MOUNTAIN AREA — All Madera County Library locations, including the branches in Oakhurst and North Fork, are now offering curbside services for the community as the next phase of the system’s reopening plan. Library announced this week that patrons can place holds on books, DVDs and other materials via the Library’s mobile app, online catalog, or by phone. Staff will prepare ...

NORTH FORK — The North Fork School’s Class of 2020 unknowingly had their last day of school in March. Although each graduating class from year to year has a different personality, they seem to all go through the same process in the spring of their 8th grade year. They begin to see one another in a different light, realizing that ...

By Bob Labozetta, UC Master Gardener, Mariposa MARIPOSA — Remember the Mariposa Farmers’ Market? Now that the county is opening up, the Farmers’ Market will begin its annual schedule (every Wednesday, May though Oct.) starting — hopefully — May 20, from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., at the bottom of 6th St. and Stroming Rd., adjacent to the Mariposa Creek Parkway ...

OAKHURST — The California Highway Patrol has announced that beginning this week, the Oakhurst area office’s VIN officers will be accepting appointments for VIN (vehicle identification number) inspections. Mountain area residents in need of a VIN verification may call the CHP office (658-6590) Monday through Friday during regular business hours to schedule an inspection. “We will have safety protocols during ...

OAKHURST — Sierra Art Trails announced this week that the 18th annual Sierra Art Trails Open Studio Tour has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The application for Sierra Art Trails 2021 will go live on SmarterEntry.com on Feb. 1, 2021. If you are an artist who has already applied for 2020, your application fee will be ...

Same dirt road close to home but a different spur road off of it gave me a looped adventure back to O’Neals Meadow, searching for flowers and history. Men weren’t the only homesteaders in this neck of the wood. Cora Ives lived here, ranched here and was quite the adventurer. She also wrote articles for Fresno newspapers about wildflowers, Native ...

A little more mileage on my adventure took me up to the Lone Sequoia and it is called that for a reason. But it wasn’t alone. It was accompanied by snowplants, wildflowers and dogwoods getting ready to bloom. . . and gnats. Distance: 12.37 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer)Difficulty: Easy to ModerateElevation Range: 3,418′ to 4,619′Date: April ...

You might wonder what walking up a dirt road, an American Black Bear and Yogi Berra might have in common. Made perfect sense to me as I walked up a dirt road close to home to a high point to check out the views. Distance: About 8 Miles (but you can go shorter or longer)Difficulty: Moderate to StrenuousElevation Range: 3,418′ ...

By Bob Labozetta, UC Master Gardener, Mariposa MARIPOSA — So you’ve started your seeds in pots or trays and they have sprouted. Now what? When it’s too early to transplant seedlings out into the garden, but they’re too big to remain in their first containers (or your seedlings are crowding each other), you need to transplant them into bigger pots ...

OAKHURST — Throughout May — National Bicycle Safety Month — the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) are joining forces to remind everyone to share the road “safely and courteously.” Since the “stay-at-home” directive brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in California have taken to their bicycles for exercise and a change of scenery. ...