# 356 - May 29th, 2013

       Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin… And for a change, how about we get straight into the Public Service Announcements?…

       Calendars and pens at the ready… #341 – The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Valley tomorrow, Thursday, May 30, from 2pm to 3.30pm. In June they will be making just one visit – Thursday, June 13. They have asked me to inform you that you do not have to arrive early and then wait a long time - everyone showing up at anytime before 3.30pm will be seen. Furthermore, if you are a previous client you can call them 48 hours in advance (462-8833) to ensure that your pet’s charts are brought ‘over the hill’ from Ukiah and also order any medications your pet might need. New customers and their pets are always welcome… #342 - This coming Saturday and Sunday, June 1 and 2, will see the monthly Barn Sale take place at The St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory from 9am to 3pm each day. It’s on A.V. Way just north of Boonville and there are bargains galore!… #343 - In honor of the Mendocino Film Festival’s first foray into the Valley, ‘Somm’, a documentary following four friends’ quest to pass the Master Sommelier exam, will be shown this coming Sunday, June 2 at The Madrones ‘complex’ on Hwy 128 just south of Philo. This special event will be accompanied by wine and food pairings by ‘Stone and Embers’ - the soon-to-be new restaurant at The Madrones, and the four wineries located there - Drew, Bink, Knez, and Signal Ridge, along with nearby wineries, Balo and Golden Eye. Open houses run from 11:30 till 4:30 with the film screening at 3pm - 4:45pm followed by a party from 5:00 to 7:30pm at which two of the Sommeliers who appear in the movie will speak. It all sounds very civilized to me; I hope they let me in… #344 – The Boonville Hotel is now operating on its summer hours for the fixed price dinner. That would be Thursday thru’ Monday, seating at 6.30pm each evening. Small plates are also available on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Call 895-2210 for reservations…

       As a bonus P.S.A., here is the menu for the next week at the Senior Center at the Veterans Hall in Boonville… The Center asks for a $5 donation from Seniors and charges $7 for Non-Seniors for lunches… Tomorrow, Thursday, May 30, the lunch, served at 12.15pm, will be BBQ Tri Tip, Buttered Pasta, Oven Roasted Root Vegetables, Sourdough Bread, 3 Bean Salad, Wendy’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies … Then next Tuesday, June 4, the lunch served by Marti Titus and her crew will be Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes w/ Gravy, Carrots, Rolls, Quinoa Salad, and, of course, Birthday Cup Cakes... Hope to see you there…

       Before we get into the latest from The Three-Dot Lounge, I just wanted to acknowledge the wonderful efforts by the many volunteers at last Sunday’s fundraiser for the A.V. ElderHome at The Fairgrounds in Boonville. The excellent bbq was prepared and presented in fine style by the always reliable crew from the Lions’ Club; the gang from the ElderHome Board and associated friends worked the bar, the silent and live auction, and managed the overall event very effectively; and D.J. Pete with lovely assistant Jennifer provided the appropriate musical sounds. A mixed crowd of Valley folks and guests, totaling about 150 people over the three-hour event, seemed to have a wonderful time as the banter and wine flowed and the funds were raised. Well done to one and all…

       With this in mind, for your Quotes of the Week, let’s have two very short comments by the man who could say so much with so few words (as evidenced by his Gettysburg Address)… From Abraham Lincoln we have “He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help”… ‘Honest’ Abe also gave us “To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own”… Wise words indeed – I think he would have fitted in very well volunteering with our local Lions’ Club or the ElderHome folks…

       Moving quickly on to a few of the topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge – yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (and often Reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley where people get together and share their thoughts about life in A.V.…

… The ‘Drive-In Dinner’ event to raise money for the F.F.A. (Future Farmers of America) and put on by Beth Swehla’s High School Ag class was a big success… It’s an idea that works – drive in, collect your packed up Dinner-for-4, drive out - and, at $45 for the lot, it is not expensive. At least 50 orders of Tri-Tip Dinner were sold and I can vouch for the fact that the food was very good indeed. I should add that there is no truth to the vicious rumor that I had a Dinner-for-4 all to myself – I shared it with The Old Buzzard….

… The talented Christina Jones, owner/chef of Aquarelle Café and Wine Bar in Boonville, has plans to do lunches as well as her current dinner hours of 5pm-9pm Friday thru’ Monday, but until she has a few more staff members this will have to wait. Hopefully it will not be too long. Since the restaurant opened back in November, I have eaten there many times and have always found the food to be never short of very good, and often quite excellent…

…A number of regulars were in the crowd at Lauren’s last Saturday evening to take part in the monthly ‘Sing-along-a-Liddy’ community singing event with host/guitarist/singer Patty Liddy. The songs included ‘Leaving on a jet plane (John Denver),’ ‘Get by with a little help from my friends (Beatles),’  ‘Big yellow taxi (Joni Mitchell),’ ‘Will you still love me tomorrow’ (Carole King), and ‘These boots were made for walking’ (Nancy Sinatra), and many more... By all accounts a lovely evening and one which Lauren has plans to repeat on the last Saturday of every month…

… Regulars remain concerned, yet not too surprised, that the selection process for the new high school principal does not seem to be the sole domain of the School Board – those five folks elected (mostly) by the community to deal with such matters… Some informed input from others will no doubt be helpful, but at the end of the day surely the final decision will be by the Board, and the Board alone… Let’s hope so; after all, it is one of the most important decisions regarding our school in a long time, and certainly one with the potential to have significant, far-reaching, and long-term positive results…

… A few regulars informed me that Neil Darling is heading up the search for the next Fire Chief on behalf of the Community Services District. Colin Wilson will step aside later this year and he will be a hard act to follow. Good luck, Darling!…

… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that The Apocalypse is approaching’… Buzzard reports, “I hoped to enjoy the Tri-Tip Dinner-for-4 as promised by my good friend Turkey Vulture. He had invited me to The Nest to share it with him saying he’d buy the dinner if I bought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Husch Vineyards. When I arrived he greeted me at the door with a small bowl of salad in his claw and what appeared to be bits of meat on his beak. He explained that when he went to pick the dinners up at the school they had sold out of the tri-tip, baked potatoes, bread rolls, and cookies and all that was left was salad. He passed the bowl to me, took the bottle of Cab, said he was busy, and closed the door. I was very disappointed and unfortunately I have to say that it really is a sign that the Apocalypse is near when a fundraiser runs out of food and people are left feeling very hungry, especially when a thoughtful friend has gone to so much trouble to fly all the way into town and pick the dinners up…”

       Ummm, err... Thank you for your input Buzzard… Now I think it’s time to take my leave… So, until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; and may your god go with you… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…

p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net>

p.p.s. Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!

p.p.p.s Bobwhite Quail - keep up the knitting!

# 355 - May 22nd, 2013

Greetings one and all – if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin…

       With so much happening over the next week or two around these parts, particularly for Memorial Day weekend, it would be very heart-warming if there were to be a good turnout for the one event that actually commemorates Memorial Day, and the reason why we get the long weekend to enjoy all of these events in the first place. I’m talking about the service put on by the A.V. Veterans that will be held at the Memorial Wall in the Evergreen Cemetery on A.V. Way at 11am on Monday, May 27th to commemorate U.S. soldiers who have died while serving in the military. This day was first enacted to honor Union and Confederate soldiers following the American Civil War and it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars. With U.S. servicemen and women continuing to perish in various theaters of war, a good turnout at this short ceremony would surely be a sign that their efforts have not been in vain and are deeply appreciated by those of us who live on. The general public is encouraged to attend this brief service before going on to their other holiday weekend festivities and I sincerely hope to see many of you there...

       The annual A.V. Pinot Festival took place this past weekend, greeted among Valley folks it seems by some mixed feelings, although overall it is seen as a positive thing even if many locals do not take part in any way… On Friday evening, with connected events elsewhere, the downtown Boonville eating and drinking establishments were fairly quiet. Like the Sierra Nevada Music Festival and The Beer Fest, these large Valley events are not the huge boon to local business that organizers would have you believe. I am sure there are exceptions at various times, and some extra business is inevitable over a whole weekend, yet according to some local business owners it is just not nearly as much as one would think. However, the Valley ‘scene’ gets to be enjoyed by many outsiders and this will surely have a positive knock-on effect for local businesses in the future… As for the event itself, it is one for the wineries and their employees to share and sell their splendid wines, for tourists to embrace the Valley’s natural beauty and produce, and it’s undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for local wine and food lovers, like myself, to get out and about to enjoy the veritable feast of edibles, libations, and entertainment provided on our doorstep.

       I did not attend the $105 main tasting event held at Golden Eye Winery on the Saturday afternoon, nor did I attend any of the extravagant, yet no doubt enjoyable, winemaker dinners held that evening. However, following a Friday night spent at first Aquarelle and then Lauren’s Restaurant, I was ready to participate in the festival on Sunday afternoon and zoomed around the Valley accompanied by The Barn Owl. We visited many of the winery ‘Open Houses’ and enjoyed some wonderful food pairings. After much deliberation we awarded our Top Three Pairings as follows - please keep in mind we did not get to every Open House – that would have been greedy and dangerous…

       In third place, it was Brutocao, where we sampled the best dessert of the day – brownies made with Tawny Port, served with strawberries steeped in Merlot Mistelle and topped by their Cabernet Sauvignon Chocolate Truffle Fudge – served with their Reserve 2009 Pinot Noir this provided a superb end to the day; runner-up was Phillips-Hill’s 2010 Boontling Pinot Noir that was paired with some delicious Beef Cheek Bourguignon cooked beautifully by the talented Natasha Durandet; and in first place, and doing what all Pinot Noir pourers are advised to do (i.e. pairing their product with lamb), was Balo. Their 2010 A.V. Pinot was paired with the lamb chops served up by Kurt Morse and Bill Teague - some of the best lamb that the Barn Owl and I have had in many a long day. This dish was a runaway winner, and that was before we tasted the sumptuous smoked salmon and local Penny Royal goat cheese pizza produced by local chefs Corey Morse and Diana Charles that was also served at Balo… Honorable Mention should go to the wines of Knez, Signal Ridge, and Drew, whose winemaker/owner Jason Drew was our ‘Host of the Day’… Can we do it all again next weekend?

       Public Service Announcements… Calendars and pens at the ready… #341 – The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Valley on two more Thursdays this month – tomorrow, May 23 and next week, May 30 - from 2pm to 3.30pm on each occasion. They have asked me to inform you that you do not have to arrive early and then wait a long time - everyone showing up at anytime before 3.30pm will be seen... #342 – Coming up this weekend it’s the A.V. Art Guild’s annual Open Studio Tour; May 25-27 from 11am to 5pm each day. Visit the artists and view their paintings, glass, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, and more. Call Peggy at 895-2493 for further details… #343 - This Sunday the Lion's Club prepares their delicious chicken and TriTip BBQ in the Redwood Grove at the Fairgrounds from 4:30 to 7:30! All proceeds will benefit the AV ElderHome. There will be the usual unique silent auction and for this year a small live auction. DJ Pete will be spinning the tunes so bring your family, your friends and your requests! Advance Ticket Purchase at All That Good Stuff and Lemon's: $15 and $12 for Seniors (62+) and children (6-12). Children under 6 free!... #344 – And as always, the Memorial Day Flea Market, benefiting the Senior Center, will run all weekend from Friday 24 to Monday 27 with a breakfast and snack bar open at the Veterans Hall. Gina at 895-3609 has all the details…

       As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the next week at the Senior Center at the Veterans Hall in Boonville… The Center asks for a $5 donation from Seniors and charges $7 for Non-Seniors for lunches and for the dinners it is $6 and $8, respectively… Tomorrow, Thursday, May 23, the lunch, served at 12.15pm, will be Chicken Enchiladas, rice Black Beans, Corn, Salsa, Kasha Salad, and a Cherry Crisp dessert … Then next Tuesday, May 28, at 6pm, the dinner served by Marti Titus and her crew will be Country Captain chicken, Brown Rice, Peas, Rolls, Raspberry Gelatin, Tabbouleh Salad, Triple Lemon Dessert… This is also Game Night so bring your favorite game to play or hang out and visit with friends… Hope to see you there…

       Moving quickly on to a few of the topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge – yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley where people get together and share their thoughts about life in A.V.…

… A continuing topic of discussion among the regulars at The 3-Dot is the rapidly increasing number of tasting rooms and restaurants in the Valley. I personally like to have such choice but until we have more places for visitors to stay overnight, where will all the money come from to support so many businesses? Perhaps it really is time for that ‘tastefully designed and appropriately located motel’?... Over to the Valley’s wheelers-and-dealers with a few dollars to spare…

… Talking of new businesses, I see that the location formally occupied by ‘All that Good Stuff’ in the Farrer Building is soon to become an antique store run by members of the Pronsolino family. We wish them well and hope they can make a go of it. This means that the ‘reliably rumored’ charcuterie idea for that space has been put on hold for now, which is fine with many local folks, I’m sure…

… And that segues nicely into another ‘reliable rumor’ – the one that has the new high school Principal being a current member of the faculty and potentially being selected without the full participation of the School Board – his erstwhile employers… Believe it or not, I regularly speak with high school students and many of them are not happy with the recent developments at their school and see a definite need for significant changes. Perhaps the potential new Principal from the faculty will be fine, and I am sure that ultimately the Board will have a final say, but one has to wonder – ‘Is there nobody from beyond the Valley, without any baggage/connections to the previous regime, who will take this job and introduce some new ideas; someone who will arrive like a breath of fresh air, with enough vitality and vigor to blow away the cobwebs and quickly earn the respect of both staff and students alike?’ Maybe not, or are such candidates just not even considered?…

       Well now I think it’s time to take my leave… So, until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; and may your god go with you… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”…

Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture……

p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net>

p.p.s. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred…

# 354 - May 15th, 2013

Greetings one and all - if you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin... Well, good readers, it’s good to be back from the ‘real world’! Following my mysterious disappearance (that I could not possibly give any details upon) I have returned to The Nest and I’m once again fully energized and ready to observe and comment on Valley life and times. Without giving too much away, I can tell you that I was on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and found the alcohol consumption over there to be truly ‘over-the-top’. Morning, noon, and night those people are guzzling beer and sipping wine. I frequently found myself joining them – it would have been rude not to, don’t you think? Anyway, based on this experience I am convinced that they adhere to the philosophy of American comedian, Steven Wright, who wisely noted, “24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?  I think not.”... Moving on…

       Public Service Announcements… Calendars and pens at the ready... #339 – This coming weekend (May 17th-19th) sees the annual A.V. Pinot Festival take place here in the Valley with the technical conference on Friday; wine tasting at Golden Eye Winery on Saturday afternoon, followed by winemaker dinners in the evening; and open houses and special tastings at various wineries on Sunday. Call 895-9463 or www.avwines.com for further details... #340 – the Boonville Farmer’s Market is in full-swing and will be taking place all summer long at the Boonville Hotel parking lot from 10am to noon every Saturday... #341 – The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will return to the Valley on two more Thursdays this month – May 23rd and May 30th - from 2pm to 3.30pm on each occasion. They have asked me to inform you that you do not have to arrive early and then wait a long time - everyone showing up at anytime before 3.30pm will be seen... #342 – Coming up later in the month it’s the A.V. Art Guild’s annual Open Studio Tour over the weekend of May 25th 27th from 11am to 5pm each day. Visit the artists and view their paintings, glass, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, and more. Call Peggy at 895-2493 for further details… #343 – That same Memorial Day weekend, on Sunday, May 26th, the A.V. Lions will be doing their BBQ to benefit the ElderHome. As usual it will be at The Fairgrounds in Boonville and will run from 4.30pm to 7.30pm. Call Christine for details – 895-3192… #344 – And as always, the Memorial Day Flea Market, benefiting the Senior Center, will run all weekend from Friday 24th to Monday 27th with a breakfast and snack bar open at the Veterans Hall. Gina at 895-3609 has all the details…

       Moving quickly on to a couple of the topics and Valley events under discussion this week at The Three-Dot Lounge – yes it’s “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley where people get together and share their thoughts about life in A.V.…

… The School and its continuing dysfunctions seem to dominate many conversations among locals at The 3-Dot since my return, the most egregious issue being the selection process for the next High School Principal. Life under the spotlight of a small rural community, as the local school will inevitably always be, requires certain levels of decorum and propriety. To many local folks, these are not being met, not just on this issue but several others over the last couple of years… ‘Lunatics running the asylum’ is not a strictly accurate analogy, nor is it in good taste, and perhaps not completely fair, but it is all I can come up with right now…

... On a lighter note, but with our youth still in mind, another topic under discussion at the 3-Dot this past week was ‘Jobs we would hate to do’ and I seemed to surprise some regulars with my choice of air steward(ess). Having spent time on many long haul flights I am convinced that this line of work is not at all the glamorous occupation that it’s frequently depicted as, although KLM Dutch airlines do have some rather glamorous stewardesses I must say - but I digress… Basically, the job involves dealing with all-too-often grumpy and frequently overly demanding customers and providing service to them as a de facto waiter/waitress in a very cramped restaurant, with little room to maneuver while serving quite poor food. So job-seekers, despite the tempting travel aspect of such work, perhaps think twice before signing up for the airlines - trust me on this – you can thank me later…

       Talking of traveling, for your Quotes of the Week here are three of my favorites on this subject. First up it’s these words from Richard Burton (1925 - 1984) the Welsh actor nominated seven times for an Academy Award (without ever winning) who said, “Travelers, like poets, are mostly an angry race”… And then there is this comment from Paul Theroux (1941 - ?) the American travel writer and novelist – “Travel is glamorous only in retrospect”… Finally, how about this from Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900) the Irish writer and poet who typically remarked, “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on one’s travels!”…

       Finally this week, I must just comment on a letter I received several weeks ago regarding my remarks about those who attend local charity events to which they bring their own food. Fortunately these folks are few and far between but the author of the note defended their actions and stated that I was part of a ‘group of people who look down on brown-baggers, seeing them as some sort of cheapskates’. Err, well, when people attend charity functions with their own food then yes I do, and why would I think otherwise? Please don’t tell me that a $12 dinner plate is too expensive for anyone. It certainly isn’t when a large percentage of this amount goes to the charity they are apparently there to support in the first place. With quality food and drink on sale for very reasonable prices at most Valley fundraisers, entertainment of some sort too frequently provided, and profits going to local charities, calling these folks ‘cheapskates’ is being very polite I’d say. In fact, ‘Tight-fisted, miserly buggers’ is more along the lines of what I really think…

       Well now I think it’s time to take my leave… It’s good to be back, thanks for having me… Until we talk again – ‘Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; and may your god go with you… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Humbly yours, Turkey Vulture…

p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture1@earthlink.net>

p.p.s. Hi, Silver Swan – getting better? Hopefully so…

p.p.p.s. On the sheep, Grace…