# 108 - April 30th, 2008

Greetings one and all…Well let’s get started, as promised, with The Valley Quiz…Answers at the end…
1. There are a number of Sheep Dog Trials held in The Valley every spring and summer. Most of them take place at the Fairgrounds in Boonville but there are two other local venues. Where are they?
2. Who is the new President of the Independent Career Women’s group that meets once a month in The Valley for discussions and dinner and, in the process, raises sponsorship money for graduating High School students?
3. Who were the four original owners of Lemon’s Market in Philo?
What glorious weather we had last weekend – perfect for the arrival in town of the sharp-witted Wise Owl and her spouse, The Venerable Pheasant. On a beautiful Saturday morning I decided to share with them a “Day in The Valley” and after a pot of coffee, some bagels and cream cheese, toast and marmalade, a bowl of cornflakes, and a nibble of fresh carrion, we set off from The Nest at about 10am…
First stop on this ‘typical’ day out was inevitably The County Dump on Mountain View Road. Open from 9am to 4pm at weekends (and at the same times on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for now), there was a steady flow of people keeping Dump Guy Bill busy as I surveyed the always interesting ‘stuff’ being dropped off. However, it was still quite early in the day and therefore the smell wasn’t quite as pungent as I like it, so, after meeting and greeting several Valley folks, we flew back into town to the annual Wild Flower Shower being held at The Fairgrounds in Boonville…
This has been held in The Valley since 1926 and involves several members of The Unity Club spending the previous few days gathering hundreds of examples of the Valley’s wild flowers and fauna and presenting them in beautiful and informative displays at one of the halls at the Fairgrounds. Together with the coffee and snack bar and a plant sale featuring many bargains, not to mention the many smiling and familiar faces, this was nothing short of what I would call a “lovely” event – “very well done” to all concerned…
I had hoped to watch some of the Junior High Soccer tournament that was taking place at Tom Smith Field at the High School but my stomach was rumbling so I insisted we headed to the monthly Barn Sale on Anderson Valley Way and was very glad that I did. Not only were we warmly greeted by Gloria Ross and Bill and Eva Holcomb but Bill informed me that his ‘Barn Burgers’ were selling like there was no tomorrow and that I should get my order in soon. Sure enough, as I began to devour the delicious cheeseburger and potato chips (just $4) I heard the relieved voice of customer Rod Basehore announce, “They are the best burgers in town and I just got the last one!”…Bill was sweating at the grill as he completed the final few orders and his day was going to be a long one – he would now have to go shopping once again because the whole weekend’s supply of burgers had gone by 2pm on the first day! Tough for Bill but good news for the beneficiaries – St. Elizabeth Seton Church and well-fed customers like myself…
On the way back to The Nest for a “well-deserved” nap (all that socializing and eating is tiring work I can assure you), we made one final stop at Jack’s Valley Store and, as always, the service and knowledge provided by “customer service expert” Kevin was second to none. He always listens to what your needs are, offers advice and alternatives, and you leave in the knowledge that you have what you need – a welcome feeling, given my questionable handyman qualifications!
It had been a wonderful few hours and, thanks to so many Valley people, both Owl and Pheasant had been treated to a great day out – the only problem being that we just couldn’t find Chocolate Chip Vanilla Ice Cream in any of the Valley’s stores. Not one!! In my humble opinion, whoever wants to become Mayor around here will get our vote if they can somehow ensure that the Valley’s stores always stock this increasingly ‘rare item’ in large quantities…I just thought they should know…
And that leads me perfectly to the latest figures in the Unofficial Anderson Valley Mayoral Race which are shown below…Obviously this is completely ‘unofficial” as only those reading the “Bird’s Eye View” column are aware of it and have contributed at this point. You can ‘register’ your support for a candidate, either from the list below or perhaps add a new name, by sending a message to turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net… It’s a wide-open race at this point, as you can see…
Bruce Anderson 14%; Lauren Keating (of Lauren’s Restaurant) 12%; Ross Murray 12%; Turkey Vulture 10%; Coach Danny Kuny 8%; Bruce “Uncle Sam” Hering 8%; Vince “Pig Hunt” Ballew 8%; Emil Rossi 8%; Wayne “Community Xmas Tree” Hiatt 6%; Eugenia “Mean Gene” Herr 4%; Bruce "Pat” Patterson 4%; Miscellaneous Others 4%...and “King” Ken Allen 2%...(p.s. you can vote for yourself!)…I look forward to receiving your votes in the upcoming weeks…
Coming up at the weekend it’s Opening Day for this summer’s Boonville Farmer’s Market. It runs from 9.45am to noon on Saturday, May 3rd and will have the usual array of local ‘goodies’ with this first week seeing a special Spring Plant Sale…Also this weekend we have the annual Boontling Classic 5K Footrace. The race starts at 10am on Sunday, May 4th at the Elementary School on Anderson Valley Way and you can register there between 8.30 and 9.30am or call Jan at 895-2701 to pre-register on May 3rd or earlier…
Sounds like you will be busy, so be careful out there, stay out of the ditches, think good thoughts, and may your god go with you…Oh, and of course, one final request - “Let us prey”…Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture… You can contact me with words of support/abuse and votes for ‘Mayor of Anderson Valley’ by e-mail at

Quiz Answers…
1. Both venues are in High Roller Country - Two trials are held at The (Stanley) Johnson Ranch in Yorkville beside Hwy 128, and then there is The Kevin Owens’ Classic on Hulbert Ranch Road, also in Yorkville.
2. The new President of the I.C.W. is Monika Fuchs the owner of what used to be The Philo Pottery Inn Bed & Breakfast..
3. Lemons’ Philo Market was began by Elmer & June Lemons and Tom & Connie Lemons…