Avila Beach Life • March 2022

LOCAL NEWS ... BEACH VIEWS • MARCH 2022

AVILABEACHLIFENEWS .COM

SHOULD IT BE CALLED THAT? PAGE 5

ABLAZE WITH SPRING COLOR

CENTRAL COAST POPS WITH WILDFLOWER BLOOMS | PAGE 6

AMERICAN AGRICULTURE

LEADS WORLD IN CLIMATESMART FARMING | PAGE 7

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 19 93446, CA

MYSTERY OF SOUZA ROCK

******ECRWSSEDDM****** POSTAL CUSTOMER AVILA BEACH, CA 93424

ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

2 | Avila Beach Life — March 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

Happy Spring!

Publishers

Hayley & Nicholas Mattson editor@13starsmedia.com

““If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

— John Quincy Adams.

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M

ers popping up remind us that Spring is around the corner and it’s a time for renewal, refreshment, and reviewing in preparation for the next cycle. Avila Beach is a special place for all of us who live, visit, play or work there. I hope the community of readers will always consider Avila Beach Life as a voice for that community to Spring Equinox is celebrated this year on March 20. On that keep Avila the magical place it is. We will continue to do our part day, we will officially be halfway between winter and summer, to share that voice and thank the community for being part of it. with balance between the day and night. Spring reminds us to stay grateful for the rebirth of life that begins to awaken out of We hope you enjoy this month’s issue of Avila Beach Life. hibernation and how blessed we are to live on the Central Coast.

Stay Blessed, You may already know this, but Nic and I were married on the sand of Avila Beach and we look forward to our 10th wedding Hayley & Nic anniversary on May 5, 2022. The warming weather and wildflow-

Betty Hartig

Dr. Cindy Maynard John Salisbury

Kathy Mastako

Mary Foppiano Rick Cohen

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avila beach life is published monthly. all rights reserved , material may not be reprinted without written consent from the publisher . avila beach life made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this publication , but assumes no responsibility for errors , changes or omissions . avila beach life is a product of 13 stars media.

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CONTRIBUTORS

arch welcomes Spring and all the beauty that comes with it. Sunshine-filled days, warmth, and once again, the time change; be sure to turn your clocks forward on Sunday, March 13.

March 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 3 FOUNDATION NEWS & VIEWS

Keepin’ it Clean Rick Cohen

avila beach foundation

G

reetings, fellow Avilones. With winter just about in the rearview mirror, spring looms one week after the Mar. 13 return of daylight savings. Time to once again re-set our clocks and re-set our hopes for a speedy end to the two-plus yearslong pandemic. While two years lost may not seem like much of a big deal to the younger generations with decades left to live, for those senior citizens with far less future ahead, two years is quite a chunk of time. Lately, I find myself pondering just how different things have become since early 2020.

Remember when the most common litter we found on the ground consisted of cigarette butts, bottle caps, and beer tabs instead of discarded masks/face coverings. Remember when you could go to the grocery store and find all the items you normally purchase abundantly in stock? Remember when UPS

and FedEx trucks made stops in your neighborhood only once a day instead of all day and evening long? Remember buffet restaurants? Remember daily housekeeping service at hotels?

Remember not having to stay six feet away from people or wondering whether they were vaccinated. There is so much more that has changed, but let’s move on.

What would you do if you were given $5,000 to spend in Avila Beach?

Do I have your attention? The Avila Beach Community Foundation is pleased to announce that it is presently accepting applications from local organizations or individuals to compete for a single $5,000 Community Impact Grant, made available in conjunction with a generous contribution by The Rossi Foundation. Proposals for this one-time grant should focus on a new, innovative project, program, event, or service to benefit the greater Avila Beach communities, with special consideration given to applicants that would use the $5,000 sum to leverage a matching contribution. Interested parties are required to complete and submit an application and cover letter no later than Apr. 15. To request an application, please send an email to avilafoundation@gmail.com.

Or call (805)595-4095 for more information.

In case you haven’t heard the news, the Port San Luis Harbor District Board of Commissioners has appointed Suzanne Watkins as their new Harbor Director. Suzanne’s background includes 19 years of work experience with the County of Ventura, including the last 16 years as Deputy Director of the Harbor Department, Channel Islands Harbor.

She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Riverside, a Master of Business Administration degree from California Lutheran University, has worked on private/public harbor capital improvement projects, and managed the lease sites within Channel Islands Harbor. Suzanne lives in San Luis Obispo and took the helm at Port San Luis Harbor District on Feb. 1.

On a personal note, I share with you the sadness I feel after the recent passing of a long-time Avilone friend, whose name I won’t divulge in respect for his wife, now in her grieving period. My friend – who in some ways I considered a surrogate father to me after mine passed away in 2009 - lived a robust life for most of his 95+ years, though the last handful presented a host of medi-

cal challenges. Our initial bond was a mutual love for tennis, and more so for baseball, especially when I learned that he had once faced the legendary Negro Leagues pitcher, Satchel Paige, in a minor league exhibition game. How cool that must have been.

Particularly difficult were the last two years when, due to vulnerability to COVID, he remained isolated in his home. During this period, there were so many times I wanted to stop by for a visit but felt it best to keep a safe distance, which I now regret because of lost opportunities to enjoy each other’s company. Early on in the pandemic, I was honored to be the one asked to pick up his medications at the drug store but lost that role as pharmacies began to offer home delivery. Little did I know that the deliveries I made would constitute the last times I got to see my friend. Rest in peace, old pal. You will be missed.

That’s it for now, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!

Is It Time to Panic?

With the war drums beating along with rising inflation and stock markets down over 10% from their peaks as of 02.22.2022, is this the time to “jump ship?”

While no one knows the future, this is the time when one or one’s advisor should have “rules” to guide one’s path so one doesn’t panic and make mistakes caused by emotion. Most rules will not always be correct and they rarely result in selling at the top and buying at the bottom. That is not their purpose.

Their purpose is “risk management” to make sure one stays in the game.

If you would like to learn more about “rules” based investing, please visit our website and/or call for a time to review your situation (no obligation or fee).

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On the central coast serving retirees for over 30 years

Check out our market views!

Click the “Market Update” link on our website

Thomas B. Paine Paine Financial Services

6627-A Bay Laurel Place (Avila Village) Avila Beach, CA 93424 805-473-6679

Rules Based Investing for all stock market conditions

www.AvilaValleyAdvisors.com

Advisory Services and Securities offered through Centaurus Financial, Inc. member FINRA and SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and registered investment advisor.

Paine Financial Services and Centaurus Financial Inc. are not affiliated.

Branch office: 1186 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 — (805) 473-6670

4 | Avila Beach Life — March 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

A VIEW FROM THE BEACH

H Mary Foppiano

Avila Beach Civic Association

Safe and Fun

i all – I am really beyond confused with the mask mandate…yes, we need to pick up the N95 masks from pharmacies that the government will give us at no cost, and then, now, starting on Feb. 16, we no longer need to wear masks in most places.

Not that I don’t think that my masks, which are color-coordinated to my outfit each day, are stylish, I must admit I look forward to being able to recognize people and see them smiling. Then again, what about the next variant that sweeps through the country…wow, it is difficult to keep up with the times. I definitely am not faulting the scientists who are changing the rules from time to time as they learn more, but, really, let’s get everyone vaccinated so we can finally move on.

I know that we are all looking forward to being able to get together for fun events…oh, I guess I will be a little selfish and say I am look

ing forward to putting on our fun events when it feels safe…like, perhaps, our 4th of July Pancake Breakfast and Doggie Parade.

Yes, I can still put on the parade since the dogs know how to keep a safe distance from each other but wouldn’t it be great to have a delicious pancake breakfast prior to the parade.

My fingers are crossed, and my mask in place until told it can be removed…or must be put back on. I miss seeing all of you and hope you will join us on the 4th!

Julie Andrews-Scott began her Cuesta Emeritus Healthy Cooking classes on Thursday, Jan. 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. for the new semester at the Avila Beach Community Center.

Kathleen Yeung will begin her Cuesta Emeritus Yoga classes

on Tuesday, Feb. 1, and Thursday, Feb. 10, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. through May 19 at the Community Center. You can register at the class or contact Everardo Vences-Gonzalez at Everardo_vencesgonza@cuesta.edu.

San Luis Obispo County District 3 Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg will continue hosting her office hours in our office on the second Thursday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. beginning Jan. 13. With so many important issues happening in our community, this is your opportunity to meet with Supervisor OrtizLegg to get answers to your questions.

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

J.J. Francoisse

By MARY FOPPIANO For Avila Beach Life

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native of Belgium, JeanJacques “J.J.” Francoisse became a resident of Avila Beach in 2011. He said that he has been fortunate to live and work in amazing places both in Europe and in California… but there is nothing quite like living in Avila Beach! “Growing up in Brussels, Belgium, was a blast. It was, and still is, a diverse city at the crossroad of different cultured and languages.” Squeezed between Holland, Germany, France, and England, Belgium was an ideal springboard to extended travels and discoveries. “Early on, I knew that I would not stay in Belgium,” says J.J. “The country was definitely too small.”

He went to study journalism with the goal of joining the Belgium Foreign Service. Upon graduating, he received several scholarships and awards that allowed him to study and work abroad for three years. First in England, at the Polytechnic of

Central London, and then at the School of Translators/Interpreters at the Universidad de Granada, Spain, where he met his wife, a Rotary scholarship recipient. They married after a long-distance courtship and settled in Belgium, where J.J. found a job as a reporter for the bilingual French-Dutch trade magazine Data News. “This was a great experience for a young kid. In the early ’80s, microcomputers were all the rage, with epic battles between Apple and ‘Big Blue’ IBM. My editor would send me to computer shows in Amsterdam, Stuttgart, or Paris. I loved it. I was finally playing in the big sandbox.”

Leaving for California seemed natural, and the couple settled near Pasadena. “Life presents great opportunities! However, little did I know I would buy a one-way ticket to remain here decades later.” Being trilingual (French, Spanish, and English), J.J. worked as a language teacher, soon to be promoted to lead bilingual programs at school

district levels. Moving up the ladder to principal, director, and senior director, J.J. specialized in educational statistics, led a department of Educational Accountability, and, after completing his doctoral disser-

Jean-Jacques Francoisse

tation on class size and educational effectiveness, worked in educational research ever since the start of the No Child Left Behind initiative in the turn of the millennium.

His son, Jean-Patrick “J.P.” followed in dad’s footsteps and

teaches science in a high school in the Palm Springs area, while Caitlin, his daughter, is currently completing a residency in plastic surgery in St. Louis, MO. It was at the Santa Barbara mission that J.J. had a first date with Susan in 2010. “We met the old-fashioned way called the internet,” he laughed. Susan still works remotely as an underwriter but is planning to retire soon. Her daughters, Maria and Gianna, work in the field of nursing and chiropractic care, respectively. Susan, who is a native of Maine, always jokes that she discovered Avila Beach by accident. “I was flying over the Central Coast and noticed a hole in the cloud cover with Avila Beach basking in the sun,” she retells.

Although now retired, J.J. did not forget his background, which is deeply rooted in the educational field. When he is not working at Cal Poly as a foreign language lecturer, you will probably find him teaching sailing at the Santa Barbara Sailing

Center. J.J. is a certified American Sailing Association instructor who teaches basic training and coastal cruising. “We have had a place in Long Beach for a while and make frequent catamaran trips to Catalina Island with friends and family,” says J.J. “I was 16 when I learned to sail off the coast of Brittany, France. Promoted to instructor for dinghy training, I spent every summer on the water.”

“Avila Beach is a wonderful place to learn sailing, and I am ready to spend time and energy with the San Luis Yacht Club this year.” “Returning the many blessings to our community is the lease we can do,” he adds.

The couple frequently prepares meals for the Prado Homeless Service Center.

J.J. and Susan are also avid cyclists. Their favorite trips include Avila Beach to Morro Bay and Cayucos. “We are so fortunate to live here,” he says.

“This place is truly one of a kind.

Perhaps, it is the happiest place on earth!” …Sorry, Disneyland, but I agree!

FURRY SPOTLIGHT

Mattie is our Pet of the Month!

By MARY FOPPIANO

M

attie is 16 years young and living in Avila Beach with her pet parents, Rich and Denise Knauss. She loves living here because there is so much to do. She enjoys going on walks every day with her mom and checking out the wildlife. She has fun chasing after squirrels, rabbits, and lizards but, of course, never catches

NEXT MONTH’S ‘PET OF THE MONTH

them. She really likes the beach and playing in the water. Another favorite pastime is sunning herself on the family deck and watching for the UPS truck, especially since the driver leaves her a biscuit. Luckily, she is still active and able to keep her trim figure because the best parts of her day are breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack time.

Please send me your pictures and a short paragraph about your pet to avilabeachcc@gmail.com.

Thanks, and introduce us to your furry friend next month!

March 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 5

The Mystery of Souza Rock

Kathy Mastako

Board of Directors, Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers

A

little over two miles southeast of the Point San Luis light station lies a danger to boats and a diver’s paradise teeming with color and life. It’s an underwater monolith that rises to within sixteen feet of the surface, jutting up abruptly from a depth of 19 fathoms.

A gong buoy marks it, painted red over green and with a red light, referred to as buoy 14SR. The hazard is named Souza Rock. The question is whether it should be?

In 1887, the San Luis Obispo Tribune wrote about a whaling station on the mainland near Port Harford (now called Port

Frustrated by the government’s unwillingness to erect a light and fog signal, the Pacific Coast Steamship Company had taken matters into their own hands. In June 1881, the Tribune reported on a light the steamship company was installing: Port Harford is assuming such importance as a shipping port, that it is quite necessary that there be a lighthouse at “the Point.” Messrs. Goodall, Perkins & Co. have been unable to get the Government to take hold of this project, and have attended to the matter at their own expense.

The lantern and fixtures came down on the [steamship] Orizaba last trip, and from this time forward the light will regularly send out its radiance over the oft-troubled waters. The entire expense of building the lighthouse, together with that of employing a man to keep the lights trimmed and lighted, is borne by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company.

The ”lighthouse keeper” the 1887 news article referred to was Antonio Souza; his wife, Francisca, née Oliveira. Souza was the man hired to maintain the steamship company’s private light and sound a cannon during

recognized the clinking sound that indicated the presence of rocks and, therefore, fish. Preparing to catch some, he dropped overboard his weighted line and was surprised when the sinker struck bottom at a depth of sixteen or eighteen feet…He repeated the cast and found his boat was over a small group of rocks dangerously near the surface and heretofore unknown.

The discovery was reported and on the Queen of the Pacific’s next trip down the coast Captain Ezekiel Alexander examined the area and found, almost in the general path of ships headed into Port Harford, “a narrow upheaval of rock, broken in such manner as to leave two points within seventeen feet of the surface.”

The Tribune reported later that same month that Souza, “the man who discovered the new rock in the bay,” was the recipient of a reward from the government in recognition of the discovery.

Less than two years after the rock’s discovery, Souza was appointed an assistant keeper at the Point San Luis light station which was finally built by the government in 1890. He served there for ten years before

last six years, during which time he has been engaged in fishing, and so far as I have been able to learn, is a peaceable and law-abiding person, attending strictly to his business, and is a steady and hard-working man.

Captain Alexander and others, masters of vessels plying along the coast of Southern California, speak in very favorable terms of Silva, and say that he has always been on the lookout for any dangers to navigation when fighting the waters about Port Harford and on occasion has rendered good services to them during foggy and inclement weather.

What is startling is that, in his petition, Silva wrote: I am also the person who discovered and reported the dangerous rock known as “Susa [sic] Rock,” thereby in all probability preventing the wreck of vessels entering the Harbor of Port Harford.

Those who signed his petition included Captain Alexander as well as Charles Goodall, agent for the Pacific Coast Steamship Company. Alexander and Goodall were certainly aware of the circumstances surrounding the rock’s discovery, and would no doubt have taken issue had Silva’s claim

Diver exploring Souza Rock’s sea life, including metridiums, also known as plumose anemones.

Courtesy of Shawn Stamback, SloDivers, Morro Bay

Close-up view of Souza Rock’s sea life. In the center is a large metridium. On the right is a white spotted rose sea anemone. Courtesy of Shawn Stamback, SloDivers, Morro Bay

San Luis), referred to as Whaler’s Point. The view, the paper described, was without rival: To the left lies the spacious and splendid harbor of San Luis Obispo, walled in on three sides by lofty and rugged mountains that stand as a barrier between the placid waters and the strong northers that occasionally spring up inland. Facing the Point reposes the mighty Pacific, which stretches away in the distance until the restless waters seem to blend with the azure sky.

The paper noted, however, that the “aromatic atmosphere” interfered with the proper appreciation of the view, describing the air at Whaler’s Point as “the rankest compound of villainous smells that ever offended human nostrils.” At the time, there were twenty men living at the station, engaged in shore whaling under the command of John Oliver. There were also two women living at Whaler’s Point: Captain Oliver’s wife Mary and “the wife of the lighthouse keeper.”

Now there wasn’t an “official” lighthouse on Whaler’s Point or, indeed, anywhere in the vicinity of Port Harford at the time.

transferring to Point Conception.

Also in 1890, Antonio J. Silva—another Portuguese fisherman—started squatting on Whaler’s Island, which was connected to the mainland and Whaler’s Point by a small jetty. Whaler’s Island had been commandeered by the government in 1876, reserved for lighthouse purposes, although neither a light nor fog signal was ever placed there.

Silva peacefully occupied this government property with the tacit permission of the Lighthouse Service until 1896, when the government began legal action to force him to leave. He did so, but not without protest.

In fact, he managed to persuade United States Senator George Clement Perkins to write to the Secretary of the Lighthouse Board on his behalf: I enclose herewith a petition of Antone [sic] J. Silva, Port Harford, California, for permission to occupy Whaler’s Island situated off Point San Luis Obispo, California and respectfully ask for it your early and favorable consideration.

It appears that Silva has been allowed to remain undisturbed on the island for the

foggy weather to help guide vessels into the harbor. Presumably he had been tending to the light ever since it was first installed, as a letter he wrote in 1900 noted that he’d lived at the Point for 27 years.

In December 1888, the Tribune reprinted an article from the San Francisco Chronicle announcing that a new danger to maritime navigation on the west coast had recently been located in the vicinity of Port Harford.

The paper reported that the steamship company employed “a Portuguese,“ whose job it was to keep a light and fire a gun in foggy weather. This man was a skillful fishermen, the reporter wrote, who in his spare time fished off the Point and knew that fish were often found in waters where the bottom was rocky: To ascertain what kind of bottom there is beneath him (when the depth is not over twenty fathoms) this cunning fisherman lies down in his boat with one ear glued to the planking. Listening thus he can tell by certain clinking, scraping or sweeping sounds whether he is passing over gravelly, rocky or sandy ocean floors. In this case, he

been false.

(Further, a Notice to Mariners issued by the Lighthouse Service and printed in the January 30, 1889, issue of the Daily Alta California stated that Souza Rock had been recently discovered by fishermen.)

Like Souza, Silva went on to become a lighthouse keeper. He served at Point San Luis from 1906 until 1933, becoming the station’s longest-serving keeper.

Who really did discover the rock?

My bet is on Silva. Souza, age thirty-seven at the time, was likely the boat’s owner and captain. Silva, sixteen years his junior, was no doubt his fishing partner that day and most likely the one with his ear “glued to the planking” who dropped his weighted line and discovered the underwater hazard. Souza, employed by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, would have taken the lead in reporting the discovery to his employer, who in turn would have informed the lighthouse officials in San Francisco about the discovery made by Souza’s boat.

Rank has its privileges.

6 | Avila Beach Life — March 2022

Making Communities Better Through Print™

SPRING

Ablaze with Spring Color

By BETTY HARTIG For Avila Beach Life

T

he hills are alive! Purple, white, yellow, blue, and orange are just a few of the vibrant colors that dot the trails and hillsides of San Luis Obispo County. It is spring, and wildflowers are emerging with grace and glamour. The varying floras are delightful to view. Some plants and flowers are tiny, barely visible, and others bloom boldly like a spotlight beckoning to not be ignored. Tree and shrub blossoms contribute to the landscape; even weeds are part of the showy spring palette. When does this flower display happen? March is the magical month when it usually begins. Luckily, Central Coast residents and visitors get to enjoy thriving botanical displays for a lengthy period.

Spring vegetation activity is easily observed while hiking or biking the numerous trails within the County. Johnson Ranch Open Space, Montaña de Oro, and Harmony Headlands are prime wildflower trails. You can even view flowers

Oxtails

on the predominately flat asphalt-covered Bob Jones Trail in Avila that is inclusive to just about everyone. It can, however, be like an Easter egg hunt, where you must seek and find. What are some of the flowers you can expect to see on this trail? A variety of lupine with its upright lavender flower spikes, yellow field mustard, spiny thistle, glossy yellow petaled Oxalis, orange sticky monkeyflower, to name a few. Indian paintbrush bright red tufts often pop out along the trail. The trumpet-shaped coast morning glory grows well, which like the poppy, closes its bloom to retain heat when the sunsets or on cloudy days. Often the morning glory will wind its way up trees and shrubs, creating a nice floral display on a nonflowering host. Brilliant, deep, orange-colored poppies are a splendid treat to see. An appropriate symbol of the Golden State, California poppies became the official California state flower on March 2, 1903. Other beautiful contenders were in the running for this honor; possibly, due to the floral fields representation of gold sought during the gold rush, the poppy was selected.

Along with appealing blossoms, you

can occasionally spot berries adorning branches of vines, plants, and shrubs, such as the elderberry. The shrub bears white flowers and blue powdery coated berries that can be edible if precautions are taken.

One vine found in several locations on the Bob Jones Pathway is a wild blackberry.

This plant’s stems and leaves have coarse, hairy leaves with prickly type needles. The fruit can vary in color from light red to deep purple. The berries are very tart, not sugary, like Sweet Tart candy. Fair warning! Choose and pick berries carefully.

Not all berries are safe to eat. Highly poisonous black nightshade emerges on the pathway. Possessing white starshaped flowers as well as shiny blackberries containing atropine, nightshade was used by Cleopatra to dilate her pupils to make her eyes appear large and thus more alluring to her suitors. This is a plant to admire, but not sample. The berries are toxic if ingested. Long ago, the Native American people used black nightshade berry juice for tattooing.

Wildflowers do not only provide a vivid visual show. Like most things in nature, a purpose is served beyond what one

Lupine Flower

observes. The colorful bouquets provide habitat for pollinators, such as bees and butterflies. These flowers benefit insects, wildlife, and are important for ecosystem function. During the winter months, when food is scarce, wildflower seeds become a nutritional source for small mammals and birds. Wildflowers improve soil health as well as prevent erosion.

Interestingly, they play a role in improving water quality by collecting water and allowing it to slowly soak into the ground, therefore reducing runoff. This action minimizes the number of pollutants flowing into our waterways. There are many additional ways wildflowers aid people.

Humans have used plants, including flowers, for food, healing ailments, and treating wounds, throughout history.

Take time to discover and learn about wildflowers for not only beauty and fragrance but also their contributions that pleasantly benefit the environment. Examining wildflowers can be fascinating; each shape and design are integral works of art.

Lace up your hiking shoes and head out on a trail while the blooms are out; you are sure to savor the experience.

Poppies

DIET

Gut Health 101

Dr. Cindy Maynard contributor

M

ost of the time, we eat and digest food without even thinking about our digestive system. But the GI tract is a pretty amazing machine carrying out herculean tasks such as transporting valuable nutrients from the mouth to the stomach, converting the nutrients into usable energy, and shuttling waste out of the body. But recent research shows an even bigger role for the GI system, from its role in immunity to protection

from stress and fighting disease and illnesses such as diabetes and cancer, and it is a topic of increasing interest in the medical and scientific community.

The GI tract includes the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small and large intestine, rectum, and anus. Our gut (known as the microbiome) contains trillions of healthy bacteria, other microorganisms, and immune cells which defend against infectious agents like viruses, bad bacteria, or fungi. There are more bacteria in the gut than stars in the Milky Way. The environment, foods we eat, and our behaviors all influence gut health and our immune system. Emotional stress can also influence gut bacteria through the “gut-brain axis,” where the gut communicates with the brain through hormones and nerves. We can typically tell when the microbiome is out of balance. We might experience bloating, gas, diarrhea, or stomach pain.

It is important to keep our gut health healthy. What are some ways we can promote good gut health? Besides the usual healthy practices like getting adequate sleep, eating healthy, staying hydrated, and exercising regularly, here are some specifics you can do to support beneficial bacteria in your gut.

•Limit red meat and processed meats to 1-2 portions per week to decrease growth of inflammation and damaging bacteria •Reduce refined sugars like table sugar, cookies, soda, cakes, or candy bars to reduce bad bacteria in the gut.

•Shoot for 20-40 grams of fiber/day. Compare this to the 15 grams/day the typical American obtains vs. over 100 grams /day that our ancestors ate. Getting adequate fiber can be challenging. You can boost fiber intake by increasing intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, legumes, or raw bran.

•Eat superfoods like fresh fruits and vegetables as they provide healthy fuel and act as prebiotics for the good bacteria. You might already be eating many of these, including asparagus, onion, garlic, bananas, or apples.

•Eat more fermented foods. It’s best to get our beneficial bacteria from fermented foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, miso, or kefir instead of pills that have nutritional benefits, especially if you are taking antibiotics. But it can be difficult to eat enough fermented foods to make a difference.

Should you take a probiotic?

One potential problem is that even though probiotics should contain live bacterial cultures, the supplement industry isn’t well regulated. Like most vitamin supplements, there is no guarantee that the label matches the bottle. There’s no known probiotic that acts as a single cure-all, but newer research has shown that a healthy microbiome—one that

includes a variety of probiotics and nutrients—may help with digestion, improve immune function, ward off disease-causing microorganisms, and reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, including constipation and diarrhea. The next time you see your health practitioner, ask if a probiotic would benefit you and ask what the best kind is to take.

The bacteria in the gut can have a huge impact on the way you feel and protect you from harm.

Maybe it’s time to nurture the good guys and support your gut health. In turn, these beneficial microbes will work with you in harmony for your ultimate health and well-being.

Cindy Maynard, Ph.D., RD, is a health psychologist, a registered dietitian, and a nationally published health and fitness writer. She is passionate about promoting health and wellness. You can contact her at drcindymaynard@live.com.

March 2022 — Avila Beach Life | 7

American Agriculture Leads the World in Climate-Smart Farming

John Salisbury

A

contributor

griculture is getting some bad press in the Wall Street Journal and especially the New York Times, claiming that agriculture is getting a big break in regulating methane. The New York Times produced a hit piece of three videos narrated by Senator Cory Booker, hardly an expert on agriculture, how farmers are not being regulated as tough as energy generation, transportation, and industry and should be investigated. Like farmers don’t already have the toughest restrictions for doing business than anywhere else in the world!

EPA estimates, tough to prove, that beef and dairy cattle, plus pigs and other farm animals, produce roughly 25 percent of methane in the U.S., mostly from their belching and livestock manure, adding another 10 percent. This puts them in the range of petroleum and coal mining. In response to these numbers, the American Farm Bureau says American agriculture leads the world in climate-smart farming, making up just 10 percent of greenhouse emissions, much lower than transportation, electricity generation, and industry. This is much less than other countries are doing.

Livestock ranchers know there is a problem

and, through innovative land and animal management techniques, have cut per-unit emissions by 8 to 26 percent depending on the species in the last few years.

American farmers, only 2 percent of the population providing food to the other 98 percent plus exports all over the world, have made major commitments to cut drastically cut methane emissions and increase carbon banking. Over 140 million acres are enrolled in voluntary conservation programs. There are more privately owned acres for conservation than the size of California and New York combined. No-till or low till when planting disturbs the topsoil as little as possible to keep carbon in the soil is used on more than half, and increasing, of the corn, soybean, and wheat that is grown in the country. Also, the use of cover crops is greatly increasing by 50 percent to date from a few years ago. These techniques reduce the need for water, fertilizers, and pesticides and help keep carbon left over from the CO2 (carbon dioxide), sucked into the plants through photosynthesis, deposited in the soil while the two parts of oxygen are released into the atmosphere.

It is a nice beneficial arrangement in nature.

I wish more West Coast vineyard owners would take advantage, as we did in Avila from the beginning, of the native grasses, which turn green and hold the soil at the first shot of rain and dry up during the spring releasing their seeds for the next go around. This way, you do not have to disc the rows or plant a cover crop, opening up the soil plus the need of adding fertilizer for growth. Just use a ring roller to flatten the grasses in the spring, followed by an above-ground light mowing with side mowers under the vines for any grasses still standing tall. This process leaves a straw mat

throughout the vineyard that gets pushed into the soil with each pass of the tractor and the walking of the crews while working the vines that trap the carbon underground, which helps plant growth. This also eliminates the use of herbicides under the vines, which leaves the soil bare allowing the carbon to escape and a path for rainwater to run off, instead of soaking into the ground, especially on hillsides. Growers could possibly apply for carbon-sequestering fund programs for doing very little.

Using what Mother Nature gives you is my motto.

The beef industry is making big strides, with production now accounting for just 2 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gases, which is much lower than the global average. Permanent pastureland accounts for almost half of all farm ground in the states.

The soil remains undisturbed and continues holding the carbon. This land used for cattle grazing is estimated to hold 10-30 percent of carbon held in the soil. Factory farms are singled out as the big polluters painting the rest of the 2 million farms in America with the same brush. Most farms are family-owned, and 1.9 million are classified as small farms. With the U.S. about to pass 330,000 million people and a world looking at eight billion, we are going to need farm operations of all sizes.

A lot of good old farmer inventiveness, research, trial and error, industry’s new products, and other ways to greatly cut greenhouse gas emissions will happen.

An example is a Dutch chemical product called Bovaer that is being run through the European Union food-safety regulators, and soon for our Fed’s approval, that can cut belched methane gas by 80 percent. That alone is a significant game-changer Also,

Cargill is attaching rubber masks above the cow’s nostrils to test neutralizing methane emissions from cattle in Europe later this year. You may recall that I wrote an article that seaweed pellets in cattle feed can also cut down methane-induced belching. For manure, more ranchers are putting manure and animal wastes in covered lagoons and silo digesters that capture the methane that can be sold as fuel. Expensive to set up but maybe reimbursed with the sale of the fuel.

So, ingenuity which farmers are known for and a necessity to survive, will get a handle on their end of the greenhouse emissions.

Farmers know there is a problem, so just stay out of the way and let them do their thing.

“They think they can make fuel out of horse manure, now, I don’t know if your car is going to get 30 miles to the gallon, but it sure will put a stop to siphoning!” – Billy Holiday (If you need an explanation, ask some gent who is a senior citizen!).

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“Safe” money pays little, so one must continue to invest. Relatively new to the investing landscape, “buffered” investments, offered by major Wall Street firms, may be an option for investors in these uncertain times.

Please call or email to learn more and to receive a prospectus and important information.

Thomas B. Paine

Paine Financial Services 6627-A Bay Laurel Place (Avila Village) Avila Beach, CA 93424 805-473-6679

www.AvilaValleyAdvisors.com Advisory Services and Securities offered through Centaurus Financial, Inc. member FINRA and SIPC, a registered broker/dealer and registered investment advisor.

Paine Financial Services and Centaurus Financial Inc. are not affiliated.

Branch office: 1186 E. Grand Ave., Arroyo Grande, CA 93420 — (805) 473-6670

8 | Avila Beach Life — March 2022

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