Author Archive: tahoequa
Stars Tee Up on South Shore
Where can you see Michael Jordan going one-on-one against Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, or New Jersey Devils all-star goalie Martin Brodeur trying to fend off the Boston Celtics great Ray Allen? Where can you find New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan giving pointers to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers? And where does one of the greatest baseball rotations […]
Featured Sculptor: June Towill Brown
“The horse as a subject transcends all nationalities,” says Incline Village sculptor June Towill Brown. “Everyone loves and understands horses.” Brown captures the restless spirit of the animal—namely Arabian stallions, Friesians and, most recently, the Gypsy Vanner, a breed of draft horse originating in England—in her award-winning bronze sculptures. Yet, her passion for her subject […]
Old Guys Rule
To those age-group athletes fretting that their best years are behind them, think again. The good news: If you’ve been hammering the roads, trails, slopes and waterways for most of your adult life, you’ve probably lost only a little of your overall fitness. Take solace in local race results—in cross-country skiing, quinquagenarians regularly trounce athletes half their age. In ultra-marathons, athletes […]
Natural Rhythms: Summer is the season of love for local flora and fauna
Summer is when plants and animals go about the business of reproduction. To that end, they employ a dazzling array of communication techniques, appealing to all of our (and hopefully potential mates’) senses in the process. Here is a sampler of the summer’s great communicators. Songs and sounds Territorial vocalizations attract mates and ward off potential competitors, but those performances […]
Playing with Fire
There’s something about a fire that draws a crowd: An outdoor fire pit or fireplace provides warmth on brisk Tahoe summer nights and adds a focal point for al fresco gatherings. “We see an outdoor fire feature in almost every new home that gets constructed,” says Tom Just of Truckee’s Mountain Home Center. “People love the idea,” adds Tom Bork […]
Featured: Woodworker Malcolm Tibbetts
One end of the square-knot sculpture Martin’s Dream is primarily ebony; the other side, bird’s-eye maple. “There’s a mix of colors in the center of the knot,” says South Lake Tahoe artist Malcolm Tibbetts. “That’s where the strength is.” Tibbetts is a segmented wood turner. He cuts hundreds or thousands of small, perfectly angled wedges of wood—mainly dense hardwoods like mesquite, […]
Tahoe Takes Off
Folks who want to fly directly to Lake Tahoe now need not own a private jet. Lake Tahoe Air, which launched July 1, is a new charter air service based out of Las Vegas, with connections to South Lake Tahoe, San Jose and Orange County. “The biggest convenience is not having to drive from Reno,” says Lake Tahoe Air founder Mike Zeid, […]
Bringing About Better Boating Safety
Thirty years ago, a Lake Tahoe boating fatality stunned the West Shore’s tight-knit community so much so that the tragic details remain vividly alive in old-timers’ memories—and serve as a stiff reminder of the dangers of irresponsible watercraft operation. “It’s a horrible story,” says Bev Bedard, who was the director of the North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce […]
The Sherpettes: Schlepping So You Don’t Have To
Jeni Lammerding is overloaded. She’s halfway into the 7.5-mile trek to Desolation Wilderness’s Lake Schmidell, and the 40-pound, worn canvas backpack she’s carrying is downright cumbersome, its contents bulging and dangling from jerry-rigged bungee cords. They’re an unlikely pair—the externalframe pack having been manufactured before she was born—but Lammerding isn’t shouldering this load for herself. She’s a Sherpette, and the pack belongs to a 75-yearold client, one severely in […]
The Birds and the Bees (and the Butterflies Too)
For most of us, gardens are for aesthetic pleasure. Active wildlife in the garden adds interest (though not all animals are beneficial). As we plant and retool our gardens for greater conservation and utility, here are some ways to keep in mind our beautiful and helpful wild neighbors. Birds Birds, almost universally, add beauty and fun. Their songs and habits […]
