After more than three years on the land we’re getting a better feel for the rhythm of the garden and the fruit trees and have successfully stocked the larder with treats for the rainy season to come. Working with friends and neighbors, we’ve harvested and pressed all of our Gravensteins, which yielded about 20 gallons […]
Tag Archives: sonoma coast
Vicis Vigio
the unique Red Gravenstein, just picked and ready for the press I never thought I needed a motto, but Vicis Vigio, which translates loosely as ‘Week in Bloom’, appears to suffice. I’ve become interested in the notion of mottos because they tend to go along with things that have lasted the ages, from heraldry to […]
The Week in Bloom
“There’s nothing that keeps its youth, So far as I know, but a tree and truth.” -Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Deacon’s Masterpiece, 1858 After last year’s bumper crop of apples and the disarmingly early drop of the Gravensteins, we vowed to do our best not to let any go to waste this season. Our Gravensteins […]
The Week in Bloom
Shell Beach, from the Kortum Trail I thought appreciatively of Bill Kortum as we hiked the section of the California Coastal Trail named in his honor. Bill is an environmentalist of local renown who has been instrumental in protecting the coastline for public use. The late morning fog kept us cool as we made our […]
Green Walnut Harvest
Ene and Aili harvested hundreds of green walnuts from our tree to make our annual batch of nocino, the homemade digestif we like to share with friends and family on special occasions throughout the year. The nuts peaked about a week later than last year, and we managed to clear the tree of the plump, […]
What Makes A Good Day?
Today I discovered how the Purple Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus nudus) got its name.
The Week in Bloom
Native to the state, the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica) grows prolifically along seasonal streams and south-facing hillsides, and was often planted as an ornamental next to barns and schoolhouses of West Sonoma County. The tree has been in bloom for longer than expected this year with the cooler weather, and its sweet smelling blossoms are […]