Olive Harvest in Sonoma

As I've said before, there is always something interesting going on in Sonoma.  These folks are harvesting their  olives.  Notice the tarp spread on the ground under the tree were a worker has climbed on a ladder to reach the top branches.  He will shake the tree to make the ripened olives fall.  Then he will gather the olives into a bucket.  The olives will then be taken to a local olive crusher who will spin the olives forcing the oil into a vat.  Each olive tree produces it's own special flavor of olive oil.  Sometimes spices will be added.  Olive Oil is becoming one of the areas favorite crops.  Try the lemon infused olive oil...or the garlic...or sundried tomatoe.  Delicious.

Loma Prieta Earthquake Remembered

My brother visited from Houston last week to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Loma Prieta Earthquake in San Francisco by revisiting the scene.   He was standing on this pier under the Bay Bridge, in this exact spot, when the 7.1 quake shook the area.  It was October 17, 1989 at 5:04.

He says the pier looked like a wiggling snake as the pilings rolled, a school of fish rose from the water, the seagulls all flew up at one time, every car alarm in the area went off and the sky went from clear to opaque because of the dust.  He was thirty feet from the Embarcadero Freeway when massive parts of the roadway fell into the street below. 

This was this Texas native's first earthquake experience. Not realizing the seriousness of the situation, he continued to board a ferry to have dinner in Tiburon.  As he and his fellow ferry passengers made their way across the bay, they realized the Bay Bridge traffic had stopped and helicopters were circling above.   Both the San Francisco Marina area and the Oakland shore were ablaze.

It was midnight before the ferry returned to San Francisco and only three people were aboard.  They were told everyone was fleeing the city, not going into it. Once back on shore it was pitch black except for emergency vehicles coming and going.  Most electricity and communications were not working. The extent of the damage would not be known for days to those who lived in San Francisco.  This was before cell phones, texting, I-Phones and instant communications.

The reconstruction of the various freeways and bridges is still underway twenty years later.  We found it interesting that where my brother stood had not been rebuilt and had a warning sign.

For more of the story and a video go to this link. Loma Prieta

Wondering About Global Warming

Global Warming - Truth or Political Fiction?  

Go to the above link for a scientific report from the Artic Ice Cap...... interesting and informative.  I wonder if where we live will be on the "ancient city tour" in the next century.  

The Harvest and The Crush

Just another day in the neighborhood! 

I get constant pleasure watching the vineyards from the day the tiny lime-green buds appear on the rough brown vines to the day they are thick with green or purple grapes. The growing process begins in early spring unfolding new miracles all summer long.  This time of year the crews are out from late evening to early morning picking, loading and transferring the grapes to the wineries where they'll be crushed and made into wine.   I caught this group picking late in the morning which is a bit unusual.

Lovely Day in the Vineyard at Birdland

Yesterday was a glorious day in the Sonoma Wine Country.  I visited a friend's home with my book club, discussed "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" by Paul Torday and then enjoyed a delicious and beautiful meal while looking at the scene in my photos.  It's not quite a "bird's nest on the ground" but very close.....Thanks, Ruth, for the memorable day.

President's Speech to Schoolchildren

I praise the President for speaking to school children across the US.  Having him encourage children to be ‘the best they can be’ is a great thing. Heaven knows we need children to embrace education and get interested in the joy of reading, writing, math and science.

It is amazing to me that some citizens & media are against a motivational talk at the beginning of the school year that could make a positive impression on school age children. Ridiculous!

Are we so afraid that maybe a child will like the “other side” and perhaps support a viewpoint different than ours that we can’t allow the President to address school children?  Are we really so weak that we think such an address will brainwash children into a cult that will eventually overtake our country and destroy it? 

Instead of all the polarizing rhetoric, let’s have much more support from politicians and media in our education system.

Congressmen and women can take some of the time spent running after reporters so their face will be plastered everywhere and use it to get more involved with their local schools. They could encourage more community and corporate involvement in education.  How about the big mouths on television speaking to school children about issues?  Or, reporting more about how parents can help their children learn. 

If all the energy and time spent on opposing everything the “other side” does was put into helping our overworked and underpaid teachers and education administrators what a better US we would have.

Harvest Begins in Sonoma!

 

The harvest has begun and it's a beautiful time in the California wine country.