early longboard by John Hughes Not surprisingly, I found simpatico with the deans of the old school of skate and surf at the ASR. Carson and Dale Smith of Skate Designs Skateboards staged an exhibition of classic racing boards as a backdrop to their line of contemporary cruisers. I was especially drawn to a vintage […]
Tag Archives: california coast
The Week in Bloom
Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus) Spring’s acceleration has leveled off as the solstice approaches. Trees are all in full leaf, and it’s looking like a potential bumper crop year for apples and pears. The hay has been cut, dried and baled on nearby farms and the sheep are ready for shearing. Most grazing meadows still […]
The Gopher Guy
Gregg Crawford, aka The Gopher Guy, at Harmony Farm Supply Just like anyone with open land in West Sonoma County, we have a gopher problem. We have been able to keep them out of our kitchen garden’s raised beds by lining their interiors with 1/2″ galvanized hardware cloth, but have plans to cultivate a 1/2 […]
Fools Parade and The Blessing of the Fleet
Occidental Fools Parade, Occidental, CA Two contrasting annual traditions merge seamlessly with the season in West Sonoma County. The Occidental Fools Parade continues to grow exponentially since its inception six years ago. Everyone is invited to participate, and people of all ages bring instruments and march in elaborate costume around Occidental’s tiny square. The event […]
Estero Americano Floods
I rode my bike to scout the Estero Americano over the weekend, the body of water dividing Western Marin and Sonoma counties. Almost exactly a year ago I made my first post on this weblog after a paddle on the Estero to explore the availability of sea grasses like bulrush for a furniture-making experiment. I’ve […]
Windsor Longboard Lives
My first Windsor Longboard experimental deck is a head-turner. My friends at Quinn Brothers Board Shop in Sebastopol, CA took to the ‘uber old school’ spirit and helped me rock the deck with super wide trucks and generic wheels; note the ‘rasta’ bolt heads, the board’s only fanfare. After some road testing I plan to […]
The Week in Bloom
carved cupboard in the kitchen at Fort Ross Our friend Allison Smith came up for the weekend and we journeyed up the coast to see Fort Ross as research for a potential site-specific commission on our land this summer. Allison is one of my favorite artists; we met when she helped with the construction of […]