Plants I'm Growing: Cyclamen Coum

I tardily note here that the first Cyclamen coum blossoms in the garden opened on January 1st. That's seven days earlier than last year. Like last year, it was the first plant to bloom here in the new year. See last year's note on this plant for details. Cyclamen coum.

Thus, the duration of a year--according to this plant--was 358 days (in this case, corresponding mostly to calendar year 2009). As 2010 progresses, I plan to calculate the passage of a year as reckoned by the space between the first blossoms of various plants in the garden this year and last. It will be interesting to see how long each of the botanical years turns out to be. Will they average 365 days? More likely, the year for each species will average to 365 days over many years with significant annual variations. We'll see.

Movies I'm Watching: Biopics--Julie and Julia and Me and Orson Welles

In the last couple of weeks I've seen two (or should I say three?) entertaining films based on biographies, Me and Orson Welles and Julie & Julia, although the latter was something of a disappointment.

Me and Orson Welles (2009, directed by Richard Linklater) is based loosely on fact, going behind the scenes at the Mercury Theater, newly established in New York in 1937 by Orson Welles and John Houseman, and telling an embellished version of the story of its famous production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in that year, which Welles chose to set in fascist Italy. (If what we see is accurate, the film gives us a fascinating glimpse of what the original production might have looked like). How much is true to life is immaterial, however. The story is mostly a vehicle for a portrait of the young Orson Welles that becomes intertwined with a coming-of-age story centered on the Zac Efron character, a dreamy high school student that bluffs his way into the production, falls in love with Sonja Jones, Welles's assistant (played engagingly by Claire Danes), and then suffers a grand disillusionment. Although this is the New York theater, I was reminded of the silly lyrics to Hooray for Hollywood (Richard Whiting/Johnny Mercer) from the 1937 film Hollywood Hotel "Where any shop girl can be a top girl...." "Where any office boy or young mechanic can be a panic...." Oddly, that satirical song, making fun of Hollywood, has become its anthem. Whether that makes sense or not, I've always liked the original version sung by Johnnie Davis and Frances Langford backed by Benny Goodman and his orchestra (click the link above). But I digress.

Back to Me and Orson Welles. Christian McKay, in the role of Welles, is utterly convincing. The movie was worth seeing just for his performance. It is rare to be able to watch an historical character come to life on screen without constantly having to tell oneself that the actor is the person he's supposed to be. One wonders if the Mercury Theater was as chaotic as the film suggests, and I can't say whether the film really tells us anything new about Welles (is it simply rehashing a stale view of the man?), but there is no need to take things too seriously. Me and Orson Welles is good, light entertainment.

Julie & Julia (2009, directed by Nora Ephron) was fun to watch. That said, it left me full but unsatisfied. To paraphrase Mark Twain, Julie & Julia is a film about Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams) and her now-famous cooking blog with a film about Julia Child (Meryl Streep) and her long-famous cookbook struggling to get out. I couldn't help feeling that this would have been better as two films--although it's easy to understand the attempt to draw parallels between the efforts of the two women to master the art of French cooking, each in her own way, each in her own period of history--Julia Child by spending years in France cooking and researching recipes, Julie Powell by attempting to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Knopf, originally published 1961) in the course of a year.

Meryl Streep is delightful as Julia Child. Some of the funniest scenes in the movie draw on the sheer force of Child's indomitable personality (we see her tackle dozens of onions in an effort to get her chopping skills up to snuff; her flustered apprehension ahead of the appearance of her sister at the train station is hilarious). During the contemporary scenes (the Julie storyline), however, I found myself longing to see more of Julia, less of Julie and friends. Paul Child, Julia's husband, was an interesting man in his own right. It was frustrating to see him appear only in brief supporting scenes. The film barely suggests his career as an artist and photographer and it fails to make clear his role in producing illustrations and photos for his wife's book. (His life is tangential, I suppose, but had this been a film about Julia (without Julie), there would have been some room to flesh things out.) That said, the Julia story is the best part of the movie.

Even so, Julie Powell's project deserved a fuller treatment. I was left with the impression that all the good stuff was in the blog and that we never got to read it. There was something unconvincing about the supporting cast, too. I never got the impression that these people were much interested in food or that Julie's cooking (and by extension Julia's) really moved them much. I would have liked to have seen this as a true foodie movie, conveying a sense of reverence for great food. We know that Julia Child had such a reverence. We don't know from the movie really what Julie felt about the food she was making. She comes across as shallow. Julia Child's reported remark at the end of the movie to the effect that Julie's attempt is frivolous is therefore hard to dismiss.

Having never seen the original blog, I can't say whether the impression given of Julie Powell is fair or not, but it doesn't help to hear Julie's husband simply tell her that Julia Child has misunderstood her. If that were really true (and it may be), shouldn't I (the audience) already know that by that stage of the film? I wanted to believe that cooking the classic cookbook cover to cover was more than a stunt to Julie, but the movie makes it hard to know. That seems a shame, because blogging with a purpose is an attractive idea and Julia Child's original dream of making Americans better cooks is as relevant today as it was then. Perhaps the only real value of Powell's cooking and blogging was personal--that it kept her sane (setting aside the effects of the fame it has brought her); perhaps Julie Powell finished her year feeling little different about cooking than when she began; perhaps getting through a truly important cookbook and absorbing such a cookbook are two different things. It's a shame that at the end of the movie we don't really know what Julie Powell accomplished. Maybe I'll read her book. Maybe I'll blog about it. Maybe I'll blog about reading every page of her book in 24 hours, maybe I'll...oh, never mind.

Birds I'm Watching: Oakland

Visiting friends in Oakland at the start of the new year, I found myself looking out at a pretty Townsend's Warbler in the trees visible from the dining table of my hosts. I got a good shot of the bird, although it's very difficult to focus on these fellows. They move incessantly and love to hide behind branches.

Books I'm Reading: Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten 20th Century

Just finished reading Tony Judt's Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century (Penguin, 2008). I can't remember where I picked this up, but I know Tony Judt's writing from The New York Review of Books, and this turned out to be a collection of his essays/reviews mostly from that publication, some of which I read years ago when they first appeared. I wasn't disappointed because of that. In fact, I was rather pleased that it contained Judt's extended essay on Kennedy, Krushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is among the the New York Review pieces that have always stood out in my mind. It was a pleasure to go through it again. Coincidentally, my reading of it coincides with the 40th anniversary of the start of Kennedy's presidential election campaign, in early 1960. The essay makes one very glad that we had Kennedy in the White House at the time. It's remarkable how level-headed and restrained Kennedy was in the face of much advice aimed at encouraging the most belligerent and provocative of routes through the crisis. I shudder to think what would have happened if a man like George W. Bush had been our president then.

The essays in the collection have been chosen not because each addresses a common theme, but because, taken together, they make the case obliquely that we have already forgotten (to our peril) many of the lessons the bellicose 20th century has given us--although the point is here and there made explicitly as well. Excellent writing throughout. Recommended.

Miscellaneous: Cancelled my TV Service Today

Cancelled my TV service today.

Rain: More Rain Overnight (December 27, 2009)

It rained again last night. We got an additional 0.45 inches. That brings our 2009–2010 season total to 7.90 inches, which is 2.58 inches below normal for this date (10.48 inches).

[Update: had another 0.2 inches overnight on the 29th. Total now 8.1 inches as of December 30th.]

[Further update: Another 0.4 inches on the 31st and 1st of January puts our total at 8.5 inches as of January 2, 2010.]

Birds I'm Watching: Lake Ralphine/Spring Lake

Took a walk around lake Ralphine and Spring Lake today, in Santa Rosa. Saw 40 bird species: Downy woodpecker, Nuttal's woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, turkey vulture, crows, lesser goldfinch, house finch, ruby-crowned kinglet, northern flicker, robin, Western meadowlark, ring-billed gull, coots (22), common moorhen (2), scrub jay, oak titmouse, chestnut-backed chickadee, yellow-rumped warbler, great egret, snowy egret, spotted towhee, California towhee, fox sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow, marsh wren, Bewick's wren, belted kingfisher, Great blue heron, Canada geese, mallards, buffleheads (10), greater scaup (6), common merganser (27 on Lake Ralphine), pied-billed grebe, a spotted sandpiper, a red-shouldered hawk, an Osprey eating a fish up in a tree, and a pair of common goldeneyes.

The photos are of a male (top) and female common merganser. These birds show striking sexual dimorphism--strictly speaking, sexual dichromatism.

Rain: Some Clear Skies Finally (December 13, 2009)

It finally stopped raining this morning. I can see clear skies off to the west, over Sebastopol. That usually means it will be clear here within an hour or so. Checking the rain gauge, we have had 1.75 inches since it began raining on Friday (the 11th). That brings our 2009-2o10 season total to 6.65 inches, which is almost 1.7 inches below normal for this date, but another storm is on the way, or so they say.

[Update] Got another 0.55 inches Monday and Tuesday (the 14th and 15th), which brings our total to 7.2 inches as of today (Wednesday, the 16th). Normal precipitation for this date is 8.89 inches, so we are 1.69 inches below normal at present.

[Update] Got an additional 0.25 inches on the 19th and 20th, putting us at 7.45 inches as of December 21. That's about 1.9 inches below normal for this date.

Miscellaneous: Rain and Manzanitas

More rain today, which is very nice. For one thing, it's a lot warmer following two days of very hard frost. Took a short walk in the rain today and came across this natural work of art--a gnarled manzanita.

The rain has been pretty steady since Friday afternoon. By 4:30 on Saturday afternoon, we had had another 1.4 inches, bringing the total so far in the 2009-2010 season to 6.3 inches. That's somewhat below normal for this date--but it's still raining.

Birds I'm Watching: Ellis Creek/Shollenberger Park

Good day today out at the Ellis Creek water treatment ponds and Shollenberger Park, in Petaluma. They are draining the ponds and refilling them--something to do with bullfrog eradication--, which has left a lot of mud exposed, drawing in many birds. I got a really good look at the swamp sparrow again. There were two of them, along with many song sparrows and common yellowthroats in the wet area between the two eucalyptus trees and the big pond--in the same spot others have reported seeing these species. In the drained pond were scores of snipe. There was a lesser yellowlegs along with about five greater yellowlegs. Obligingly they poked around together close to the path, allowing for some decent photos (pictured; the bird with its bill in the water is the lesser yellowlegs). Also saw a great-tailed grackle, which is unusual here. Good day for birds.

Other birds I saw today at Ellis Creek were: Great egret, crows, killdeer, northern shovelers, black-necked stilts, Say's phoebe, black phoebe, Mute swans, bufflehead, gadwalls, many cinnamon teals, a couple of blue-winged teals, coots, long-billed dowitchers, least sandpipers, mallards, Canada geese, robins, California towhees, American pipits, and brewer's blackbird. Over at Shollenberger, saw many of the same birds, but also savannah sparrow, Western gulls, black-bellied plovers, a Pacific golden plover (yet another comparatively rare sighting), a long-billed curlew, avocets, ruddy ducks, and a harrier harassing a red-tailed hawk.

With the California quails, spotted towhee, golden-crowned sparrows, house finches, oak titmouses, lesser goldfinches, chesnut-backed chickadees, flicker, acorn woodpecker, and Nuttal's woodpecker I saw at home (northeast Santa Rosa) before heading out, it was a fairly bird-filled day. It was a very COLD bird-filled day. It got down to 23 degrees overnight at home, the coldest it's ever been here in my experience.

Miscellaneous: Rain

Just to report that we had 0.5 inches of rain overnight here in Santa Rosa--well, my part of Santa Rosa anyway. It snowed at higher elevations. That brings the total for the 2009–2010 season to 4.90 inches, which is below normal. Normal for this date is just under 7.5 inches. We were supposed to have had a big storm over the weekend, but it missed us.

Birds I'm Watching: Place to Play Park, Santa Rosa

While waiting for my son at his Clarinet lesson today, I took a walk around the small pond at Place to Play Park, in Santa Rosa. Saw quite a few birds, including about 300 Canada Geese. Among them was what I'm pretty sure was a Snow Goose--which would be an unusual sighting for the middle of Santa Rosa--but the bird lacked the black primaries a snow goose should have--so, not entirely sure about this one. One expert I consulted has said it may be a partial blue morph snow goose.

Also saw a Say's Phoebe, Greater Yellowlegs, Wilson's Snipe, Killdeer, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Mallards, a pair of Shovelers, a single male Bufflehead, a single female Common Merganser, Crows, American Pipit, Long-billed Dowitchers (pictured), Black-necked Stilts, Double-crested Cormorants, gulls I didn't take the time to identify, three White Pelicans, and a few Scrub-jays.

For more about birding in Sonoma County, see my website: Sonoma County Bird Watching Spots

Miscellaneous: A Visit to the Theater

Went on a field trip with my son's class at the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts today. The class saw a dance performance by students at Santa Rosa High School and then visited the set for the Santa Rosa Junior College's production of The Wizard of Oz. Set designer Peter Compton gave us a behind-the-scenes look--literally. The kids got to walk on stage and see how the backdrops and turntables work and then they had a look at the scenery shop where the sets are built and props created. Not a bad way to spend a morning.

Books I'm Reading: How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (And Why You Should Care)

I just finished a slim volume--I needed something short after reading a giant Andrew Carnegie biography-- called How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (And Why You Should Care), by Ross W. Duffin (W. W. Norton, 2007). Clear, concise, well written, and well argued, this book sets out to do two things: First, show that equal temperament in many instances simply doesn't sound as good as alternative tuning systems; and second, that "before the standardization of equal temperament became so overwhelming that nobody got to hear anything else when they were growing up, musicians knew about equal temperament and in many cases chose not to use it." Here the author is attempting to refute the notion implicit in much modern thinking about music that equal temperament was an unmitigated improvement that in some sense saved music from chaos (instead of the truth, which is that ET is simply a convenience that accommodates fixed-tone instruments such as the piano when accompanying stringed instruments, for example, and that it has both advantages and disadvantages--the main disadvantage being that it often forces unpleasant-sounding harmonies). He argues convincingly that ET was viewed as a compromise grudgingly accepted by vocalists and string players when they had to accommodate keyboard instruments (which can't differentiate between what are today considered enharmonic notes--such as g-sharp and a-flat--unless specially built with extra keys). I suspect the audience for this book is limited, but a good argument is a good argument, whatever the subject. Very enjoyable. Recommended.

What to read next?

Tidbits: Abaloney and Krab

I was wondering: If fake crab is called "krab," is fake abalone called "abaloney?"

Books I'm Reading: Andrew Carnegie

I'm just finishing a colossal (800-page) biography of Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw (Penguin, 2006). While it would be hard not to know the name Andrew Carnegie, or to consider oneself educated without knowing something about the man--about his great wealth and his philanthropy, particularly his creation of libraries across the United States and in many other countries (when I drove across the country this past summer, one of the things that impressed me was the startling number of Carnegie libraries I happened to see along the way)--I must admit there was a great deal about him I didn't know. I didn't fully understand Carnegie's connection with the Homestead riot, I hadn't been aware of his close association with Frick, whose name I knew mostly in association with the great art museum in New York that houses possibly my favorite portrait of all time (Holbein's 1527 painting of Sir Thomas More), and I hadn't been aware of Carnegie's extraordinary access to a string of American presidents (Harrison, Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson), not to mention an important group of politicians in England.

Likewise, I hadn't know about his efforts to establish such things as international arbitration treaties (with the aim of abolishing war as a means of settling disputes among nations), a precursor to the League of Nations, a world court, and an international police--although his efforts bore little fruit in his lifetime, and, as an older man, his meddling in politics and foreign affairs appear to have annoyed many of the people he was trying to influence. Carnegie seems to have been ahead of his time in these peace-related matters. He failed spectacularly--his efforts were followed immediately by WWI and then by WWII--but they were noble ideas, nevertheless.

Long, but very well written and edited. It never drags. Highly recommended.

Miscellaneous: Beautiful Clear Day After Rain

It's a beautiful clear day today--the air cleansed by rain last night. We got 0.3 inches, bringing the total for the 2009-2010 season to 4.25 inches so far. That's only very slightly below normal, and very good relative to the past few years.

[Update: Another 0.60 inches of rain today, Friday the 20th. Total for the season at our location is now 4.85 inches.]

Tidbits: Car Insurance Explained

I think I've got it now: I move to Progressive, next switch to Geico, then go to Allstate--and my car insurance is free, right?

Wines I'm Drinking: Gevrey Chambertin

I had an opportunity yesterday to buy some of the 2006 premier cru Gevrey Chambertin wines from Rene Leclerc at a reasonable price ($35-$39 a bottle; I've seen them for more than $80 each). Haven't tasted these for years, but I have fond memories of Clos St. Jacques--both driving by the vineyard in France (a rather modest-looking patch beside the highway) and drinking the wine. I've always found the Clos St. Jacques a relatively inexpensive over-achiever. Also got some of the Les Champeaux, and the Combe aux Moines. Looking forward to these in a few years.

Birds I'm Watching: Ellis Creek Water Treatment Ponds

Spent the day out at the Ellis Creek Water Treatment Ponds, in Petaluma. Went with a group of very serious birders--a bit too serious, it seemed to me. Had fun nevertheless. The group saw something like 70 species, of which I saw 54. I saw a number of birds for the first time. Highlights were a flying American bittern, a pair of peregrine falcons, a sora, a greater white-fronted goose, a few common goldeneyes, and some really good looks at a number of Say's phoebes.

Other birds I saw were: cedar waxwing, orange-crowned warbler (pictured), yellow-rumped warbler, savannah sparrow, song sparrow, golden-crowned sparrow, red-winged blackbirds, Western meadowlark (lots), American pipits, white pelican, pied-billed grebe, Western grebe, snowy egret, turkey vulture, mute swans, gadwall, American wigeon, mallard, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, black phoebe, red-tailed hawk, Canada goose, long-billed dowitcher, hooded merganser, white-tailed kite, Cooper's Hawk, red-shouldered hawk, coots, killdeer, black-necked stilts, American avocet, greater yellowlegs, Wilson's snipe, Western gull, mourning dove, robins, European starling, great egret, Bonaparte's gull, kestrel, crow, scrub jay, Northern pintail, greater scaup, horned grebe, marsh wren, and brewer's blackbird.

Wines I'm Making: Racked wines yesterday

Racked the last of the 2009 wines yesterday--the Cabernet Sauvignon, the second-run Cab, and the Sangiovese rosé. Lightly sulfited each. Added oak staves to the two Cabernet wines. All are now resting out in the garage. The flavor of the Cabernet was again impressive, even at this stage.

Miscellaneous: Autumn Colors (November 10, 2009)

Autumn colors in Santa Rosa. Peppers at Imwalle gardens, on Dutton Ave. Imwalle is one of those old-fashioned farm fruit and vegetable stands that I remember from visits to my grandmother's house, in Dayton, Ohio when I was a boy. We lived in New York at the time, but would drive out to see her. Mumma's and Wampler's were the big ones--full of fresh produce in barn-like buildings, much of it in bushel baskets, with the fields starting right at the edge of the parking area. I especially remember glass gallon jars of honey with squares of comb floating in them and bringing home corn. My brother and I got to husk the corn. Always rainbow sherbet for desert.

Miscellaneous: Rain Today

Light rain last night and throughout the day today. Got a total of 0.15 inches. Not much, but that should bring our total to about 3.7 inches so far for 2009-2010. More rain possibly tomorrow and Saturday.

[Update] more rain on Friday--0.25 inches. 2009-2010 total now 3.95 inches.

Birds I'm Watching: Bodega Bay

I spent the day out at Bodega Bay today. I stopped first at the farm pond on Bohemian Highway (about 6 miles west of Sebastopol, on the way to Bodega Bay). There were many more ducks than there have been recently--although still not that many. Saw a pair of buffleheads among the Canada geese and mallards, a couple of female shovelers, a fair number of ring-necked ducks, and a lone duck different from the rest that looked like a Eurasian wigeon to me. The highlight was the ring-necked ducks, a new Sonoma County bird for me.

At Porto Bodega, nothing out of the ordinary, but I saw: House sparrows, turkey vultures, Western gulls, greater yellowlegs, Brewer's blackbird, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, surf scoters, a lone marbled godwit, a Western grebe or two, and a couple of common loons.

At the Tides Restaurant, the usual flock of sandpipers was there, but also saw Western grebes, snowy egrets, a horned grebe, and a great blue heron.

Nothing much at the rail ponds but yellow-rumped warblers. At the north end of Bodega Harbor, I saw surf scoters, common loons, greater scaup (quite a few), ruddy ducks, Western grebes, great egrets, great blue herons, and six buffleheads. On my way home, passing the same location, there were 14 male buffleheads and about half that number of females.

On the mud flats just past Spud Point marina, I saw: Snowy egrets, brown pelicans, white pelicans, Western gulls, marbled godwits, willets, black-bellied plovers, black turnstones, ruddy turnstones, great blue herons, double-crested cormorants, great egrets, and surf scoters. Further along, after Westside Park, I saw: Western gulls, California gulls, and a single Bonapart's gull along with more herons, surf scoters, and white pelicans. On the way to Bodega Head there were many egrets, herons, Western gulls, and cormorants.

At Campbell Cove it was more surf scoters, six more buffleheads, and more Western gulls. Saw nothing up on the cliffs above, except a good view of a Northern Harrier. At the hole in the head, there was little to see except a black phoebe and various sparrows I couldn't identify, along with many yellow-rumped warblers.

Again nothing much out of the ordinary, but I enjoyed seeing the ring-necked ducks, all the buffleheads, the Bonapart's gull, and the harrier. At the hole in the head there was also a juvenile raptor that I couldn't figure out.

Birds I'm Watching: Shollenberger Park, Ellis Creek, Las Gallinas

Spent much of the day birding again today. Visited Shollenberger park in the morning. Saw the family of white-tailed kites that has been there the past few days, on the Adobe Creek side of the area. Also saw: Black phoebe, coots, black-necked stilts, northern shovelers, killdeer, Western meadowlark, red-winged blackbirds (lower photo; technically, I think the ones we have around here are the "bi-colored" form that lacks the yellow wing bar, like the bird pictured), mallards, song sparrow, Western sandpiper, and willets. On the other end of the park, saw: Shovelers again, avocets, black-necked stilts, marbled godwits, coots, Canada geese, dowitchers (probably long-billed), Western gulls, ring-billed gulls, turkey vultures, plovers, and blue-winged teals (upper photo)--this last a first sighting for me.

Then drove over to the Ellis Creek ponds. Saw: Red-winged blackbirds, Anna's hummingbird, cedar waxwings, Canada geese, scrub jay, and house finches right in the parking lot. In and around the ponds, I saw: Cinnamon teal, coots, black-necked stilts, northern shovelers, Canada geese, greater yellowlegs, mallards, pied-billed grebe, killdeer, a Wilson's snipe, dowitchers again, yellow-rumped warblers, great egret, black phoebe, blue-winged teal, a kestrel, a marsh wren, and what turned out to be a couple of female greater scaups, also a new bird for me.

Finally, ran down to the Las Gallinas sewage treatment ponds. I actually found them this time. Saw: Snowy egrets, great egrets, black phoebe, northern harrier, shovelers, avocets, crow, Canada geese, willets, black-necked stilts, white pelicans, northern pintail (a first sighting for me), green-winged teal (likewise), dowitchers, wigeons, gadwalls, Western grebes, bushtits, yellow-rumped warblers, and a white-crowned sparrow.

A tiring day, but got four new species, bringing my total to 182 and my Sonoma County total to 130. Saw a total of 42 species, if I've counted correctly.

Birds I'm Watching: Home

The number of bird species living in and around my own garden is sometimes astounding. I had counted 24 before noon today just standing in the driveway and walking around the garden. The highlight was a red-breasted sapsucker I could see in the neighbor's yard. It was only the second time I've seen one and the first time in Sonoma County. That raises my county total to 128 species. Birds seen from home today included: Turkey vulture, crow, scrub jay, lesser goldfinch, American goldfinch, house finch, golden-crowned sparrow, black phoebe, bewick's wren, oak titmouse, ruby-crowned kinglet, California towhee, dark-eyed junco, Anna's hummingbird, Northern mockingbird, cedar waxwing, Northern flicker, acorn woodpecker, Nuttall's woodpecker, Canada goose, mourning dove, yellow-rumped warbler, and European starling. Nothing very unusual except the sapsucker and the cedar waxwings, but still impressive for not even trying.

Wines I'm Making: Racked Zinfandel

I did a paper chromatography test on all the wines yesterday and found that the malolactic fermentation was mostly finished in the Zinfandel, so I racked the wines, sulfited lightly (to about 50ppm) and added medium toast French oak staves to both the three- and five-gallon carboys. The Cabernet needs more time and the second-press Cab still shows a lot of malic acid, so I will wait to rack both those wines. The "fake" Cab is too acidic because I accidentally added more acid blend than I had intended. I'm hoping further malolactic fermentation and then some serious cold to precipitate tartrate crystals will help soften it. The Sangiovese rosé I moved into the garage where it's cooler. Will have to rack that wine soon, too.

Miscellaneous: Honey Harvest

Harvested 33lbs of honey on Sunday. It's considerably darker this year than it has been in the past. Most of it got made and stored away fairly early in the season. I'm not sure exactly what kind of nectar the bees were getting, but it's tasty. With that, most of the seasonal work is done. The wine is made--more or less. The honey is harvested. The figs are mostly finished. We have tons of apples and pears and a lot of basil for making pesto. Maybe we should get some chickens?

Birds I'm Watching: Ellis Creek Water Treatment Ponds

Just to report a sighting yesterday of a Swamp Sparrow at the Ellis Creek water treatment ponds, in Petaluma, California. It was my first visit. I hadn't realized how much space is there--easily as big as Shollenberger Park, next door. Turns out the Swamp Sparrow is a moderately rare bird in the state. My report of it has caused a bit of a buzz among local birders. Adding the Swamp Sparrow to my list gives me 127 species in Sonoma County, about 31% of all the species that have ever been recorded here (438)--although that total includes a fair number of extremely rare and unlikely-to-be-repeated sightings. I'm hoping to get to around 150 over the winter.

[Update: As of Jaunary 12, 2010, I'm already at 160 for the county. Based on subsequent research, it sounds like 375 birds are regulars in Sonoma--or at least not so rare that there is little hope of ever seeing them here.]

Birds I'm Watching: Pt. Reyes, Shollenberger Park

Spent the day yesterday out at Pt. Reyes and then stopped off at Shollenberger Park, in Petaluma, on my way home. There wasn't a lot to see at Pt. Reyes. At the lighthouse there were a couple of Common Murres in the water, saw a Savannah Sparrow on the way up to the light house, along with a lot of White-crowned Sparrows, but that was about it. I did bump into a geology class, however, and very much enjoyed listening to the teacher explain the very interesting swirls of sandstone and conglomerate at the point. Always wondered about the formations there. I think I've posted about them here before. On the Chimney Rock side of the point, I saw a lot of Surf Scoters, Western Grebes, and Eared Grebes. Saw a Brown Pelican, four Pacific Loons, a Golden-crowned Sparrow in the trees by the residence, Crows, a Turkey Vulture or two, and, more interestingly, a Western Meadowlark on the drive out again.

There were many raptors around. The only one I could identify was a Red-tailed Hawk. There were several smaller birds, all motionless, expertly using the updrafts from the coast to stay still while searching the ground for prey. They had brown heads, were pale underneath, but had a tracing of brown under the wings and speckles at the "wingpit." The tips of the wings were very dark. I got a very good look at the birds, but could find nothing in the book that seemed right. Closest was a Ferruginous Hawk, but, the book says they should have distinctly dark legs, which these didn't and that their heads should not have been brown. Another interesting feature was apparent from above. The last third of the wing (but not the primaries) had an almost transparent look. Very frustrating not to know what this was. Still, it was fun to watch them hunt.

At Shollenberger Park, I saw Black Phoebes, Greater Yellowlegs, Coots, Ring-billed Gulls, Western Gulls, Mallards, a single Canada Goose, Black-necked Stilts, Avocets, four Long-billed Curlews, a Marbled Godwit or two (I think--they were very far away), and Northern Shovelers in large numbers--perhaps 200 of them. A new bird for me. (Pictured above; these are males and females, the juveniles, with the black heads, are going from juvenile plumage to winter plumage). Other birds were mostly in their confusing winter plumages, but I believe them to have been long-billed dowitchers. Also saw many Black-bellied Plovers in winter plumage.