On the Road: Huntington Beach

Wasn't able to identify this sunflower-like plant growing in profusion at Huntington Beach.

On the Road: San Juan Capistrano

Greetings from San Juan Capistrano. Having a lovely time. Wish you were here. Love, Colin

P.S. Off today to the Huntington museums and botanical gardens.

On the Road: Lost Hills (Spring 2009)

For what it's worth, don't expect reliable wireless or cell phone connections in places with names like Lost Hills and Mint Canyon.

This is a photo of the view from the room I slept in in Lost Hills. Ahh, the pleasures of cheap roadside lodgings....

On the Road: San Francisco to San Juan Capistrano (Spring 2009)

Making a short trip south. Day one started with a delicious eggs Benedict at Park Chow, near 9th and Lincoln, in San Francisco. Park Chow is notable (in my mind, anyway) for its garlic hash browns and the Hollandaise sauce on the eggs Benedict. The place has an outdoor dining area upstairs that's invisible from the outside. It's a pleasant place to hang out on a Saturday morning.


Later I visited Fort Point for the first time since my childhood. It's an interesting pre-Civil War fortress right under the Golden Gate Bridge. The place is probably best known today as the spot where "Carlotta" jumps into the Bay in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. I saw about 100 Western Grebes in the bay off Fort Point--elegant long-necked birds. I'm heading to San Juan Capistrano today.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Phlomis Fruiticosa, "Flutterby" Rose, "Change of Pace" Iris

The new yellow-orange climbing rose at the front of the house ("Flutterby") is just coming into its own--covered with buds that are about to open. A single bud opened a couple of days ago, but the plant won't really start blooming for a day or two. "Flutterby" starts out yellow but turns orange and pink as it fades. A very pretty rose.

Another German iris opened up today. This one is called "Change of Pace." It's usually among the first to bloom each year.

The first yellow petals have emerged on the big Phlomis plants by the birdbath today (Phlomis fruiticosa).

Solomon's seal (Polygonatum commutatum) also grows in our garden. It's one of the many plants I've planted here to remind me of the first garden I had to do with as I pleased--the garden of the house that was my grandmother's and then my mother's, on Shaftesbury Rd. in Dayton, Ohio. Solomon's Seal is a delicate eastern woodland wildflower, but for some reason it has been quite content in the very different climate here in Santa Rosa. First blooms today--more or less. 

Art I'm Looking At: Found Art (April 7, 2009)

On the way to school this morning, walking my son, I came across a number of chalk scribbles on the sidewalk that caught my eye. Someone had drawn hopscotch boards and doodled alongside of them. These abandoned drawings struck me as beautiful. I captured fragments with my iPhone camera, creating collaborative images--found art. Similar scribbles must be on the streets of virtually every American city, from Washington to Cincinnati to San Francicso. Art is everywhere.

[Update (April 8): It rained last night. This found art is now gone.]

Movies I'm Watching: The Wild One

I was idly watching The Wild One (1953, directed by Laslo Benedek) this afternoon, taking a break from working in the garden. I had to laugh. I'd never before looked at the biker crowd in the early scenes very carefully. I hadn't realized that Jerry Paris, Gil Stratton, and Alvy Moore were among the gang members. Jerry Paris is probably best know as Jerry, Dick and Laura's dentist neighbor on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and for directing many of the episodes of that show. Gil Stratton I recognized as William Holden's sidekick in Stalag 17, and Alvy Moore is the man who played Mr. Kimball, the county agent on Green Acres--who has always been my favorite character on that rather silly show.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Iris, Potentilla, "Altissimo" Climbing Rose, Bush Morning Glory

A lot going on in the garden today. I didn't have time to take many pictures, but I note here that this year's first blooms opened on a number of plants--including the first German iris of the year, the yellow potentillla under the olive tree, the "Altissimo" climbing rose, and the white bush morning glory (Convolvulus mauritanicus).

Yesterday a single blossom on the small pale pink Cistus under the Chitalpa tree opened, but I see no other flowers at the moment.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Halimiocistus and Wisteria

First blooms today on Halimiocistus and on the Wisteria over the hammock (the most important of  all garden tools). A few Wisteria buds were open yesterday or even the day before, but today the purple of the flowers is more evident (top photo). Ours is in its seventh year or so now. We grew it from a seed collected from a striking deep pink Wisteria we saw at Imari (of pottery fame), in Japan, but the seed doesn't have the pink of its parent. A second one on the other side of the arbor hasn't bloomed yet, so it's still not clear what color it will be. I hope it will be more like the pink one that dazzled us in Japan. Unfortunately, I've lost track of the species and variety names of the Halimiocistus (middle photo). First blooms today also on the "Point Sal Spreader" Salvia by the front of the house (Salvia leucophylla).

Music I'm Listening to: San Francisco Symphony

I went to an interesting concert at Davies Hall last night in San Francisco. The program was an odd juxtaposition of the modern and the classical--but my taste is eclectic; I enjoyed both pieces played. The orchestra performed Concentric Paths, a violin concerto of sorts, by contemporary composer Thomas Ades, and Mozart's Symphony No. 39.

I say a concerto "of sorts" because it was more a concerto for orchestra with a violin riding on top--the violin slicing in and out of the high end of the fabric of orchestral sound--than a traditional concerto with the soloist in opposition to the orchestra or participating in a dialog with it. The soloist was Leila Josefewicz, someone I plan to start keeping tabs on. Very interesting music. I'd like to hear it again.

The composer attended the performance. Apparently the orchestra, soloist, and conductor had learned he would be there only a day or two before. He joined the musicians on stage both before and after the concert and spoke a bit about the composition beforehand, answering questions from conductor James Gaffigan, who is a rather funny man (see below). 

Music is such an abstract thing. It's always interesting to listen to (or read) people trying to explain what it's about. It's an impossible task. People resort to describing the structure and pointing out unusual or interesting themes and sonorities, which is what the composer, the soloist, and the conductor did on stage, and I suppose that was good enough, as we, the audience, knew we were about to hear the music. Words are never really adequate. I don't pretend to be able to do it especially well either. It was fun to see the composer so clearly pleased by the performance and by the recognition from the audience.

The Mozart was very well played, the woodwinds in particular were beautiful. This was my third live San Francisco Symphony concert. Each time I've been impressed by the woodwinds. During one particularly impressively played woodwind passage, the conductor half turned to the audience and made a one-handed gesture with a fist that said "Listen to that!" as he continued to conduct with the other hand, eliciting a laugh. At the end of the Mozart, Gaffigan not only asked the woodwinds to stand to be recognized, but he then walked back into the array of musicians to personally congratulate them on a job well done. All in all, a pleasant evening.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Cistus salvifolius, Halimiocistus sahucii

First blooms today on two Cistus (Rock Rose) varieties in the garden, Cistus salvifolius (top photo) and Halimiocistus sahucii. When in full bloom, both these plants are so profusely covered with flowers that the foliage is barely visible.

Today, there is only one pioneer on each plant. It will be a week or so before they really start to take off. Still, it's nice to see them. Both plants are low growers. The sahucii stays within a few inches of the ground. The salvifolius forms a mound a few feet across and about 18 inches high. The flowers are similar, but the latter has somewhat bigger flowers of a slightly creamy hue. The sahucii flowers are an almost translucent white.

Wines I'm Making: Leafing Out

The longest shoots on the grape vines are now about two inches long. As usual, the Sangiovese is considerably ahead of the Cabernet, and the Cabernet Franc vines are ahead of the Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Pictured are Cabernet Franc shoots.

Music I'm Listening to: Peter and the Wolf

I've been enjoying looking at some of the records in my LP collection. The 12 x 12-inch space of a record jacket offers so much more from a design perspective than does a CD booklet. It's a pleasure to see the records again.

I got Peter and the Wolf out because I thought my son, a budding clarinetist, might like to hear the cat theme, which was always my favorite when listening to this record as a child. And I mean this record. This is the copy my parents got for my brother and me, probably around 1965. It's still in good shape. I loved the drawings on the cover then, and I still do. 

My son listened to it this time and enjoyed it. Last time I played it for him (the only time, a year or two ago) he wasn't receptive. We didn't even get to the end of the first side before he lost interest. I was right in thinking that his playing the clarinet now might make a difference. After listening, he quickly figured out the cat theme on his instrument. He's been playing the cat around the house ever since. 

The performance on this disc is narrated by Peter Ustinov, and it's still the best I've ever heard (Angel 35638; it appears to be a European release. My father may have picked it up in London. He worked for BOAC (British Airways) at the time--and, coincidentally, at Angel Records before that). It was a pleasure to hear it again after all these years, and now my son, the cat-clarinet, repeatedly reminds me of a long-forgotten childhood pleasure.  

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Michelia yunnanensis

First blooms on the Michelia yunnanensis on the southeast side of the house opened today. The plant continues to look precarious. It would fall over if unstaked, but it seems to be holding its own. I have read that the botanists have completely redone the magnolias and relatives so that Michelia is now considered part of the genus Magnolia and that this plant is now called Magnolia dianica. Whatever you call it, it's a compact shrub or small tree with dark leaves and large, creamy white flowers that I find very attractive. Actually, as magnolias and their relatives go, the flowers are quite small--about two inches across. The flower buds are covered with a red-brown fuzz, as if they were all dusted with cinnamon (visible at upper left in the photo). The plant is native to southern China--Yunnan Province, I imagine--which is why I prefer the original Latin name. Also, Yunnan is evocative of tea. Being a tea lover, that probably contributes.

Michelia Yunnanensis is supposed to do well here, but this one has been slow to get established. I continue to coddle it and hope for the best. There's a beautiful one at the Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park (just outside the little sitting area beside the library) that's probably in full bloom now.

Music I'm Listening to: Louis Armstrong

I recently came across this 1960 audiophile pressing of Louis Armstrong Plays King Oliver (Audio Fidelity AFLP 1930) in a used record store. The cover and the record itself are in excellent condition and the music's great. A steal for $4.99. I've been enjoying it (among other things) the last few days.

Plants I'm growing: What a Difference a Day or Two Makes

In the three days I was away skiing, the garden has come alive. There is lush new growth everywhere. Many plants are suddenly in bloom. Many more are covered with swollen buds. I love this time of year. Plants that bloomed for the first time this year while I was away include the yellow potted rhododendron on the deck and Echium gentianoides (pictured, a wonderful clear blue). The grapevines have leafed out. Some of the Sangiovese plants have shoots as long as about an inch and a half already.

Places I'm Visiting: Lake Tahoe Skiing

Got back last night from a few days of skiing at Lake Tahoe. The snow was a bit slushy and it was thin at the bottom of the mountain (Heavenly), but the higher elevations were good. My son, Warren, did his first snowboarding on his own (after one class last month). In his usual style, he took to it immediately. By the end of the third day, he was comfortable even on the steepest (black diamond) runs--as long as they had no moguls. I was startled again by how overpriced the food is at Heavenly. We packed in sandwiches and drinks this time, which saved a lot of money and resentment. Definitely the way to go. We stayed with a couple of other families in a rented house. All in all, a good end to the skiing season. Didn't see any interesting birds, though. Last year I saw a number of Clark's Nutcrackers. This year it was mostly crows.

Wines I'm Making: 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Sangiovese

I finally got around to racking our 2008 red wines today. I transferred the 2008 Sangiovese (five gallons) to a new container, leaving behind the remainder of the lees. I racked both of the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon batches (five gallons each) as well. I noticed that the batch made with the Bordeaux Red yeast had more settled lees than the batch made with the Rockpile yeast. I was able to siphon off nearly all of the Bordeaux Red batch with no lees. The Rockpile batch needed to be topped up because I had to leave more wine behind while avoiding the sediment. I added three Campden tablets to each batch for a sulfite level of 39ppm.

The buds on many of the vines opened over the weekend. As usual, the Sangiovese is ahead of the Cabernet, with the Cabernet Franc slightly ahead of the Cabernet Sauvignon. That's my 1978 Alfa Romeo Spider in the background. These are true garage wines.

Tidbits: Maurcie Jarre--RIP

Just to note the passing yesterday of French screen composer Maurice Jarre. Just heard about his death. He composed the Lawrence of Arabia score. Wonderful film music.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Isopogon, Bosc pear, crabapple

Spring is really here. Every day brings a number of new plants coming into bloom. Today the first blossoms opened on the deep pink crabapple (unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the variety), on the Bosc pear, and on the Isopogon formosus we have. The flowers on this last, an unusual Australian plant, open progressively, so it's hard to say exactly when a flower is in full bloom, but I note the plant today because the flowers are starting to look more flower-like than not. Even the tightly closed buds are attractive on this plant.

Birds I'm Watching: Lake Ralphine ducks

Today, for the first time since coming back to the United States, I took a pair of binoculars and a bird book out to Lake Ralphine and Spring Lake, the former is the small lakes in Howarth Park here in Santa Rosa. I saw quite a lot in a leisurely hour-long walk around the lake. The common mergansers I noticed there a couple of weeks ago were still around. I saw eight females and three males. There was a lone male bufflehead diving for remarkably long spells. I saw the usual cormorants, mallards, canada geese, and other geese--the half-tame year-round residents, but I also saw a common moorhen, which is a first sighting for me. There was a pair of coots on the water as well. In the trees I saw a couple of yellow-rumped warblers and a large bird that looked like a night heron, but it was colored oddly--mostly white with yellow legs and a bluish-grey head and back. I'm not sure exactly what it was. There was another heron-like bird on the far side of Spring Lake that I couldn't identify either, but this one was mostly brown.

More intriguing was an odd duck on Lake Ralphine, that had characteristics of a mallard (the distinctive curls in the tail feathers) but was otherwise quite different. It had a strikingly iridescent teal green head with small flecks of white. Its bill was a yellow-greenish gray, not yellow. Its back was the same greenish color as its head, but darker. It had a white throat and breast, but was otherwise a medium to dark brownish grey. It had no neck ring and no brown on the breast. There is nothing in the bird book that makes sense. Someone I talked with suggested it might be a mutt, and that seems to make sense. Apparently the mallards interbreed with domestic ducks that hang out on the lake.

In other bird news, three cormorants flew over the house this morning, which is quite unusual. Yesterday, driving on Llano Road past the water treatment plant, I saw two American white pelicans, which is a fairly rare sighting--only the second time I've seen these birds here in Sonoma county. The pelicans I've seen at the coast are mostly brown pelicans. 

Along the trail I found a beautiful little stand of gold-backed ferns (coming up through a thicket of poison oak) and a group of western shooting stars in bloom (top photo).

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms-Cytisus

First blooms today on the yellow Cytisus scoparius. Soon the plant will be covered with yellow flowers, making the foliage almost invisible. The brick-orange variety we have, called "Lena," is in full bloom after this one has finished completely.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--"Pink Lady" apple and "Snow Fountain" weeping cherry

The first flowers opened today on the apple tree, a "Pink Lady," (top photo) and the weeping cherry ("Snow Fountain"). In both cases only one or two isolated buds have opened. The trees are far from being in bloom. On the apple tree, the highest branches haven't even seen bud break yet. Nevertheless, I record the first open blossoms here for the purposes of my botanical calendar. The pink crabapple has many buds, but none open yet. 

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms-- California Poppy (2009)

The first California poppy (Escholzia californica) of the season opened in the garden today. These have been  blooming around town for at least two weeks now, but ours have been laggards. Looking at the center of the photo, it is easy to see why the bees and bumblebees love the poppies. They are a rich source of pollen early in the season.

The "Julia Phelps" Ceanothus is in full bloom at the moment. The tightly packed, fragrant, blue flowers that cover the Bush attract an extraordinary variety of insects, including native bees, bumblebees, and honeybees.  Another great source of early-season  pollen. Notice the packed pollen baskets on the legs of the bee in the photograph.

I also note here that the "Ray Hartman" Ceanothus has been in bloom for more than a week, but I missed the first blooms.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Scabiosa

The first Scabiosa blossom in the yard opened today. This one is a rather subjective call. The flower has been gradually opening over the past few days. When is it open completely? I'm not sure, but today it looked more like a blossom than not, so it bloomed today for the purposes of my botanical calendar. This is your garden variety Scabiosa. I can't remember the name of the variety. Also included in this post is a new shot of the Dwarf Nectarine, now in full bloom.

Birds I'm Watching: Allen's Hummingbird

Watched a male Allen's hummingbird for a while this afternoon. It was flitting from blossom to blossom on the large "Tuscan Blue" rosemary bush on the deck side of the house. We normally see the Anna's hummingbird here. It's always refreshing to see something different. Since living in Santa Rosa, I've seen a rufous hummingbird once. I typically see the Allen's once or twice a year. The Anna's is present more or less every day of the year.    

Wines I'm Drinking: Calera Tasting at Wine Spectrum

Went to a fun tasting of Calera wines at Wine Spectrum Bar and Shop, in Santa Rosa tonight, very pleasantly hosted by Calera sales manager Marta Rich, who even thought to bring along a few chunks of the famous Mt. Harlan Limestone that underlies the vineyards. She also had tasting notes, articles about the winery, and photos of the place to look at--but the wines occupied most of my attention. Still, it was fun to see that little has changed in the 15 years or so since I visited Calera. I wrote about the winery in Tokyo Wine News when the Calera wines were just becoming well known in Japan (around 1994 maybe?). The set-up was little more than a trailer at the bottom of a hill with a small gravity-powered winery in tiers above the trailer. I remember a number of friendly cats, but, according to Marta, they tend to fall prey to coyotes--a reminder that Calera is one of California's more remote wineries. While new offices have replaced the trailer, everything else looked about the same in the photos.

I tasted the 2007 Viognier, the 2006 Ryan Vineyard Pinot Noir, the 2006 Mills Vineyard Pinot Noir, the 2005 Jensen Vineyard Pinot Noir, and the 1997 Reed Vineyard Pinot Noir. 

I didn't get enough of the Viognier to form a clear impression, but it had the usual seductive sweet scents of apricots or peaches, with hints of butter and caramel. Concentrated and tasty, but with a trifle less body than in some of the Calera Viogniers I've tasted in the past, I thought. This last may be an erroneous impression, but it was tasty wine. The scent lingered in the glass for an impressive length of time. 

The Ryan Vineyard Pinot is a newer wine at Calera and one I tasted for the first time. I was impressed. It had a lovely musky nose with hints of clean wool--it reminded me of a good oriental rug shop--and cherries and cola. Light on the palate but not without presence. Delicate but with good structure. A trifle tannic at this early stage, which made it seem a bit austere, but I suspect it will develop very nicely. I look forward to tasting it again in the future. Any top-quality addition to the Calera stable is welcome.

I have enjoyed the Mills Vineyard wines in the past, but the 2006 Mills I tasted was the least interesting of the wines tonight. I took few notes on it. I don't feel I can make any useful comments. A bit of a surprise. Judgement reserved.

The 2005 Jensen was wonderful. It's been a long time since I've tasted the Jensen. It was a delight. More deeply colored than the Ryan or Mills, and more concentrated on the nose. Very impressive and wonderfully delicious to smell, but hard to pin down. After some time in the glass, caramel and oaky scents seemed to predominate, but it kept changing. Nicely balanced on the palate. Good acid, subtle tannins, quite long. Very French in style. Reminded me of a Grands Echezeaux. Kept evolving--getting better and better. Delicious wine. 

Much as I liked the Jensen, the 1997 Reed made it seem almost plain. Simply put, the 1997 Reed is a beautiful wine. It had a wonderful amber-garnet color. Marta pointed out that the Reed tends toward garnet even when young, but this had the look of age to it. Wonderfully honeyed nose. Reminded me of Domaine Dujac wines I've had. On the palate, it was sweet, soft, and supple, but with real presence. Excellent structure, somehow managing to seem both powerful and ethereal. Later acquired citrus and rose scents and hints of chocolate. Lovely delicate tea-like tannins on the long finish. One of those wines that keeps talking to you. I bought a bottle, despite the price. While not cheap, the wine is not outrageously priced, given the quality. In fact, in my view, Calera is one of the better values in California wine. Again, it's not inexpensive, but it's worth the price. What annoys me are the all-too-common California wines that are expensive and not worth the price. 

I was delighted to learn that Calera is now making Aligoté wines. I've always liked well made examples of Burgundy's white underdog. I look forward to the opportunity to taste Calera's version one of these days.

All in all, an enjoyable evening.

Label image courtesy of the Calera Web site.

Plants I'm growing: First Blooms--Nanking Cherry

The little Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa) near the birdbath started blooming yesterday, March 8.

Movies I'm Watching: Tokyo Monogatari

Last night I happened to see Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story; 1953, directed by Yasujiro Ozu) on Turner Classic Movies. It had been a long time since I'd seen it. The pace is astonishingly slow by the standards of modern American movie-making--which makes it rather refreshing. Not a lot happens, really. Visually, the whole thing could be encapsulated by a closely cropped, low-angle interior shot of the father sitting resignedly, fanning himself in the summer heat. Nevertheless, it remains a moving, poignant study in disappointment. I imagine it has become a classic because it is such a perfect vignette of the human condition. Setsuko Hara's performance as the widowed daughter-in-law Noriko is especially powerful, despite--or rather because of--its remarkable restraint. Recommended.

Birds I'm Watching: Common Merganser

Took a bike ride around Spring Lake today with my son. There were many ducks and geese on the water--and many, many people out as well. Of the ducks I was able to identify one that is a new sighting for me, the common merganser. One of these days, I'll get out to Spring Lake with a bird book, a pair of binoculars, and some time. Actually, chances are good that I've seen this bird before, but this is the first time I've seen it clearly and taken the time to identify it. Interesting that the males and females have such different plumage. I initially assumed these were two different species.