Gunnar, Maddie, & Misty are the Pets of the Month!

By MARY FOPPIANO

After learning more about Gunner, Maddie, and Misty and their pet parents, I am not sure if I should make them our Pet(s) of the Month or Community Spotlight. However, since I promised to feature our Cupid Paws Doggie Parade winners this month, here goes … Sharon and Bill Smith adopted three Doodles after retiring as a Research Director on NBC’s syndicated entertainment news show, Access Hollywood, and as Water Superintendent for the City of Burbank, respectively. They purchased a weekend home in SLBE while still working and moved to Avila full-time in 2014 and into the Avila Valley in 2019 on over 12 acres.

Gunnar is a 10-year-old black Labradoodle that was re-homed to Sharon and Bill last spring by California Doodle Rescue (californiadoodlerescue.org). They adopted Maddie (tan) and Misty (white) in 2019 when they were both seven years old. They are 11 years old, and Misty, the oldest, will be 12 in April (birthday treats are, of course, welcomed).

Gunnar is a high-energy guy. He loves following all the rules (sit, stay, come, etc.). He would rather lope than walk when responding to commands. He waits for permission to exit or enter the house. Once, when he had the choice between chasing a fast-moving deer in his year or responding to Sharon, he obeyed her command and returned to her. He loves riding in the car and has his own spot behind the driver. His other love is stealthily watching dogs walk by his yard on the Bob Jones Trail.

Maddie, on the other hand, has never met a rule she felt applied to her. She is a couch potato who is relentlessly cheerful with a constantly wagging tail and she thinks that she is queen for day, everyday … so, obviously, rules do not apply to the queen! She loves riding in their SUV and takes the largest area in the rear to stretch out full-length.

Lastly, there is sweet Misty. She is quiet, loving, thoughtful, and a bit of a flower child who enjoys sleeping in and having breakfast in bed. She does not let her arthritis get her down and enjoys slow, short walks on the Bob Jones Trail with her siblings. She loves riding in the car, as well, and has picked her favorite spot behind the front seat passenger. These are fun-loving loyal pet-family members who are a great addition to our community. Thanks, Sharon and Bill, for sharing the three distinct personalities of your furry friends.

Some agricultural news notes: In the 1800s, 50 percent of Americans were farmers. In 1945, World War II Victory Gardens grew 45 percent of food. In 2020, American growers grew .1 percent of food in backyards. Since the increase of carbon dioxide the earth as a whole has greened by 17 percent. This is Mother Nature’s way of removing CO2 from the planet. The Midwest corn belt, alone, during the growing season, removes as much CO2 and turns it into oxygen as does the Amazon Rain Forest — measured by satellite. There are positive impacts of more carbon in the atmosphere, such as better quality and increased food production.

Higher concentrations of carbon dioxide aid photosynthesis which aids in increased plant growth. Some studies have shown crops utilize water more efficiently, requiring less water, plus colder areas of farming experience longer growing seasons. However, higher carbon dioxide doesn’t increase all crop production equally across the board because of the different growth metabolisms. Greater for wheat and rice, but not as much for corn or sugarcane.

When plants would reach CO2 saturations of around 550 to 600 ppm, it is calculated that more gas won’t be as beneficial. Right now, the concentration is just over 400 parts per million, as compared to the level before 1950 hadn’t surpassed 300 ppm for hundreds of thousands of years according to NASA. At an increase of 3 ppm per year, the rate in 2015 and 2016, the Earth would reach saturation well before the end of the century. Since 1960, the rate has fluctuated, so it could decrease, the trend generally shows an increasing rate.

Nikki Goddard notes new wine-growing regions are moving both north and south of the equator with climate warming with plantings in Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as parts of North America and Asia. Also, unsuitable regions in established wine-growing areas are going up to plant. As the temperature rises for sea-level vineyards, higher altitude plantings grapes benefit from the intense sunlight that helps ripeness and concentration, and the chilly nighttime temperatures preserve acidity, so the wines are fresh, balanced, and alcohol kept in check. These growers also pick their fruit earlier before the sugar level rises and acidity drops.

The majority of the world’s quality wines are grown between the 30 and 50-degree parallels. Vitis vinifera, which is the species for most of the most popular wines, needs specific growing conditions to be able to survive and does not do well in extreme climate conditions. Too much heat or cold will shut the vines down and stop producing quality fruit which has been proven many times with the wrong grape planting in the wrong place, i.e. Pinot Noir and Chardon-