Birds I'm Watching: Spring Lake, Santa Rosa (September 2, 2012)

A couple of days ago I took a quick walk around Spring Lake, in Santa Rosa, hoping to see warblers, as the migration is now under way. I did see Yellow Warblers, Orange-crowned Warblers, and a Black-throated Grey Warbler, but nothing exotic (although the Black-throated Grey is one of my favorites). The highlight was a Pileated Woodpecker that rather obligingly landed on an exposed tree trunk with good light after a frustrating few minutes of trying to photograph the bird hanging upside down in dense foliage (the bird, not me). Sometimes you get lucky.

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

Found Art: Patterns in the Sand, Ocean Beach, San Francisco (September 3, 2012)

Patterns in the sand at San Francisco's Ocean Beach. A composition created by gravity and time. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog

Serendipitous Art.

Grapes So Far Unmolested (August 30, 2012)

It's almost September. We haven't lost a single grape yet. So far my strategy has worked. In past years I've usually protected the grapes in the back yard in response to the first depredations of the season, when the grapes have taken on color but are still far from ripe. This year, I determined to net the grapes and turn on the electric fence that surrounds them before the grapes started to turn purple, and the idea seems to have worked. My aim was to make the grapes inaccessible before they became attractive to raccoons etc. Still about six weeks to harvest, if we harvest on a typical date (usually around the second week of October). The summer has been so cool, though, that harvest may be later than usual. We'll see.

Tidbits: RIP--Neil Armstrong (August 25, 2012)

I note the death yesterday of Neil Armstrong. I imagine his passing will inspire many to think back to what they were doing on July 20, 1969, when he became the first human being to walk on the moon. I remember watching the event on TV. The feeling of anticipation among the adults watching left a stronger impression on me than the event itself, but I'm glad to have seen it. By all accounts, Armstrong was a brilliant yet modest man. RIP.

Wines I'm Drinking: 2008 Brutocao Mendocino County Bliss Vineyard Merlot (August 22, 2012)

Moderately deep red with a hint of garnet in it. Showing a little age. Plummy on the nose at first. A little wood. Something subtly floral as well, but not identifiable. Nice acidity, giving a bright first impression. Has a fairly formidable tannic bite and the tannins linger, although they aren't harsh. Some musky, earthy undertones. Fruity on the mid-palate but the fruit falls away fairly quickly to leave the tannins exposed, giving the middle to end of the flavor profile a somewhat austere quality, but a little fruity sweetness comes back on a moderately long finish. I think this will improve with age. Still seems a bit rough around the edges, but, on the whole, nicely balanced and interesting, and with a little time in the glass, the flavors evolved. The tannins softened (allowing the fruit to emerge a bit more), the floral component became more pronounced, and the fruit began to seem more like black cherries than plums. Very attractively priced at my local Grocery Outlet for $6.99 a bottle. Regularly sells for around $24 a bottle.

Birds I'm Watching: Lake Ralphine, Santa Rosa (August 21, 2012)

I shouldn't complain about work, but I've had rather a lot in the past week, which has kept me mostly stuck at my computer. Yesterday I managed to take a quick break for a walk around Lake Ralphine, at Howarth Park. It was the middle of the day, and not much was going on--almost no birds at all, until I stopped at a secluded spot on the far side of the lake to look for the bird making what at first I thought was a Spotted Towhee's cranky call. It turned out to be a Bewick's Wren (photo) making similar sounds. Flitting over my head was a mix of small woodland birds--a Titmouse, a Hutton's Vireo, a couple of Chickadees. And then back home and back to work.

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

Books I'm Reading: Winston Churchill's The Gathering Storm (August 15, 2012)

I've long wanted to read Churchill's six-volume history of WWII. I've finally made a start by reading the first volume, The Gathering Storm. The entire set was among the books left behind in my father's library. I probably won't immediately read the second volume, but I will get to it and the rest of the series sooner rather than later now.

In its early chapters, this first volume lays out in great detail the events that led to the Second World War in Europe, with Churchill giving much emphasis to the idea that the war could have been prevented entirely--at several junctures--if only the victorious nations of the First World War 20 years earlier had contained Germany by steadfastly forcing that country's adherence to military restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles while giving Germany economic support--instead of doing the opposite: insisting on reparations and the enforcement of unreasonable economic punishments while ignoring German rearmament in clear violation of treaty provisions.

Churchill opens his book with the following heading: "How the English-speaking peoples through their unwisdom, carelessness, and good nature allowed the wicked to rearm." While it seems to me that the French, too, were culpable, Churchill's summary is typically succinct and accurate. Throughout the book, he reminds us that he vigorously pointed out the dangers of the developing situation and that his warnings and those of his political allies went largely unheeded. While the I-told-you-so remarks are frequent, Churchill makes a point of mentioning nothing that he had not stated publicly or in writing at the time, and history proved Churchill mostly right.

The second half of the book is devoted to what Churchill calls the "twilight war," often referred to as the "phony war" during which there was virtually no fighting on land--the period between Hitler's invasion of Poland (September 3, 1939) and the invasion of France. Most activity was on the high seas. The Scandinavian situation (and especially the Norwegian campaign) figures prominently. Churchill was closely involved in the latter, as he had returned to the position of First Lord of the Admiralty when Britain declared war on Germany, on the day Hitler invaded Poland (Churchill didn't become prime minister and minister of defense, with general responsibility for the war, including land forces, until the German attack on France in May 1940, which precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister Chamberlain). Churchill rightly saw at an early date that taking Narvik, in Norway, the main source of German iron ore for steel production, was critical, but scruples about violating Norwegian neutrality caused a disastrous delay in action. The volume closes with the failure to thwart Hitler in Norway and the change of the British government in 1940.

This first-person account in finely wrought prose by one of the leaders of the nations that fought WWII is valuable for its breadth and its depth of detail and for the inside view it gives of decision-making in London as the clash approached. The writing is crisp and clear throughout. Substantial appendices flesh out many aspects of the narrative in minute detail. While this book is hardly new (having been published first in 1948), it remains a unique personal account of the looming disaster of WWII. Campaigns in which the British were involved get disproportionate attention, and it's worth remembering that Churchill was a participant not a detached observer--that he was a politician not an historian. The series is perhaps better viewed as an extended memoir than as straight history, but it's fascinating reading nevertheless. Recommended.

Plants I'm Growing: First blooms--Epilobium Canum (August 10, 2012)

My favorite of the Epilobiums (the genus formerly  known as Zauschneria) is this one, Epilobium canum, which is notable for its sturdy, erect posture, the pretty blue-green of its foliage and the screaming red of its blossoms. There are three or four Epilobium varieties in my garden. The others have already started to bloom, but I always enjoy it when this one comes into flower. These are commonly known as California fuchsias. First blooms of 2012 today. This plant bloomed on August 13 in 2011, thus calculating a year of 363 days.

Wines I'm Making: Vines Netted (August 10, 2012)

I've more or less finished netting the grapes vines. A few rocks have to be repositioned to hold down the margins. The electric fence will soon be on. I'm hoping this year to shut out the animals before they figure out there's anything of interest hanging on the vines. In the past I've generally thrown the nets on in a hurry--in response to mangled branches and missing grapes. It seemed wise to get them on before the grapes take on color and become tempting. The Sangiovese grapes are just beginning to turn. The Cabernet grapes are still green. Hoping for the best....

Miscellaneous: Curiosity on Mars--Congratulations to the People of NASA (August 8, 2012)

I watched the landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars a couple of nights ago. The intense concentration in the control room, lubricated by a practiced familiarity with routine; the specialists delivering status reports to the coordinator; the quiet confidence (with an undercurrent of worry) were all something I'd seen before: The scene was reminiscent of the old Apollo days. I was very pleased the complicated landing sequence executed without a hitch and that the rover landed safely. Already we're seeing fascinating new pictures from the surface of Mars. I look forward to many more. Congratulations to everyone involved. Some of the pictures are even being published in 3-D. Where are my 3-D glasses? I have a pair around here somewhere....

Photo by NASA. NASA photos are in the public domain.

Found Art: Record Store Window (August 2, 2012)

Painted records in so many colors. A used record store in San Francisco's Castro district has used images of colored vinyl to good effect to decorate the store front. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog

Serendipitous Art.

Wines I'm Drinking: 2009 Château La Verrière Bordeaux Superieur

I picked up this wine recently at my local (santa Rosa, CA) Costco for a modest $8.49 a bottle. I had high hopes for it as it was a gold medal winner (usually not a bad indicator in the case of less widely known Bordeaux wines) and because the 2009 vintage was generally good in Bordeaux. I wasn't disappointed. This is the kind of inexpensive but tasty little Bordeaux that I like to buy by the case and tuck away for future use on occasions that call for something solid but not extravagantly expensive. By the time seven or eight years have passed, they're usually markedly better than when new--and I always kick myself for not having bought more. Brief tasting notes follow.

A youthful-lookng, inky, deep purple-red. Fairly closed on the nose at first, but the initial impression was of an appealing, not unrefined, well-made wine. Initially the nose offered distant hints of roses and leather, but not a lot else. The palate was similarly restrained at first. The wine seemed flavorful but light--although a core of attractive fruitiness was apparent from the outset (this masked somewhat by light, soft tannins). A wine I'd call smooth, well-bred, attractive, and easy, but not without character. It gave the impression of being likely to get better with age, and, with a little time standing in a decanter, the wine started to develop a little more complexity. I began to get cocoa on the palate and there were hints of cherries and almonds on the nose. There was also a slight suggestion of iodine. While this wine may not appeal to palates raised on fatter, fruitier, more alcoholic California wines, it will be appreciated by those who know and love the wines of Bordeaux. I'd give this at least another three to five years in bottle before drinking it again, and I suspect it'll be tasty ten years from now, if well stored. If you drink it early, decant it and give it an hour or so before indulging. Not profound, but well made, tasty Bordeaux. Recommended.

I have no financial connection with any producer or retailer of wine. 

Art I'm Looking At: Mel Ramos Retrospective at the Crocker Museum of Art (July 24,2012)

Mel Ramos is a name I must have heard before. I looked him up in the textbook I used in college in a history of American art class (Hunter and Jacobus, American Art of the 20th Century, Abrams, 1973) and there he was, with penciled-in margin notes nearby. I can't say that I remembered him, though, so I approached the current Ramos retrospective at Sacramento's Crocker Museum of Art with no baggage--either positive or negative ("Mel Ramos: 50 Years of Superheroes, Nudes, and Other Pop Delights," through October 21, 2012).

The work is certainly eye-catching. The canvases are big. They are bright. The compositions are stark--usually a single large figure against a plain background. The superheroes lack the commercial artifacts that accompany most of the nude figures (a typical nude combines a Playboy Playmate-style woman in, on, or next to something like a box of candies, a package of Cracker Jacks, a cigarette pack, or a martini glass), but even the nudes are rather simple compositions, and their backgrounds tend to be garish--flat planes in colors like mauve and apricot.

According to the gallery labels, Ramos became serious about painting while under the spell of the Abstract Impressionists, especially Willem de Kooning. Ramos, we are told, disgusted with his own slavish copying of de Kooning's style, eventually decided to paint what interested him, and that appears to have been comic book characters. The show begins with some of these early superhero paintings. It's a shame that at least a few of the painter's Abstract Impressionist works are not included. I left the exhibition curious to see what Ramos was doing in that earliest phase of his career.

"Wonder Woman No. 1" (1962, oil on canvas, Rochelle Leininger Collection. © Mel Ramos/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY) is among the early superhero paintings. It has a naive simplicity, as do the other comic book heroes in the show. The comic-influenced works look precisely like what you'd expect from a man who enjoyed comic books and had recently decided in a moment of artistic frustration to simply paint what he wanted to without worrying about what others were doing. Having said that, I sense a certain disingenuousness here. Already at this period the Abstract Impressionists were moving away from a purely painterly style and beginning to add bits and pieces of the real world to their canvases; artists were already showing a fascination with the visual clichés--including comic book images--that became central to Pop Art. I suspect Ramos still had his eye squarely on trends among his contemporaries.

Whatever his precise thinking, "Phantom Lady" of 1963 (Oil on canvas, Leta and Mel Ramos Family Collection, © Mel Ramos/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY) appears to have been a turning point--as the wall text in the galleries points out. With "Phantom Lady," Ramos combines the comic book hero with the airbrushed pin-up girl, a step toward the nude work that appears to have occupied him most consistently since this period.

With the nudes, Ramos would seem to have embraced the artistic mainstream again. The nudes show all the typical characteristics of full-blown Pop Art. They are not portraits of real women. They are portraits of photographs of women photographed in a style that already makes them a commodity. The addition of commercial artifacts as props adds a surreal note, but essentially they are a send-up of the American obsession with commercialism and with an artificial, smoothed over, enhanced notion of feminine beauty.

"Five Flavor Frieda: The Lost Painting of 1965 No. 47" of 2005 is a good example of the later nudes (2005, oil on canvas, Collection of Don Sanders, courtesy of McClain Gallery, © Mel Ramos/licensed by VAGA, NewYork, NY). The nudes are rather funny. A couple of the titles made me laugh out loud. I particularly liked "Monterey Jackie," a pin-up girl sitting on a large block of cheese, presumably Monterey jack. There is a light-hearted irreverence in the parody of the party stripper in several images in which the nude is emerging from a package of candy or from inside a banana, but I wonder if Ramos's jokes are funny enough to sustain decades of retelling, decades of variations on a theme. I enjoyed seeing the Ramos show, but most of the work seemed only superficially attractive without much to sustain long interest. The paintings (and one or two sculptures) reminded me of the sort of gaudy woman that is superficially attractive--a head turner--but with no personality, the sort of woman that doesn't sustain interest, the sort of woman that Ramos perches on his packages of candy and drops into his martini glasses like pickled olives.

More about paintings at the Crocker Museum of Art.

Images used by permission, courtesy of the Crocker Museum of Art.  

On the Road: Crocker Museum of Art, Sacramento (July 20, 2012)

A couple days ago I got back from a short trip to the north--as far north as the Mt. Lassen area. On my way home to Santa Rosa I made an unplanned stop at the Crocker Art Museum, in Sacramento. I've rarely been in Sacramento before--I usually drive around it on the way to skiing at Lake Tahoe--so I've hardly done anything in the city. This, my first visit, was a short one, but I rather enjoyed myself. The museum was the highlight.

The Crocker collection is quite varied, including everything from antiquities to modern painting and photography, but perhaps strongest in arts of Oceania, in contemporary ceramics, and in California painters. There were quite a few good California landscapes on display, although I especially liked a landscape in Scotland entitled "On the River Minnock, Kirkcudbrightshire," by James Faed (1857-1920), a Scotsman (pictured above--the painting, that is, not the Scotsman). He's nicely captured the peaty brown water and the mist, although these may be hard to see in my photo here.

There were several good landscapes in the Impressionist style by Guy Rose (1867-1925), a painter I've never been aware of before. Apparently Rose was born in Southern California, the son of a California senator, but he spent more than 20 years in France (1890 to 1912), living near Monet's home at Giverney, having earlier studied at the California School of Design, in San Francisco, and at the Académie Julian in Paris. He is best known for the impressionist landscapes he did along the California coast after his return to the United States, including the one of the Monterey coast pictured above.

A number of interesting portraits caught my eye. I liked an 1889 portrait of Mary Blanche Hubbard by  Mary Curtis Robinson (1848-1931) who, like Rose, studied at the California School of Design, in San Francisco, and also at the Art Students League, in New York. The limited palette and the choice of a white dress against a white background immediately suggest Whistler. I liked the way the cloth of the dress is handled and the line of the arm and hand.

Another portrait I liked, "White Dress (White Nightie)" by Otis Oldfield (1890-1969) was similar in that it depicts a woman in a white dress (actually a white nightgown), but in a more modern style. I suppose this is actually quite derivative. The pose with the slightly tilted head and the closed eyes, the palette (with its use of rusty tones), and the small african carving in the corner all suggest the influence of Modigliani; and there is something Picasso-esque in the modeling, but I liked it nevertheless. According to the tag, Oldfield was criticized for painting the model (his wife) in a nightgown, so he changed the name of the painting to "White Dress" to defuse controversy at exhibitions. How times change.

Among the more modern works in the collection there were some good paintings by Richard Diebenkorn and many by unfamiliar artists--too many to catalogue here. I enjoyed seeing a good example of one of the map-like San Francisco cityscapes Wayne Thiebaud (1920-    ) made in the 1980s. I like the odd perspective that gives the impression of looking straight down on the subject while seeing it from another angle at the same time, the odd angles of the streets and buildings and of the long shadows. This one is called "Street and Shadow."

The main special exhibition was a retrospective of work by pop artist Mel Ramos, a Sacramento native. Details here.

[Update: Also see this post about the Art-o-mat® in the lobby of the Crocker Museum.]

Miscellaneous: Another Shocking Gun Incident? (July 20, 2012)

Breaking news. July 19, 2012. Colorado gunman kills 12, wounds scores at Batman premiere. Nation shocked.

Nation shocked?

Really? I doubt it. Is this news depressing? Yes. Tragic? Yes. But will the Batman shooting really surprise anyone?

It doesn't surprise me that we've just suffered yet another mass shooting. It won't surprise me when those opposed to our moronic gun laws hope hopelessly yet again that this incident may lend momentum to their cause. It won't surprise me when the gun advocates bridle and moan and say in response that we need more firearms in the hands of more people--more guns so that a prepared and vigilant hero can stop cold the next rogue abuser of guns (remember, it is people that kill, not guns)--by slaying him before he can slay others. But where are these heroes? Where were they last night? They seem as real to me as the superheroes so popular in the movies today. They seem as real to me as Batman.

What's new?

[Update: August 5, 2012. It's been only a little more than a month since I wrote this. In that time, we've had another mass killing--at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, six dead. Shocked?]

[Update: Brookfield, Wisconsin, October 21, 2012. Four dead. No heroes to be found. Shocked?]

[Update: Portland, Oregon, December 11, 2012. Three dead at shopping mall, including shooter armed with automatic weapon. Shocked?]

[Update: Newtown, Connecticut, December 14, 2012. Gunman opens fire at elementary school, killing 20 children and six staff members and himself. Maybe this one really will shock us into some kind of action. It won't have been soon enough.]

[Update: Shooter in Blair, County, Pennsylvania, near Altoona, December 21, 2012, kills three on a rural road. The shooter is killed by state troopers. At least five others wounded. Shocked?]

[Update: Shooter in Webster, New York, December 23, 2012, shoots and kills two firefighters and wounds two others after apparently setting fires to lure his victims in. Shocked?]

[Update: January 20, 2013--Gunman in Albequerque, New Mexico kills five with an AR-15, the same gun used to kill 27 in Newtown, Connecticut. Shocked? Happy New Year.]

And on, and on, and on.....

On the Road: Lassen Volcano National Park to Sacramento (July 19-20, 2012)

A very successful day, yesterday. I returned in the morning to Lassen Volcano National Park, to the area around the entrance in the northwest corner of the park, and took a couple of short hikes from there--one through lily ponds, another around Lake Manzanita, a flat oval of blue surrounded, as its name suggests, by manzanitas, but also by towering evergreens. I had hoped to see White-headed Woodpecker, a bird I've never had the pleasure of meeting, and one described in the national park handouts as "common," but I had no luck with the woodpeckers. Mostly I saw Mountain Chickadees, Steller's Jays, and Canada Geese on the lake. I did, however, get to watch a Western Wood Pewee flycatching over one of the lily ponds, a pair of Red-breasted Sapsuckers feeding a fledgeling, and a Coot with two babies with their bizarre red and yellow whiskers--something I've never seen before. So, the day started with a pleasant walk, despite the absence of White-headed Woodpeckers.

What made the day so successful, was my spur-of-the moment decision to head toward Sacramento. As I entered the city, I happened to see a sign pointing the way to the Crocker Art Museum. I was in no hurry. I like art museums. I decided to follow the signs.

Good fortune. I found a parking space immediately in front of the galleries. Thursday, the museum stays open late, until 9:00PM. With good summer weather and long days, the museum invites musicians for outdoor concerts on these late evenings. The museum café looked good. So, I took a leisurely stroll through the exhibits, had a light dinner of pulled pork tacos and amber ale in the café and then finished my ale out in the museum's courtyard, lazing on the grass, listening to the music, watching people dance. Excellent Latin-flavored jazz by the Gonzalo Berger Quartet. Serendipity.

The Crocker Art Museum has a good collection, strong in arts of Africa and Oceania, in contemporary glass and ceramics, and in 19th and 20th century California artists. A recent addition (completed in October 2010) has created a very large display area. Special exhibits included ceramics by Karen Karnes, photographs from the museum's collection, contemporary glass from the museum collections, and paintings by Mel Ramos. Details here.

On the Road: Lassen Volcano National Park (July 18, 2012)

After finishing work this morning, I headed north and west from the Lake Tahoe area with the vague notion of seeing something near Mt. Shasta--although I'm sot entirely sure what--birds probably. I headed for Lassen Volcano National Park, which turned out to be quite beautiful. It appears to be an area worth spending some time exploring. Some of the roads had the stink of sulfur. I saw active, steamy vents here and there, and in the background is Mount Lassen and many other volcanic cones in various degrees of eroded decrepitude.

As a child, I remember being shown a large rock in Central Park (I lived in New York at the time--I was born in Manhattan) that was explained to me as a glacial anomaly--that is, a rock of very different composition or age from the surrounding rocks that had been brought along from somewhere far away, entrapped in ice, and then abandoned by the glacier that had shepherded it as the glacial ice melted away, a kind of orphan. I remember seeing other rocks in the park that showed signs of glacial scarring--linear grooves caused by small rocks embedded in ice being dragged over the surface of other rocks. Both left an impression on me (no pun intended). I'm always pleased to see examples of these two phenomena. I got to see both today in the park.

I stayed in Anderson, California, about 10 miles south of Redding. The hotel was clean and attractive. The adjoining restaurant looked promising, but I'd describe the food as ambitiously conceived, clumsily executed. A berry-flavored gazpacho was interesting, but ultimately not very successful. I enjoyed my panko-encrusted fried green tomatoes best. Tomorrow I hope to get up early and go back to an area in the National Park that looked good for birding.

On the Road: Roadside Oddities (July 18, 2012)

On a short trip north from the San Francisco Bay area, I've mostly been working, stuck at coffee shops with my laptop computer, but yesterday I passed a couple of roadside oddities that caught my eye. Each turned out to be worth a small detour.

Brown signs along California's highways alerting drivers to the presence of a point of historical interest are not uncommon. I find them frustrating, though, because they are small and, at highway speeds, it's hard to read them--hard to know if they mark something worth stopping for. More often than not, I have driven past by the time I figure out what a sign is referring to, but I caught the words "Thompson's Seedless" on a marker outside of Marysville, yesterday, which I thought might be worth a look and I managed to pull over by the marker. It seems that the Thompson's Seedless grape got its commercial start near Marysville, California from, as the marker indicates, cuttings ordered in 1872 from New York by one William Thompson, an Englishman. The variety was originally known as Lady de Coverly--which makes me wonder what the grape's history was in New York before it got to California. Hmmm..... Every answer seems to pose another question.

Not far from Truckee, later in the day, I saw a marker that said something about the Lincoln Highway, America's first transcontinental highway. A turnout along what is now I-80 preserves a strip of road that was part of Highway 40 before that road was moved slightly and widened to become I-80. Highway 40 followed the path of the Lincoln Highway. A bridge somewhere along the highway nearby was decorated on a whim by a local creative mind with fancy barriers of concrete that spell out "Lincoln" on one side and "Highway"on the other. These impressed someone in authority so much that a plan was hatched to add identical barriers on every bridge along the route, from coast to coast. Apparently, it was an idea that never gained traction. According to a blurb at the site I visited, only one other bridge was ever so adorned--somewhere in Iowa. When Highway 40 became I-80, the original pair of barriers was moved for display to the roadside location I saw.

Miscellaneous: A Dissatisfied Customer (July 16, 2012)

I pulled up behind this vehicle at a traffic light last year. At first I didn't notice anything unusual (do you?), but then I looked at the lettering on the right-hand side of the rear end. This car has so displeased its owner that he's gone to the trouble of creating a badge for it that declares it a "shitbox." I had to laugh. I had my camera handy, which allowed me to record this little gesture of disgust. I had lost the photo and assumed it deleted, but I found it today by accident while going though unrelated photos on my computer, allowing me to share it. (The license plate number has been altered to protect the identity of the owner--the "shitbox" badge is real.)

Plants I'm Growing: Agave Filifera Blooms (July 9, 2012)

Agave filifera probably has a common name, but I don't know what it is. "Filifera," I've always assumed, refers to the filament-like fringes that form on the leaves (I see now that they're present on the flower stalk as well). They peel away from the margins of the leaves and curl up into little curlicues. It's one of the first plants I planted in the garden of my house, which was new when we bought it in 2000. The plant probably went in the ground in 2001 or 2002, at the latest. About a month ago, a flower stalk began to develop. It's been elongating since then. A couple of days ago the first flowers opened at the base of what has become an immense inflorescence. The flower stalk reaches to the eaves of the house--about 12 feet, I estimate. It represents ten years of stored energy. The photo here shows only the lowest 10 inches or so of the huge stalk. The flowers will open from the bottom up.

The plant itself is not especially big. It stands less than two feet tall. This gigantic organ of reproduction is therefore about six times the size of the plant that generated it. It's like a tulip blossom standing five feet tall, or, in human terms, the equivalent of a man with a 36-foot-long erection. It's no wonder the plant dies after it blooms.

On the Road: Carmel, San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles (July 2-4)

Wine and Missions--and a pair of California Condors. En route to Paso Robles to do a little wine tasting I stopped for a night in Carmel. Having arrived rather late in the day on a Sunday, there wasn't much to do but browse a few shops and look at the sea--but those are pleasant enough diversions. I stopped in at The Weston Gallery, which always has good photography on display. The highlight of any stay in Carmel, though is an opportunity to eat at Casanova, probably my favorite restaurant in the immediate area (along with Taste Bistro). I enjoyed a very tasty Verdicchio from Sartarelli--crisp, clean, and refreshing, but with real character. The spinach gnocchi I had were a delight.

At the Mission in Carmel--formally known as Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo. The organist was practicing in the main church. A fabulously magenta Bougainvillea was blooming in the inner garden. There was a display of historical vestments, some with rather remarkable embroidery (photo).

Most interesting, to me, however, was the Munras Family Heritage Museum at the Mission--a section I've never noticed before. Of particular interest was a photograph of one of the most important family members, Maria Antonia Field, taken at San Francisco's 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition, at the French pavillion, according to the inscription in the box. I have a strong interest in photography and the history of photography, but have never come across an image quite like this one. It was mounted in a gilded, velvet-lined box (much like those used to protect Daguerreotypes but about twice that size) hinged on the inside so that the image, apparently a positive color slide (on what looks like ground glass), is raised to receive light at an angle above a mirror mounted below it. To view the image, you look into the mirror. The photograph is beautiful, as is the woman pictured in it. I wasn't aware of an early color process of this type. A little research is in order....

It's remarkable to me that within three minutes of writing the above sentence, the Internet allowed me  to satisfy my curiosity. This appears to be a an "Autochrome-Lumière" (or just an "Autochrome"). The viewing device is called a diascope. The process, which uses dyed particles of potato starch, appears to have been developed in 1903 and first commercially marketed in 1907 (both according to the Wikipedia article on the Autochrome-Lumière). That makes perfect sense chronologically. It would likely have been a novelty in San Francisco in 1915.

About 40 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1 is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. I've stopped there before in the hope of seeing some of the few California Condors still alive, but I've never been lucky enough to see one. This time, however, a pair appeared soaring high over a distant ridge not long before I was about to give up. They were too distant to photograph meaningfully, but close enough to see well with binoculars--apparently an adult and a younger bird. On the adult bird, the pale wing linings underneath and pale areas at the trailing edge of the tops of the wings were both visible. The California Condor is life bird number 352 for me.

The rest of my short trip took me through San Luis Obispo where I saw the mission from the outside and likewise a very attractive little Carnegie Library, just next door. A surprisingly dull meal at an enthusiastically recommended restaurant (Vieni Vai) was a disappointment, but an excellent meal the following day at Fenomenal in Paso Robles made up for it. My time in Paso Robles was mostly spent wine tasting--visiting Daou, Tablas Creek, Denner, and Kenneth Volk. Daou appears to be making solid, if very expensive wines. The view from the fancy new winery is wonderful. I just wish wineries would put their money into making fine wine at affordable prices rather than spend it on lavish tasting facilities and then jacking up prices, asking consumers to pay for the extravagance. Tablas Creek, affiliated with Chateau de Beaucastel in France, continues to make some fine wines. Denner was virtually uninhabited despite an appointment, so I never got to taste anything there. The wines came highly recommended, so that was a disappointment--but, perhaps it was no loss: Denner is another winery at which a lot of money has been spent on extravagant facilities. Most interesting was a visit to Kenneth Volk. Mr. Volk happened to be in the (modest) tasting room and pouring wines himself, speaking enthusiastically about the many unusual grape varieties he's growing and making interesting wine from, including Torrentes (a white grape best known for the wines it makes in Argentina) and Blaufränkisch (a red grape usually associated with Austria).

Before leaving the area, I stopped by Morro Bay State Park, hoping to see some birds, but there wasn't much around, although a quick stop at Morro Rock was worth the detour as Peregrine Falcons are nesting high on the cliffs there, occasionally harassing gulls in spectacular dives. At lower elevations (sea level), several immature Brown Pelicans consented lazily to having their portraits made, and three or four sea otters clung to a small bed of kelp close to the shore.

On the way home, I briefly got to look at two other missions--San Miguel Arcangel and Nuestra Señora de La Soledad. Most of Highway 101 follows the Camino Real here.

On the Road: Foggy Golden Gate Bridge

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge a couple of days ago, the structure was shrouded in thick fog. It's fairly unusual to see it so completely obscured. The photograph here actually shows more detail than was visible looking at it live.

Wines I'm Making: Grapes Coming Along Nicely (June 30, 2012)

This year was the first year in several that we had almost no rain during flowering of the grape vines. As a result, fruit set has been good. Tomorrow is only July 1st--with at least three months to go before harvest--but the grapes are already looking well-formed. The photo shows a cluster on one of our Sangiovese vines.

Art I'm Looking At/Music I'm Listening To: VineArt 2012, in Santa Rosa's South A Street Arts District

Santa Rosa's South A Street Arts District is worth a visit any time. I don't how many artists have studios on A St. at the south end of Julliard Park, but there are more than enough to spend a satisfying hour or two looking around, and, at the intersection of A St. and Sebastopol Ave., is Jeremiah's Photo Corner, a friendly shop I go to for photo supplies. But last night I went to attend VineArt 2012, a gallery open house with wineries pouring some of their wines, food vendors, and music in the streets.

I went to look at art, but stayed to listen to music. I have to say the music was as good as some of the art. I particularly like the photography of Barbara Elliot who continues to make quirky and compelling images of dolls and mannequins. Many of these are Polaroid transfers, which create an air of distance and nostalgia. A young artist who calls himself Mr. Salazar was exhibiting posters (some originally made for Santa Rosa's The Imaginists theater collective) that are digital collages juxtaposing odd assortments of images taken from various sources--everything from the Rubik's Cube to old paper tags appear as elements in the little worlds Mr. Salazar creates. I was mostly deeply impressed, however, by the music I heard.

As I walked down to Jeremiah's Photo Corner to say hello to Jeremiah I did the aural equivalent of a double take as my brain made the connection between the deeply authentic blues I was hearing and the man folded around a guitar, playing on the corner there (Dave Burke). At first I thought I was hearing a recording--"Cryin' Won't Help You." The quiet but relentless beat behind the guitar produced with a bass drum pedal working against an old suitcase and augmented by a foot-operated tambourine immediately reminded me of the likes of Jack Owens and Eugene Powell--and later, R.L. Burnside, when Burke launched into "Old Black Hattie." The real blues are gone, despite the knee-jerk protestation "the blues will never die" that the old bluesmen seemed to fall back on when asked to say something about their art. The deep blues Robert Palmer wrote about, in particular, was the product of a society in America's Deep South that no longer exists. A lot of blues musicians today think they know what they're doing, but few seem to approach the balance of raw feeling, technical skill, and driving forward motion that makes real blues music compelling. Remarkably, Mr. Burke comes very close to achieving the feat. The whole evening would have been worth it just to hear this music. But there was more. 

In a back corner of the gallery buildings an unlikely ensemble fronted by two women playing trombones and a man in a hat playing a giant, bleating saxophone (a bass saxophone maybe?) created an entirely different mood. I never found out who these people were. Shortly afterward, as I was about to leave the event, I heard the sound of Klezmer music coming from South A St.--an accordion, a wistful fiddle played by a dark-haired beauty, a clarinet, and a soprano sax there were weaving magic. A small crowd had formed. Some were dancing in the street. Passersby good-naturedly danced as they slipped through the people who stood listening or, just as often, they stopped and momentarily became part of the crowd themselves. The accordion player switched to stand-up bass and the young man playing the sax ducked under a battered sousaphone as a new tune began. For a while, he played both instruments. There was soulful ballad-singing in a raspy voice. There was a song sung in French. There was singing in Russian or Yiddish. I ended up staying until the end.

The performers told me that some of them were members of a group called Church Marching Band. Others seemed to belong to another group. I wish I could tell you their names. They were wonderful to listen to. From what I gather, some of them do a bit of impromptu performing around town--an article I read on line describes them being kicked out of Santa Rosa Plaza (our downtown mall) for doing a little concert without permission, playing all the while--noble behavior we need more of. Why should spontaneous art require permission? This is the kind of activity that makes people happy, that enriches communities, that attracts people and makes public spaces vibrant. Serendipity. It's the sort of activity that makes Santa Rosa seem like a real city from time to time. 

  

Art I'm Looking At: Exhibits at the San Francisco Airport (Jun 28, 2012)

Visiting the San Francisco Airport is always a pleasure. It's not just an airport, it's a museum. There's always something worthwhile to see. The shows are generally small, but always top notch. I was out there yesterday and enjoyed seeing a collection of "pillows" and headrests--made of unlikely materials such as wood, woven bamboo, and porcelain--entitled "Sleeping Beauties: Headrests from the Fowler Museum at UCLA;" a collection of beautifully crafted household items, many of them in silver, called "Form, Function, and Beauty: Design Variations in Metlawork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection"(through end-December 2012); and a fabulous group of 1950s and 1960s Italian motorbikes, called "Moto Bellissima." The motorbikes are all beautifully restored to show off richly colored paint (mostly red) and a lot of dazzling chrome tubing (through the end of July).

The little Aviation Museum was closed for an event, but a collection of remarkably fine aircraft models was on display, visible from outside (all the work of one man, Jim Lind). The models in the exhibit are a small fraction of his collection of some 1,600 models in 1:72 scale--which makes a Boeing 747 about a yard long. The show focuses on aircraft that flew transoceanic routes and features a number of nicely rendered flying boats (through the end of July). See the SFO Museum website for details. Always something to see....

Found Art: Iron Grating, San Francisco (June 24, 2012)

A little symphony in shades of rust. I saw this iron grating in the street recently on a trip to San Francisco. Curious about the manufacturer, I looked up Neenah Foundry. The company still exists. It's been making municipal castings since 1872, in Neenah, Wisconsin.

For more found art, see my blog

Serendipitous Art.

Art I'm Looking At: Wire Sculptures by Ruth Asawa at the De Young (June 21, 2012)

The day before yesterday I spent most of the day in San Francisco. After taking a walk on Ocean Beach and having a grotesque and virtually inedible bowl of oatmeal at a little café down by the water (the coffee was fine; the oatmeal looked and tasted like it had been made the week before and then freshly microwaved--don't people know what good oatmeal should taste like?), I drove over to see the De Young Museum for the first time in a year or so. I mostly saw the regular collection, choosing not to spend the extra money to see the JeanPaul Gaulthier exhibit now going on. It was funny (and a pleasure), though, to see that many people in the museum seemed to be rather better dressed than usual.

There is a good Sargent in the De Young, an 1884 portrait of Caroline de Bassano, Marquise d'Espeuilles. Sargent depicts fabrics with a skill that's breathtaking. A few seemingly random strokes conjure up textures so real that you can almost hear the cloth rustle as the subject moves ever so slightly (the figure is static yet animated). The strokes of paint in the dress are abstract and painterly, yet, if you step back a little, they suddenly lose their substance and become part of an ethereal whole. The dress worn by this Caroline de Bassano is an excellent example of Sargent's ability to paint fabrics that seem alive. My photograph of the painting here can't do it justice.

Painting faces, Sargent captures the flesh but also the personality. I have no doubt that Caroline de Bassano looked just as Sargent has painted her (not very flatteringly--with her very large eyes, receding chin, and thin upper lip)--but he's also captured her personality--or so it seems. She looks ambitious and superficially confident, but somehow extremely insecure at the same time. She seems deeply in need of something. A pleasure to see this painting again.

Most interesting, however, was a set of sculptures by Ruth Asawa tucked away in a back corner. I would have missed them entirely if I hadn't decided to climb the tower at the museum. "Climb" is a misnomer. I was disappointed to find there is no access by steps (although, in the event of a fire, there must be, during normal conditions the stairway is reserved for staff use, as this area houses administrative offices). Reluctantly, I went up by elevator. The tower gives a surprisingly good view of the surroundings. It's well worth the detour--even without the sculptures in the elevator hall. These are wire constructions that cast shadows as interesting as the sculptures themselves. I must confess that I enjoyed the shadows as much or more than the wire pieces--although it goes without saying, perhaps, that the two are inseparable. In any case, the sculptures are well worth seeking out.

Wines I'm Making: Third Sulfur Spraying 2012 (June 20, 2012)

I sprayed the grapes with sulfur again today, to prevent mold--the third time I've sprayed this year. This is a little late, but I wanted to wait until after the vines had finished flowering and set fruit before wetting them. As we've had comparatively cool weather and there has been a good breeze most days, mold didn't seem to great a danger. Also, I've just trimmed back the canopy to make sure the vines aren't being shaded by excess growth at the top. Having said that, I've learned over the years that it really is necessary to spray. If you don't, the grapes mold and much fruit is lost. So far, everything looks good. The next hurdle will be getting the nets in place before the fruit begins to take on color and the animals start to take an interest. I'm determined to get the nets on early this year.

Books I'm Reading: A Man on The Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts (June 15, 2012)

I'm old enough to remember much of the Apollo program. I recall school stopping for virtually every launch and splashdown leading up to and including the first moon walk, on April 20, 1969 (Apollo 11). We were herded into the auditorium for each event or made to sit in a circle around a TV brought into a classroom. I remember the broadcasts in black and white. I also remember the ebbing of public interest in the space program. By the time Apollo 17 went to the moon, most people had moved on--which is a shame; while the first landing on the moon was highly important technically and for political reasons, it wasn't until the later Apollo missions that the exploration of the moon really began.

Andrew Chaikin's excellent book A Man on The Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts (Penguin, 1995) covers the period of transition from the Gemini missions to the Apollo program following Kennedy's public challenge (to land a man on the moon and return him safely home before the end of the 1960s) through the last moon landing, in 1972. Chaikin pays careful attention especially to the preparations for the scientific work of the later missions, mostly geological investigations. While I remember some of the most important events of the time, A Man on the Moon puts it all into perspective. Perhaps the most startling thing that emerges is the brevity of it all. Only a little more than eight years separate Kennedy's historic speech of May 25, 1961 and the first moon landing, and the six lunar landings spanned only three-and-a-half years. The last of them was already 40 years ago.

Well written and meticulously researched, the book is based on contemporary media reports, NASA mission archives, and extensive interviews with 23 of the 24 men who visited the moon, as well as interviews with many of their wives and some of their children, and with Apollo program managers, experiment scientists, engineers, flight controllers, flight directors, geologists, historians, NASA administrators, and even some of the men that designed and created the spacesuits worn on the moon missions. The result is a narrative that gives a palpable sense of having been there. Highly recommended.

Beers I'm Drinking: Beers to Compete with Coedo's "Kyara" (June 12, 2012)

I recently wrote about the delicious "Kyara" beer from Coedo Brewery in Japan. I wish I could afford to drink it whenever beer seems appropriate (that is, on hot summer days like today), but it's rather pricey. I stopped in at Trader Joe's yesterday and I got to talking about beer with one of the guys working in the beverages department. I tried to describe Coedo's "Kyara" to him and he recommended a few beers he thought might be similar but less expensive. I bought three as a start. I tasted them together yesterday, along with a bottle of the Coedo "Kyara" as a point of reference. I tasted the "Breckle's Brown" from Anchor Steam in San Francisco, "Bitter American" from 21st Amendment Brewery, in Cold Springs, Minnesota, and "Back in Black," also from 21st Amendment Brewery. Brief tasting notes follow.

Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown" (6% alcohol): Attractive copper color. Fairly strong hoppy scent with suggestions of wood and chrysanthemums. At first, seemed a typical, overly hoppy California beer, but it proved quite dry on the palate and the hoppy element wasn't overdone. Nice, lingering bitterness that was pronounced, but not excessive. After the Coedo "Kyara," I liked this beer best of the bunch. Recommended. Seems to strike a nice balance between hoppy and malty flavors, although it doesn't quite achieve the wonderful balancing act of the "Kyara," a beer that is rich and malty without being heavy or sweet and that has refreshing, vibrant carbonation.

21st Amendment Brewery "Bitter American" (4.4% alcohol): This came highly recommended at Trader Joe's. The woman at the checkout counter confirmed that it was very popular among the male staff members. I was less impressed--which is not to say that this is a bad beer. It's just not what I was looking for--a Coedo "Kyara" substitute. Golden Lager color. Floral scents. Sweet scents. Not very hoppy on the nose. Seems flat after the Anchor Steam beer--probably because it's considerably lower in alcohol and it has a finer, creamier head. Rather strong, hoppy aftertaste. Seems thin on the mid-palate and lacking in body. Having said that, not bad, just not "Kyara" and I preferred the "Breckle's Brown.

21st Amendment Brewery "Back in Black" (6.8% alcohol): Dark chestnut brown. Fairly unassuming nose. On the palate, suggests chocolate and coffee, particularly coffee, with a flat, creamy foam reminiscent of English dark beers--which is not a bad thing, but, again, not what I was looking for here. Slightly sweet on the finish. Less hoppy than the first two beers.

Coedo Brewery "Kyara" (5% alcohol):  What makes this beer so appealing to me is its subtle balance of body, flavor, and texture, with the crispness and refreshingly bright characteristics of a lager. Pretty amber color. Malty nose. Good body and with more presence than the alcohol content would suggest. Crisp, with moderately fine, bright foam that's substantial without being heavy or too creamy. Dry but not overly hoppy. Again, "Kyara" seems perfectly balanced to me. Delicious. Highly recommended. Just wish it weren't so expensive.

In conclusion, I liked the "Kyara" best, followed fairly closely by the Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown,"a beer I'll probably buy again, then by "Back in Black" and finally the "Bitter American." Despite the enthusiasm at Trader Joe's, I probably won't go back for more of the 21st Amendment Brewery beers, although they were tasty enough. Obviously, personal preference has a great deal to do with the decisions we make about what to buy and what to drink. I was looking for a beer with presence, good malty flavors, and hops--but not excessively hoppy--that also has crisp, refreshing carbonation: Coedo's "Kyara" seems to get this combination just right. The Anchor Steam "Breckle's Brown"is close to this view of an ideal beer as well.

As an appendix of sorts, I also tried the 21st Amendment Brewery "Brew Free or Die IPA" (7%).  I must say, I rather liked it. No longer thinking about the Coedo "Kyara," I took it slowly and on its own terms. An attractive coppery gold with a creamy but persistent head. Hints of hops and molasses on the nose. Very flavorful. Has good body--reflective of its comparatively high alcohol content. Good hoppy taste, without being too hoppy and without the harsh bitter aftertaste of a more heavily hopped beer. Good, extended finish that was nicely balanced between hops and a very faint sweetness.