# 549 - 8th February, 2017

Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Let’s get things started with The Turkey Vulture’s ‘Evening Dining in the Valley Bulletin’… For those who have been missing Libby's Restaurant that closed for good in December, the new restaurant in Boonville, Lizbby's, opens this coming Saturday night, February 11, with a number of dishes brought from Libby and Jose’s very successful menu, so I am informed. They will be open every day except Mondays (of course!?), serving breakfast and lunch (10am-3pm) and dinner (5-8pm). Looking forward to both the Huevos Rancheros and the carnitas they will tempt me with…  So where can you go for somewhere to wine and dine on Monday evening? Your only option for now, but it is a good one, is the Penny Royal Farm Happy Hour that runs from 5-8pm and offers handcrafted wines and farmstead cheeses plus other goodies too in the form of small plates and hors d’oeuvres… All the other restaurants in the Valley are currently closed on Monday evenings but that will change soon with the re-opening of The Buckhorn - hopefully by late March, and by then maybe others will have seen the light too…

    Onward… Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #542 - Live music returns to the Valley this coming Saturday, February 11, when The Hot Club of Comptche presents an evening of ‘Gypsy Jazz and Swing’ starting at 9pm at  Lauren’s Restaurant. The band features two longtime ‘stars’ of the Mendocino music scene in Pilar Duran and Tommy Brown (formerly of The Brown Brothers Blues Band among others), and it should certainly be a show to remember. Hope to see you there… #543 - The ‘Preparation for the Rest of Our Lives’ group meets for the first time in 2017 this coming Sunday afternoon, February 12, at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville, beginning at 4pm. The discussion will focus on ‘The Village Movement,’ whose principles are based on seniors forming a non-profit organization to provide access to services which allow seniors to age in place in their own homes rather than senior housing or assisted living facilities. Hope to see your there too!… #544 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have one more visit this month to the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo. That will be in two weeks time on Thursday, February 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!… #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-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 - The Anderson Valley Grange is having its regular second Sunday Pancake Breakfast on February 12 from 8.30-11am. Prices range from $5-10 - kids through hungry folks, for a delicious, locally-sourced breakfast. Choices include pancakes (gluten free available; gluten extra is not), eggs, and bacon, with a choice of juice, tea or coffee included…

    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, February 9, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Beef Stew, and Texas Sheet Cake for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, February 14, St Valentine’s Day, the evening meal served at 6pm, will feature Rosemary Pork Roast with, very appropriately, Italian Love 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…
… Our local information exchange services such as Valley Hub and BoontSwap are no doubt very useful and often helpful in lots of ways to many Valley folks. However, when people start to ask for advice about what the weather is supposed to be like, and similar inane requests, aren’t folks losing any remaining semblance of self reliance and giving up more decision-making prowess and intestinal fortitude that ultimately results in an ever increasing Nanny State?…Just trying to keep it real!…
… Last Saturday evening’s Original Crab Feed was a roaring success once again with 335 tickets sold out two weeks beforehand… The crab was excellent, the margaritas just about right with their sensible alcohol content, the service courteous and efficient, and of course, Gloria Ross’s organization and the effort of her team as good as ever… ‘Well done!’ to one an all…
… Recovering very slowly on Sunday morning from that event, I was confronted with the unavoidable attendance at a Super Bowl party up in the hills overlooking the Valley in the afternoon… The views were as spectacular as the Patriots comeback from 25 points down and while I am not a fan in any way of this team they did me a huge favor by covering the Vegas lines on both the favorite/underdog and over/under  spreads with their remarkable 34-28 victory over the shocked, dazed, and ultimately devastated Atlanta Falcons… Thank you Belichick and Brady, and may I never be indebted to you again…
… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… Buzzard reports, “Dripping with Irony #56… The way much of the Muslim world treats women continues to be shocking and so watching American feminists marching to import more Muslims from radicalized countries is like watching lambs marching to import more starving wolves… Before you get your knickers in a twist, I am not saying that all Muslims are bad, no more than any other group is all bad, but their attitudes, traditions, and laws regarding women are mediaeval-like and I feel that, as such, are not what today’s women of America would want to support… It is not rocket science, it is irony, get over yourselves…”

    I take your point, Buzzard, but perhaps some folks won’t… Enough already, I’m outta here as 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. Keep on wagging that tail, Fred… Hi, Silver Swan – behaving yourself? Hopefully not!… Hasta la vista, Round-eyed Robin!…