Photo Gallery

Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076. Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

ROLLING FIELDS

A tractor operator tends to a field of raised strawberry rows along San Andreas Road.

Tarmo Hannula

CHANGING WEATHER

Winter clouds are reflected on the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz as a man strolls along the shoreline.

NEW DAY Sunrise over Palm Beach. .

WEINERMOBILE IN TOWN Becky Ramirez of Watsonville poses with her grandson, Aiden Orta, 3, recently in front of the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile on Freedom Boulevard. Six of the Weinermobiles tour the country promoting the brand of hotdogs in conjunction with various fundraisers. They were in Watsonville helping out the Santa Cruz Co. Tritons Cheer Team. Oscar Meyer has been utilizing the original hot dog vehicle since 1936.

FIELD VISION Agricultural fields can be spotted through a freight car at Watsonville Junction in Pajaro.

Terry Moore MORNING GLOW A sunrise is shown on Highway 1 near Castroville.

Tarmo Hannula

Arnulfo Monroy

Tom Brezsny’s REAL ESTATE OF MIND

Provoking thought since 1990

Continuing the conversation…about our evolving experience of the coronavirus and the shockingly busy real estate market that has risen in its wake. Could anyone have predicted this market five months ago? Buyers donning face masks to escape the virus (and then the smoke), then lining up in droves to write offers on listings as fast as they come on? It’s a strange time. And at first glance, there’s a huge disconnect between real estate and the real world. Who would want to buy a home during a pandemic? Or a fire? After so much social unrest? When so many people have lost their jobs and the country is in a recession? And yet, people are scrambling to buy homes and pay record prices. Is all this market activity happening despite Covid or because of it? My own conclusion is that this crazy market is a symptom of the ways the coronavirus is already changing the world. Call it the paradox of the pandemic. Let’s retrace our steps… In mid-March, things came to a halt. The virus was raging. Sensible people began sheltering in place. All but a few businesses closed, and it wasn’t clear how long it might last. All our daily patterns were disrupted: jobs, schools, families, shopping, exercise, commute, travel, health, connection with others. Everything was up in the air. While supplies of toilet paper and Covid tests were running dangerously low, there was one thing we suddenly had an abundance of: free time. Whether we wanted it or not. As Covid cases grew and the pace of life slowed, more existential moments found their way into the gaps. Moments to consider the future, reflect on the past and reevaluate what’s really important in life. Many people emerged from shelter-inplace with a newfound appreciation for home and a firm desire to re-envision the future. One of the oft-echoed lessons of Covid has been: What are we waiting

for? There are no guarantees. Let’s live in the moment. What makes us happy?

It has been a personal call to action. And so the great reshuffling process has begun, as virtually everyone in the country has started taking inventory of their own internal landscape and making a commitment to some kind of meaningful change, sooner rather than later. Because…why wait? When people make big changes in their lives, that often includes finding a new home in the process. And that’s what’s driving the paradox of this pandemic.

Tom Brezsny Realtor® DRE#01063297 831-818-1431 getreal@serenogroup.com