By Don Dunning | November 3, 2009
In the midst of the urban space we call Oakland, runs a creek that covers over 2600 acres, emerging from the Oakland Hills and meandering through the city. About 80,000 folks live in the Sausal Creek Watershed area along with a myriad of birds, animals and plants. There are believed to be over 250 plant, […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | October 29, 2009
In Oakland, water rationing has been lifted and we have been fortunate to have had heavy, early October rains. Some think our water troubles are over. They aren’t. We all need to conserve because population is outstripping our resources. Having low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators is the best way to save water in your […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | March 7, 2009
Yesterday morning, as I was finishing up my shower, the pan started filling with water. It occurred to me it could be either a sewer line backup (bad news), or a simple case of too much goopy stuff in the shower drain. I eliminated the sewer line as the culprit since we have replaced the […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 27, 2009
Yesterday’s post about the effectiveness of orange oil for killing termites prompted an email asking whether cleaning products with orange oil kill and/or deter dust mites. Knowing that my wife, Sonia, is into natural cleaning products, I asked her. She told me that citrus oil is used to dissolve oil and grease, allowing dirt to […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | February 26, 2009
Green is good and so many of us in California do what we can to preserve our increasingly fragile planet. Companies know this and some attempt to exploit our positive intentions by promoting their products as green. Orange oil treatments to eradicate termites are an example. For years, as a state director of the California […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | January 9, 2009
The Pacific Northwest has been suffering torrential rains while California is facing water rationing. My wife and I have a second home on Vancouver Island. On Wednesday, we received a call from our tenant. After an all night rainfall of record proportions, the ground was totally saturated, the street in front of the house was […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | November 14, 2008
The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) has just added a new information service to its Web site sharing great tips and ideas on how to green your home, office and life. “At Home with Green”™ includes an index of green resources, terminology and principles. It also offers information on buying a green home, greening an […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | November 6, 2008
Yesterday, I received a call from a fellow asking for advice for his friend. He said she was having mortgage payment problems and wanted to know who she should call to help her deal with her lender. Given her situation, I warned him how, in southern California, some people are getting ripped off by shysters […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | September 13, 2008
The other day, as I stood at the front door of my new listing, I noticed the delicious smell of chocolate. As a lover of the sweet stuff, I found the scent both pleasant and puzzling. Where was that unmistakable scent coming from? As I was outside taking flyer and Web photos of the house, […]
Read MoreBy Don Dunning | August 8, 2008
It has been over a month since I saw it – a small, round, short-tailed, small-eared, furry creature. It looked like a mouse, but wasn’t.
I was pruning the jasmine on the back fence when this cute-nik, looking neither left nor right, scurried past me. In the second or two I had to ponder this development, I just smiled, rather than attempting to end its short life. That is a decision I do not regret, although a number of holes in our garden occasionally cause me to reconsider.
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