Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Michelia Yunnanensis, Pacifc Iris (March 29, 2012)

Another belated post about flowers that have come into bloom in the garden in the past few days. The Michelia yunnanensis (a small tree related to the magnolias) on the side of the house started to bloom on March 29. This took a while to get established, but it's now doing very well and looking quite robust (photo). Michelia yunnanensis first bloomed last year on the same date, on March 22 in 2010, and on April 1 in 2009, calculating years of 365 days, 372 days, and 356 days. Also on March 29, the first of the Pacific irises in the garden bloomed. As usual--just a single flower ahead of the others. The plant won't really get going for a little while. The iris bloomed on April 6 in 2011 and April 5 in 2010, calculating years of 357 days and 366 days.

Rain: Another 1.35 inches (March 26-27, 2012)

More rain last night and the night before. We got a total of 1.35 inches of new precipitation. That brings the 2010-2011 rainy season total to 22.65 inches. That's better than it looked like we were going to get, but still decidedly on the low side. The average annual rainfall for Santa Rosa is 31.91 inches, so we are at present 9.25 inches below normal. As most of our rainfall comes between October and the end of March, we're unlikely to get a lot more, but rain remains in the forecast for the rest of the week.We'll see.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--(March 25-26, 2012)

A number of plants have come into bloom in the garden in the past few days. First blooms on the 25th on Lithodora diffusa, a ground cover with deep green leaves resembling rosemary but with bright blue, star-shaped flowers. First blooms also on the 25th on the Bosc pear tree in the garden. Yesterday, March 26 saw the first open blooms on the deep pink crabapple on the side of the house and on one of the pink rock rose bushes (photo above)--which has only a single early flower; the main bloom probably won't come for some time still, particularly given the rainy weather we've been having, but it's a start.

Tidbits: RIP-- Catalan Artist Antoni Tapies

It's just come to my attention that Antoni Tapies died recently, on February 6, 2012--the day before my own father's death. I imagine I was distracted, but I don't remember hearing any news about the death of Tapies--although I don't watch TV and it was probably not considered news, at least not in the US anyway. I've always enjoyed his heavily textured, cryptic-yet-suggestive, messy-yet-beautiful work. He had a knack for creating arresting images that always looked like they'd been happened upon by accident. RIP.

Rain: Yet More Rain (March 24-25, 2012)

It's been raining off and on since last night--not heavily, but enough that we've already accumulated about half an inch. The forecast is for showers over the next week. This is likely to be our last chance to catch up before the dry season begins in June (although we get sporadic rain in April and May, and a good storm in the coming weeks could be significant, we've typically had most of our rain for the year by the end of March).

Checking the rain gauge on the morning of the 25th, I see that we got 1.25 inches yesterday and overnight. That brings our 2011-2012 rainy season total to 21.30 inches. The historical average for March 25 is 31.68 inches in Santa Rosa. The historical annual average is 31.91 inches--which means that by now we've usually had nearly all the rain we're going to get, so it seems likely that we'll end the rainy season about 10 inches below normal.

Miscellaneous: New Family Member--Milo the Cat (March 24, 2012)

We acquired a cat about three months ago. The local shelter was giving them away, already neutered, all shots and papers complete, microchipped. They had too many to take care of. Despite having grown up with two cats in the house as a child, I wasn't in favor of the idea, but I was overruled.

As cats go, he's an amiable fellow that likes to sleep at the foot of a warm bed--although he has a habit of suddenly nipping at a hand or foot when you least expect it. I suggested we call him Mr. Hyde....

Why am I writing about Milo now? Because he acquired his name only yesterday. One of my son's friends declared the cat "Milo," and we all liked it--which is remarkable, because for the past three months no one could agree on what to call him. I had settled into a pattern of referring to him as "the cat" and just saying "Kittie!" when calling him to come in out of the cold. My mother was calling him "No name." Now, he is Milo. So, I welcome Milo to the family. Until he had an agreed-upon name, he didn't quite seem official.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--California Poppy (March 21, 2012)

I noticed the first California Poppy of the year yesterday morning--the first in my garden anyway. I've seen them blooming around town for the past week or so. The first poppy in the garden opened on March 31 in 2011, on March 5 in 2010, and on March 19 in 2009. So far, the poppies around the house have calculated years of 355, 351, and 390 days, which average to just over 365 days--or nearly exactly an actual astronomical year.

Books I'm Reading: The Pacific War: 1931-1945 (March 22, 2012)

There are quite a few boxes of books sitting in my living room at the moment. Despite the clutter, a path through them remains that allows a connection between the kitchen and the front door. These are books that belonged to my father, who died in February.

I picked up Ienaga's The Pacific War: 1931-1945 (published in 1968 in Japanese, this translation published in 1978, by Pantheon) yesterday from the top of a pile close to the front door--not really intending to read the book. As I didn't know my father as well I would have liked, I want to go through these books before they are dispersed, as they seem in some sense to preserve something of his mind, a mind he opened to few people and then only rather clumsily. I have been leafing through a few books here and there, tentatively, not knowing where to begin. This particular volume was absorbing enough from the first few pages, however, that I read it virtually in one sitting. So, I have made a start, even if it's a random one. If I had picked up a book from a few feet away, it would have been about something else--although most likely about motor racing, the craft of writing, sailing, the film industry, the history of the Napoleonic Wars or the Civil War or some other war, fine food, travel--or it would have been a murder mystery. A man's library is a kind of biography.

In retrospect, I was vaguely aware of Ienaga. Following the end of the Pacific War, he began a long battle to oppose the system in Japan of government textbook approval, a form of censorship that continues to this day, that is annually in the news in Japan as the process is repeated--opposed by some, supported by others. This is the first time I've read anything by Ienaga, either in English or Japanese, but this modest-looking volume (256 pages), written more than 40 years ago, seems still fresh and worthwhile. It has a simplicity and clarity that few writers achieve on any subject (I was particularly impressed by the translation; being a translator by trade, I can say that it is excellent, although, unfortunately, the writer of the English gets no credit). The book is startling in its objectivity and forthrightness. There are no detailed descriptions of campaigns or battles. It is more a psychological probe that lays bare the stupidity, ignorance, and pig-headedness of Japan's military by seeking to answer questions like: What allowed the Pacific War to happen? and Why were the people of Japan unable to prevent it from escalating? Ienaga looks at a broad range of material--including everything from contemporary diaries and soldiers' accounts to transcriptions of reference materials used in conferences with Emperor Hirohito during the war. He traces the effects in Japan and Japan-occupied territories of the thinking that was both seed and sustaining force behind one of the most destructive, wasteful, and irresponsible sets of actions any elite has perpetrated in recent history. Ienaga has harsh words also for the United States and those in Japan that allowed the country to re-arm as soon as a stronger Japan became part of Cold War-era US military strategy in Asia.

Ienaga's fear that post-war sugarcoating of the history of Japan's Pacific War might allow a new generation to repeat the mistakes of the past is palpable. I first landed in Japan in August 1977. I spent a year in high school in rural Japan (Shikoku, near Matsuyama). I spoke no Japanese at the outset. I was mostly put into English classes and classes like art and music on the assumption that my lack of language skills would be a relatively small handicap in such subjects. I did take a world history class, however, and I remember being startled to find that about half of one period on one day of the school year was the entirety of the Pacific War discussion my classmates and I got (in US history classes at home, we had spent the better part of two weeks on World War II). Emperor Hirohito was still alive, the Ministry of Education controlled the textbooks and the curriculum. It is chilling to remember, particularly as Ienaga lays much of the blame for early Japanese enthusiasm for the Pacific War on government control of education and the ignorant, brain-washed population produced by that control. Despite the availability today of much more information about what happened in Japan before and during the Pacific War, and despite vastly greater openness in Japan now, this book still seems necessary and highly worthwhile.  I'm not surprised to see that it's still in print. Absorbing. A classic argument against militarism. Highly recommended.

Rain: A Little More Rain (March 21-22, 2012)

Overnight last night we got a little more rain--although not enough to make much of a difference. The rain gauge had 0.15 inches in it this morning. That brings our 2011-2012 total to 20.05 inches. It feels good to finally be above 20 inches, but we should have had close to 30 inches by this time of year. We still need more. Rain is in the forecast for the weekend. Hoping for the best....

Wines I'm Making: Vines Pruned (March 21, 2012)

I finally got around to pruning the vines yesterday--quite a bit later than usual. Buds on the Sangiovese vines were already beginning to open. The pruning removed quite a few of these, but the plants will leaf out from lower buds. And so, another year of winemaking begins.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Weeping Cherry "Snow Fountain" (March 20, 2012)

The first blossoms on the weeping cherry tree on the side of the house--a variety called "Snow Fountain"--opened yesterday, March 20. This little tree blooms only briefly, once a year, but it's very pretty when it's entirely covered with white flowers at its peak. "Snow Fountain" has been a very consistent bloomer. It bloomed on March 20 in 2011 as well, for a year of 365 days. It bloomed on March 23 in 2009 and on March 14 in 2010, calculating years of 356 days and 370 days.

Music I'm Listening To: The Santa Rosa Symphony with the Eroica Trio (March 19, 2012)

Last night I heard one of the last Santa Rosa Symphony concerts I'll hear for a while, as I've decided not to renew my subscription, after 11 years. The new seats assigned in the Green Music Center for next season were not especially good, as I expected, and they've eliminated the mini-series option (your choice of three of the season's concerts) that I liked. The cost relative to the quality of the performances just didn't make sense any more. Instead I've added the Green Music Center series of the San Francisco Symphony to my regular subscription in San Francisco--which seems the best of both worlds; you get four concerts with the San Francisco performers and guests at the new music center for only a modest sum more than the cost of the Santa Rosa Symphony subscription.

On the program last night was The Chairman Dances (subtitled Foxtrot for Orchestra) by John Adams, Beethoven's Triple Concerto, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, the Eroica (appropriately enough).  The Chairman Dances has a somewhat convoluted origin. It was originally conceived as part of Adams' opera Nixon in China in a scene with Chairman Mao dancing with his wife but was deleted from that project and reworked as a stand-alone piece only to be later worked into the opera again, in a different context--in a scene that involved President Nixon and his wife dancing. As the program points out, we mostly think of Madame Mao as a member of the Gang of Four, but she was in her younger days a rather glamorous actress, Chiang Chin, and the original conception of the piece draws on the tradition of cinematic dance music with that part of her history in mind. Hearing it as a concert piece, of course, none of that really matters.

It was typically Adams in its use of repetitive, almost hypnotic sections with sudden gear changes that drop the listener into passages of more upbeat and expansive material, all colored with a wide range of instrumentation, including piano, harp and a large and varied percussion section. I always like Adams. Despite a somewhat shaky start, Ferrandis got things under control fairly quickly and he and the orchestra delivered a workmanlike performance. The piccolos and horns were standouts.

The main event was the Beethoven Triple Concerto, with the Eroica Trio, with founding members Erika Nickranz and Sara Sant'Ambrogio on Piano and Cello, and with Susie Park on violin; Park joined the trio in 2006. The women created quite a stir as they entered the auditorium, Park and Nickranz dressed in glittering silver, Sant'Ambrogio in white with silver shoes.

Again, a solid performance. Although Maestro Ferrandis kept the accompaniment so quiet through much of the first movement that the soloists seemed rather too loud, the rest of the performance was nicely balanced. Cellist Sant'Ambrogio seemed more on top of the challenging cello part than Alisa Wielerstein was when I last heard this piece live (in San Francisco). The cello was particularly sweet in the middle movement. The trio played a Piazzolla tango "Oblivion" as an encore--perhaps the highlight of the evening.

Ferrandis's reading of the Eroica seemed rushed to me in the first movement, but all in all it was a creditable performance, despite a certain lack of attention to the long lines of the piece. Again the woodwinds and the horns seemed especially good. On the whole, Ferrandis seemed more in charge of things and more focused last night than he often is. Normally I attend the Sunday afternoon concerts. Because of a schedule conflict I had to switch to the Monday night performance this time. Perhaps he's best in the evening performances?

Photo of Bruno Ferrandis courtesy of the Santa Rosa Symphony website. Photo of the Eroica Trio from the Eroica Trio website (photo by Nina Choi).

Miscellaneous: Wise Words from Homer (March 19, 2012)

I have a daily quote application on my blog here. Often the quotes seem silly or insignificant. Sometimes they seem more timely or meaningful. This one happened to come up today.

Wealth should not be seized...for if a man take great wealth violently and perforce, or if he steal it through his tongue, as often happens when gain deceives men's sense and dishonor tramples down honor, the gods soon blot him out and make that man's house low, and wealth attends him only for a little time.

Attributed to Homer. It seems little has changed in the past few thousand years.

Rain: 0.75 inches Overnight (March 12-16, 2012)

Rain again, finally. It looks like we'll get a few inches this time--rain we very much need. There was 0.75 inches in the rain gauge last night, but I haven't yet updated the totals because it's still raining. I hope we can add two to three inches to our annual total, at least. We're still more than 10 inches behind.

[Update: As of noon on the 14th, we have had 3.30 inches of much-needed rain, and it's still raining. The forecast is for precipitation to continue for the next couple of days. Perhaps there's some hope of avoiding a very droughty summer this year after all. So far, the total now stands at 18.00 inches. We are currently 12.3 inches below normal for this date. The historical average for March 14th in Santa Rosa is 30.29 inches. Unfortunately, our annual average is 31.91 inches, which means that normally by this date we've already had nearly 95% of the rain we're going to get. The chances of making up 12 inches in the coming weeks seem slim, even if we pick up a couple more inches in the next few days.

An additional 1.9 inches fell overnight on the 15th. We are now at 19.90 inches--better, but still not enough. Hoping for more....]

Found Art: Velvet in a Clarinet Case (March 10, 2012)

My son is a clarinetist. At his weekly lesson recently I noticed the patterns on the velvet inside his teacher's clarinet case. I liked the soft sheen. I liked the impressions made in the material from years of cradling clarinet parts. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Places I'm Visiting: Sacramento, California--California State Yo-Yo Championships

Last Saturday, March 3, my son participated in the 2012 California State Yo-Yo Championships--his first time entering such a contest. There were 87 contestants in the 1a class he chose. He ranked 40th, which doesn't sound all that great, but he can now claim to be the 40th best Yo-Yoer in the state of California--which sounds pretty good. Actually, it is pretty good, considering that the top placers included current and former state and national champions as well as people that have placed in or won world competitions. This year's top award in the 1a class went to Yuuki Spencer. He was followed by Gentry Stein and Augie Fash. Some of the best are amazing to watch in action. I enjoyed watching the action off-stage as well--people comparing skills and sharing tricks, trading, buying, selling, and everywhere the whirr of yo-yos.

Wines I'm Drinking: 2011 Raimat "Castell de Raimat" Costers del Segre Albariño

I was surprised to find an Albariño wine from Spanish producer Raimat today in my local Whole Foods market. I wasn't aware that Raimat made wines from the Albariño grape. I think of Raimat mostly for Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, but I picked up a bottle for three reasons. First, and perhaps most important, I like good Albariño. Second, when I lived in Japan years ago, I often drank the wines of Raimat because they were generally well made and a notch higher in quality than their very reasonable price points promised. Third, I was curious to see what an Albariño from this part of Spain might be like.

Raimat is based just northwest of the town of Lerida (locally Lleida), about two hours west of Barcelona, in Catalonia (Catalunya). Raimat has its own subzone in the Costers del Segre DO. As noted above, the wines of this producer have always seemed more focused on international grapes and trends than on local traditions. Albariño, while it is a grape more local to Spain than either Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon, is usually associated with Galicia, in the extreme northwest of the country, and with the contiguous areas of Portugal, where it makes light, crisp wines that at their best are flavorful yet delicate and often enhanced by somewhat exotic notes. Brief tasting notes follow.

Very pale straw color. Interesting nose, suggestive of limes and white peaches. Quite dry and crisp on the palate at first, then with a deep, grapey flavor accompanied by a rush of mid-palate sweetness that tapers off into more acidic, grapefruit-like flavors on a moderately long finish. Peachy flavors linger beyond that. Has something of the quality of a Viognier wine. Rather heavier and less subtle than the best Albariño wines. Overall, a bit lacking in acidity, despite the slight tartness on the finish. Could be crisper. Something of a disappointment, although not at all unpleasant. One example provides too little data to say anything definitive, but this suggests Costers del Segre is not especially well suited to this grape. Moderately priced at $9.99, but I won't be going back for more.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--(March 2-4, 2012)

Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the new plants coming into bloom in the garden. Today saw the first bud open on the pink species tulip (Tulipa bakeri) called "Lilac Wonder." The Santa Rosa plum I planted a couple of years ago as a pollinator for our pluots is now in full bloom. The first flower opened on March 1. The Rhododendron "Noyo Dream" is also in full bloom. The first flower opened on March 2.

The first Lilac Wonder tulip bloomed on March 15 in 2011, on February 24 in 2010, and on March 5 in 2009, so this seems a fairly typical date--about in the middle of the range. The plant has calculated years of 356 days, 384 days, and 355 days so far, which average to exactly 365 days.

The Santa Rosa plum bloomed on February 23 in 2010 and on February 16 in 2011, so March 1 seems comparatively late. So far, the tree has calculated years of  358 days and 379 days, which average to 368.5 days, still somewhat long, but there's not enough data yet for that to be very meaningful.

The Rhododendron "Noyo Dream" bloomed on February 25 in 2009, on February 7 in 2010, and on February 2 in 2011, so this this seems quite late this year. So far, the plant has calculated years of 347 days,  360 days, and 393 days. Despite the odd lengths, these three average to just under 167 days, or close to an actual year.

Wines I'm Making: 2011 Sangiovese Rosé Labeled

I finally finished designing a label for the 2011 Sangiovese. I got it printed yesterday, and found a few minutes today to paste the labels on the bottles. We made only 15 bottles this past year, so it wasn't a big project, but it feels good to have it done and out of the way.

Music I'm Listening To: Charles Dutoit Conducts the San Francisco Symphony, Arabella Steinbacher Soloist (March 1, 2012)

Last night I had the pleasure of hearing one of the best concerts I've heard in years. Guest conductor Charles Dutoit led the San Francisco Symphony in the first of three concerts featuring soloist Arabella Steinbacher playing the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Also on the program were Stravinsky's Le Chant du Rossignol and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. The program will be repeated tonight, Friday March 2 and again on Saturday, March 3.

The concert opened with a clean, crisp rendition of Le Chant du Rossignol. The performers and the conductor seemed wonderfully connected from the outset. Dutoit conveyed his thoughts with the subtlest of movements--sometimes just by changing his position on the podium, sometimes with an arched eyebrow or with a smile and a nod. A fourth-row seat made it easy to see him work.

After intermission, I switched to an empty seat at the back of the first floor, thinking it would be more interesting to hear and see the Bartok with a full view of the players. The more distant seat made it easy to watch themes as they moved from section to section--and the sound is more balanced from such a seat. I thoroughly enjoyed the Bartok. Dutoit seemed to bring out the best in the performers. As is often the case in San Francisco, the woodwinds were outstanding. The oboe, in particular, has a lot to do in this piece.

The highlight, however, was Steinbacher playing the Tchaikovsky. I very much wanted to hear her again, having attended her debut concert with the San Francisco Symphony, in March last year, with conductor Herbert Blomstedt. While that performance was solid, it was really the CD I purchased at halftime that evening that opened my eyes to the talents of Ms. Steinbacher. Her recording of the Bartok Violin Concerto No. 2 is wonderful--and now among my favorites (Pentatone Classics, PTC 5186 350). I had high hopes for a strong performance last night, and that's what we got.

After the first movement, the audience burst into applause. The Tchaikovsky concerto easily persuades those that don't know it well that it's over when in reality it's just getting up a good head of steam, but I got the feeling that a good measure of the applause was spontaneous and coming from people that knew very well that only the first movement had ended. They simply wanted to show their appreciation. And why not? It was a luscious but beautifully controlled performance. Despite a gritty throatiness to her violin in the mid-register (which I rather like; Ms. Steinbacher plays the "Booth" Stradivarius of 1716, on loan from its owner, the Nippon Music Foundation), the sweetest parts of the concerto sounded wonderfully sweet without ever becoming maudlin. Ms. Steinbacher gave the impression of being in complete control. Her phrasing was self-assured and distinctive without being idiosyncratic. The connection between the soloist and the orchestra seemed especially tight. Dutoit masterfully kept the balance about as nearly perfect as I can imagine. This was one of the best live--or recorded--performances I've ever heard of the piece. It was greeted with an extended standing ovation at its conclusion.

Memorable. I wish I could go again tonight and tomorrow. I look forward to following Ms. Steinbacher's career over many years in the future, and I hope she comes to San Francisco often.

[Photographs of Arabella Steinbacher and Charles Dutoit courtesy of the San Francisco Symphony.]

Miscellaneous: Yet Another New Cocktail (February 29, 2012)

Rare it is to witness the birth of a classic. Presumptuous it is of me to think that this new cocktail I've concocted will become a classic, but, I rather like it, and I have high hopes for it. I've even decided to call it by my own name: The Talcroft. Here is the recipe.

The Talcroft
1 oz quality Vodka
1/2 oz Gin (I prefer Bluecoat American)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (I prefer Noilly)
1/4 oz Averna Amaro Siciliano
1/4 oz Malibu Coconut rum (but see below)

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a well-chilled martini glass. Garnish with a paper-thin wheel of lemon.

This drink, like a classic Manhattan, perfectly balances the sweet and the dry, and spicy herbal flavors (in this case, the gin and the dry vermouth) with the sweet and the exotic (the Averna and the coconut rum). In short, it is a delectable opposition of disparate flavors. Making cocktails, I've decided, is very much like painting, but it's an exercise in painting with flavors rather than colors and textures.

Important note: the proportions above assume the use of the very distinctively flavored Bluecoat gin. A more neutral gin might require using a little less vodka and a little more of the gin. (The Bluecoat is delicious in martinis, too).

I imagine this drink could be made with a coconut-flavored vodka instead of the coconut-flavored Malibu rum, but I don't want to buy a whole bottle of coconut vodka just to try that out, and I suspect that using only coconut Vodka would make the coconut flavor too strong. The thing to remember is that the coconut should be in the background; its presence should be just apparent. It should be the sort of flavor that sends the mind searching for a name--something familiar but not immediately obvious. It should add an element of mystery rather than make a statement.

[Update: I bought a bottle of Bacardi Coconut Rum following this post and compared it to the Malibu Coconut Rum. The latter seems coarse and excessively sweet in comparison. I tried the Talcroft using the Bacardi Coconut Rum and it results in a drier, altogether more subtle drink. I would now recommend making this drink using Bacardi Coconut Rum rather than the Malibu Coconut Rum.]

Rain: 0.75 inches Overnight (February 28-29, 2012)

Finally, a little more rain last night. We got only 0.75 inches, but anything is welcome. The rain last night brings our total for the 2011-2012 rainy season to only 14.25 inches, which is nearly 13.4 inches below normal for the end of February in Santa Rosa (27.64 inches). Annual average rainfall in Santa Rosa is 31.91 inches. The 2011-2012 rainy season officially ends June 30, 2012.

[Update: On the night of February29-March 1, we got an additional 0.40 inches of rain, bringing the annual total to 14.65 inches--still woefully short of normal.]

Books I'm Reading: Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris, by Graham Robb (February 29, 2012)

Having recently finished a book about the Eiffel Tower and the 1889 exposition it was built for, it seemed natural to move on to another book about Paris--Graham Robb's Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris (Norton, 2010). Here it's important to pay more attention to the subtitle than the title, as Robb's book isn't an exposition on the general characteristics of the people of Paris but rather a series of short, fictionalized pieces--in widely varying styles--based on real people and incidents, each illuminating a single facet of Paris. Some read like short stories. One reads like true crime fiction. One is presented as a screenplay. Taken together, these vignettes create a scintillating image of Paris through about 400 years of its history. The book is a delightfully non-linear stroll that allows layered, highly subjective glimpses of disparate corners of the city--glimpses that left me craving more.

I strongly recommend reading this with a good map of Paris within reach, or, even better, a copy of the Blue Guide to Paris and Versailles or another good guide book that is heavy on history. You'll want to follow Marie Antoinette's bungled flight during the Revolution. You'll want to follow Hitler along the streets of the city on his one and only visit to Paris. You'll want to see in your mind's eye the pattern of streets in St. Germain des Prés as you read through cinematic scenes that take place in the vicinity of the old church that gives the area its name. You'll want to find every one of the many avenues and monuments Robb's writing takes you to.

This is deceptively easy to read, yet so dense with information that I found myself wanting to re-read the entire book as soon as I'd finished it (and I had already read a couple of the episodes twice along the way). Virtually every page is a revelation. Highly Recommended.

Beekeeping: Honey Harvest (February 27, 2012)

I got all the honey bottled up today. I harvested a total of 38lbs--quite a good haul--and there's plenty more in the hive. The flavor seems good. As usual, the kitchen is unexpectedly sticky here and there, but, everything went fairly smoothly this time. Now I don't have to worry about that again for at least 6-8 months.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Nanking Cherry, Dwarf Nectarine (February 27, 2012)

More pink flowers in the garden today. Today the first blossom opened on the dwarf nectarine at the back of the house (above). Yesterday the Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa) started blooming. Warm weather in the past few days has coaxed out many flowers, but there was frost on the ground this morning and it's supposed to rain tomorrow. We need the rain, but I hope it doesn't cause the problems with fruit set again on the fruit trees....

The Nanking cherry bloomed on March 2 in 2009, on March 8 in 2010, and on March 5 in 2011, which makes it a bit early this year (February 26). The plant has calculated a year of only 357 days.

The dwarf nectarine, a slow grower, has nevertheless done well. The nectarines it produces are delicious--very intensely flavored. Every year I look forward to the ones the critters don't get. The nectarine bloomed on March 5 in 2009, February 27 in 2010, and March 2 in 2011. This year it's calculated a year of 361 days.

I note also that the golden currant (Ribes aureum) by the beehive is now in full bloom, having started to bloom quite suddenly on or about February 25.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Two-toned Daffodils, Rhododendron "Pink Snowflakes," Dwarf Peach (February 24, 2012)

With temperatures up into the seventies the past few days, flowers are beginning to open all over the garden. Today saw the first blooms on the two-toned daffodils in the front garden, on the rhododendron called "Pink Snowflakes," and on the dwarf peach in the side garden. "Pink Snowflakes" has been a very regular bloomer. Its first buds opened on February 22 in 2009, February 24 in 2010, February 16 in 2011, and on February 24 again this year. The dwarf peach has been somewhat more erratic, blooming on March 02, in 2009, February 22, in 2010, March 5 in 2011, and February 24 this year. The two-tone daffodils are another reliable bloomer, it seems. They first opened on February 22 in 2010 and on February 24 this year and last. The first blooms opened also on the yellow broom in the side garden (Cytisus).

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Ceanothus "Ray Hartman" and Ceanothus "Julia Phelps" (February 19-22, 2012)

I belatedly note that the first flowers opened on the large "Ray Hartman" ceanothus near the kitchen window on February 19 and that the first flowers on the "Julia Phelps" ceanothus opened yesterday, February 22. "Ray Hartman" is pictured above, "Julia Phelps" below. The "Ray Hartman" is trained up as a small tree. The plant bloomed on February 10 in 2011 and on February 22 in 2010, calculating years of 377 days and 353 days, which average to exactly 365 days. I don't seem to have a complete set of records for "Julia Phelps." The blossoms I note today are on a newer plant near the beehive.

Beekeeping: Time for a Belated Honey Harvest (February 22, 2012)

It was unseasonably warm today. I took the opportunity to open up the beehive for the first time in quite some time. It was filling with honey when I last looked, sometime in late October, perhaps, but there was enough empty space in many of the frames that I only extracted about 25lbs of honey in the autumn. There has been little activity around the entrance to the hive in recent weeks, so I've been a bit worried about my charges, but, if what I saw today is any indication, they've been--I hate to say it, but, busy as bees....

I took off a complete shallow super of ten frames, which should yield enough honey for friends and family for a while, and I suspect there is a second super that could be extracted as well. I expect to be busy tomorrow, if work permits such pastoral duties as honey extraction.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--"Flavor King" Pluot

The first buds on our "Flavor King" pluot opened the day before yesterday, on February 19. There has been so little rain this year that I'm hoping we'll actually get an appreciable crop this year. In the past two years it rained heavily while this and our other plum and pluot trees were in bloom, which resulted in a tiny crop. We'll see. The plant bloomed on February 5 in 2009, february 15 in 2010, February 13 in 2011, and February 19 this year, calculating years of 375, 363, and 371 days, for an average so far of about 370 days, somewhat longer than an actual year, but I suspect this will average downward over time.

Miscellaneous: Bizarre

I spare myself the endless drivel of TV commentary about the ongoing GOP presidential contest, by having no TV service. Nevertheless, a fair amount of news trickles down to me from various sources. Two recent bits of news strike me as especially bizarre.

Newt Gingrich attempts to belittle Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French. Rick Santorum criticizes President Obama, saying Obama's political agenda "...is not a theology based on the Bible." Huh? Shouldn't we be praising Romney for the added perspective his bilingualism may give him? Shouldn't we be praising Obama for not basing his priorities on ideas set out in a book of ancient myths?