Yep. fires are pretty much everywhere you turn; so many, in fact, that the no-good environment-destroying asshole illegal marijuana cultivators can hardly breathe up there in the national forests while they're defiling our countryside, but what the hell,they've got to make a living, too. Right?
But, putting them aside, we are still on fire pretty much all over our state, but most particularly here in the far north end of the valley. Poor Trinity County is catching the most hell at present, with more than 40 individual wildfires (most caused by dry lightning in the mountains) burning, most of which are now classed as elements of fire complexes. The Fork Complex. located due west of us +- 45 miles near the mountain community of Hayfork, is burning slightly more than 34.000 acres now and is still only 55% contained after a month; the Route and South complexes, near the little town of Hyampom, together total 49,000 acres and are both at roughly 35% containment; the River Complex, in far western Trinity wilderness, is now burning 41,000 acres, having grown another 2,280 acres overnight, and is still only 18% contained, according to CalFire. These are most critical to us here in Shasta County because they're nearest, but they're only the tip of the proverbial iceberg: all-in we've got more than 145,000 acres burning here in the North State at present, while our friends and neighbors to the south, southwest, and east of us are battling their own blazes, and north of us in Oregon they've got a few of their own to deal with. Happy summer! Merry drought! At any rate, the several thousand firefighters in our part of the state are doing a hell of a job keeping the monsters away from homes and people, with fewer than 200 structures having burned so far, at least here in the north, and no more than a dozen or so injuries thus far. Unfortunately, 2 firefighters have died to date. They need a break or two, but there's nothing on the scope at present.
While we're on the subject of fires and firefighters, I do want to take a minute to vent my total disgust with the new breed of morons we're suddenly seeing flying their pieces-of-crap drones into fire areas and subsequently causing the grounding of helicopters and air tankers working in support of the ground crews due to the very real hazard these shit-for-brains clowns pose to the safety of the flight crews. Already this season, and I only know about California, there have been more than 20 drones spotted by air crews flying fire support, some within fewer than 100 feet in proximity, causing at least 8 groundings of badly-needed tankers and helicopters while they wait for the bozos to fly out of the area. This is criminal activity, plain and simple, and has got to be stopped and people sent to jail; the problem is locating these ignorant asses and apprehending them, since they are likely miles away from the scene of their crimes, and difficult to identify. The public is beginning to respond to the appeals of help from law enforcement agencies, and several have been turned in and arrested. Hopefully this trend will continue and expand before someone is killed when a $150 piece of junk flies into a tail rotor or goes through a windshield. Just sayin'...
Okay, moving on...as a matter of curiosity, we would be interested to know what it is in these posts that has attracted the attention of our several foreign readers. We know that we have more or less regular viewers in the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Portugal, Israel, and Italy, as well as an occasional visitor from the Philippines, and we're very pleased about it. But we also are very interested in knowing more about you, so if you would reply and tell us something about yourselves we would be grateful.
I know that I've spent a considerable amount of time during the last several months commenting on wines from both Boeger and New Clairvaux wineries, but you should know that that's probably not going to stop soon. The reason is simple: almost across the board both produce wines that are consistently excellent and very fairly priced. What more do you want? Especially those of you working to put together interesting by-the-glass programs for members and guests who are again beginning to pay closer attention to the right-hand side of the list. And, to that subject, just another word to the wise: The Boeger 2012 Barbera, which we've had our fair share of this year, was just tasted again (not tasted, actually, but enthusiastically drunk down with a fat, greasy Turri grass-fed beef hamburger) and is at present absolutely perfectly ready, at least to my palate. I don't know if Greg Boeger agrees with me, and it doesn't really matter since it's such a subjective thing to debate, but he was right when he nudged me toward the 2012 as the 2011 began to disappear. This has got to be one of the half-dozen best red wine buys on the shelves today, and I recommend that you get some for both yourself and your wine lists before it disappears like the '11. Greg, how's '13? Strangely, that's always been a lucky number for me...
And so, to close another one out, just a short note re Mt. Shasta and its connection to Lemuria. (Hard to believe that I'm even writing this, actually.) As I wrote a few weeks back, I'velost my mind and have begun searching around various sources for published material regarding the various legends and tales linking the mountain with the strange and the unusual, especially its supposed role as refuge of one of the last known colonies of survivors of Lemuria. I found several books listed with various ebay o/p and rare booksellers and, after doing a very modest amount of research, bought a couple. One of those, "Lemuria - The Lost Continent of the Pacific", published by the Rosicrucian Press in the 1930s (I know, puzzled the hell out of me, too) and subtitled "The Mystery People of Mt. Shasta" is quite an adventure. The author, one Wishar S. Cerve, which turns out to be a pseudonym for the anthropologist H. Spencer Lewis, tells a good tale, and makes a great number of wild (and unsupported) claims in presenting his case, such as it is. And, apparently, there is a fairly large number of believers scattered around the world, some of whom continue to present their position online on a persistent basis. It's an interesting phenomenon. I'll re-read Wishar's book when I get the time.
Okay, that's it for now...
Monday, August 17, 2015
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Images (maybe) of China fire near Happy Valley...
I'll try to get some images from the Rocky fire up later today; it has turned into a monster that is now creating its own weather system and doing pretty much what it wants to do. For anyone really interested in excellent fire photo coverage, I recommend you go to the LA Times' site and check out the portfolio their staff photographer Genaro Molina has put together in the past week of the Rocky fire and the folks fighting it, as well as some of those who have been driven out of their homes. Pretty great work.
Monday, August 3, 2015
Trinity fires double in area overnight, more dry lightning in forecast, and drought closes one of America;s great golf courses...
Okay, forget everything I told you yesterday concerning fire acreage in the Trinity Alps area; all those fires doubled in size overnight due to the tinderbox conditions and the fact that many of the individual fires are so remote that fire crews can't reach them at all,meaning that helicopters and air tankers are the sole means of fighting their spread. Several of the fires burning in the Hayfork/Hyampom areas have merged, creating new complexes that require complete re-evaluations of the firefighters' tactics and strategies. And, to top it all off, the Rocky fire, in Lake County, has turned into a true monster well over 40,000 acres all on its own, and is still nowhere near contained. It will likely be much larger by this time tomorrow. Not sure how many structures have burned to date, but here in the far North State the number of homes that have gone up is somewhere near 50 at present. I saw my first out-of-state commercial firefighting vehicles this afternoon, heading west on Hwy 299 toward the Trinity fires, probably Hayfork, a company called "Firestormers" with Oregon plates on their trucks. Not a good sign.
I just learned that Stevinson Ranch Golf Club closed its gates a couple of weeks ago due to a lack of irrigation water. The Stevinson family, almond farmers in the Turlock area for several generations, who built the course in the '90s with the assistance of the late architect John Harbottle, felt it was no longer a viable business model given the expense of acquiring water, and that they were far better off refocusing on their core farming. Don't know if there's any chance it will be brought back to life at some pint in the future, should the drought ever break, but I, along with thousands of others, truly hope that could happen. The course was a perennial presence on every "Best of..." American golf facilities listing almost from the day it opened, and the resort was first class, as well. We'll miss it.
Good night, and more soon...
Cliff
I just learned that Stevinson Ranch Golf Club closed its gates a couple of weeks ago due to a lack of irrigation water. The Stevinson family, almond farmers in the Turlock area for several generations, who built the course in the '90s with the assistance of the late architect John Harbottle, felt it was no longer a viable business model given the expense of acquiring water, and that they were far better off refocusing on their core farming. Don't know if there's any chance it will be brought back to life at some pint in the future, should the drought ever break, but I, along with thousands of others, truly hope that could happen. The course was a perennial presence on every "Best of..." American golf facilities listing almost from the day it opened, and the resort was first class, as well. We'll miss it.
Good night, and more soon...
Cliff
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Golf in the West deals with the drought, Norcal on fire, and Cooper Vineyards' superb 2012 Primitivo
As with most crises, the drought is bringing out the best and the worst in folks, including those of us who are the stewards of golf in the West. I'm pleased to say that, so far as I have seen thus far, golf is conducting itself pretty well, with very few embarrassments having come to the surface as of yet.
According to the National Golf Foundation, whose numbers and data I've always found reliable, there are approximately 15,500 golf courses in the US; of those, approximately 900 of them reside in California. That sounds like a bunch of golf holes, and it is; when you start talking about water usage, however, the data can be staggering to the uninitiated.
In at least one previous post I began looking at the potential ramifications for golf that Governor Jerry's conservation mandate might bring, and noted that even though the golf industry has been at the leading edge of the issue for a number of years, particularly the USGA's Green Section, golf courses by their very nature are going to require a lot of water, no matter how hard they try or what they do. I also pointed out that a number of courses, both private and public, had taken steps to reduce their impact on demand for potable water, taking tens of thousands of acres of land off the irrigation grids, carefully fine-tuning and better-managing their irrigation systems, converting to the use of recycled (gray) water for irrigation purposes, and replacing thirsty turf cultivars with drought-tolerant varieties that can thrive under more extreme conditions. Most superintendents are conservationists by nature, and work hard to be good stewards of the land in their care while still providing high quality playing conditions, which is the final and most critical factor by which their job performance will be judged by the folks who decide whether or not they get to keep those jobs.
All that being said, the fact is that every one of those golf courses, all 900 of them, require a lot of water nearly each and every day. It is not unusual, particularly during spring and summer, for the average 18 hole course with, say, 80- 100 acres under irrigation, to pump 800,000 - 1,000,000 gallons a day, Some a little less, but some significantly more, depending on location, cultivars being managed, and a host of other factors. So, needless to say, they get a lot of scrutiny from neighbors and assorted activists and other interested parties, and they know and understand why.
Judging by the information we're seeing in print from reputable sources thus far it seems that the industry as a whole is trying very hard to comply with the Governor's directives. Some more than others, of course. My personal experience, playing a number of different courses here in the North State, is that of seeing a great deal of dry, dusty, browned-out areas (especially practice areas and large tracts of rough) that were green and vigorous just a year ago; tees and greens, of course, have to be maintained at all costs, but almost everything else seems to be under the microscope at this point. We'll see how things develop as the drought deepens. The upside is that we're beginning to hear rumblings from weather services that we may be seeing a stronger-than-originally-believed El Nino system building, and that a very wet winter could be in our future. Let's hope.
As of today fires are burning all across Northern California: here close to home, in Shasta, Trinity, Lake, Humboldt, and Napa counties in particular, there are more than 70,000 acres in flames at this moment, distributed among some 90 separate fires and fire complexes, give or take. The Rocky fire, in Lake County, accounts for approximately 22,000 of those acres, and as of right now is only 15% contained; the China complex, comprised of the Happy and China fires, in the Shasta County Happy Valley community and its surrounds, has been brought under control, but wreaked significant havoc on the area just to the south and west of us; in Trinity County the mountain communities of Hayfork, Hyampom. Denny, and several smaller towns were being evacuated this afternoon as the Rail and Barker fires burned around them (totaling 1700 acres give or take), and the River, Fork, and Mad River complexes burned above and below those infernos, with no sign of containment. The Wragg fire, near Lake Berryessa in Napa County, is still burning, as well, and was at 8,000 acres +- the last time we checked, but was at 90% containment at the time. More thunderstorms carrying dry lightning are expected tonight and tomorrow in the mountains, so who knows what happens next? What we do know is that resources are stretched about as thin as they can go: CalFire, BLM/Forestry Service, county and local fire departments, and local volunteer fire departments are all fully mobilized, and have been for almost two full weeks, 24/7. Governor Jerry has called out the National Guard to provide additional manpower, but their usefulness, while appreciated, will be limited due to the lack of training specific to the problem. Forest Service has lost one firefighter so far. We just need a break: some moisture (rain, in particular) is critical, as is the need for folks to use their heads when outdoors in fire-prone surroundings. Bottom line, though, is thanks to the firefighters, one and all, for what you're doing, and may the Lord watch over all of you.
To close on a happier note, I wanted to give you all a heads-up regarding Cooper Vineyards' 2012 Primitivo Tesoro, Estate Bottled, Amador County. I was touted on this wine by the proprietor of The Wine Spot, a friendly little wine bar in the old downtown area of Eureka we discovered on our last trip, and where we spent several hours tasting and just listening to locals gossip on a slow afternoon. The woman behind the bar turned out to be the daughter of the owners, and a character of the first magnitude. We spent a significant amount of time fascinated by her reminiscences of her days as a timber driver for a logging company (I swear), as well as tasting a few of her recommendations, this Primitivo among them, and I will always be grateful for that. The wine is a classic example of the varietal (which is rarely seen, even here in wine country): deeply crimson-colored. with a rich and focused bouquet of ripe blue-and blackberries, tar, and citrus peel, it literally explodes out of the glass; very rich and rounded fruit flavors almost attack the palate, with strawberries, dried blueberries, sage, ginger, and vanilla coming and going as it settles in your mouth. The finish is very long, and very pleasant, and you're not happy when the bottle is done, unless you happen to have another, which I don't. I'm not even sure this wine is available except at the winery and to select accounts; I can't find it listed on their website, but I plan to call and inquire (beg) if it is to be had. I paid $40 for the bottle I bought at Wine Spot which seems entirely reasonable now that I no longer have it, and would gladly pay that for a few more. I recommend that those of you interested in esoteric and/or exotic varietals check the Cooper website for your selves; my guess is that given their success with htis wine, there are a number of others well worth trying. I certainly intend to do so.
More soon...
Cliff
According to the National Golf Foundation, whose numbers and data I've always found reliable, there are approximately 15,500 golf courses in the US; of those, approximately 900 of them reside in California. That sounds like a bunch of golf holes, and it is; when you start talking about water usage, however, the data can be staggering to the uninitiated.
In at least one previous post I began looking at the potential ramifications for golf that Governor Jerry's conservation mandate might bring, and noted that even though the golf industry has been at the leading edge of the issue for a number of years, particularly the USGA's Green Section, golf courses by their very nature are going to require a lot of water, no matter how hard they try or what they do. I also pointed out that a number of courses, both private and public, had taken steps to reduce their impact on demand for potable water, taking tens of thousands of acres of land off the irrigation grids, carefully fine-tuning and better-managing their irrigation systems, converting to the use of recycled (gray) water for irrigation purposes, and replacing thirsty turf cultivars with drought-tolerant varieties that can thrive under more extreme conditions. Most superintendents are conservationists by nature, and work hard to be good stewards of the land in their care while still providing high quality playing conditions, which is the final and most critical factor by which their job performance will be judged by the folks who decide whether or not they get to keep those jobs.
All that being said, the fact is that every one of those golf courses, all 900 of them, require a lot of water nearly each and every day. It is not unusual, particularly during spring and summer, for the average 18 hole course with, say, 80- 100 acres under irrigation, to pump 800,000 - 1,000,000 gallons a day, Some a little less, but some significantly more, depending on location, cultivars being managed, and a host of other factors. So, needless to say, they get a lot of scrutiny from neighbors and assorted activists and other interested parties, and they know and understand why.
Judging by the information we're seeing in print from reputable sources thus far it seems that the industry as a whole is trying very hard to comply with the Governor's directives. Some more than others, of course. My personal experience, playing a number of different courses here in the North State, is that of seeing a great deal of dry, dusty, browned-out areas (especially practice areas and large tracts of rough) that were green and vigorous just a year ago; tees and greens, of course, have to be maintained at all costs, but almost everything else seems to be under the microscope at this point. We'll see how things develop as the drought deepens. The upside is that we're beginning to hear rumblings from weather services that we may be seeing a stronger-than-originally-believed El Nino system building, and that a very wet winter could be in our future. Let's hope.
As of today fires are burning all across Northern California: here close to home, in Shasta, Trinity, Lake, Humboldt, and Napa counties in particular, there are more than 70,000 acres in flames at this moment, distributed among some 90 separate fires and fire complexes, give or take. The Rocky fire, in Lake County, accounts for approximately 22,000 of those acres, and as of right now is only 15% contained; the China complex, comprised of the Happy and China fires, in the Shasta County Happy Valley community and its surrounds, has been brought under control, but wreaked significant havoc on the area just to the south and west of us; in Trinity County the mountain communities of Hayfork, Hyampom. Denny, and several smaller towns were being evacuated this afternoon as the Rail and Barker fires burned around them (totaling 1700 acres give or take), and the River, Fork, and Mad River complexes burned above and below those infernos, with no sign of containment. The Wragg fire, near Lake Berryessa in Napa County, is still burning, as well, and was at 8,000 acres +- the last time we checked, but was at 90% containment at the time. More thunderstorms carrying dry lightning are expected tonight and tomorrow in the mountains, so who knows what happens next? What we do know is that resources are stretched about as thin as they can go: CalFire, BLM/Forestry Service, county and local fire departments, and local volunteer fire departments are all fully mobilized, and have been for almost two full weeks, 24/7. Governor Jerry has called out the National Guard to provide additional manpower, but their usefulness, while appreciated, will be limited due to the lack of training specific to the problem. Forest Service has lost one firefighter so far. We just need a break: some moisture (rain, in particular) is critical, as is the need for folks to use their heads when outdoors in fire-prone surroundings. Bottom line, though, is thanks to the firefighters, one and all, for what you're doing, and may the Lord watch over all of you.
To close on a happier note, I wanted to give you all a heads-up regarding Cooper Vineyards' 2012 Primitivo Tesoro, Estate Bottled, Amador County. I was touted on this wine by the proprietor of The Wine Spot, a friendly little wine bar in the old downtown area of Eureka we discovered on our last trip, and where we spent several hours tasting and just listening to locals gossip on a slow afternoon. The woman behind the bar turned out to be the daughter of the owners, and a character of the first magnitude. We spent a significant amount of time fascinated by her reminiscences of her days as a timber driver for a logging company (I swear), as well as tasting a few of her recommendations, this Primitivo among them, and I will always be grateful for that. The wine is a classic example of the varietal (which is rarely seen, even here in wine country): deeply crimson-colored. with a rich and focused bouquet of ripe blue-and blackberries, tar, and citrus peel, it literally explodes out of the glass; very rich and rounded fruit flavors almost attack the palate, with strawberries, dried blueberries, sage, ginger, and vanilla coming and going as it settles in your mouth. The finish is very long, and very pleasant, and you're not happy when the bottle is done, unless you happen to have another, which I don't. I'm not even sure this wine is available except at the winery and to select accounts; I can't find it listed on their website, but I plan to call and inquire (beg) if it is to be had. I paid $40 for the bottle I bought at Wine Spot which seems entirely reasonable now that I no longer have it, and would gladly pay that for a few more. I recommend that those of you interested in esoteric and/or exotic varietals check the Cooper website for your selves; my guess is that given their success with htis wine, there are a number of others well worth trying. I certainly intend to do so.
More soon...
Cliff
Friday, July 24, 2015
And off we go!!!...hillsiders get our first fire of the year, but lots more where that one came from; back to good ol' Ferndale; what the .... are Lumerians?; and a fond adieu to D. Trump...
Lots of excitement here on the Hill and around the surrounding countryside recently. We got our first taste of fire season last week; a relatively small (about 18 acres) but persistent brush fire broke out just off the Sacramento Rail Trail in a section that parallels the Sacramento River a few miles above the Keswick Dam. The area lies roughly 5 miles or so due east of us, and is clearly visible from our deck, so we had a pretty good look at the ongoing effort to beat the blaze down, which occupied CalFire, Shasta County Fire, and Redding Fire for quite a while. CalFire had at least 2 helicopters dedicated to scooping water out of the river for drops into the fire site, and one agency (not sure if it was CalFire or BLM equipment) had 2 air tankers dropping retardant concurrently. Not sure how many ground troops and engines were involved, but at least one inmate firefighter was injured in the effort, and the show went on into the night. I know it sounds like overkill for an 18 acre fire, but that;s not the case:due to the ongoing drought the forest fire fuel loads are the worst since records have been kept, and the point of origin was very near a large subdivision that runs almost to the river. If it hadn't been contained early it could have easily wiped out a number of homes and done harm to residents, as well. Our California fire agencies are some of the best in the world, and it seems likely that we'll get our money's worth from them this year. So, for all you morons who bitch, complain, and put up your moronic signs protesting the annual CalFire fee (tax, if you will), just shut the hell up and pay it. Get one less tattoo this year if that's how you finance it, but close your mouth and do it. Thank you.
We had just returned from our latest trip to the coast when the fire occurred, so it was non-stop excitement for a solid week between the two. As always, life got sweeter from the moment we dropped into Trinity Canyon on the drive over until we topped out on Buckhorn Summit on the return, Eureka seemed to be a little more energetic than usual this trip, and Trinidad a little less so, but everything balanced in the end, and all was as it should be. We also made the trip down 101 to Ferndale once more, and spent more time trying to see the town as it's seen by those who call it home than we've done in the past. Time well spent, as it turned out; the little town has quite a history, some of which we'll get into a bit deeper after I've had time to do some more research. Although it can seem to some to be a little macabre, and maybe places better avoided to others, you can often learn a lot about a town or city by studying its cemeteries and graveyards, and Ferndale is one of those. Anyway, we'll get to that in the next week or so.
To change the subject, but maybe only slightly, a quick note regarding my building fascination with Mt. Shasta. Most of my reading so far has been centered on the mountain's place in the human history of Northern California and southern Oregon: the native tribes of the area, white settlement, the logging industry and its havoc, and mountaineering in its various aspects. However, as I've mentioned here in the past, there has always been detritus scattered around in books, newspapers, magazines, and on the net relating to shall we say "out of the ordinary happenings" in the vicinity, specifically UFO sightings, odd lights in the skies over and around the mountain, reports of encounters with strange beings on the mountain, etc. These, of course, have stuck in my mind and fired new interests, even though I never spent any time chasing after them for fairly obvious reasons, at least to me. However, several months ago, while running an Ebay search of the Books section I was surprised when several titles popped up that referenced the Shasta/ Lumerian connection, of which I was totally ignorant, I have to admit, and about which I don't know a whole lot more yet, even though I am now the owner of more than one of those books. I think I had some vague recollection of hearing at some much earlier date (probably the late '60s or early '70s, recalling some of the people with whom I had brief association in those days) references to this mystical/mythical lost continent which existed concurrently with Atlantis, but in the south Pacific. Legend has it that the land was populated by an advanced civilization of beautiful beings, who may have been even more creative and artistic than the Atlanteans. To make a long story short,at some point the continent vanished into the ocean, like its Atlantic counterpart, and the civilization was lost. Turns out, though, that there has been, since at least the late 1800s, a developing theory (at least among Lemuria believers, of which there seems to be a fairly large and clannish number scattered across the world) that survivors of the cataclysm fled to what is now Northern California, and made a new home within the mountain we now know as Mt. Shasta. And, again according to myth and legend, the descendants of those survivors are still there, and thriving inside their mountain home. Occasionally they venture to the surface and interact with people they encounter on the mountain, or nearby, and these encounters are source of the infrequent stories we see published in local newspapers and broadcast on small-market television stations that refer to the Shasta "UFO" sightings and/or encounters with strange folk. So, this opens a new door on the mountain, so to speak, and promises to be a very interesting sidebar to the whole Shasta culture. We'll see.
To close, I just wanted to say my personal adios to good ol' Donald Trump, who has embarrassed himself, his family, and his country yet again, but this time with such an absence of class and conscience as to offend in one way or another most decent Americans. And, as it happens, the Donald discovered that he was incorrect in stating that the golf world supported him tremendously "because we "all knew he was right"; on the contrary, we didn't all know he was right, nor did we support him, and he has now been sent packing by both the USGA and PGA, and we can all move on.
Coming up...trying to understand what has happened to one of California's most venerable wineries (and one of the wine industry's best old families), Sonoma's Foppianos.
We had just returned from our latest trip to the coast when the fire occurred, so it was non-stop excitement for a solid week between the two. As always, life got sweeter from the moment we dropped into Trinity Canyon on the drive over until we topped out on Buckhorn Summit on the return, Eureka seemed to be a little more energetic than usual this trip, and Trinidad a little less so, but everything balanced in the end, and all was as it should be. We also made the trip down 101 to Ferndale once more, and spent more time trying to see the town as it's seen by those who call it home than we've done in the past. Time well spent, as it turned out; the little town has quite a history, some of which we'll get into a bit deeper after I've had time to do some more research. Although it can seem to some to be a little macabre, and maybe places better avoided to others, you can often learn a lot about a town or city by studying its cemeteries and graveyards, and Ferndale is one of those. Anyway, we'll get to that in the next week or so.
To change the subject, but maybe only slightly, a quick note regarding my building fascination with Mt. Shasta. Most of my reading so far has been centered on the mountain's place in the human history of Northern California and southern Oregon: the native tribes of the area, white settlement, the logging industry and its havoc, and mountaineering in its various aspects. However, as I've mentioned here in the past, there has always been detritus scattered around in books, newspapers, magazines, and on the net relating to shall we say "out of the ordinary happenings" in the vicinity, specifically UFO sightings, odd lights in the skies over and around the mountain, reports of encounters with strange beings on the mountain, etc. These, of course, have stuck in my mind and fired new interests, even though I never spent any time chasing after them for fairly obvious reasons, at least to me. However, several months ago, while running an Ebay search of the Books section I was surprised when several titles popped up that referenced the Shasta/ Lumerian connection, of which I was totally ignorant, I have to admit, and about which I don't know a whole lot more yet, even though I am now the owner of more than one of those books. I think I had some vague recollection of hearing at some much earlier date (probably the late '60s or early '70s, recalling some of the people with whom I had brief association in those days) references to this mystical/mythical lost continent which existed concurrently with Atlantis, but in the south Pacific. Legend has it that the land was populated by an advanced civilization of beautiful beings, who may have been even more creative and artistic than the Atlanteans. To make a long story short,at some point the continent vanished into the ocean, like its Atlantic counterpart, and the civilization was lost. Turns out, though, that there has been, since at least the late 1800s, a developing theory (at least among Lemuria believers, of which there seems to be a fairly large and clannish number scattered across the world) that survivors of the cataclysm fled to what is now Northern California, and made a new home within the mountain we now know as Mt. Shasta. And, again according to myth and legend, the descendants of those survivors are still there, and thriving inside their mountain home. Occasionally they venture to the surface and interact with people they encounter on the mountain, or nearby, and these encounters are source of the infrequent stories we see published in local newspapers and broadcast on small-market television stations that refer to the Shasta "UFO" sightings and/or encounters with strange folk. So, this opens a new door on the mountain, so to speak, and promises to be a very interesting sidebar to the whole Shasta culture. We'll see.
To close, I just wanted to say my personal adios to good ol' Donald Trump, who has embarrassed himself, his family, and his country yet again, but this time with such an absence of class and conscience as to offend in one way or another most decent Americans. And, as it happens, the Donald discovered that he was incorrect in stating that the golf world supported him tremendously "because we "all knew he was right"; on the contrary, we didn't all know he was right, nor did we support him, and he has now been sent packing by both the USGA and PGA, and we can all move on.
Coming up...trying to understand what has happened to one of California's most venerable wineries (and one of the wine industry's best old families), Sonoma's Foppianos.
Friday, June 26, 2015
Fire season is here, drought gets worse but people (most) are trying hard to cope, the US Senior Open at Del Paso CC, Honig's near-perfect sauvignon blanc ...and more Mt Shasta coming soon
CalFire helicopters are now almost as thick as CHP and Shasta Regional Medical choppers in the local skies, a sure sign that fire season has officially begun. In my opinion, for what it's worth, CalFire has right-of-way at present; marijuana grows and car crashes (CHP and Shasta Regional)) are problems, true enough, as are stabbings, gunshot wounds, heart attacks and strokes (again, Shasta Regional) but given the fact that the forests are crackling-brown dry and there isn't any water to fight them with, I put the fire threat at the top of the list at present. Therefore, everyone needs to stop whining, pay their CalFire tax assessment, and stay out of the way when they're trying to work.
The drought has become a part of our culture here in California, as is proper, I suppose. All of a sudden everyone's a conservationist (of water, at least), including most of those who were calling real conservationists tree-huggers, or worse, just last year, before the ugly truth of our predicament became so evident that even morons and dumb-asses couldn't cry wolf with a straight face any longer.
I'm pleased to see that most, if not all, of my brethren in the golf management industry are doing their parts. A number of us saw this day coming years ago, even before the advent of this particular drought, and began trying to communicate to our boards and committees the need to begin planning and preparing for the ray when the West's water problems would finally come home to roost. Some listened, but many didn't, and those are the courses and clubs scrambling for their lives today. Oh, well.
Speaking of golf, I'm od'ing for the next few days on coverage of the US Senior Open, being held at Del Paso Country Club, in Sacramento, where I spent a major part of my career, and where we were the management team and series of boards responsible for the total reconstruction of the golf course and renovation of the clubhouse. The project consumed about four years of my life and almost $10 million of the club's money, but saved it from decline and irrelevance, as can clearly be seen from its full membership and financial well-being (at least I assume so) in a miserable climate for the industry in general. I haven't been to the club in several years, but Fox's tv coverage is making it very clear that the golf course has matured beautifully and appears to be superbly conditioned, thanks in large part to the dedication and hard work of Superintendent Mark McKinney. I'm proud of you, Mark, and your crew; just keep doing what you're doing, and congratulations on the Open. Well done.Congratulations, too, to all those past club presidents and board members who had the courage to work with those few of us, meaning staff, architect Kyle Phillips, and the early half-dozen or so Green Committee members who saw the vision, to spend the hundreds of hours required to develop the concept, prepare the presentation, and then persuade the general membership to pony up the funds to make it all happen. Congratulations all!!! It was very difficult, and sometimes unpleasantly contentious, as all politics tend to be, but it had to be done, and so it was. And now DP is again in the national spotlight as it approaches its centennial year; a long, strange trip, indeed.
To close for the day, a heads-up to all the sauvignon blanc lovers who read this letter: I have again been reminded (by selfishly enjoying a bottle all by myself over the course of this afternoon) how consistently fine Honig's wine is, as it ever was and will ever be, I suppose. This most recent vintage of the Napa Valley sb is absolutely superb, and perfectly true to the house style. Color is brilliant green-gold, with a highly perfumed citrusy-mown grassy nose that continues to blossom and expand for a while after opening. On the palate, the usual fruit basket, juicy and fresh, with lots more of the citrus/pineapple/vanilla notes on the palate and in the long, lingering finish. It's as good as any sb I've had in the past 10 years, and far better than most. Do yourselves and your members/customers a big favor and buy it for you summer/fall menus; your staff will love you, too, because they'll be able to sell it without fear in their hearts.
Good night; more very soon.
The drought has become a part of our culture here in California, as is proper, I suppose. All of a sudden everyone's a conservationist (of water, at least), including most of those who were calling real conservationists tree-huggers, or worse, just last year, before the ugly truth of our predicament became so evident that even morons and dumb-asses couldn't cry wolf with a straight face any longer.
I'm pleased to see that most, if not all, of my brethren in the golf management industry are doing their parts. A number of us saw this day coming years ago, even before the advent of this particular drought, and began trying to communicate to our boards and committees the need to begin planning and preparing for the ray when the West's water problems would finally come home to roost. Some listened, but many didn't, and those are the courses and clubs scrambling for their lives today. Oh, well.
Speaking of golf, I'm od'ing for the next few days on coverage of the US Senior Open, being held at Del Paso Country Club, in Sacramento, where I spent a major part of my career, and where we were the management team and series of boards responsible for the total reconstruction of the golf course and renovation of the clubhouse. The project consumed about four years of my life and almost $10 million of the club's money, but saved it from decline and irrelevance, as can clearly be seen from its full membership and financial well-being (at least I assume so) in a miserable climate for the industry in general. I haven't been to the club in several years, but Fox's tv coverage is making it very clear that the golf course has matured beautifully and appears to be superbly conditioned, thanks in large part to the dedication and hard work of Superintendent Mark McKinney. I'm proud of you, Mark, and your crew; just keep doing what you're doing, and congratulations on the Open. Well done.Congratulations, too, to all those past club presidents and board members who had the courage to work with those few of us, meaning staff, architect Kyle Phillips, and the early half-dozen or so Green Committee members who saw the vision, to spend the hundreds of hours required to develop the concept, prepare the presentation, and then persuade the general membership to pony up the funds to make it all happen. Congratulations all!!! It was very difficult, and sometimes unpleasantly contentious, as all politics tend to be, but it had to be done, and so it was. And now DP is again in the national spotlight as it approaches its centennial year; a long, strange trip, indeed.
To close for the day, a heads-up to all the sauvignon blanc lovers who read this letter: I have again been reminded (by selfishly enjoying a bottle all by myself over the course of this afternoon) how consistently fine Honig's wine is, as it ever was and will ever be, I suppose. This most recent vintage of the Napa Valley sb is absolutely superb, and perfectly true to the house style. Color is brilliant green-gold, with a highly perfumed citrusy-mown grassy nose that continues to blossom and expand for a while after opening. On the palate, the usual fruit basket, juicy and fresh, with lots more of the citrus/pineapple/vanilla notes on the palate and in the long, lingering finish. It's as good as any sb I've had in the past 10 years, and far better than most. Do yourselves and your members/customers a big favor and buy it for you summer/fall menus; your staff will love you, too, because they'll be able to sell it without fear in their hearts.
Good night; more very soon.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Yep, Farmers' Markets are back in season, preparing for the coast, and a remarkable effort from New Clairvaux...
No question about it, it's springtime in the West. I know that for a bunch of reasons, but the one that has my full attention at the moment is the fact that I've spent the best part of the last three Saturday mornings wandering aimlessly around my little town's farmers' market, just checking out who's back from last year and the year before (pretty much everyone, even though it's still a little early for the folks who farm higher up in the foothills). I'm really happy to say that my friends from Colima's Tamales are already dealing steamy happiness from their tiny booth, even though its location has been moved some 20 or so yards to the south and now butts against an outer wall of City Hall, and is definitely harder to find. The pie lady (For the Love of Pies) is also back, thankfully (bought a small cherry pie last Saturday and letting it age out a bit in the refrigerator), as are the people from the alpaca ranch. Strangely, I find myself being drawn, slowly but surely, back to their booth each time I'm at the market; the stuff they sell, all kinds of alpaca wool clothing, like socks, scarves and mufflers, caps, and other hokey stuff, just feels like it's reaching out to me more and more every single time,,,it just looks so damned comfortable...
I'm really happy to say that we're in the midst of preparing for our first road trip of 2015, and of course we're headed back to the coast...Trinidad/Arcata/Eureka to be exact. We'll be sleeping/cooking/drinking wine/pondering life's mysteries at our usual spot, the Emerald Forest Lodge most of the time, but there'll still be plenty of opportunity for field trips and checking out local restaurants and dives. There are also several vintage bookstores in Eureka that warrant browsing, as well as fascinating little surrounding towns (like Ferndale and Loleta) that need more exploring. Those of you who love the lore and history of your states (Texas and California in particular) will know, remember and venerate folks like Ray Miller (Texas) and Huell Howser (California), who were certainly the most revered of the modern "populist" travel writers/television personalities in their respective venues (and, at least in the case of Ray Miller, the most historically precise) of the last several decades, and their work has inspired many hundreds more of us to get out and see what we've been gifted. I urge you to join us, if you haven't already.
I also urge those of you Californians (or folks who wish you could be) who haven't seen PBS's broadcasts of Huell Howser's "California Gold" series of road trips around the state to visit their website and buy copies; I know they were offering them for sale not long ago, and probably still are due to the series' huge audience; if so, pay whatever you have to pay, and be happy to have them. You won't be sorry.
Before I go, I want to acknowledge another very fine example of imaginative (and delicious) winemaking from New Clairvaux and, I assume, Aimee Sunseri, that being their 2014 Nouveau Tempranillo. True enough, it's nouveau as it can be, with the fresh, yeasty-strawberryish nose you expect from nouveau Beaujolais, only spiced in the center with the metallic leathery scent of the tempranillo grape rather than the roundness of gamay. Too, on the palate the wine is crisper and more authoritative, and not as friendly, as its Beaujolais inspiration, and it finishes with a little bite, but it is very enjoyable and could be a good friend to grilled salmon, chicken, and burgers of all description. We recommend it for summer wine lists, especially for those looking for interesting by-the-glass alternatives to the usual boring light reds and coarsely made roses. Give it a light chill and enjoy with your cold chicken salad...
Okay, that's it for now, but we're pretty much recovered from our OR and recuperative adventures now, and ready to get back to it. Thanks for sticking around, and we'll be back soon.
I'm really happy to say that we're in the midst of preparing for our first road trip of 2015, and of course we're headed back to the coast...Trinidad/Arcata/Eureka to be exact. We'll be sleeping/cooking/drinking wine/pondering life's mysteries at our usual spot, the Emerald Forest Lodge most of the time, but there'll still be plenty of opportunity for field trips and checking out local restaurants and dives. There are also several vintage bookstores in Eureka that warrant browsing, as well as fascinating little surrounding towns (like Ferndale and Loleta) that need more exploring. Those of you who love the lore and history of your states (Texas and California in particular) will know, remember and venerate folks like Ray Miller (Texas) and Huell Howser (California), who were certainly the most revered of the modern "populist" travel writers/television personalities in their respective venues (and, at least in the case of Ray Miller, the most historically precise) of the last several decades, and their work has inspired many hundreds more of us to get out and see what we've been gifted. I urge you to join us, if you haven't already.
I also urge those of you Californians (or folks who wish you could be) who haven't seen PBS's broadcasts of Huell Howser's "California Gold" series of road trips around the state to visit their website and buy copies; I know they were offering them for sale not long ago, and probably still are due to the series' huge audience; if so, pay whatever you have to pay, and be happy to have them. You won't be sorry.
Before I go, I want to acknowledge another very fine example of imaginative (and delicious) winemaking from New Clairvaux and, I assume, Aimee Sunseri, that being their 2014 Nouveau Tempranillo. True enough, it's nouveau as it can be, with the fresh, yeasty-strawberryish nose you expect from nouveau Beaujolais, only spiced in the center with the metallic leathery scent of the tempranillo grape rather than the roundness of gamay. Too, on the palate the wine is crisper and more authoritative, and not as friendly, as its Beaujolais inspiration, and it finishes with a little bite, but it is very enjoyable and could be a good friend to grilled salmon, chicken, and burgers of all description. We recommend it for summer wine lists, especially for those looking for interesting by-the-glass alternatives to the usual boring light reds and coarsely made roses. Give it a light chill and enjoy with your cold chicken salad...
Okay, that's it for now, but we're pretty much recovered from our OR and recuperative adventures now, and ready to get back to it. Thanks for sticking around, and we'll be back soon.
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