The Rites of Spring

February 15th through 20th


Roby and I got all excited after Valentine's Day thinking Spring was in the air with 70 degree temperatures and sun. We were actually able to take off our long underwear during the day. Taking a shower was actually enjoyable; didn't have "numb" butt when it wasn't under the water! The forecast looked good for the week ahead so we took advantage and worked in the garden. Kieren and I planted the seeds for lettuce, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cilantro, and a few other root crops. We follow the biointensive/biodynamic theories of gardening so it is very important to follow the phases of the moon to make sure you plant the right crops on the right days. Also, everything starts out in a box and there will be several different transplants before it actually goes into the ground. We have signed up for several workshops on biointensive/biodynamic and permaculture gardening so we are going to become experts and have our own garden. The great thing about biointensive gardening is it is designed to work anywhere and in any type of soil. The size of the garden does not have to be very large because the technique is to plant to maximize space but yield larger amounts of crops. This is all talk of course because I truly have very little clue what I am doing. Our first assignments have been to pull weeds and rake out the beds. Our biggest reward has been to eat many of the vegetables currently ready for harvest. We have made almost daily salads with the swiss chard, radish flowers, fava bean leaves and many sautees with the leeks, mustard greens, onions, garlic and the "one" asparagus. This coupled with the fresh eggs daily from the chickens helps cut down on the grocery bill. We are looking forward to summer and the abundance of fruits, vegetables and nuts we will have.

Two days of gardening in the sunshine was just what the doctor ordered. I didn't have to take my Vitamin D these last few days!! Not wanting the sun to go away but knowing it was not going to last forever, we decided to make good use of our days off. We did a reconnaissance mission to scope out some good routes to go cycling. First was a beautiful road along Highway 175 toward Clearlake. It does not matter what road you take you are always going to ride past a vineyard. We did not venture all the way to the lake but we were able to get a good view from the top of the hill. This route will have to wait for us to get in better shape-a bit too much hill action! Next stop was Mountainhouse Road. As the name suggests, it too had a windy steep ascent. Once we hit the intersection with Highway 128 we decided to venture west to Boonville in Anderson Valley. Our goal was to check out the first solar powered brewery. Unfortunately it was closed. Instead we walked around town which consists of the County Fairgrounds, three wine tasting rooms, four restaurants and the most expensive gas station in the area ($3.95 a gallon).

One of the great things about the Mendo area is the towns all have their own identities and each very involved in the arts/culture. Mendo itself maybe has 1500 people but they have a symphony and opera and playhouse. In fact most of the towns support music both classical and local bands. It doesn't matter which night of the week it is you can find a play, musical, poetry reading or concert in each of the towns. Not to mention some of the best culinary treasures. This is only the start of it because you can't forget the wine. Hopland is basically a blip on the map. A town of 870 people but it supports 6 wineries. The entire Mendocino County has 23 wineries and three microbreweries. They are probably the greenest/organic wine country. Just looking through the "To Do Magazines" Activities we had to start a calendar to remember all the events. Almost every weekend starting in April something is going on whether it be a whale watching festival with a chowder contest, a beerfest, wine tastings, or special concert. Now we just have to figure out how we are going to work around our duties to make them. First one is the weekend of March 6th in Fort Bragg for a Whale and Chowder Festival.

Sorry for the digression.

We decided to take a different route home and made a loop back to Hopland. Our intentions were to do a bike ride the next day. Due to Roby browsing in the bookstore until afternoon, our long ride to the "City of 10,000 Buddha's was going to have to wait for another day. Instead we took a ride along the Feliz Creek Road which follows the river through Hopland. The creek is rushing through rock outcrops and is lined with trees and wineries. A great place to ride because very few cars travel the road. After the initial three miles we decided to take a detour down Road 110. It was a nice leisurely ride through the countryside over an old fashioned one lane bridge until we turned the corner and the road started climbing. Thinking we needed a bit of a workout we decided to head uphill. We should have known better because the ascent never ended. Around every corner I figured we were going to reach the crescendo, but no just another corner and another climb. 20 minutes later we decided to turn around and enjoy the downhill. Oh the cool breeze!

Saturday night we decided to hit the town and take Travis the volunteer out for his last night at SLI. He is from Alaska and has been helping build the Tiny House for the past several months. A Latin Jazz Band was playing at the brewery so we decided to catch the show. The same characters were at the bar as the previous weekend. The older over-dressed bald gentleman was a little lite in the loafers and spent the entire night on the dance floor. He reminded me of a male "Elaine", but at least provided good entertainment.

Unfortunately the spring-like weather was just a cruel joke because the cold temperatures and rain came back. Out came the long johns and daily doses of Vitamin D!