# 560 - 26th April, 2017

    Greetings one and all. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…
    Let’s begin with the Turkey Vulture’s update on ‘Evening Dining in the Valley’… Exciting news - Libby is back! The former owner of Libby’s Restaurant is taking on a new challenge - for one night a week (Monday’s) she will be cooking at Lauren’s Restaurant, starting next Monday, May 1 from 4.30-9pm… Now moving on… In geographical order, as you travel through the Valley on Highway 128, here is the latest on ‘The Big Eight Eateries’… Staying with Lauren’s Restaurant, the popular ‘Natalie’s Sunday Supper’ is coming up this Sunday, April 30 from 4-8pm and will feature comfort dining in a cozy atmosphere - Fish and chips, Beef and Onion Pie, Fried chicken and mashed potatoes - just some of the many homestyle meals Natalie will be presenting… Lizbby’s, the new Mexican Restaurant in downtown Boonville, is receiving many positive reviews and can be enjoyed every day except Tuesdays, serving breakfast (on Saturday and Sunday) and lunch from 10am-3pm and dinner from 5-8pm… The Buckhorn has re-opened and, not surprisingly given the six month long bar-free world we have been enduring, it seems to have been pretty busy almost every night since. They are open every day at 11am (10am at weekends), and closed on Tuesdays… The Boonville Hotel continues with their family-style, prix fixe menu and have now expanded their hours to Thursday thru’ Monday. They cook by reservation - call (707)-895-2210… The Q and Aquarelle, formerly Aquarelle Cafe and Wine Bar, has also re-opened with a new ‘Santa Maria BBQ’ menu added to previous favorites. Open 4-8pm from Friday thru’ Taco Tuesday… The Redwood Drive-In just keeps on doing what they do, with reliable hours that everyone can remember and rely on (6am-8pm every day!) - don't forget to try the donuts!… Stone and Embers’ spring hours see them open from Noon to 8pm Friday-Sunday and Noon to 4pm on Monday and Tuesday, with new summer hours soon to be announced… Finally, down in the Deep End, The Bewildered Pig is open Wednesday-Sunday, 5:30-9pm - you can check out all of their “insane” offerings on their well-maintained Facebook page… And that’s it for now… Join us again next week as we once again travel along the Valley’s Dining Highway… Meanwhile, I encourage you all to eat, drink, and be merry at one of the above establishments whenever you can - remember ‘eating out is fun’…

    Public Service Announcements (P.S.A.’s)… Calendars and pens at the ready… #544 - It’s the A.V. Brewing Company’s 21st Annual Beer Fest this coming Saturday afternoon at the Fairgrounds in Boonville. If you are attending I suggest you drink reasonably sensibly and within your limits, and if you can’t do that then don't drive or annoy others with your antics - simple guidelines for a good time that have served ‘proper’ beer drinkers like myself and others very well for many years… #545 - The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital have no more visits this month but they will be at the Anderson Valley Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo, on May 4. After that they will not be back until June. 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 also returns to the Valley next Tuesday, May 2. 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 open every Saturday and Sunday from 1pm-4pm. Situated in The Little Red Schoolhouse next to the Elementary School on A.V. Way, visiting the Museum is a perfect thing to do in the Valley when you have a couple of hours to spare on a weekend afternoon. It is not without reason that it is generally regarded as ‘The Best Little Museum in the West’… #548 - The monthly Barn Sale at The Big Barn next to the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church Refectory on A.V. Way, just north of Boonville takes place on the first weekend of every month so the next such event is on Saturday/Sunday, May 6/7 from 9am to 3pm each day… #549 - And finally this week, I am reliably informed by the Yorkville Master Shepherd that this coming Saturday, April 29, in the beautiful setting of the Fig Tree Field, about a mile up Hulbert Road opposite the Yorkville Post Office the Kevin Owens’ Classic sheepdog trial will take place. The always fascinating battle in a natural setting of pastures and hills, featuring Man and Dog versus the Ornery Sheep begins at 10am and everyone is welcome to attend…   
    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, April 27, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be ‘Breakfast for Lunch’ with Cinnamon Roll Cake for dessert… Then, next Tuesday, May 2, the lunch will feature Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes with Boston Cream 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!… Meanwhile, on Tuesday and Thursday from 9-9.45am the Center offers ‘Young at Heart Exercise’ with Linda Boudoures and Karen DeFalco… Tai Chi is now available every Tuesday at 11am, while on Thursdays at 11am-Noon 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…
... A regular at the Three-Dot informed me of some very important news from abroad last week - German police are trying out a new weapon in the fight against crime - Turkey Vultures, who as you know, that can find hidden corpses. just about anywhere. Three feathered detectives – appropriately named Sherlock, Miss Marple and Columbo - are being trained in northern Germany to do this. Police are using three of my German cousins because we vultures prefer to roam big areas as a group and our keen eyesight and acute sense of smell makes us as skilful as our fictional namesakes. Furthermore, we are better than sniffer dogs at finding bodies when a large area has to be searched and the terrain is difficult. However, apparently the experiment has now raised ethical concerns because of the risk that some of us might start pecking at a dead body when we find them... Err, yes, we might, but we surely there has to be some perks to the job?…
... Thus week’s ‘Inquiring Minds like to Know’ question posed by our bar-dwellers was, ‘Does a Book Club need to serve wine at its gatherings?’ I personally believe to get to the heart of the book, its very essence, and its author’s intentions and message, then wine should most certainly be served. But I could be wrong, of course...
… Here’s a couple of my ‘objective’ selections for various Valley honors that were shared with 3-Dot regulars over the past week… The Valley’s Worst ‘Hobby’ – letting your dog run alongside your truck as you drive along the backroads – sadly, the somewhat inevitable result has occurred too many times… The Valley’s Best draft Guinness – The Buckhorn… The Most Pleasing Valley phrase – “If there is anything I can do to help, let me know”…
… As we begin to approach summer I always like to give an update each year of the current Tasting Room Count… We have lost a few over the last year and my research leads me to believe we currently have 26 tasting rooms between Yorkville and Navarro, not counting several that are by-appointment only… As an occasional wine-sipper and friend of many folks in the industry at various levels, I sincerely wish each of them success… I have previously expressed concern that the density of tasting rooms will work against all of them surviving over time and, as mentioned above, some three or four have closed in the last year… But that’s a discussion for another time…
… From our 3-Dot regular, The Old Buzzard, comes another in his insightful series – ‘Signs that the Apocalypse is Approaching’… Buzzard reports, “Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, apologized on television after making an ill-judged comparison between Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Adolf Hitler. He had said in a press briefing that even Hitler “didn’t...sink to using chemical weapons”, leaving journalists stunned; many of the 6m Jews killed by the Nazis died in poison-gas chambers. Mr Spicer admitted the reference was “inappropriate” and “insensitive”… This idiotic clown must go…
     I’m outta here - I’ve got see a man about a sheep… Besides, that’s enough for now, so “please take me drunk, I’m home,” and 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, and please remember to keep your windows cracked if you leave them in your vehicle for any amount of time; 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…