In June, my older son came to the Green Living office unexpectedly. He had a strange smile on his face. The “I know something you don’t know” kind of grin.

“Dad has a big present for you in the car,” he said.

That, of course, was puzzling. As much as my husband is a gift-giver, a big present in the car, while he is actually miles away at work, was a very flawed enticement for me to go down to the parking lot. But I did. My second son was standing by the car with his own version of that knowing smile.

“It’s in the trunk,” he said, opening the back of my Toyota Sienna.

As the door opened, there was my 6-foot-tall younger brother, Matthew, curled up in the small trunk of my soccer-mom van.

This was surprising for many reasons. It was 113 degrees that day, and seeing my 212-pound brother in a fetal position in the trunk was not at all what I was expecting. But the
biggest shock came from the fact that Matt doesn’t live in Arizona, or in the United States for that matter. Last year, he resettled in Naples, Italy, and I haven’t seen him for a long
time. So having the “big present” turn out to be my “little brother” was completely surprising. It was unexpected and I cherished it for his entire stay.

I believe that the July issue of Green Living magazine will hold as many surprises for you as it has for me. Did you know that right here in Arizona we have one of the most biodiverse regions in the entire world? Neither did I. But our writer RJ Brenner did, and she takes us through the rolling grasslands and subtropical terrain, where jaguars…oops, I don’t want to ruin your surprise. Read the story in our July Play section.

How about this? Have you heard that algae may play a crucial role in the search for green energy solutions? I wasn’t. Arizona Biotech Association President Joan Koerber-Walker’s
story explains how it may fuel our future.

And who knew goats were getting into yoga? Not even the goats themselves could have suspected. I’m sure they were as surprised as you will be when you see them positioned to be yogis.

There are many more stories in the following pages that I’ll leave you to discover. Like finding my brother in the back of my car, may they be both unexpected and truly enjoyable.

Thanks for reading!

Dolores Tropiano
Editor

Email me at dolores@greenlivingaz.com