Stored in a cool place, these freshly picked pears will ripen in a few days. “There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson We’ve been harvesting our pears in phases over the past week; the fruit seems to ripen unevenly on our […]
Tag Archives: california flora
Holly Meets the Sea
I typically paint or wax the ends of green logs/slabs to ensure a slow and even curing. I’ve begun to harvest some of the holly trees on our property in anticipation of making small bowls, spoons, candlesticks and other tableware for our inaugural Secret Dinner scheduled for this fall. The trees were probably planted about […]
Design for Quiddity
I reserved the best of the clear and quarter-sawn stock for cabinets and doors Today when my interior design project in Marin passed final inspections and the stress of pushing for completion began to recede, I was reminded of my initial inspiration- to make a place that has a distinct smell, identifiable with local flora. […]
Specific Gravity
the surfboard originated in Hawaii, where local woods were shaped for specific waves I’ve body-surfed all my life and have a natural feel for wave mechanics, but I’m finally getting ready to learn to surf on a board. Being a ‘wood guy’ with access to local mills and several decent breaks within a few miles, […]
The Week in Bloom
action at Mavericks portends the arrival of spring to the N. Pacific (public domain) In West Sonoma County, early signs of spring are typically in sync with the arrival of a huge south swell, epitomized by the epic surf at Mavericks, about 100 miles down the coast. With more daylight and warming temperatures over the […]
Flotsam of the Day
Giant roots of mysterious origin have been washing ashore along the Sonoma Coast Like B Movie aliens readying for invasion, a mysterious crop of giant ‘beach tubers’ have blown ashore after the last string of storms and unusually high tides. I’m tempted to plant one to see what grows, but have seen enough bad movies […]
Joe’s Late Season Mushroom Report
Black chanterelle (Craterellus cornucopioides) The Late Season (text and photo by Josef Szuecs) As I mentioned in an earlier post, mushrooms generally fruit in species dependent windows of time. The exact timing of these windows vary from year to year, affected by a number of factors. In the SF Bay area, we can start looking […]