Tidbits: RIP--Maurice Sendak (May 8, 2012)

Writer and illustrator Maurice Sendak died today. He was 83. He is gone, now, but I suspect books like In the Night Kitchen, Where the Wild Things Are and the little stories in the Nutshell Library will live forever. RIP.

Wines I'm Making: First Sulfur Spraying (2012)

Sprayed the grape vines with sulfur yesterday to prevent mold, the first spray of the 2012 season. So far, everything looks good. The longest shoots are already about 18 inches long. No rain is in the forecast, so I probably won't have to spray again until the shoots have grown another foot or so. It's time to do some shoot thinning as well.

Birds I'm Watching: California Quail (May 4, 2012)

I recently came across this handsome fellow in my garden. He was with his mate and looking very protective of her as I approached to take his picture. No chicks around yet, but we're likely to start seeing them soon.

For more about bird watching in Sonoma County, see my Website Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots.

Rain: A Little More Rain (May 3, 2012)

We got a little more rain yesterday, May 3. The rain gauge collected 0.15 inches, which brings our total for the 2011-2012 rainy season to 26.30 inches. That's respectable, but still on the low side. The historical annual average for Santa Rosa is just under 32 inches.

Found Art: Blue Dumpster (May 4, 2012)

In San Francisco not long ago I happened to park behind an industrial-sized dumpster in front of a renovation project. Someone had covered it with silver graffiti. It reminded me of French painter Pierre Soulages. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Monkey Flower, "Sungold" Butterfly Bush, More Roses (May 2, 2012)

First blooms of 2012 on a number of new plants in the past couple of days. The azalea-flowered monkey flower bloomed yesterday as did the butterfly bush (Buddleia) with the odd round flower clusters called "Sungold." The single pink rose by the deck called "Nearly Wild" started blooming the day before.

The monkey flower bloomed on May 3 in 2010. I can't find a record for 2011. "Sungold" bloomed on April 22 in 2011 and May 2 in 2010. "Nearly Wild" bloomed on April 18 in 2011 and April 9 in 2010, so this is rather late for this rose, although one or two mis-formed buds did open a couple of weeks ago.... Perhaps in earlier years, I've counted the outliers....

Music I'm Listening To: Neil Buckley Octet (April 30, 2012)

The Neil Buckley Octet plays the last Monday of each month at Gaia's Garden on Mendocino Avenue and at The Union Hotel on Mission Blvd. (both in Santa Rosa) on a couple of other days. I've been going to hear this group off and on for a few years now. They seem to get better every time I hear them. They're tight as a group and every member of the group is a solid soloist. I really enjoyed the show last night. It continues to amaze me that jazz of this caliber is available in Santa Rosa at no charge--I happily tip, of course, but there's no cover charge. They just ask that you buy at least $4 worth of food and drinks. A beer and your good to go.

2008 La Marouette Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc

In San Francisco yesterday I stopped in at a little grocery on Geary St. that specializes in organic foods. They have an impressive organic wine selection. I bought a bottle of Viognier from the south of France--not so much because it was organic but because I like Viognier when it's not heavy and overdone, as it too often is. The label the store had on the rack next to this offering touted it as precisely the opposite, so I bought a bottle. Tonight I tried the wine. Brief tasting notes follow.

A pretty, medium straw color. Toasted grain on the nose. None of the strong peach scent common in Viognier. Something a little musky. Similar on the palate. Seems quite restrained for a Viognier. Not a lot of overt fruit. Quite dry at first. Low in acidity. From the mid-palate begins to seem a little weightier, with some fruity sweetness, but the fruit remains subdued. Good texture, though. Not at all wimpy. If this wine were a person, it would be a quiet but self-assured intellectual--the sort of person that needs to be drawn out, but that has an affable side, if you can get to it. Hints of passion fruit develop with a little time. Good finish with lingering flavors suggesting vanilla and cherimoya. Although I would have liked a little more acidity to balance things, I enjoyed this wine. $10.99 at Thom's Natural Foods (5843 Geary), San Francisco.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Roses "Cocktail" and "Altissimo"

First blooms of 2012 on a number of roses in the garden in the past few days. The big red climber on the back fence called "Altissimo" bloomed on April 26. The single-petaled rose called "Cocktail" (pictured) started blooming on April 27. "Flutterby" by the front door is now in full bloom. "Cocktail" bloomed on April 19 in 2011.

Food I'm Eating: Fresh Pesto (April 27, 2012)

Nothing beats fresh pesto. Just basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese, ground coarsely with olive oil--add more olive oil and salt to taste at the table. It'll be even better in a month or two, when I can make it from fresh basil grown in the garden. Great with a flavorful but delicate Italian white wine like Gavi or Soave, or Roero Arneis, a good Verdicchio, or so many others....

2010 Quelle Estate South Eastern Australia Semillon/Chardonnay

I tried an interesting Semillon/Chardonnay blend from Australia tonight. I know nothing about this producer, but this is a solid, inexpensive wine that I enjoyed very much. The blend is 66% Semillon, 34% Chardonnay. Excellent with a garlic, lemon, and butter sauce pasta with prawns. Brief tasting notes follow.


Medium straw color. Tinged with green. Fairly closed on the nose at first, but gradually suggestive of straw or new tatami mats. Something then put me in mind of guava nectar. Maybe a hint of passion fruit, and perhaps a little caramel somewhere in the background? Has presence on the palate. Meyer lemons at first, but not just citrus tartness. The acidity is nicely balanced by a gritty, fruity sweetness. Good length. Lingering, slightly bitter flavors on the finish--even a suggestion of tannin. None of the waxiness that often comes with a healthy dose of Semillon, but a substantial cut above generic Chardonnay. I liked this wine. Very attractively priced at $4.99 a bottle at Grocery Outlet. I will go back for more of this to keep on hand for everyday consumption during the warmer weather ahead.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Cistus "Sunset," Phlomis Lanata

First blooms of 2012 today on the rock rose called "Sunset." I love its cheerful magenta blooms. This has been among the most successful of the rock roses I've tried to grow here. Once established, it can pretty well be ignored. First blooms today also on Phlomis lanata, a close relative of the better known Phlomis known as Jerusalem sage. Another tough plant that does well in Santa Rosa with virtually no supplemental water once established.

Rain: Overnight Drizzle Adds 0.10 Inches

A little rain overnight. The rain gauge shows 0.10 inches fell. That brings the 2011-2012 total to 26.15 inches--still well below normal, but not enough below to be too alarming. Average annual rainfall in Santa Rosa is just under 32 inches.

Found Art: Road Stripe and Cut Marks (April 22, 2012)

A composition in roadway stripes. The white is part of a lane line. The red stripes appear to be marks indicating where cuts were to be made for a repair. Found art. Art is everywhere--just look down.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--More New Flowers (April 22, 2012)

A mini-heat wave has accelerated activity in the garden. New plants are coming into bloom daily. Yesterday saw the first blooms on the large white-flowered Rock Rose called "Elma," and on Rosa mutabilis--which, as it's name suggests is a rose. This one is notable for the way the color of the flowers change. The buds are deep pink. The flowers open pink but quickly fade to yellow and then almost white. Today some of the helianthemums started blooming and I noticed the first flowers also on the Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruiticosa), a real stalwart that blooms reliably year after year with almost no attention (photo). The first German irises in the garden have begun to bloom in the past few days as well.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Halimiocistus sahucii

First blooms of 2012 yesterday on Halimiocistus sahucii, a low-growing relative of the rock roses. This one looks a lot like Cistus salvifolius, or salvia-leafed rock rose. It stays a little lower, however, its leaves are more delicate and a darker green, and the flower is smaller and a less creamy white. This flower bloomed on March 18 in 2010 and on April 6 in 2011,

Miscellaneous: Coincidence--Libraries Left Behind (April 17, 2012)

"Coincidence."A simple word that, taken at face value, means simply two events occurring simultaneously--or nearly so.

"Denotation." "Connotation." These are among the English words that I distinctly remember learning. There are comparatively few; I mostly remember grasping new words in foreign languages I've studied, where conscious effort is involved, but I can recall the moment I first heard those two English words.

The connotations of the word "coincidence" seem particularly rich. We appear incapable of accepting the word's baldest meaning. A coincidence always seems to portend something. A coincidence is a palimpsest. We write our own meanings onto the pale face of coincidence instinctively, virtually without thought. I try to resist the urge. To give in to it seems like intellectual laziness.

A recent coincidence suggested to me another kind of intellectual laziness and it set me to thinking, and ultimately to writing this little essay--although "essay" is far too important a word for it. My father, a rather distant man, died in February. He had an extensive library. When it became clear that my brother and I would be the ones to go through his books and dispose of the unwanted ones, I saw it as an opportunity to learn something about my father. I jumped to the conclusion that his books would tell me something meaningful, not really thinking. Intellectual laziness.

Last week, ahead of a concert my son was to play in (one of the Gerald Finzi Bagatelles for Clarinet) he had a rehearsal at the house of his accompanist. I would have taken a walk around her Oakmont neighborhood while waiting for him to finish his practicing, looking at the well-kept gardens, the wildly contorted oaks, the subtly colored pebbles embedded in the pavements, but it was raining--hailing, in fact. The accompanist invited me into the house. I sat on a sofa. She handed me a couple of issues of The New Yorker to pass the time. Much as I love The New Yorker, I don't subscribe--I'd never be able to keep up. I don't see the magazine often enough.  In the issue she handed me (November 7, 2011) I found an essay--yes, an essay--by James Wood called "Shelf Life: Packing up my Father-in-Law's Library." Coincidence. Here was another man thinking about the same things I was thinking about.

Wood comes to the conclusion in his essay that it's natural but perhaps wrong to think that a man's library tells us much about the man. I haven't decided whether he's right or wrong. But perhaps what he says doesn't apply here. There are more than just books in my father's library. He was an obsessive note-writer: Nearly every volume has in it a slip of paper or two--sometimes many more--lists, comments, questions, reminders jotted down. Surely this collection of paper--bound and unbound--means something?

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Cistus Salvifolius (April 14, 2012)

First blooms of 2012 on the low-growing rock rose, Cistus salvifolius, appeared on April 14. A single flower opened a few days before that, but the real blooming began on the 14th. When in full bloom, the foliage is almost entirely obscured by the white flowers that cover the plant. The apple tree and the Ray Hartman Ceanothus are now in full bloom, and the wisteria flowers are beginning to fill out. A very pretty time of the year. Cistus salvifolius bloomed on March 14 in 2010 and April 2 in 2009. Can't seem to find a record for 2011. 

Wines I'm Making: First Cabernet Leaves 2012

Busy with work, I'm tardy in reporting the first leaves on the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc vines in the back garden. They are just appearing now. The first leaves opened on April 12. It will soon be time to decide what to do about the nets this year. They need repair or replacement. The chore of spraying the new growth with sulfur to prevent mold will also begin soon. 2012 will be our ninth vintage.

Birds I'm Watching: First-of-Season Wilson's Warbler (April 14, 2012)

I'm still stuck in the house working on a big translation project, but I popped out for about an hour yesterday to stretch my legs. I took a brisk walk around Spring Lake. There were a few signs of the changing seasons. I heard the first Black-headed Grosbeaks of the season and saw my first Wilson's Warbler of the season (pictured) and heard several more. I'm looking forward to my next opportunity to get out without having to rush back to the computer and keyboard to slog through more text.

For more information about bird watching in Sonoma County, see my Website Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots.

Rain: Rain--and Hail

The last of the recent storms has now passed through. Beautiful, clear, sunny day today in Santa Rosa--a sharp contrast to yesterday's heavy rain and pea-sized hail. Yesterday's precipitation added 0.20 inches to the 2011-2012 rainy season total, which now stands at 26.05 inches (at least at my house). That's still well below the annual average for Santa Rosa, which is around 32 inches, but much better than looked likely as recently and the end of February. Despite the nice weather today, I've mostly been stuck indoors working. I hope I'll have something more interesting to write about once current projects are out of the way, delivered to clients.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Solomon's Seal, Rhododendron "Double Eagle," Wisteria, Echium Gentianoides (April 9-10, 2012)

A lot going on in the garden at the moment. In the past few days, Solomon's Seal, the rhododendron called "Double Eagle," the Wisteria at the back of the garden, and Echium gentianoides have all come into bloom. I've been very busy with work this week, so it's been hard to keep up with the flowers.

Double Eagle" starting blooming on April 9. The plant had no flowers last year after a spectacular 2010. It's spectacular again this year. The whole plant is covered with yellow flowers (pictured). Echium gentianoides, a rather open, delicate-looking, true blue Echium also started blooming on April 9. The Wisteria started blooming on April 10--but only a few flowers are open on one or two flower clusters. Solomon's Seal, a lovely little woodland wildflower that I feel nostalgic about because of childhood associations with the East, started blooming on April 10 as well (top photo).

Rain: Better late than never (April 9-12, 2012)

It started raining last night. The forecast is for rain the next few days. Normally we get comparatively little rain after the end of March, but any addition is welcome, as we're still considerably below normal for the 2011-2012 rainy season (which ends on June 30). We've had 0.95 inches now since last reporting. That brings us to 24.30 inches for the season. Average annual rainfall in Santa Rosa, California is 31.91 inches, so we are still about seven and a half inches below where we should be, but at least we're approaching the normal range

[Update: Heavy rain on the night of the 11th. We got another 0.95 inches overnight. The total now stands at 25.20 inches for the season.]

[Further update: An additional 0.65 inches on the 12th brings the total to 25.85 inches for the 2011-2012 rainy season. We're getting there...."]

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--Salvia "Point Sal Spreader" (April 5, 2010)

I belatedly report that the Salvia in the side garden called "Point Sal Spreader" had its first blooms the day before yesterday, on April 5. This has been a tough, reliable bloomer getting by with very little supplemental watering. "Point Sal Spreader" bloomed on April 4 in 2009, March 20 in 2010, and April 11 in 2011, thus calculating years of 350 days, 387 days, and 371 days.

Books I'm Reading: Only a Theory (April 6, 2012)

Kenneth R. Miller's Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul (Penguin 2008) is a short book (221 pages) but it seems to me an important one. Miller puts into historical perspective the ongoing work by the religiously devout to malign evolution, with particular emphasis on the insidious effects of the switch in terminology from "scientific creationism" to "intelligent design," which, he argues persuasively, attempts not simply to deny the fact of evolution but to discredit scientific thinking in its entirety. While Miller neatly dismantles the main ideas advocates of "intelligent design" use to back their thinking, that is not his primary aim. He is more concerned with raising alarm bells to alert us to the danger "intelligent design" poses to the tradition of skeptical, critical thinking that has long underpinned the advance of science. Concise, clear, convincing. Highly recommended.

Miscellaneous: Glory Around the Moon (April 2, 2012)

A beautiful halo of light around the moon tonight. Sometimes called a "glory," these rings of diffuse light are caused by ice crystals in the upper atmosphere. I've seen a similar phenomenon (from above, in an airplane) on the surface of a cloud layer, created by the sun--in which case the sun produces a bright halo around the shadow of the aircraft. Somewhat different, but much the same effect.

Found Art: Textured Parking Garage Floor, Santa Rosa (April 2, 2012)

Parking garages frequently use heavy texturing on their floors to prevent slipping. This pattern created an intriguing surface. Dark and light patches complete the composition. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Plants I'm Growing: First Blooms--"Pink Lady" Apple, Tulipa Clusiana (April 1, 2012)

First blooms today on the apple tree at the back of the garden. Our tree is the variety called "Pink Lady." Tasty, but usually worm-eaten by the time we get to them..... First blooms today also on the small yellow and brick-red species tulips under the "Flavor King" pluot tree, Tulipa clusiana. These flowers look red when closed, but open on sunny spring days to reveal deep lemon yellow centers. The apple tree bloomed on March 23 in 2009, March 30 in 2010, and March 29 in 2011, calculating years of 372 days, 364 days, and 368 days, averaging to 368 days. The yellow tulips bloomed on April 4 in 2011 and on March 16 in 2010.

Wines I'm Making: First Leaves on the Sangiovese Vines (March 31, 2012)

The first leaves opened yesterday (March 31) on the Sangiovese vines. Still none on the Cabernet vines, but the buds are swollen. The Sangiovese is usually about 10 days to a week ahead of the Cabernet.

Rain: Another 0.45 Inches (March 30-31, 2012)

We got another 0.45 inches of rain last night and this morning. The sun is out now. The plants look green, healthy, swollen with water, ready to burst into bloom, the way they do each spring. We are still well below normal, but the upcoming summer looks increasingly less likely to be dire. More rain is predicted for the coming week. Our 2011-2012 total now stands at 23.10 inches. Still, that's 8.8 inches below average.

[Update: Another 0.25 inches on the 31st brings us to 23.35 inches for the season.]