River Rats

We had a fun afternoon one Sunday testing out Jake's customized "scanoe", a skiff-canoe with an electric motor (and stereo system) attached.  Melina also joined us from Santa Rosa.  After overcoming initial wariness about buoyancy with a 4-person crew, we declared the vessel river-worthy and set out from Napa's Kennedy Park boat launch.

Being on the water can seem to dissolve away the worries of the land...

As we cruised south, we passed some serious tent encampments along the riverbank.  I am always awe-struck by the reminder that there are vast communities of people living without stable homes, many more than I recall as a kid here in Napa.

We rounded a bend and, though we didn't know what it was at the time, came upon the Kaiser Industrial pipe factory, which has been closed down for about 16 years now.

This crane has a large nest perched in the middle of the cables, I would guess belonging to osprey.

Surprisingly, we noticed "I can't breathe" spray painted on one of the structures, a reference to the police killing of George Floyd that occurred within the previous week.  [Edit: Apparently this phrase actually dates back to the 2014 killing of Eric Garner when it became a rallying cry for Black Lives Matter]  The public outcry over the incident is another awe-inspiring phenomenon.  I appreciated the statement in this most unlikely of places.

The "Napa Pipe" property, as it's known, used to produce ships, natural gas pipelines, and deep-water oil-drilling platforms.  Now it houses many mud swallows, sitting as a testament to the industrial revolution that we have outgrown.  Soon it will be developed into 1,000 or so homes, a Costco, and retail and business spaces, supposedly with 34 acres of park and recreational space (Sidenote: The city has recently been proposing cut-backs for our Parks & Rec Department, possibly even "dissolving" it into 2 other departments...)

The vote a couple years back to pass this development plan seemed mostly swayed by residents' lust for a Costco store closer in proximity to us than Vallejo or Vacaville.

"I can't wait to get my Costco hotdogs and my Costco chickens" said Napa Planning Commissioner, Paul Kelley.

The former mayor stated the Napa Pipe development "could be a cathedral for the valley, if we do it right."

I think it will definitely be a cathedral for money and the investors that worship it.  We'll see... maybe in 50 years it will be the new Downtown?

Trailcam!

Just a quick post of some trailcam videos from the last month.
Here one of the 2 fawns is suckling from its mother.

And here we have a cute opossum sauntering by on the "animal highway"

Much to our surprise, 2 foxes also travelling somewhere

And making a pit stop.

Aquilegia chrysantha

She bloomed!

And since we're already being dazzled, some Calendula with unique color patterns:

There are probably a hundred of these Calendula plants in the yard right now, none of which I have ever had to plant or put much care into other than thinning them out occasionally and allowing them to restart their growth cycle on their own.  I assume my great aunt and uncle planted them long ago as cheerful garden companion flowers.  I certainly appreciate them as such!

Peaceful Moments

It has been quite a Spring 2020 for everybody.  During these times of quarantine I've been able to stay employed in a safe manner at the nursery, which is fortunate.  Charlotte has also been able to continue doing her soil data collection job, driving to vineyards on her own on certain days and able to enter data from the safety of home much of the time.  Amidst the chaos of the Outside World, we relish in the pleasures of the home and yard...

Here are a couple shots of our "Bog Room", as we call it because of the family of carnivorous plants living therein.  Charlotte's Asian mountain pitcher plant (Nepenthe) is on the left there on top of the milk crate.  There are some American pitcher plants (Sarracenia) in front of the bright window.  A giant coleus, growing  is marionetted from the ceiling on the left.  A handful of bromeliads which are showing nice colors this time of year in the right half of the picture.  Just to name a few...

And over here in Dolly's corner is some type of morning glory relative given to me by my good friend Rowser which has taken a great liking to its relocation into the bog room last year and is stretching it's heart-adorned vines upward and outward over the kingdom.  Just over Miss Parton's right shoulder is a Slipper Orchid in bloom.

This is a Columbine I started from seeds found in a place called Montezuma's Well in Arizona.  The place is a natural well in the middle of the desert with a deep pool that drains off into a little stream surrounded in lush green growth, a natural oasis of sorts.  I did a little research and I believe it is likely Aquilegia Chrysantha.  Last year I did see one flower, but the plants were still in containers then, so the blooms were small.  This year I am very excited to see what this waist-tall monster of a columbine has in store!  I check to see if this flower has opened every morning.  Any day now. . . . .

In the same North-facing area at the backside of the barn, I love the bright yellow flowers of this Golden Currant.

A Tiarella ("Spring Symphony" variety) conducting the show from below, tucked in between Columbine and Currant.

Yesterday I took down this bluebird nest box that my great uncle Marven made so I could clean it out.  This is the first time I have done this.  I had always let them be, assuming that was the best thing to do, but recently looked it up and verified a growing suspicion that an occasional clean-out was necessary.

I had to remove this mama wasp and her little nest, despite how uncharacteristically sweet they looked clinging together.

Speaking of larva, check out these geometric little eggs lined up on the underside of a leaf of kale I picked.  I don't know what they turn into.

A decent harvest of beets.

It is nice having a garden in these times of quarantine.  A soft-spoken old man that always comes to buy beet seedlings at Van Winden's once said to me, "There's no part of a beet that you can't eat!".  Here I did discard some of the less-pristine leaves, but I kept the basket-full on the right.  They stay fresh in refrigeration for many days; I chop a handful into my scrambled eggs most mornings.  As for the beets, we usually marinate and roast them to use in salads.

 A modest carrot harvest.

This little hummingbird (not sure what kind) might be the only other one that loves Black Island Sage (Catalina Sage) as much as I Charlotte and I do.

Miss Meowgic getting some sunny afternoon nuzzling in the grass.

Black Meowgic has been more and more social and affectionate with us humans since we started feeding her a couple years ago.

And one last highlight from the yard right now...

A year or so ago I noticed a small vine beginning to grow out of the pot this beautiful Aeonium is in.  I decided to let it grow as it seemed unusual and I was curious to see what sort it was.  It wound its way up the stalks of the Aeonium and then went dormant over winter.  The other day I was astounded to see two bright white discs of heavenly perfection staring me in the eye as I passed by the steps that this pot sits on -- Clematis!

Tu Tu Tahoe

A great convergence occurred in the mountains.  From Santa Rosa, Napa, Oakland, and Seattle we ascended to Tahoe for a weekend of feasting, gaming, extreme sporting, experimental mixology, and general purification of the soul.

Charlotte, Me, Mike, Jake, Lindsay, Macy, Professor Butterpockets (Molina), Johnny, and Zack Bob after an afternoon of sledding.

I took home a bronze medal.

Charlotte made an exquisite brisket to satisfy our ferocious mountain appetites.

Day Two

I have been initiated into the cutthroat world of a card game called Palace.  An ambrosia salad mixed drink helped take the edge off.

We decided to stay local and do some sledding in the neighborhood of our rented house, after which a dip in the hot tub was in order.  "Wet Vibes"

We had many laughs and took in some beautiful scenery.  It was a wonderful weekend, and I feel very lucky to continue getting to know these fabulous people more and more as time goes on.

Yummy Mushrooms!

Thank you to my dad and Gail for the gift that continues giving.

Here was a nice flush of tree oysters from back in November.  These were probably sauteed with onions and eaten in tacos.

 And here is one of the two big lion's mane mushrooms that have grown so far.  There were a number of smaller ones that didn't grow to this size, but I'm not sure why... Perhaps the more extreme cold of winter restricted the mushroom's fruiting?  Anywho, we freestyled this recipe together and found it quite heartily delicious!  Basically, we sauteed: onions, cubed mushroom pieces, celery, apple, walnuts and thyme and served over rice.  Shown here with a side of beet salad, mmmmm........

Ruminating on February... Big Sur, Big Beards, Big Fun

At the beginning of the month we took a weekend trip down to Big Sur with Charlotte's family to celebrate Selene's birthday.  She and Hal had rented an exquisite house right next to Nepenthe restaurant, with an equally stunning view!

I enjoyed the little whipped-up merengue peaks of the cloud layer over the ocean.

~~~Sunset~~~

~~~Sunrise~~~

We had to get up early for it, but it was so beautiful and peaceful to watch the world come to life from the deck.

Up-n-at-'em for this industrious little fellow!  This red-breasted sapsucker spent seemingly all day tending to its sap-holes in an oak tree that was on the property.  It's a type of woodpecker that feeds on sap, as well as bugs that get stuck in the sap.  I was interested to read that hummingbirds are known to feed on the sap created by them as well, also ingesting the occasional bug - counter to popular understanding about hummingbird diet.