unavailable to pay tuition, room and board? If the child withdraws from college prior to obtaining a degree then will he or she be able to make a living without further parental support?
Finally, consider a parent who moves into a skilled nursing home and obtains Medi-Cal coverage. How important is it to the family to preserve the parent's home for the surviving children after the parent dies? Does the parent's power of attorney or living trust authorize the gifting of the home prior to the parent's death in order to save the home from Medi-Cal estate recovery claims after the deaths of the parent and his or her spouse?
For reasons like the ones discussed above, it is important that you review with an attorney the provisions in your power of attorney and trust documents that pertain to disability planning to see whether these provisions adequately protect your family in the way that you like.
It is better to correct any inadequacies now rather than have your family encounter nasty surprises later when it becomes much more difficult to try to correct.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235. Visit his Web site at www.dennisfordhamlaw.com.
