Senior Moments: Saying goodbye with flowers

• March 25, 2023

“You are so beautiful; you look like a bouquet of flowers,” Sara’s dad said when she walked into his hospital room. It had been a long time since me, my daughter and her dad, my first husband, had been together.

Soon family stories were flying.

“Do you know that I may be the first father ever to leave the hospital in a wheelchair with his new baby girl in his arms – and no mother in sight?” Sara’s dad asked.

“Where was Mom?” Sara asked, looking slightly askance at me.

I admitted that her claustrophobic mother, the one who had tried and failed at hypnotherapy while she was pregnant, in hope of riding the elevator up to the labor room, had walked down the stairs accompanied by an attendant.

Sara’s dad added that he had all the other women in the elevator laughing when he told them what an easy birth he had. Although seriously ill, he was still able to make us laugh.

“My turn for a story,” I announced.

The maternity ward of the hospital was on the fifth floor and I knew the elevator was not going to be an option for me. So I waited at the bottom of the stairs until a contraction passed. Then, knowing I had approximately a minute and 30 seconds until the next one, I raced up the five flights of stairs where my obstetrician was waiting for me.

“Didn’t you bring your husband?” he asked. I pointed down the stairs to a man huffing and puffing, holding a suitcase in one hand and a shopping bag in the other.

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Although that happened a few decades ago, daddy Dennis never forgot the scary stairs episode.

When I called him before the visit to ask what hospital he was in, he responded: “You’re going to love this place; it’s all on one floor!”

When it was time to say goodbye he hugged his “beautiful bouquet of flowers” and made her laugh. This time with tears.

Ed. note: Sara’s dad, Dennis A. Fletcher, died peacefully on March 21, 2023

Email [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @PatriciaBunin and at PatriciaBunin.com.

​ Orange County Register 

What you need to know about growing berries in Southern California

• March 25, 2023

Roger Campbell, who gardens in Alhambra, sent an email requesting varieties of berries that grow well in our area. Berries are quite the rage. The reason for this is simple enough to divine: You get lots of fruit from plants whose growth is easily controlled. Unlike fruit trees that take up space and require regular pruning as well as ladders to harvest the crop, a berry plant is easy to manage and harvest. Many berry plants are also container friendly. There is even a special container called a strawberry pot with any number of side windows or pockets that allow you to nurture many different plants simultaneously. Finally, the nutritional value of berries is much documented and highly promoted.

But here’s the problem, based on what I have seen, gardeners often struggle to grow strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, so if you want berries with a minimum amount of work, I suggest blackberries, especially the Boysen and Ollalie varieties, due to their strong tolerance to heat. Thornless versions of these varieties are also available. They prefer half-day sun exposure and are most successfully grown up a 4-6 foot fence since, allowed to sprawl along the ground, they are more of a challenge to tend and harvest, especially varieties with thorns.

Blueberries are probably more regaled than any other berry, but growing them is not a simple matter. A number of years ago, reader Roger Lipps extolled the virtues of two highbush blueberry varieties, Misty and O’Neal. Lipps’ plants had grown to a height of 6-8 feet and his harvest was prodigious. 

Lipps attributed his success to two annual applications of soil acidifying sulphur, in April and October, and heavy mulching. He applied Tiger 90CR Organic Sulphur which he procured from Whittier Fertilizer in Pico Rivera. The application rate was 1-3 cups per bush, depending on size. 

“I just manually spread the granules around the drip lines,” he wrote. “Blueberry roots are shallow and without a 4-inch layer of mulch, growing them would require nearly constant irrigation.” 

Lipps wisely installed a drip system for his blueberries, reducing his water budget by 30-50% in the process. His water agency had restricted irrigation to two days a week, but he could abide by that schedule and still keep his blueberry bushes in good health. 

“Armstrong is where I purchased many of our blueberry plants,” he confided. “I love their lifetime guarantee.” (Note: Armstrong Garden Centers provide a lifetime warranty on all shrubs and trees.) 

Lipps added that “an important factor with regard to growing blueberries is controlling critters. Opossums, skunks and raccoons love moist soft mulch for digging” and so “you must fence your bushes off” and since “birds love blueberries, you must bird net the entire crop if you expect to harvest any.” A redeeming feature of blueberry growing is that the bushes have a lifespan of 50 years.

The challenge of growing raspberries is their sensitivity to our summer sun. They do best in the morning sun, growing on the east side of a large tree, and require regular watering. Bababerry and Oregon 1030 are the two most heat-tolerant varieties. It is generally recommended that raspberries be staked but some gardeners have enjoyed considerable success coaxing their plants into clumps of canes, free of stake constriction.

The most successful grower of strawberries I ever met was Richard Mueller of Granada Hills. Mueller grew the Sequoia strawberry variety exclusively and harvested berries throughout the year. He started with 20 plants and, two decades later, had 200 growing at any one time, giving away another 100 plants each year. When preparing a new area for planting, he would dig down eight inches, fill the excavated area with compost and horse manure, and install new plants after soaking them in a solution of Miracle-Gro fertilizer and water. Two months later, the plants would start to produce berries. Outside of watering as needed, his maintenance regime involved spraying Miracle-Gro on all of his plants twice a month. 

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Sunday is the name of a company offering a whole line of organic fertilizers and pesticides, many of them newly formulated, as well as specialty plant species and gardening accessories. You can access these products by visiting getsunday.com. Their Veggie + Plant Food Mix contains “soy protein, sustainably composted turkey litter, potash, and feather meal.” They also carry Monterey Garden Tomato Blossom Spray, a fertilizer that boosts flowering on tomato plants even as it depresses growth of tomato disease pathogens.

California poppy Eschscholzia californica (Photo by Joshua Siskin)

California native of the week: The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), our state flower, is blooming now and its appearance in the garden is always a pleasant event. I cannot imagine why anyone would not scatter California poppy seeds which will sprout as long as they are planted before the weather turns warm. Just broadcast them over the soil surface and they will germinate with rain or irrigation. After you have a crop, the seeds will find their way throughout your garden, in the course of time, without any effort on your part. To extend their flowering period, deadhead the flowers as you would deadhead pansies or roses for continuous bloom. Although their orange flowers, which appear to have no equal in the botanical world, are certainly enough to promote their planting, California poppy foliage is special too. It is delicately laced and blue-green in color most of the time, yet it may take on intriguing purplish-red undertones when flowers are spent and seeds are about to form. The only way you can discourage California poppies from performing gloriously is to enrich their soil. These plants need a well-drained soil but will flounder where organic amendments have been dug into the earth or where fertilizers are applied.

Send questions, comments, and photos to [email protected]

​ Orange County Register 

Former El Toro football player Noah Aguilar remembered as ‘great teammate and leader’

• March 25, 2023

Former El Toro standout football player Noah Aguilar was the victim shot to death in Mission Viejo earlier this week in a reported case that saw his roommate arrested on suspicion of homicide, Aguilar’s high school football coach said Friday.

Former El Toro football coach Mike Mayoral said the 22-year-old victim identified in The Register’s reporting was Aguilar, who earned All-CIF and All-County honors for him as a senior in 2017.

“Unfortunately,” Mayoral said in a text message, “it is. An absolute shame.”

“Noah was a great teammate and leader,” said Mayoral, now an assistant coach at San Juan Hills. “Tremendously committed to Charger football. An All-CIF player who played the game the way it’s supposed to be played. A true warrior.”

El Toro’s football Instagram account posted a tribute to Aguilar earlier this week.

“He and his family were a big part of our ET family,” the post read, “our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and loved ones at this time.”

Aguilar also played basketball at El Toro.

Authorities told The Register that he was shot inside a home in Mission Viejo on Tuesday. Law enforcement later arrested Aguilar’s roommate, 22-year-old Michael Guy Levy, a sheriff spokesperson stated.

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In the fall of 2017, Aguilar helped the Chargers finish 8-5 and advance to the CIF-SS Division 3 semifinals, where they fell to St. Francis.

Aguilar led El Toro with 66 catches for 1,137 yards and 11 TDs in a high-powered attack with QB Cooper Jones. Both players were selected All-CIF on offense.

As a defensive back, Aguilar finished second on the team in tackles with 91. He earned first-team All-County honors on defense.

Service arrangements are not known.

​ Orange County Register 

Orange Lutheran baseball tops No. 1 Mater Dei in another extra-inning battle

• March 25, 2023

SANTA ANA — Brady Murietta’s single in the top of the 10th inning scored Derek Curiel from second with the eventual winning run in Orange Lutheran’s 2-1 victory over Mater Dei in a Trinity League game Friday at Mater Dei High School.

The Lancers (9-6-1, 4-5) took two of three games against the Monarchs (10-5-1, 7-2) in a league series this week that was dominated by pitching. Two of the games were decided in extra innings.

Mater Dei, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, defeated No. 4 Orange Lutheran 1-0 in eight innings Wednesday at Mater Dei. The Lancers came back to win 1-0 on Thursday at Orange Lutheran to set up Friday’s series-deciding contest.

“It seemed like every pitch mattered and every out was a tough one,” Orange Lutheran Coach Erik Borba said of the series. “We got out to a slow start in league. We knew this was a big series. We really challenged them (the players) before the week and especially the pitching staff. We had a meeting and talked about the pitching staff putting this team on their backs.”

Curiel walked with one out in the 10th and Murietta came up one out later.

Mater Dei was called for a balk on a pick-off attempt, sending Curiel to second and putting Murietta in a position to drive in the go-ahead run with a single.

“When he got on second, it was like I was put in this position for a reason,” Murietta said. “My head was clear and I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting that run in and helping my team.”

Dylan Wetzel singled home Brody Connors with two outs in the first to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.

Orange Lutheran answered right back in the second. Ben Reiland’s single drove in Josiah Hartshorn with the tying run.

Pitching took over the rest of the way.

Orange Lutheran’s Vinny Hudson replaced starter Colt Peterson in the fourth and allowed two hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.

Nolan Tillitt took over for Hudson with one out in the seventh and finished the game, giving up two hits and four walks with five strikeouts.

After the Lancers took the lead in the 10th, the Monarchs had a runner on first with one out in the bottom of the inning. Tillitt retired the next two batters to end the game and pick up the victory.

Mater Dei starter Landon Gordon gave up a run on three hits over four innings.

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J.M. Harduvel took the mound in the fifth for Mater Dei and pitched out of trouble in his first four innings.

Harduvel retired the side in order in the ninth before giving up the run-scoring single in the 10th.

Mater Dei started the day in a first-place tie with Santa Margarita.

The Eagles (10-2, 7-1) defeated Servite 2-0 on Friday and are now alone in first place.

​ Orange County Register 

Anthony Davis, Lakers grind out win against Thunder, get to .500

• March 25, 2023

LOS ANGELES — For the first time this season, the Lakers have won as many games as they’ve lost.

That doesn’t seem like much of an achievement – and they’re certainly in the hunt to fulfill greater ambitions. But considering a 2-10 start, a roster that often felt on the road to nowhere, weathering a handful of injuries to key players, the journey simply to mediocrity has been epic.

And indeed, on Friday night, in a tooth-and-nail game, the win that finally clinched a .500 record (37-37) was epic on a 48-minute scale, featuring a relentlessly aggressive 37-point, 15-rebound performance by Anthony Davis and a whole lot of grit in a 116-111 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder (36-38).

“Must-win game for us – in the standings, to get to .500,” Davis said. “That’s a tough team on the other side. They play well, they play fast. But we had to come out and get this game.”

Making a start for D’Angelo Russell (who sat out with right hip soreness), Dennis Schröder (21 points, six assists) had critical baskets in the fourth quarter, none bigger than a midrange jumper to put the Lakers ahead by five with a minute-and-a-half left. Austin Reaves – with 60 points in his previous two games – added 11 points and nine assists.

Lonnie Walker IV, who had been a healthy scratch in three straight games, exploded off the bench for 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting – his highest point total in a month. Afterward, the entire team gave Walker a salute for stepping up after being out of the rotation entirely.

“I would say these last few weeks I’ve had my ups and downs, I’ve had my times where I haven’t really been myself, where I’ve been down,” Walker said. “So I’m very blessed and honored to have an opportunity, and play to the best of my capability.

Even in a crowd of high-stakes games to finish the season, this one stood out: The Lakers moved to eighth place in the Western Conference, gaining some temporary separation from the Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz (who both also lost). Critically, the Lakers secured a 2-1 tiebreaker against OKC, which has been surprisingly competitive given its young core.

The Thunder’s stars showed why the youth movement has been working: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points, and so did Josh Giddey, who added 18 rebounds and seven assists. Neither was particularly easy to stay in front of and the Thunder as a team made 14 3-pointers to bolster their attack.

But workmanlike defense helped gut out the win, with Davis patrolling the paint and directing double-teams against the Thunder stars. The Lakers made four free throws in the final minute to seal it.

Davis’ 15 for 21 performance stood above all others, including getting to the free throw line for 11 attempts. He backed down the overwhelmed OKC front court, forcing double-teams and finding ways to power through anyway

“(AD) represented all of that today,” coach Darvin Ham said. “Just demanding the ball, playing downhill, being aggressive to the rim, being active defensively, rebounding. He was huge. He was phenomenal.”

The Lakers had whiffed on two earlier opportunities to improve to .500, something that had stuck with them for the past two weeks.

Davis clearly meant business at the outset. In the first quarter alone, he was 6 for 7 from the field for 15 points – but it wasn’t the stats as much as the method. He attacked the rim with prejudice with three first-quarter dunks. On one drive, Davis flew in for a jam over Giddey, who watched with futile indifference as he stepped out of Davis’ shadow.

But the Lakers found additional offensive firepower, too. Malik Beasley and Walker rained down from behind the arc coming off the bench, helping the Laker reserves outpace their Thunder counterparts 33-15 in the first half alone. Their 41 points to start were the most the team has scored in a first quarter this season.

Against Gilgeous-Alexander, the Lakers deployed Jarred Vanderbilt, whose length flustered the All-Star guard early, getting him to miss five of his first eight attempts. But Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder found rhythm by getting to the free-throw line (17 for 19) and located their 3-point strokes (8 for 14 in the first half).

By the second half, both Thunder playmakers were fully primed, and the Lakers were battling to hold them off. But unfortunate decision-making led to a 7-0 OKC run at the end of the third quarter: With 41 seconds left, the Lakers missed a pair of shots, and the Thunder scored after both, closing to within one point.

Schröder came out punching to start the fourth, with three straight baskets and seven points. But the Lakers, who scored just 19 points in the third, still struggled against the Thunder’s defense and turned it over seven times in the second half. After threatening for so much of the game, OKC finally tied it on a Gilgeous-Alexander midrange jumper with 5:25 remaining.

But the Lakers found a way to win their third straight game, and the home crowd seems to recognize that the character of the team has shifted, too. In the third quarter, Schröder managed to wrangle not one, but two loose balls within a 10-second span, collapsing with apparent exhaustion when he finally drew a foul on Gilgeous-Alexander to uproarious applause.

With the team finally on the cusp of a winning record, and the energy in the fanbase rising, Schröder said the Lakers are responding to that swelling tide.

“Everyone’s loud,” he said. “I’ve seen the bench and everybody’s just standing up and its hyped. That’s all I’m saying, being a team, everyone just being happy for each other, that’s what we need. If we’re doing that, we’re at our best and can accomplish a lot with that if we keep doing that going forward.”

​ Orange County Register 

No. 1 Newport Harbor boys volleyball defeats Huntington Beach in league showdown

• March 25, 2023

NEWPORT BEACH — The No. 1-ranked team played like a No. 1 team should.

Newport Harbor, the top boys volleyball team in the CIF Southern Section Divisions 1/2 rankings, defeated No. 6 Huntington Beach in four sets, 25-22, 25-23, 20-25, 25-20, Friday in a Surf League match at Newport Harbor High.

Newport Harbor, last season’s CIF-SS Division 1 champion, is 21-1 overall and 3-0 in league. Huntington Beach is 18-4 overall and 2-1 in league.

Sailors senior outside hitter Luca Curci had a match-high 22 kills. The UCLA signee also had four aces.

Newport Harbor senior outside hitter Jake Read, who signed with Loyola of Chicago, contributed 20 kills and two aces. Junior outside hitter Riggs Guy added 10 kills and two aces, and senior setter Korbin Francisco had 51 assists for Newport Harbor.

“I think our balance showed tonight,” said Newport Harbor coach Andrew Mabry. “It was a long, grueling match. At different points we were able to score from every position.”

Newport Harbor senior volleyball player Luca Curci on the win over Huntington Beach, with some praise for Harbor senior setter Korbin Francisco … pic.twitter.com/vq28v1lvTX

— Steve Fryer (@SteveFryer) March 25, 2023

Huntington Beach senior outside hitter Liam Phinizy, also a Loyola of Chicago signee, led the Oilers with 19 kills. Junior setter Jake Pazanti, who committed to Long Beach State, finished with 41 assists.

Newport Harbor’s chief rival in the sport is Corona del Mar, but there is plenty of heat in the Sailors-Oilers rivalry, too, as shown in the body language and occasional vocalizations during the match.

“We played hard and played with a lot of heart,” Curci said.  “Even through they were talking to us we didn’t back down. We held our ground and played our game.”

The match had a few momentum swings and the usual power hitting and wild digs that are common in a Huntington Beach-Newport Harbor boys volleyball match.

The teams traded the lead for much of the first half of the first set.  A Curci kill put the Sailors on top to stay 12-11.

Huntington Beach had a 23-20 lead in the second set. Newport Harbor then scored the next five points, including two service aces by Riggs, and Read slammed the winning point for the Sailors’ 25-23 win.

Huntington Beach scored seven of the third set’s final nine points to win it 25-20.

Newport Harbor never trailed in the fourth set. Curci’s cross-court kill supplied the match-winning point.

Mabry said Newport Harbor needed the challenge that Huntington Beach provided Friday.

“As the season goes on the intensity of the match changes,” he said. “This was a good test tonight for us to feel that.”

Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach play each other again at Huntington Beach on April 19, the final night of the regular season for both teams.

​ Orange County Register 

Capistrano Valley baseball defeats Mission Viejo with Austin Taylor’s shutout

• March 25, 2023

MISSION VIEJO — The Capistrano Valley baseball team scored five runs in the first two innings and Austin Taylor pitched a shutout Friday in an 8-0 victory over Mission Viejo in a South Coast League game at Capistrano Valley High.

Capo Valley (7-4, 2-0) scored two runs in the seventh inning Thursday to beat the Diablos 5-4 in the first game of the three-game series. The two teams play again Saturday at Mission Viejo High.

Taylor was brilliant on the mound. The senior pitched a complete game, allowed just four hits and struck out five.

“I felt pretty good out there,” Taylor said. “I trusted my defense and my catcher Cody (Zippe) and everyone came together for a nice win.”

“He controlled both sides of the plate and anytime you have weak contact it’s because you keep guys off-balanced,” Capistrano Valley coach Adam Sorgi said. “He doesn’t blow anyone away but he’s a tactician out there.”

Jack Boucher went 1 for 3 with a stolen base for the Diablos (8-4, 0-2).

The Cougars took advantage of early pitching woes by Mission Viejo. With runners on second and third and two outs in the first inning, Capo Valley scored its first run on a balk by the Diablos.

Capo Valley added four runs in the second inning to build a comfortable lead. The Cougars loaded the bases with two walks and a single by Reid Montgomery. Capistrano Valley Christian transfer Boston Baro was hit by a pitch to score a run.

Matt Radogna walked to make the score 3-0. JJ Grier grounded into a fielder’s choice and two runs scored to give the Cougars a 5-0 lead.

After a few innings of quiet bats, the Cougars got some clutch hits in the sixth inning. Baro, a UCLA signee, drove in a run with a single to increase the lead to 6-0.

Radogna drove in Baro with a hard single to right field. Radogna went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs.

“He’s letting the ball travel,” Sorgi said of Radogna. “He was pulling off a bit but credit to him for making adjustments and he’s a big piece of our order.”

Radogna later scored on a passed ball to give the Cougars an 8-0 lead.

Taylor allowed a leadoff single in the seventh, but retired the next three hitters to finish the game.

Sorgi downplayed the importance of winning the season series against Mission Viejo because of how competitive the South Coast League is.

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The Cougars are the defending league champions and there was a three-way tie for the league championship in 2021 between the Cougars, Mission Viejo and Dana Hills.

“Anybody in this league can beat anybody and we’ve seen that over the last five years since I’ve been here,” Sorgi said. “You have to take every game one at a time. It’s not about series wins or sweeps, it’s about individual games and getting as many as you can because every team is good.”

​ Orange County Register 

Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks, Saturday, March 25, 2023

• March 25, 2023

The consensus box of Santa Anita horse racing picks comes from handicappers Bob Mieszerski, Art Wilson, Terry Turrell and Eddie Wilson. Here are the picks for thoroughbred races on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

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​ Orange County Register