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.]

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.