Food I'm Eating: Sushi Burritos (August 6, 2013)

Sushi Burritos? Japanese rolls meet Mexican rolls? Yes, that's about it. At Santa Rosa's farmers' market last Saturday I came across the food cart of one Takeshi Uchida, the man behind the idea. A sign advertised his mobile establishment as "The World's First Sushi Burrito Food Cart."

Essentially, Mr. Uchida creates giant versions of the seaweed rolls known in Japanese as futo-maki (literally, "fat rolls") filled with cooked stuffings--like a burrito. Three kinds are available--Tori Nanban (sweet and spicy Japanese-style fried chicken with a creamy wasabi sauce, beans, and shaved cabbage and carrots); Tara (simmered cod with wasabi tartar sauce, beans, corn, and shaved cabbage and carrots); and Vegetarian, with seaweed salad, tomatoes, shaved cabbage, romaine lettuce, Jalapeños, and cucumber. The drinks offered made me momentarily nostalgic for Japan--bottled cold green tea, ramune (a citrus-based soda), and canned iced coffee. While the idea of a sushi burrito seems a bit odd at first, a taste test quickly established that it's an idea that works. The Sushi Burrito cart is parked at various Sonoma County locations on different days. Go to http://www.shoubujapanese.com to get the latest on where to find Mr. Uchida and his unique creation, or go to the Sushi Shoubu Facebook page.

Art I'm Making: Another Collage and Some Rethinking (July 28, 2013)

The first collage I made a couple of weeks ago began to look wrong the more I looked at it. I took it down off the wall and tried to "fix" it. I ended up completely transforming it. The original work no longer exists--which is a good thing; clearly the reworked version is much better (top photo). I've since done another one, which I'm rather pleased with (below). More is brewing in my head....

[Update: These were the first two collages I made. The first one survives. The one below here was later cut up and transformed into three smaller pieces.]

The Cocktail Glass Collection: The Distillery, Sacramento (July 26, 2013)

I visited Sacramento yesterday. Besides taking a walk around Old Sacramento (which is not devoid of interest, but mostly shops with tourist trash in them) and visiting Sutter's Fort, taking a peek at the Capital Building rotunda, and visiting the Crocker Museum of Art again, I photographed this martini glass bar sign, which belongs to a place called The Distillery (near 21st and L Streets). For some reason, I love these old-school martini glass advertising signs on bars.

To see others in this series of photographs, click on the "cocktail glass collection" label. 

[Update: This was only the second example in my collection of cocktail glass bar signs, which has ended up focusing on neon signs. I've decided to leave it here because it lights up, even if it's done with incandescent bulbs rather than neon tubes.]

Plants I'm Growing: Summer Bounty (July 26, 2013)

The summer of 2013 has been a good one in the garden. We had wonderful early figs and a second crop is forming. The "Santa Rosa" plum tree produced several hundred delicious fruits. There is fruit on the "Dapple Dandy" pluot tree for the first time in years, Apples and pears are on the way. The "Flavor Queen" pluot is heavily laden with fruit (above). The new vegetable garden where the lawn used to be is producing greens, and the first tomatoes are just ripening. Edamame and green beens will be ready soon. We've had summer squash and zucchini and more lemon cucumbers than we can consume. The grapes, which set a lot of fruit this year, are just beginning to show some color in the past couple of days; veraison, as the French call it, has just begun. I've finished clearing weeds and debris from under the vines. The electric fence around the grapes is working and turned on. Time to get the nets on--before the critters begin to show interest in the fruit.

Art I'm Making: Collages (July 18, 2013)

On the 14th of this month I sat down with some acrylic paints and a canvas for the first time in a spell. For a long time now I've been trying to explore painting with acrylics, having painted in oils my entire life--which is not to say I've completed a large number of satisfying oil paintings over the years--only a handful, in fact. I've always liked the feel of oils but found it frustrating to have to wait days for the paint to dry before being able to paint over things. I like to work quickly, watching things change as I go, and I like to work in layers. Oils make that difficult.

I've never liked the feel of acrylics, but I'm beginning to see that the quality of acrylic colors has greatly improved and there is now a dizzying selection of mediums and gels and pastes and other additives available to keep things interesting. That said, I typically splash some paint around and quickly get frustrated because the acrylic colors don't leave behind the kind of brush strokes I like. The paint layer can look flat and lifeless. I've yet to figure out which gels to add to get the textures I want. Next week I plan to attend a demonstration hosted by the Sennelier company (which makes beautiful printing inks and has recently released a line of equally beautiful acrylic colors), to see what their colors are like and to get some hints. We'll see what comes of that.

I've long been attracted by the idea of printmaking using paper cutouts as the printing blocks, but never wholeheartedly pursued the idea. It's largely because I don't like the look of the shapes I cut with scissors (I'd like to be able to convert designs I make on the computer to paper cut-outs, but don't know how to do that). With the acrylic paints out, though, I splashed some on a cut-out and pressed the painted paper against another sheet, using a Japanese baren to get good contact--but that was too much and I simply glued the two sheets together. The paper tore when I tried to pull the "block" away. It turns out that I liked what was left behind, however, and the torn ochre surface I inadvertently created became the starting point for some exploration with dabbled paint and painted paper and more cutting of shapes that I then began to lay over what I'd started with, using the acrylic paints to glue layers together. After a couple of hours of absorbing fun, I came up with a composition I almost liked, but there was something disturbing about it. With my paper cutter I hacked off the offending part and, after a few more tweaks, I settled on the collage shown at the top of the page*. On the following day, I started to look at the cut-off portion and began adding to it until I got the little collage in the lower picture. I had a lot of fun making these two small works. Perhaps I've finally found a way to work with acrylics that suits me? I like that the paint dries quickly, so I don't have to interrupt my thinking while waiting for a surface to dry. I like that you can paint over things almost immediately. The layering of paint and paper gives a solid look that I've never been able to achieve just spreading acrylic paints on canvas. I'm eager to do more of these....

*Since writing this, I have completely reworked the first piece. Nothing much of it remains. The photo here is now the reworked version, completed two weeks after the initial creation.

Miscellaneous: The Martini Glass as Icon (July 18, 2013)

Interesting how the martini glass with a skewered olive or cherry remains the icon of choice for a certain kind of old-school bar. I was in Calistoga yesterday and saw this one over Susie's Bar, a place I'd never noticed before right on the main street. I liked the neon martini glass with what looks like a skewered  red cherry in it.

To see others in this series of photographs, click on the "cocktail glass collection" label. 

Wines I'm Making: Wine Labels (June 18, 2013)

I finally got around to designing, printing, and affixing labels to our 2012 Sangiovese Rosé and the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. I created a suitably sunny label for the rosé, which normally disappears over the summer and a somewhat more sober and serious-looking label for the 2011 Cabernet wine. I will bottle the 2012 Cabernet sometime before or just after harvest this year, so, in the next couple of months. Right now, the biggest chore continues to be cleaning weeds and debris from under the vines so I can get the electric fence up and running again and get the nets on before the berries start showing enough color to interest the raccoons...

Books I'm Reading: The Crimean War by Orlando Figes (July 18, 2013)

The Crimean War--a long-ago war often referred to but one that people seem to know little about anymore. Having said something on that subject to my mother a while back, she gave me a copy of The Crimean War (Picador, 2010), by Orlando Figes, a succinct, well written account of the conflict, which seems sadly relevant today. The opening chapters dealing with the causes of the war and the war aims of the nations involved sound eerily familiar--involving much squabbling over rights of access to sacred sites in the holy lands, religious jingoism, squabbling about territorial boundaries in the Balkans, jockeying for political influence, and irredentist meddling. Figes brings to life the political background but also the horrors of the fighting, particularly during the siege of Sevastopol for both those in the bombarded city and the ill-equipped soldiers besieging the place. Much sounds depressingly familiar. Perhaps governments should have ministries of history to help avoid pointless wars that repeat the idiotic mistakes of the past. About the only good thing to have emerged from the Crimean War appears to have be an historically new concern for the well being of the common soldier. The blunders of the Crimean War led to real reform (especially in Britain) in sanitation and medical care, military organization, and recognition of merit. That Sebastopol, California, the town neighboring Santa Rosa to the west, is named after the siege is testament to the widespread impact reporting on the war had around the world. A worthwhile read.

Art I'm Looking At: Artful Animals at the Legion of Honor (July 17, 2013)

Next to the "Impressionists on the Water" show at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco is a small but engaging exhibit of works on paper depicting animals, drawn from the collection of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts. "Artful Animals, Part 2" (I wasn't aware of Part 1, but apparently there was one) includes a wide variety of works from around 1500 to the present, all taking animals as their subject.

The show is small--occupying a single room--but there is some good work here. I particularly enjoyed Whales Stranded at Ter Hyde (1577), an engraving of beached sperm whales by Flemish artist Johannes Wierix, apparently an account of an actual beaching incident; a hand-colored etching of a hedgehog by Irish artist Peter Mazell (after Peter Pailou) from a 1766 Thomas Pennant publication The British Zoology; and a Barn Owl print by Robert Havell (after Audubon; detail shown here). I didn't exactly understand the relationship between the Havell print and the well known Audubon prints from his The Birds of America (perhaps Havell printed his own edition copying some of the Audubon works?), but a striking image. Also of interest were a number of Japanese prints showing famous kabuki actors of the day depicted as fish or other animals, and I enjoyed seeing Beth Van Hoesen's droopy-eared rabbit, a very familiar image as my father had a reproduction of it, but I had never seen an actual print before. Well worth a quick look. The show runs through October 13.

Art I'm Looking At: Richard Diebenkorn at the De Young Museum in San Francisco (July 17, 2013)

After seeing the "Impressionists on the Water" show at the Legion of Honor, I went to see the Diebenkorn show now on at the DeYoung Museum—Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years (1953-1966).

Diebenkorn has long been among my favorite abstract painters. There's something about his work that resonates with me, but I realize I knew very little about his life or about the long arc of his career before seeing this show, which helped to educate me a little. For example, I was almost completely unaware of the figurative work he did during the middle of the period covered here. Judging from the paintings included, Diebenkorn focused briefly on figurative subjects mostly between about 1956 and 1958. These works are sandwiched between earlier, purely abstract works characterized by flat patches of color (often in pinks, ochre, and other fleshy tones) and later abstract work with a greater emphasis on line. It's the earlier abstract work (roughly between 1953 to 1955) that I enjoy most. It was a real pleasure to stand in a large room surrounded by about 15 large works from the early period. Berkeley No. 3 (1953, below) is typical.

Line is not absent as an element in these earlier paintings and some of them contain abstracted letters or appear to contain fragments of text, but the emphasis is on color, and most of the colored areas in the works are loosely defined, with blurry or ragged edges. Diebenkorn is said to have been strongly influenced by the Abstract Impressionists at this stage (especially by Willem de Koonig), and I've read comments suggesting he should himself be considered an Abstract Expressionist, but these paintings seem too quiet, too contemplative to be called Abstract Expressionist. They have none of the anger or nervousness I associate with that movement. There is no deliberate, explosive splattering of paint here, no frantic, nervous brushwork. Diebenkorn instead seems to have left us with records of inner conversations about color and form. I'm not the first to note that many of the works look like landscapes. There is very often a suggested horizon line. Although these may not have been intended as actual horizons, they serve to give the paintings a solidity despite the open washes of color. There is something very reminiscent of Cezanne in these paintings. Others in the show that incorporate decorative motifs clearly show an interest in Matisse. There are even a couple of large cut-out collages in the show that borrow technique as well as style from Matisse.

The figurative paintings seem less successful to me. It may simply be a matter of taste, but they don't speak to me the way the abstract paintings do. That said, it was interesting to see Diebenkorn's foray into an area of painting that was quite unfashionable at the time—a time when American abstraction was at the center of the Western art world. Perhaps it was conscious rebellion. Perhaps it felt too easy to paint the abstractions. I don't mean to suggest that abstraction is in any way easier than figurative art. In fact, I believe quite the contrary. The figurative artist at least has his subject in front of him as a point of reference. Painting in the abstract requires the subject itself to be conjured up out of thin air, although much that passes for abstract art is, in fact, referential. I mean simply that I think artists sometimes become suspicious of their own motives and the value of their work when they produce a great deal quickly, and Diebenkorn was certainly prolific during his early years in Berkeley. Perhaps he felt the need to step away from what he was doing so successfully at the time. It was during his first couple of years in Berkeley that he appears to have quite suddenly attracted a great deal of attention from the media. Coffee (1959) is typical of the figurative paintings. It's among those I like best, but the figurative work seems somehow less authentic, less the result of committed interest, the color less inspired—certainly less sensual. Still, it was very useful to see the many works from this period included in the show.    

After the flirtation with making large figurative paintings, the return to abstraction is marked by a somewhat more rigid, geometrical quality. Line becomes a much more central element. The paintings are almost cartographic. They look like aerial photographs of agricultural land broken up by the occasional line of trees along a river. They are less fluid than the earlier work. The last third of the show is mostly paintings in this more linear style, but interspersed throughout the show are figure drawings that Diebenkorn continued to make regardless of where his painting was going. Eventually the growing emphasis on line blossomed into the even more linear, straight-edged paintings with Ocean Park titles such as the one pictured here, which is in the De Young's permanent collection--Ocean Park 119 (1979).

I've never before seen so many of Diebenkorn's works collected together. It's not often that I immediately want to go back again to see a show I've just walked through, but I hope to visit the Diebenkorn show once more before it leaves the DeYoung. Well worth a visit—or two. There is much to see here. The show runs through September 29.

Art I'm Looking At: Impressionists on the Water at the Legion of Honor (July 17, 2013)

A small but worthwhile show of mostly Impressionist works is now underway at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. "Impressionists on the Water" looks at boats and boating in the works of the Impressionists, some of whom were enthusiastic boaters. One, the ever-interesting Gustave Caillebotte, I was surprised to learn, even designed yachts--apparently a couple dozen of them. Among the highlights of the show are a hull model carved by Caillebotte himself, a beautifully built wooden kayak-like boat, and the equally exquisite scull displayed at the entrance to the show (above). These little boats are art in themselves.

The show begins with a few examples of "traditional French maritime painting" before moving on to a body of Impressionist works interspersed with others probably not properly given that label, but the works are united by boating and waterways as a theme. Annoyingly, photography was allowed only in the entrance foyer, which makes it impossible to illustrate much here, but among the most interesting works were a pair of albumen silver prints (1856 and 1857) of boats by Gustave Le Gray from the collection of the Getty Museum; The Village of Gloton (1857) by Charles-Francois Daubigny; Storm Over Antwerp (1872) by Eugene Boudin with a wonderful glowering cloud and red pennants stretched and fluttering in the wind; an 1874 oil sketch of Monet's studio boat (apparently a number of artists had small studios built onto boats so that the could work directly on the water); View of the Right Bank of the Seine (1880), by Jean-Francois Raffaelli, showing an industrial landscape along the river; prints from the Rutgers University collection by Henri Riviere, including one from a very Japanese-influenced series of 26 views of the Eiffel Tower; a Signac view of the lighthouse (now a church) at the port of Colliure; and a rather surreal-looking Edoard Vuillard painting of a man in a rowboat, known as The Boatman or The Oarsman (1897), striking for the row of orange-yellow poplars and their reflections in the background, rather photographic cropping, and the way the line of the horizon is made to almost pierce the rower's face. Several early paintings in the show by Monet were interesting as examples of his work before he had settled into a mature style. Worth a visit. The show runs through October 13.

 

Wines I'm Making: Wine Chores (July 10, 2013)

In the past couple of days, I've made some progress toward finishing various wine chores I've been putting off. Following the odd rain we had at the end of June, it was important to spray the vines with sulfur again to prevent mildew. That I achieved a few days after the rain. So far, everything looks good--no signs of the mildew and the vines set a lot of fruit this year.

I racked the 2012 Cabernet that's been resting and topped up the containers with a bottle of our 2011 wine. Judging from the tastes I got while siphoning, the 2012 looks very promising. The 2011 was a bit light, but the 2012 seems to have real depth. I look forward to tasting it again after it's bottled. I'll probably bottle it around harvest time, or sometime in late October.

I finally bottled the "second-run" wine I made a while back from the pressed skins of the 2010 grapes. I've neglected this experiment--and for good reason. The wine was never very attractive. Making wine from pressed skins works. That much I learned, but the wine it makes is dull and lifeless. Having let this go so long, it has acquired an added oxidized component. It's in gallon jugs now and out of the way, but it's probably destined for the drain.

The most important chore remaining for this year is getting the nets straightened out and on the vines before this year's crop of grapes begins to show color, which should be in about a month. The nets are off the vines but tangled and full of dead weeds. I need to stretch them out, check them for damage, clean around the vines, and then get the nets back in place sooner rather than later. It's my goal for the day.

Food I'm Eating: El Molino Central--a Mexican gem (July 10, 2013)

On a fairly random drive to Sonoma the other day, I found myself hungry just as I was passing El Molino Central, on Highway 12, heading south and east toward Sonoma from Santa Rosa (11 Central Avenue, Sonoma, 95476, (707) 939-1010).

I'm sure the place has been there for years, but I've never been inspired to stop before. What was different this time? I don't know. Perhaps it was the 4th of July bunting, the recently repainted building, or the outdoor patio area with new umbrellas. Mostly, however, I think it was the large number of people in the outdoor dining area. I figured there had to be a reason. I happened to see a convenient parking spot, so I pulled over for lunch. I'm glad I did.

The long line at the counter and the appetizing descriptions of the food on the menu board were both good signs. This place appears to serve truly authentic Mexican fare with an emphasis on fresh ingredients. I had a delicious pair of Swiss chard enchiladas. The man next to me on the patio let me taste the mole sauce on his tamales--complex and with rich chocolate flavor, but not too sweet--and spicy enough to make you sit up and notice. Next time, I look forward to trying the beer-battered fish tacos or the chile relleno de elote con crema (poblano chiles stuffed with corn cream and cheese, with cherry tomato salsa, refried beans and tortillas), or the salmon ceviche with avocado. The tortillas at El Molino Central are made from organic Nebraska-grown corn, stone ground daily on the premises. According to the restaurant's website, the public is welcome to come watch the grinding "any morning around 11:00AM." A real find. I'll be back.

Found Art: Metal Box, Sonoma (July 9, 2013)

A metal box on a pole set in the sidewalk along Sonoma Plaza, in the town of Sonoma. Repeatedly painted. Plastered with stickers. Stickers removed. More paint. Found art.

For more found art, see my blog Serendipitous Art.

Plants I'm Growing: Early Figs (June 30, 2013)

In the back yard, we have a fig tree, a variety called "Black Jack," which has dark figs rather like mission figs, but bigger. I chose this one because the tree stays small. It's been in the ground about seven years now, but it remains small enough that I can harvest the figs mostly without the use of a ladder. Normally, a few figs form in the spring. they usually stay small, shrivel and never ripen. The main crop comes late in the summer--usually sometime in August. For some reason, we've had viable early figs this year--not a lot (so far about ten)--but good-sized fruit that has ripened beautifully. I had six for breakfast this morning, doused with yogurt and honey. Fruit has set well this year on all the fruit trees, actually. We have pluots on the "Dapple Dandy" tree for the first time in many years. The "Flavor Queen" tree is groaning under the weight of all the fruit on it. About 200 Santa Rosa plums sit in the kitchen. I'm making jam from the bruised ones. We have apples and pears on the way, too. Perhaps it was because we had little rain while the trees were flowering this year? The grape vines have set a lot of fruit as well.

Rain: A Storm in Late June (June 26, 2013)

Rain of any kind is unusual here in June. To have a real two-day rain at the end of June is extraordinary--and welcome. In the past two days, we've had an additional 1.65 inches of rain, which brings our total for the 2012-2013 rain year to 27.25 inches. That's still well below normal (annual precipitation in Santa Rosa is usually a little over 36 inches), but every little bit helps, and a significant rain this late will do a lot to keep things going until we can expect the rainy season to begin again, usually in October. The downside is that heat expected in the next few days will create steamy conditions perfect for mold formation on the grapes in the back yard. My first job will be to spray the grapevines with sulfur again, as soon as it clears. This morning, the rain has stopped, but it's still misty and overcast.

Places I'm Visiting: San Francisco International Airport (June 24, 2013)

San Francisco International Airport is about an hour and a half from home. I drove there on the 24th to drop off family heading for Japan. It's a fairly long haul, but I always enjoy a visit. There's always something to see. I took the time to visit both the domestic and international terminals. In an obscure underground corridor connecting the parking garage to some of the domestic baggage claim areas I came upon a display of remarkable aircraft models by Edward Chavez, who appears to have had a long career as a builder of models. According to an information panel on the wall, he served as a B-24 gunner during WWII and was later commissioned by the military reserve to build aircraft recognition models from around 1947. He later began making models for pleasure, but soon began receiving commissions from private aircraft owners and he later made models for the Piper Aircraft Company. Some of his models are in the National Air and Space Museum. Many were displayed for years at the Nut Tree Restaurant and Airfield, for which Chavez built 27 models in as many years (between 1961 and 1988).  In 1997, the SFO museums acquired most of the Nut Tree collection of models. It was a privilege to see some of them. Pictured is a Granville Model R-1 Super Sportster model (1:10 scale) made by Chavez and Robert Fogg.

Elsewhere in the terminals I found a display of airline cabin bags that included some very early ones from the 1930s, although there were examples from around the world and all periods. In the International Terminal, there was a large exhibit of Shaker furniture entitled "Inspired Design: Shaker Furniture from the Benjamin Rose Collection" (photo below) and another set of display cases showed a collection of travel souvenirs--everything from Honolulu matchbooks to miniature Eiffel Towers. One case was entirely souvenirs from World's Fairs of the 20th century. There was a small show of photographs by Russell Lee, mostly made for the Farm Security Administration in the late 1930s. Lee worked on a team of photographers documenting farm conditions during the depression. The team included Roy Stryker, Gordon Parks, Mary Post Wolcott, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and Esther Bubley.

In the airport's aviation museum was a show high-lighting the Douglas DC-3 and another chronicling the history of United Airlines flight attendant uniforms, some of which I remember. There was also a collection of color photographs by Alfred T. Palmer showing women at work in WWII aircraft factories. These rotating shows are always in addition to the permanent displays that relate to Pan Am's Clipper service of the 1930s. There's always something of interest to see at San Francisco International Airport--and, looking at the SFO Museum website, I see that there was much more that I missed....

Rain: Late Storm Brings 0.75 Inches

While I was away traveling in the South, we had an unusual late rain storm that appears to have dropped 0.75 inches of new precipitation. That brings our total for the 2012-2013 rain year to 25.6 inches (the rain year goes from July 1 to June 30 of the following year). Oddly, there is rain in the forecast for tomorrow and the following day, so we may end the year somewhat better off than looked likely only a few weeks ago. Average annual rainfall in Santa Rosa is a little more than 36 inches, so we will fall short of normal by about 10 inches in any case, barring a massive storm in the next few days--which seems unlikely.

On the Road--Down South: Houston to Home (June 20, 2013)

I arrived home safely from Houston yesterday. It was a smooth flight despite flying over a long line of the big clouds I call "fluffy bumpies"--those puffy cumulus clouds that can momentarily make an aircraft suddenly feel like it's dropping from the sky. As planned, I woke up early and made the short drive from Houston Airport to Jesse Jones County Park to do a little birding before departure. It was hot and wet, but I did see a few noteworthy birds--a Pileated Woodpecker, a Prothonotary Warbler, a Carolina Wren, Summer Tanagers, Cardinals, and another warbler that I've yet to identify. I was able to record its song, so I'm hopeful of an identification with a little work.

Looking back at my list of new birds from the trip and comparing that with records at home I see that I added 24 new birds to my life list: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, White-winged Dove, Purple Gallinule, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Carolina Chickadee, Prothonotary Warbler, Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Little Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Laughing Gull, Black Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Anhinga, Wood Stork, Mississippi Kite, Swallow-tailed Kite, Royal Tern, Northern Parula, Painted Bunting, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Eastern Towhee (although probably seen before, it wasn't on my list), Field Sparrow, and Common Ground Dove. That brings my life list to 408.

The garden grew a lot while I was away. The new grape vines I'm training up the front of the house are about ten feet tall now. In the vegetable plots we have zucchini and other summer squash ready to eat. Tomatoes are on the way. Arugula, lettuce, spinach, and other greens are all doing well. Eda mame, green beans, various peppers, lemon cucumbers, and eggplant all look strong, although not a lot of eggplant have developed yet. I hope the honeybees are well. I'll need to have a look at them this morning. I enjoyed my trip, but it's nice to be back in a cool, dry climate, and to be in a place where I know I can get healthy, wholesome food.  

[The unidentified "warbler" turned out to be a White-eyed Vireo, identified by song.]

On the Road--Down South: Natchez, Mississippi to Houston via Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge

Another long day of driving, but I decided I wanted to be in Houston tonight so that I don't have to drive tomorrow before my flight home. I got into the Southeast Texas area around 3:30 and spent the late afternoon at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge. It was difficult to find, but once there worth the trouble. It is mostly a vast expanse of brushy areas studded with small trees. Here and there are marshy areas. Part of the Refuge borders the Gulf. The result is a good variety of habitats for birds. As usual, there were Mockingbirds everywhere, but the first bird I saw on this, my last day of this long birding trip, was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher--a nice bookend: The first bird I saw on my first full day of the tip was a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. I saw three or four at Anahuac.

Orchard Orioles were plentiful as well (left), as were Mourning Doves. I was a bit surprised to see Willets and very surprised and pleased to find Common Nighthawks both flying and resting on many of the fenceposts. The Nighthawk has always been one of my favorite birds--even before I started birding seriously. I used to love to watch them hunting at dusk in my Dayton, Ohio neighborhood. It was nostalgic to see the familiar white patches on the wings.

Other birds I saw included: Red-winged Blackbird, Bobwhite (heard), Boat-tailed Grackle (or Great-tailed Grackle--I still can't reliably distinguish these), Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Kingbird, Turkey Vulture, Black Vulture, Killdeer, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Starling, Laughing Gull, White Ibis (about 30), Glossy Ibis (about 8), Dickcissel, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Common Gallinule, Black-necked Stilt, an unidentified duck, Black-bellied Plover, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron, and Fulvous Whistling Duck (life bird No. 23 for the trip). A sparrow I have yet to identify (I took marginal photos) could add another life bird. I have quite a few pictures to look through.

If I can rouse myself early enough tomorrow, I may go to Jesse Jones County Park, which, according to my iPhone, is about 12 minutes away from my hotel. So, I may get in a little more birding before departure, but I may sleep in. Looking back, four birding locations stand out in my mind: Lacassine Pool and Lake Martin near Lafayette, Louisiana; the Savannah NWR; Edisto Beach State Park; and Anahuac NWR, but Edisto Beach, where I saw the Painted Bunting was very special.

On the Road--Down South: Selma to Natchez by way of Crystal Springs and Vicksburg (June 18, 2013)

I left Selma, Alabama early today, heading west toward Vicksburg. Vicksburg was one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War, and I've always wanted to see the place. En route, I realized I was near Crystal Springs, a name that has resonances for any blues fan. Robert Johnson was born in Hazelhurst, the neighboring town to the south, but, more importantly in my mind, it was in Crystal Springs that Robert Nighthawk learned to play guitar and perfected his art, playing mostly local gigs with his brother Percy and cousin Houston Stackhouse. No one seems to remember Nighthawk here, but I wanted to say I'd been to the place. I visited the Robert Johnson Blues Museum, which is a mildly interesting hodgepodge of material, much of it unrelated to Johnson. It's run by one of Johnson's granddaughters. I had lunch at a place that claimed to serve "world famous soul food." It was nothing special. After lunch, I took a walk along some of the very pretty wooded trails at Chattauqua Park, just outside of town. I found a couple of Summer Tanagers in the trees, led to them by their calls, which I had remembered from the day I first saw these birds, at Edisto Beach State Park a couple of days ago. An historical marker notes that it was in this park that the first PTA (parent teacher association) was formed--an unexpected tidbit.

The Vicksburg battle site is a bit overwhelming. It would easily take an entire day to see it in detail. I drove most of the 18-mile road that winds through the Union and Confederate siege positions and visited the USS Cairo Museum--the raised wreckage of a Union ironclad that went down in the Yazoo River, just north of its present position. Later, I drove along the Mississippi to look at other positions--to see where confederate guns were placed to control the channel, although the Mississippi suddenly changed course rather dramatically in 1874, and the river's course moved about a mile away from where it had been during the Civil War. After the change, the Army Corps of Engineers dug a channel along the city's original waterfront to facilitate navigation, so water again flows in some of the areas it would have during the battle. The numerous monuments at the site--some dedicated to the men of whole states, some to regiments, some to individual soldiers who died during the siege (many with bronze bas relief portraits) are a testament to the emotional impact of what happened here. As at Andersonville, the way the site is embellished with these attempts to remember, to memorialize, to preserve is as impressive or more so than the place itself. According to one plaque I read, Vicksburg is among the best documented battlefields in the world. Soldiers from both sides of the conflict came back after the war to relocate their positions and identify them with markers that give remarkably detailed accounts of action that took place nearby, including lists of wounded and dead at each spot. Later, driving around Vicksburg, I happened upon a plaque about blues legend Willie Dixon, who was born in Vicksburg.

From Vicksburg, I drove south toward Natchez. I was aiming to get as far as Baton Rouge, but again my plans were thwarted by a violent thunderstorm. I ended up ducking into a restaurant and finding a hotel room in the town. Today I aim to get out early to try to see the bird sanctuaries in southern Louisiana that I missed on the way out. Back to Houston tomorrow, then home.

On the Road--Down South: Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge to Selma Alabama (June 17, 2013)

I arrived near the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge in the early afternoon, in a deluge of rain. I was afraid I'd have to miss the place altogether, simply continuing to drive west, but the sky began to clear not long after I found the place and I ended up spending an enjoyable couple of hours along the "wildlife drive" that winds through much of the refuge. Perhaps because the rain had just ended, there was a lot of activity in the trees and low brushy areas I passed through. Almost immediately I saw Red-headed Woodpeckers--a bird I haven't seen since I rode my bike from Dayton, Ohio to Oxford, Ohio to visit a long-distance girlfriend, probably around 1974. I noticed an Eastern Towhee. I saw a first-year Orchard Oriole, and a Yellow-breasted Chat. American Goldfinches everywhere. Indigo Buntings singing. The usual Mockingbirds and Mourning Doves. Bobwhites calling nearby, but invisible in the dense brush. A white Ibis flew over. Yellowthroats singing on the tops of tall weeds. I even got two new birds. I saw what looked like a Mourning Dove flush, but it had no white in its short tail and the wings were the color of Cinnamon--Common Ground Dove, life bird No. 21 for the trip. Not long afterward, I spotted a pair of sparrows that I was able to get a good look at and photograph. They turned out to be Field Sparrows (below), life bird No. 22 for the trip.

I ended up in Selma, Alabama, having skirted Montgomery to the south. I followed the trail of the 1965 civil rights marches to protest white resistance to black voter registration drives in the area, crossing the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge. I was hard pressed to find a hotel. Selma is a much smaller place than I imagined. I was reduced to eating fast food for dinner. This morning, I head further west, aiming to stay in the Vicksburg area tonight before turning south along the Mississippi and then heading for the Gulf Coast again.

On the Road--Down South: Plains, Georgia (June 17, 2013)

After leaving the Andersonville Prison site, I found myself passing through Plains, Georgia, home of former President Jimmy Carter. It's a tiny town. I stopped briefly to have a look around, visiting a little antique mall. On a table near the entrance I noticed a small black cat curled up, napping in an enameled bowl. The woman working in the mall told me the cat naps there every day. She said that President Carter had been in town the day before. Carter's original campaign headquarters, in a train depot, is preserved. There appears to be a large Carter historical center on the edge of town, but I moved on west and south, heading for the Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge.

On the Road--Down South: Andersonville Prison (June 17, 2013)

Yesterday, June 17, I headed directly for Andersonville, GA, the site of Camp Sumter during the Civil War, better known as Andersonville Prison. It's a place I've always wanted to see because an ancestor, according to family tradition, was captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and eventually ended up at Andersonville, where he died.  A docent at the site said that many who are said to have died there actually died en route to prisons further south as Union forces, outliers of Sherman's forces as they headed for the sea, approached from Atlanta. Surely the place itself has no memory, but it is somber nevertheless. Camp Sumter today is just a large field, but parts of the stockade around the perimeter of the confinement area have been reconstructed, based on excavated posthole evidence, and earthworks outside the palisade, though eroded, remain, along with the earthworks of a small star-shaped fort at the south end of the camp. The stockade was built by slaves from timber that was cleared on the site. Each trunk was cut to 22 feet. The poles were placed side by side in a ditch five feet deep that was then filled in, forming a solid wall of wood above ground. The perimeter was about 3/4 of a mile long including a late expansion, the whole enclosing about 16 acres. There were only two gates. The photo above shows the top of the stockade in the distance from the perspective of someone standing outside a V-shaped earthwork at a corner of the confinement area. Cannons were positioned in these earthworks, some pointing outward to guard against Union raiders, some pointed inward toward the prison, loaded with scattershot.

What is striking is that the "prison" was nothing more than this expanse of bare ground enclosed by the stockade. The prisoners were left to find their own shelter and even their own water. They dug wells in the field, which slopes gently toward a creek. The ground is studded with concrete markers about ten inches in diameter, each topped with a round metal plate etched with a number and the words "Historic Well." The Confederates thought it an excellent place for a prison because of the access to water. The idea was to put latrines and the like at the low end of the enclosure so that the water would wash sewage away from the living and cooking areas, but the stockade blocked the flow of ground water, creating a boggy marsh that quickly festered with waste. Most who died at the prison died of dysentery spread by the contaminated water. At peak, about 100 men died every day.

Because the site is mostly an empty field, those who came back after the war were moved to create monuments to those who died (about 13,000 of the 45,000-50,000 prisoners that were interred at Camp Sumter perished there).  There are large stone monuments erected by the various northern states that lost men at Andersonville. Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and Rhode Island were among those I saw. Large monuments stud the cemetery, about a quarter of a mile from the prison site. After the war ended, Clara Barton and a former prisoner, Dorance Atwater, who had made a duplicate list of the burials and smuggled it out of the camp, came back to identify graves before the identities of the men were lost. Burials were initially marked with wooden markers, but these were replaced with the headstones now on the site. Barton and Atwater did a good job. It's remarkable that only about 400 of the thousands of burials are marked "unknown soldier."

On the Road--Down South: West Across Georgia (June 16, 2013)

Spent most of the day driving today. I stopped at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge on my way back west from the Savannah area. My experience there was similar to others I've had--a lot of bird song, but very few birds to look at. They remain mostly hidden in the dense vegetation. I did see a Chipping Sparrow or two. A couple of young rabbits checked me out before hopping away nervously. I tried to stop at the Harriet Tubman Museum in Macon, but it was closed. I made a brief stop at Madison County Recreation Park, also along the way. There I saw a Muscovy Duck and a beautiful male Orchard Oriole. Earlier in the day I saw more Blue-grey Gnatcatchers. I ended up in Columbus, Georgia, the only town vaguely along my route that seemed likely to have hotels. Tomorrow, I plan to backtrack a little to visit Andersonville Prison National Monument. From there I plan to do more birding, this time in Mississippi, before heading for Vicksburg to see the bluffs there that Grant conquered.

On the Road--Down South: A Day of Birding

Yesterday, June 15, was a day devoted entirely to birding, frustrating at first, but ultimately rewarding. In the morning I headed for Edisto Beach State Park, on the coast between Savannah and Charleston. Along the way I stopped at Donnelly Wildlife Management Area, a remote expanse of woods with a lonely road through it. I drove the road for miles, car windows down, listening and looking for birds. Eastern Wood Pewees, I recognized. I got a fleeting glimpse of a pair of sparrows, but they moved off too quickly to identify. They were most likely Chipping Sparrows. The road ended at what looked like a ranger station with a decaying barn and gas pump and a small cornfield. On the wires there I saw Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Kingbirds, and doves. On the drive back, I could hear woodpeckers and flycatchers, but most of the sounds were unfamiliar except for a Pileated Woodpecker in the distance and Cardinals singing everywhere. In the end, I saw very little, and was mostly left wondering what birds were making all the noise.

Back on the main highway, heading for Edisto Beach again, I spotted an unfamiliar-looking hawk. I hastily pulled over and found myself in a patch of trees around a little-visited cemetery. The flowers on the graves were plastic, faded, and grey with dust. Slipping through the trees to get a view of the sky above, I saw that the hawk was nothing unusual--a Red-tailed Hawk--and my attention was quickly called away by unfamiliar singing in the trees. I spotted a warbler-sized bird (possibly a warbler) with a brilliant yellow throat, a collar of patchy grey, and a pale yellow-white breast and belly. It seemed greyish above with two thin white wing bars, but I never really got a good view. Its vocalization was distinctive, though--a fairly flat trill that reminded me of an Orange-crowned Warbler (but without that bird's characteristic change in pitch during the trill), finished off each time with a single chirpy note. I heard the same bird on the trails around Edisto Beach, so it's probably common. I don't know what it was, but I was able to record the song. I'm hoping to figure it out later*. Before I left I also saw a Carolina Wren in the trees.


At Edisto Beach, the usual birds were at the ocean--Laughing Gulls, Brown Pelicans flying in lazy rows, and a few Royal Terns out over the water. For lunch near the beach I tried a shrimp Po' Boy. The shrimp was good, but I wasn't terribly impressed by the sodden iceberg lettuce and white roll it came in. After lunch, I drove to a small visitor center and campground registration post where I parked and started on a long loop through woods with an extension back out to the coast. I spent the rest of my day walking trails winding through the woods and here and there muddy expanses of sea grass nearer the ocean. These marshy areas are strangely empty of birds except for Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets here and there, but the woods were active. I mostly saw Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice, but got another good look at a Red-bellied Woodpecker. There was a Blue-grey Gnatcatcher in an isolated stand of trees close to the coast--a bird I hadn't realized lived in South Carolina. On the walk back through the dense woods I saw a flash of red that wasn't a Cardinal. It was a male Summer Tanager. A second one appeared and two females as well, for life bird No. 19 on the trip. Finally, when close to returning to the car, a small bird caught my eye. I put my binoculars on it and was thrilled to see it was a plump male Painted Bunting--one of the birds I most hoped to see while in the South (life bird No. 20 for the trip). It obligingly flew to a nearer, well-lit perch and allowed me to photograph it at my leisure before it flew away. The whole day was worth the tanagers and the bunting (top photo). Along the way, I passed a funny little post office, the name of the town painted on by hand.

*I was subsequently able to identify my mystery bird as a Northern Parula (life bird no. 18 for the trip).

On the Road--Down South: Savannah's Forsyth Park, Colonial Cemetery, and Another Visit to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge

I got up early yesterday morning to go birding at Savannah's largest park, Forsyth Park. It was somewhat disappointing, but not entirely unfruitful. Most of the birds were House Sparrows, Robins, and Starlings (not to mention the ubiquitous Mockingbirds), but there was also a contingent of Brown Thrashers--one of those birds I may have seen as a child but certainly haven't seen since I was very young. It was fun to watch them hopping around the lawns tossing aside magnolia leaves looking for food. A very pretty, rufous bird. They seem to be common here.

Afterward, I decided to make one last visit to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, this time driving the "Wildlife Tour." Most of the people on the route seemed to be looking for alligators, but there were birds around. Although I saw nothing new, I got to see more Anhingas, Moorhens, Purple Gallinules, Cardinals, Blue Jays, a lustily singing Indigo Bunting, a pair of Cattle Egrets, and, overhead, Great Egrets, Mississippi Kites, and even a couple of Glossy Ibises.

Later in the day, I went to see the Colonial Cemetery again, as it was considerably cooler today than it has been in the last few days. Clouds threatening rain that never developed were welcome. The cemetery was the second built in Savannah. It appears to have been used actively between around 1750 and 1850. Many of the graves are from 1820, a year marked by an epidemic of yellow fewer that killed more than 700 citizens of Savannah. The cemetery is now a city park. This was the original resting place of Major General Nanthanial Greene, one of Washington's most important generals (later moved to Johnson Square). Other notables of the Revolutionary War period and others include Joseph, James, and John Habersham; Joseph Clay; Samuel Elbert, Colonel John S. Macintosh, General Lachlan Macintosh, Edward Greene Malbone, a miniaturist; and Captain Denis L. Cottineau de Kerloguen.

The highlight of lunch was a fat crab cake on a layer of grits with a tomato bisque sauce at a place called Soho South Café. The service left a little to be desired, but the food was good. I had an Ace pear cider with my lunch. I finished off the meal with a slice of Georgia pecan pie. I've always loved pecan pie. I assumed it would be good here in Georgia, and it was--note that the filling is mostly pecans, not gelatinous goo. A great way to wrap things up.

On the Road--Down South: Savannah Spire (June 13, 2013)

Yesterday evening, while walking around Savannah--a very walkable town--looking for a good place to have dinner, I was impressed by the white spire of a church with a gilded weather vane on top. I happened to walk along an ally as I was trying to find a good vantage point and saw the building through a pane of broken windows and thought it a better view than any unobstructed view I was likely to find.

On the Road--Down South: Air-conditioned Savannah (June 13, 2013)

Temperatures yesterday were over 100 degrees F again in Savannah. I slept late to refresh myself, had a good breakfast and then went out to visit one of Savannah's cemeteries, the Colonial Cemetery, but again found the heat and humidity so oppressive I changed course and headed in the direction of some indoor, air-conditioned entertainment. I went to the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. I was a bit skeptical at first about the $8.50 admission charge, but, having now seen the museum, I can say it was well worth it.

The museum houses a truly impressive collection of ship models illustrating the maritime history of Savannah. They are meticulously detailed and many have cutaway sections that allow you to see inside the vessels. Besides the ship models, the collection includes shipbuilding and sailmaking tools, navigation tools, art depicting maritime vessels, scrimshaw, objects illustrating the lives of sailors, and even a few actual figureheads.

A small figurehead in the shape of a horse's head was striking, I thought (left). I also liked a French Porcelain  "brothel cat." According to the museum notes, these were placed in the windows of brothels that catered to ship's crews. The eyes were removable. Green eyes were inserted to indicate the establishment was open for business. Red eyes meant the place was full or that the police were in the area. A cat with its back turned indicated a brothel was closed. Is this the origin of the expression "cathouse"?* Well worth the time to visit--the museum, that is. Highly recommended.

As it was still hot when I left the Maritime Museum, I next headed for the Jepson Center for the Arts, one of a group of three museums in the city collectively known as the Telfair Museums. The Jepson Center houses contemporary art. The building is interesting, especially the spacious entry area lit with natural light. The highlight of the visit was a show of paper works from the museum's collections called "Innovative Work from the Telfair Galleries." Unfortunately, this is one of those places that allows no photography, so I can't illustrate what I saw, but I particularly liked a piece called "Studio" by Conrad Marca-Relli, one called "The River Boat Guide" by Jerome Meadows, "Strata #389" by Susan Schwalb, and "Flock" by Kiki Smith. Elsewhere in the galleries, "Low Country Construct No. 1" by Elizabeth Cain was of interest as well.

[*A subsequent search suggests that the use of the cats was perhaps peculiar to Savannah. According to the OED, "cat" was a common term for a prostitute possibly as early as 1401 but certainly so by the 17th century. Therefore "cathouse" would have sounded the way "whorehouse" does to us today.]