# 547 - 25th January, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Restaurant Report - Lauren’s Restaurant in Downtown Boonville will introduce their first ‘Natalie’s Sunday Supper’ (presented by co-owner Natalie Matson) this coming Sunday evening, January 29, from 5-8.30pm. The Suppers are all about ‘Down-Home Comfort Dining’ and will focus on several new in-house prepared dishes. Plus, as Lauren’s has been doing for over twenty years here in the Valley, many of the suppers will feature a number of locally grown/sourced ingredients. This ‘Pop-Up’  happening will hopefully be repeated on a couple of Sundays each month - seems like the perfect night of the week for such an evening to me! Hope to see you there… While the finer details remain a little uncertain, The Buckhorn is certainly planing to reopen under new ownership sometime in March - a draft Guinness on St Patrick’s Day would be perfect!… Lizbby’s in Boonville (at the location formally The Buckhorn Saloon, and prior to that The Boonville lodge), is planning to serve a number of the dishes from the recently closed Libby’s Restaurant, and they are now announcing that they will open ‘soon’ as a bar/restaurant… The Bewildered Pig, down in the Deep End, has been reopened for a week now and they are back to their normal hours, I believe - Wednesday thru’ Sunday, 5:30-9pm…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have no more visits this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo. However, they will be here twice in February - 2 and 23… #545 - The Boonville Farmers’ Market continues with it’s Winter location and hours at The Boonville General Store, on Saturdays from 11am-1pm. For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949… #546 - Need a burn permit? From 11am to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can get one from the Firehouse in Boonville. Call 895-2020 for more information or stop by and you will be efficiently served with a smile - trust me on this… #547 - The A.V. Lending Library run by The Unity Club is open Tuesdays from 1.30-4.30pm and Saturdays 2-4pm at The Fairgrounds in Boonville… #548 - The County Dump is open from 9am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Dump Executive Director, Mike Mannix, rewards good customers with a star but will be very harsh with anyone thinking they can leave dead animals!… #549 - On Saturday, November 28, it’s the Open Mic at Lauren's Restaurant in Downtown Boonville. Dinner served 5 to 9 before the Open mic starts at 9 pm. All are welcome - musicians, singers, poets, writers, impressionists, magicians, comedians, actors, fire-eaters, pole dancers, sword swallowers, ventriloquists, raconteurs, exotic dancers, animal callers, etc. No clowns - apparently they would scare any kids who might be there, and no mimes, please - they scare almost everyone else! For more information call 895-3869…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches and dinners over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors for both lunches and dinners and charges $7 for Non-seniors for lunches and $8 for the dinners… Tomorrow, Thursday, January 26, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Beef or Chicken Tostadas with Cherry Crisp for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, January 31, the evening meal served at 6pm, will feature Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, with Tiramisu for dessert. The dinner will be followed by Bingo at 7pm. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! 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 (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley and often far beyond, and where we subscribe to the Winston Churchill philosophy that “A lie will get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants”… So, with that in mind, I shall quickly put my pants on and continue…
… For reasons that are too awkward to explain in a family-read newspaper, I missed last Saturday;’s Crab Feed event in the Valley - the first such event I have ever missed… I am reliably informed that the evening was a big success and I believe it was sold out - great news for the Senior Center who were the beneficiaries and whose Board worked so hard to organize and present the event… Suffice it say, I shall be there for the Crab Feed on Saturday, February 4th and will have to double my crab intake to make up for my indiscretion…
… It would be impudent and bad-mannered of me to question why people voted how they did in the recent election. But I have been impudent and bad-mannered before so I will ask the question why so many so many women and gay folks could choose Donald Trump after all that he has said? I have also become aware of a few local folks in positions of influential social standing who have chosen to share that fact loudly on Facebook and social media… One cannot help but think that something else was the reason for people within these groups to have voted for President Trump. Something beyond all the reasons we have been told - Trump’s appeal to the white working classes; a vote against the establishment; Hilary Clinton being a very poor choice to many who would normally have voted for the Democratic candidate… What could that reason be?…
… Regulars at The 3-Dot discussed how Donald Trump had a prickly first weekend as America’s president. On Friday he signed a vague but symbolic executive order—his first—asking bureaucrats to rein in the Affordable Care Act wherever possible. Mr Trump then criticized press coverage of his inauguration. Then despite clear and reliable evidence to the contrary, Sean Spicer, his spokesman, falsely claimed the crowd had been the largest ever; a Trump adviser explained that Mr Spicer was merely advancing “alternative facts”… This whole ‘false news’ thing is getting way out of control. “Alternative facts”?? What is happening to us?… If I wasn’t sobbing uncontrollably, I’d be laughing hysterically…
… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… Buzzard reports, … Buzzard reports, “Not for the first time around here, and not for the last I’m sure, the conversation at The Three-Dot turned to the ‘luminaries’ who live here in the Valley. After skipping quite quickly through names of current residents (in some cases part-time) such as the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Alice Walker (‘The Color Purple’), accomplished actor Rene Auberjonois, and Nobel Laureate Cary Mullis, inevitably the less celebrated, but perhaps equally famous or rather infamous, names of those who at one point lived here were discussed in greater depth. Many readers not from this area may not be aware of this but I am reliably informed that the list includes convicted killer Charles Manson (of the Manson Family) who lived in a cabin on Gschwend Road in the Christine Woods region during the early 1960s; Jim Jones of People’s Temple fame and a member of the A.V.H.S. faculty in the late sixties; convicted sex offender and kidnapper Kenneth Parnell, resident of Mountain View Road in the early seventies; serial killer Charles Lake, commune-dweller in Philo in the early eighties (just before embarking on his diabolical murder spree with Charles Ng in Calaveras County); and ‘Tree Frog’ Johnson, formerly of Boonville in the seventies, another infamous child abductor/abuser... I mention this because it is a topic that is quite often discussed around here and I certainly do not wish to make light of it. Obviously these days the Valley is an exceptionally friendly, harmonious, and community-minded place to live. However, these former ‘Valley People’, the perpetrators of some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, all once lived here and that fact is a small but unique part of the Valley’s history, albeit in a way that some would choose to ignore. I’m sure, for example, that this information does not appear in the Chamber of Commerce’s literature, when it really might be of interest to many - ‘Tours of Evil People’s Homes’ anyone?…

    Oh, dear, have I upset somebody? – I’ll get my coat and leave… Besides I’ve got see a man about a sheep… So, until we talk again – Be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts; think good thoughts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - saddened but ultimately comforted in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow in the sky…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Skylark – read any good books lately?… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!… Everything cool with you, O.J.? Of course it is…

# 546 - 18th January, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Let’s get straight to the Valley Restaurant Report… Big news!… If all goes according to plan, The Buckhorn will soon have new owners and will be re-opening in a month or two. The recently arrived Jean and Tom Condon, a U.S. Army Reserve Master Sergeant just back from eight months in Kuwait, who recently retired from the New York City Fire Department after thirty years service and moved to the Valley with wife Jean, are deep into negotiations to purchase the liquor license and sign a lease with landlord Gary Island. Tom and Jean previously owned a bar in Manhattan for a time and now their daughter Jordana and her boyfriend Chris, who arrived together in the Valley almost a year ago, and have been working at The Buckhorn and Lauren’s Restaurant for much of that time, will also be heavily involved in the operation. The plan is to present a similar pub-dining experience as the previous Buckhorn but perhaps to broaden the appeal and provide a taste of all aspects of Anderson Valley along with seasonal menu changes. The community will no doubt welcome this re-addition to the Valley dining and social scene and we wish them every success… Meanwhile, here is a brief update on the other members of the Valley’s Big Eight evening dining options: Lauren’s Restaurant continues with both lunch and dinner plus a new comfort food dining experience as part of a ‘Sunday Supper’ taking place on some Sundays, beginning on January 29 from 5-8.30pm… Lizbby’s, with an adaption of the menu from the recently closed Libby’s Restaurant, is announcing that they will open soon… The Boonville Hotel continues with their family-style, prix fixe menu on Friday thru’ Sunday… Aquarelle Cafe and Wine Bar will remain closed until around Valentine’s Day…  The Redwood Drive-In just keeps on doing what they do with reliable hours… Stone and Embers is open Friday-Tuesday, noon to 6pm… Following their two-and-a-half week break, The Bewildered Pig reopens tonight, Wednesday January 18… Ok - that’s all for now.. I suggest you eat, drink, and be merry…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #543 - Given the current very uncertain weather situation I thought I should provide the following useful numbers once again - for road conditions and closures call 1-800-gas-road (427-7623) and for power problems and outages call 1-800-PGE (743)-5000. I just thought you should know… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have no more visits this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo. However, they will be here twice in February - 2 and 23… #545 - Need a burn permit? From 11am to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can get one from the Firehouse in Boonville. Call 895-2020 for more information or stop by and you will be efficiently served with a smile - trust me on this… #546 - I believe that the Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley next Tuesday, January 24. Phone 463-4694 for confirmation. They are usually here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at each of these places and times: Navarro Store 9am (for just 30 minutes before heading out to Comptche); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm.… #547 - The A.V Museum is closed for the winter… #548 - No more Barn Sales until the spring…#549 - And finally another reminder that the annual Valley Crab Feeds are almost here… The first one is the annual benefit for the Senior Center and will be held this coming Saturday, January 21; tickets are $35 pre-sale, $40 on the door, and are sold at the Senior Center, A.V. Market, Rossi Hardware, and Lemons’ in Philo. Happy Hour is at 5.30pm, dinner served at 6.30pm… This will be followed two weeks later by the Original Crab Feed on Saturday, February 4, for which the tickets are $45, the same as last year, and that does include complimentary wine. Tickets available through Gloria Ross at 895-3071, John Schultz at 895-9552, or Lemons’ Market in Philo… Both Crab Feeds are very popular Valley-centric occasions - they WILL sell out; you have been warned…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors and charges $7 for Non-seniors… Tomorrow, Thursday, January 19, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Beef Stroganoff followed by Triple Chocolate for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, January 24, the lunch will feature Jared's Clam Chowder and Carmel Apple Cake for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! 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 (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley and often far beyond, and where we subscribe to the Winston Churchill philosophy that “A lie will get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants”… So, with that in mind, I shall quickly put my pants on and continue…
… I attended a lovely event at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday afternoon that was held as a ‘Thank You’ to Libby, Jose, and their family for the many years of hard work and fine food that came together to make the recently closed Libby’s Restaurant in Philo one of the Valley’s most popular restaurants of the last couple of decades… Perhaps as many as eighty Valley folks came to this pot luck celebration and such a gathering was a lovely testament to Libby and Jose and a wonderful show of support and the Valley’s enjoyment of many years of Libby’s dining… It is an end of an era, the final closing of the blinds on one of the Valley’s most beloved institutions…
… School is back in session… Finally…
… According to my ‘in-depth’ research, as 2017 began we had 27 winery tasting rooms open to the public in the Valley, from Yorkville Cellars in Yorkville to Lula Cellars on the edge of Christine Woods… In the last five years or so, ten have closed, several of which have been replaced by new ones of course… Interesting…
… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… Buzzard reports, “So after a three-week holiday break the schools returned last Monday, ready to educate and be educated. They lasted one day. It was raining hard at times and quite windy. Roads were wet.  Rivers had water in them. People’s vehicles had their windscreen wipers wiping and their lights on. Most roads were open, certainly those which virtually all of our kids use to get to and from school. I drove around the Valley - it was very lovely. At no time was I in fear of my life. I did not fear for anyone else’s either. It was a period of heavy rain, not a tsunami, a hurricane, tornado, or The Great Flood… Then on Tuesday afternoon, after more rain mixed with periods of calm, came the announcement, initially via Facebook/Valley Hub and then the School itself via their ‘Parent Link’, that the schools would be closed on Wednesday too… Obviously weather in the region was severe in places, and some people went without power for a time, although generally the Valley was just wet with a few branches down, but I had to laugh, albeit with a large degree of  incredulity, at how we have become such a nanny state, soft when dealing with some adversity, and perhaps lacking in intestinal fortitude - defined as ‘strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage’.… When friends back east saw the photographs I sent they were not impressed by our ‘extreme’ weather… To those of us who've dealt with far worse weather and come through unscathed and not at all worse for wear, and for many folks in the Valley, in particular many parents, it was somewhat melodramatic and, I will suggest, this fear and melodrama is another example of the Apocalypse - the real one, not a pretend one like this was portrayed by some - being closer than we think…”
    Oh, dear, has The Old Buzzard upset somebody? I guess I’ll ask him to get his coat and leave... Besides, that’s enough for now… So until we talk again – Be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts; think good thoughts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always 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
p.p.s. Keep on humming, Hummingbird… Missing the Venerable Pheasant… On the sheep, Grace…
   

   

# 545 - 11th January, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    We lead off with the Restaurant Report this week and I believe that in the very near future I shall have some big headlines to share - in fact very exciting news for the many people in the community who enjoy a night out dining with friends over a few beers and a cocktail. I can hardly contain myself - full details next week!… Meanwhile, as new adventures await for some, this coming weekend we bid a final farewell to restauranteurs who have served the Valley splendidly for sixteen years. This will be in the form of a gathering to be held at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15th from 3-6pm that will see the community express their gratitude to the Libby, Jose, and Family of Libby’s Restaurant fame. The community-at-large is invited and folks are encouraged to bring finger foods to share. Jose and Libby have retired - they will not be cooking!… I will have more on our other night-out dining venues next week, suffice it to say for now that Lauren’s Restaurant continues their regular lunch and dinner hours; The Drive-In too; Lizbby’s, the new Mexican restaurant in Boonville, with a menu based on Libby’s, is opening in a month or so; Aquarelle and The Bewildered Pig remain closed; the Boonville Hotel continues with their family-style, prix fixe menu on Thursday thru’ Sunday; and Stone and Embers is open Friday-Tuesday, noon to 6pm…
   
    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #542 - Given the current weather situation I thought I should provide the following useful numbers once again - for road conditions and closures call 1-800-gas-road (427-7623) and for power problems and outages call 1-800-PGE (743)-5000. I just thought you should know…#543 - A repeat of my message above - the community ‘Thank You’ to Libby and Jose is at Lauren’s Restaurant on Sunday, January 15th, 3-6pm… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have one visit this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, and that’s tomorrow Thursday, January 12. They will be here twice in February (2 and 23). To avoid a line perhaps turn up at around 3pm - you will definitely be seen. New customers and their pets are always welcome and previous visitors should be aware that they can call 462-8833 and the vets will bring your pet’s charts with them - making this an even better service than it already is!… #545 - The Boonville Farmers’ Market continues with it’s Winter location and hours at The Boonville General Store, on Saturdays from 11am-1pm. For more info, call Cindy at 895-2949… #546 - Need a burn permit? From 11am to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can get one from the Firehouse in Boonville. Call 895-2020 for more information or stop by and you will be efficiently served with a smile - trust me on this… #547 - The A.V. Lending Library run by The Unity Club is open Tuesdays from 1.30-4.30pm and Saturdays 2-4pm at The Fairgrounds in Boonville… #548 - The County Dump is open from 9am-4pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Dump Executive Director, Mike Mannix, rewards good customers with a star but will be very harsh with anyone thinking they can leave dead animals!… #549 - Gardeners, farmers and produce growers of all kinds, please remember the next Food Bank Day - Tuesday, January 17 (3rd Tuesday of every month) as a place to donate your extra produce.  It will be greatly appreciated.  They are open from 8-10 am on the 3rd Tuesday of every month; and are also open the Monday evening before, from 4-6. Please drop off on the Monday behind Boonville Methodist Church.  If you need someone to glean your produce to take to the Food Bank, contact Valerie Kim at valerie.h.kim@gmail.com. Denisse Mattei is the Food Bank director. You can reach her at 895-3763… #550 - Another reminder that the annual Valley Crab Feeds are almost here… The first one is the annual benefit for the Senior Center and will be held on Saturday, January 21; tickets are $35 pre-sale, $40 on the door, and are sold at the Senior Center, A.V. Market, Rossi Hardware, and Lemons’ in Philo. Happy Hour is at 5.30pm, dinner served at 6.30pm… This will be followed two weeks later by the Original Crab Feed on Saturday, February 4, for which the tickets are $45, the same as last year, and that does include complimentary wine. Tickets available through Gloria Ross at 895-3071, John Schultz at 895-9552, or Lemons’ Market in Philo… Both Crab Feeds are very popular Valley-centric occasions - they WILL sell out; you have been warned…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors and charges $7 for Non-seniors… Tomorrow, Thursday, January 12, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Lemon Garlic Cod and Wendy’s Oatmeal Bars for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, January 17, the lunch will feature Roasted chicken with Winter vegetables with Bread Pudding for dessert. All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month. These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! 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 (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley, a somewhat secret location that sees people get together and share their thoughts about life in Anderson Valley and often far beyond, and where we subscribe to the Winston Churchill philosophy that “A lie will get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants”… So, with that in mind, I shall quickly put my pants on and continue…
… Regulars at the 3-Dot are still shaking their heads over the recent visit to the Valley by wine writer Melissa Vogt. In Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate she writes of her stop at Gowan’s Oak Tree and then her dining experience at The Bewildered Pig. Nowhere else in the Valley is mentioned specifically. Of her Pig visit, she remarked, “The food is incredible—a beacon of light in an otherwise rather drab offering of cuisine in the infinitesimal towns of Boonville, Philo and Navarro”…  Drab offerings? How ignorant of her… We all know that food/restaurant reviewing is a sinecure that can produce mediocrity in its writing and irritating subjectivity as its conclusions, but to make such a remark goes to show that a large degree of mindless comment is also a part of the ‘game’…
… So Dr Logan McGann, a man revered upon his arrival as the Valley’s wonderful new doctor, and welcomed into the community as few others have been, has now departed. He was popular, and by all accounts he was competent. So what really happened? I think we should be told…
… On a more positive note regarding our local Health Center, my own recent experience in dealing with Dr Mark Apfel and administrator Faris Gheith was a very pleasant, efficient, and friendly one… Hopefully this does not mean that they are about to depart too!?!? Joking…
… More kudos to pass out… With propane prizes going through the roof at this time of year, it is good to know that some companies will work with their regular customers to reach a fair rate. Suburban Propane is one of these and I encourage you to investigate further by calling 707-263-5428…

    I’m outta here - I’ve got see a man about a sheep…Besides, that’s enough for now, so until we talk again – Be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - saddened but ultimately comforted in the knowledge that the old hare has safely moved to his new burrow in the sky…
p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.s. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!…Keep on cycling, Round-eyed Robin…

# 544 - 4th January, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Well 2017 is upon us and may it be happy and healthy for one and all... Any New Year’s Resolutions? These are difficult to maintain of course and perhaps we should not put too much pressure on ourselves. As Benjamin Franklin so wisely once advised, “Resolve to perform what you ought to do; then perform without fail what you have resolved.” Easy right? Anyway, that’s your first Quote of the Week… With the dawn of a New Year fast approaching, and with new resolutions bursting forth, for a second Quote of the Week let me offer you these wise words by Gore Vidal to think about as a possible resolution for 2017 – “Never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television” – difficult to argue with, I’d say...

    Restaurant update: Traveling northwest along Highway 128, here we go with a basic guide to evening dining in the Valley, starting in Boonville:… Lauren’s Restaurant (895-3869) continues with their regular hours of Lunch on Thursday-Sunday, 11.30am-2.30pm, and Dinner on Tuesday-Saturday, 5-9pm. Natalie’s Sunday Suppers are soon to be introduced at Lauren’s - an exciting and comforting new option for Valley diners… Libby’s is closed for good, but Lizbby’s is a new Mexican restaurant opening soon in downtown Boonville at the site formerly occupied by The Boonville Saloon/Lodge/etc, that is planning to serve much of Libby’s menu thanks to the training of their cooks by Libby and husband Jose themselves - hmm, interesting… The Buckhorn remains closed but a large cormorant did tell me that discussions are continuing with interested parties, although these things take time so I would suggest that there will probably be no draft Guinness or Dry martinis available in the Valley until the early spring… The Boonville Hotel ( 895-2210) is now closed on Mondays, “until the apple blossoms show”, but remains open Thursday thru’ Sunday for their family-style, prix fixe menu… Aquarelle Café and Wine Bar (895-2767) is closed until the second week of February… The Redwood Drive-In (895-3441) is open all the time! Well almost. And not for the first time I enjoyed a very good breakfast burrito from there that proved to be a very effective hangover cure… Moving up the Valley to just before Philo we find Stone and Embers (895-3471) which has resumed their usual hours of Friday thru’ Tuesday, serving from noon till 6pm… In Philo itself, Libby’s is no more. It has ceased to be. It's expired and gone to meet its maker. This is a late restaurant. Bereft of life, it rests in peace. It's rung down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. This is an ex-place to enjoy wonderful food. Yes, Libby’s is permanently closed… An finally, in the Deep End of The Floodgate, from The Bewildered Pig’s Mama Pig herself, I am able to share these words, “We have our regular hours this week (and last) as normal. My only caveat to opening on Christmas Eve and NYE was that we had enough ressies to ask our wonderful staff to come in on such special holidays. There’s not been a problem with that ~ we’ve been full, and we are open!” Call 8954-2088 for further details! The Pig will then be closed from January 1 to 17 inclusive!… And that’s all for now - eat, drink, and be merry…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #545 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have one visit this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, and that’s next week on Thursday, January 12. They will be here twice in February (2 and 23). New customers and their pets are always welcome and previous visitors should be aware that they can call 462-8833 and the vets will bring your pet’s charts with them - making this an even better service than it already is!… #546 - I believe that the Mendocino Bookmobile returns to the Valley next Tuesday, January 10. Phone 463-4694 for confirmation. They are usually here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at each of these places and times: Navarro Store 9am (for just 30 minutes before heading out to Comptche); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm.…#547 - Need a burn permit? From 11am to 3pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays you can get one from the Firehouse in Boonville. Call 895-2020 for more information or stop by and you will be efficiently served with a smile - trust me on this… #548 - The A.V Museum is now closed for the winter… #549 - No more Barn Sales until the spring…
    As a bonus P.S.A. here is the menu for the Community lunches and dinners over the next week in the Senior Center at the Veterans’ Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors for both lunches and dinners and charges $7 for Non-seniors for lunches and $8 for the dinners… Tomorrow, Thursday, January 5, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Vegetable & Beef Soup with Birthday cupcakes for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, January 10, the evening meal served at 6pm, will feature  Chicken Enchiladas with Carrot Cake for dessert. And following this dinner there will be a folk dance class… All meals include vegetables, salad bar, and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal - it maybe the best value for money you’ll get all week!… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am it is Kathy’s Easy-stretch Yoga class. Also on Thursdays, the Active Life Club runs from 10am to 2pm and features games, crafts, and music. The Senior Center/Community Bus goes to Ukiah on Monday's and also Santa Rosa on the first Wednesday of the month (today!). These trips fill up fast so don't forget to sign up early at 489-1175… Hopefully you will be able to attend some of these events and certainly the lunches and dinners, and remember – ALL ages are welcome! Hope to see you there…
    I’m outta here - I’ve got see a man about a sheep… Besides, that’s enough for now, so until we talk again - be careful out there; if you break a leg don’t come running to me; stay out of the ditches; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; show love to your pets, they will be faithful and true to you to the last beat of their hearts; ‘Keep the Faith’; try to not let life get in the way of living; may your god go with you, and may your dog go with you too… Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey”… Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture - still wallowing in the honor of having the 2nd tallest tree (343.6 feet) in Hendy Woods named after me and my ilk…
p.s. Just time to re-remind those who think badly of us that a fellow by the name of Charles Darwin said about Turkey Vultures, “A disgusting bird whose bald scarlet head is formed to wallow in putridity” – Thanks for the compliment, Charlie…
p.p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at
p.p.p.s. Keep on humming, Hummingbird… Missing the Venerable Pheasant… On the sheep, Grace…