 Blog PostsFriends         | BlogThe Monster MashWith thanks for PTB052 for putting the idea in my head by mentioning this song in a Forum. Happy Halloween! BUUWWWAAAAHHH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH ! ! ! More Groovy Photos Of Napa Valley Vineyards At Harvest TimeI've presented quite a few pictures of local vineyards before. Just getting from Point A to Point B around here I often find myself passing very photogenic and pastoral vineyard scenes, thus all the photos I've posted. And with harvest season, and the onset of autumn, the vineyards are now quite a spectacular sight of beautiful colors. The photos in this blog were taken during on a day when I specifically set out to photograph areas of Napa Valley outside of my day-to-day travels.About a month ago, on September 30, 2009, I spent an afternoon devoted to searching out some nice vineyard photos. I drove up-valley from where I live, in the opposite direction of where I'm usually driving between where I live and the city of Napa where I shop and such. I took several hundred photos, and these are the best of the bunch. Note the hillsides behind the vineyards. Napa Valley runs roughly north and south, bordered by a rows of hills to the west and east. Those hills to the west are generally much greener, covered with much more forest, Coast Redwoods, Douglas Firs, Madrones and such, while the hills to the east are much more sparsely forested, mostly with oaks and pines. The western hills receive much more rainfal than those to the east, even though they're only a few miles apart. This is because during the rainy season, the weather systems come in from the Pacific Ocean, traveling west to east. As rainclouds encounter the ridges that line each side the valley, they are pushed upwards as they cross those ridges, which cools them slightly, condensing moisture into rain. As the rainclouds cross the tops of the the ridges, they dump their rain out onto the far sides. This causes all of the hills in this area to generally have very green forested west-facing sides, and much dryer, much browner east facing sides.                                           A Short List Of Some Songs I LikeLaura was asking, in a blog, for suggestions for songs for her IPod. I, of course, wrote a giant list of songs that she probably won't relate to, nor will you, probably. But what the hell. I wrote the list. I'll share it with you. It'll give you at least a glimpse of what I like. (laughs) It's not likely you'll see many of these songs in Cash's "Rock Wars" blogs.Allman Brothers Band: "Stormy Monday" The Band: "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" Beach Boys: "In My Room" The Beatles: "A Day In The Life" Jeff Beck: "Brush With The Blues" Chuck Berry: "Maybelline" Big Brother & The Holding Company (w/ Janis Joplin): "Piece Of My Heart" James Brown: "Please Please Please" Buffalo Springfield: "For What It's Worth" The Byrds: "Turn Turn Turn" Chambers Brothers: "People Get Ready" Ray Charles: "Lonely Avenue" Eric Clapton: "Ramblin' On My Mind" The Coasters: "Poison Ivy" Joe Cocker: "Let's Go Get Stoned" Cold Blood: "I Just Want To Make Love To You" Sam Cooke: "Bring It On Home To Me" Country Joe And The Fish: "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" Cream: "Crossroad" Creedence Clearwater Revival: "I Put A Spell On You" David Crosby: "What Are Their Names" Crosby Stills & Nash: "Helplessly Hoping" Crosby Stills Nash & Young: "Country Girl" Sheryl Crow: "Strong Enough" Miles Davis: "So What" Derek And The Dominos: "Nobody Loves You When You're Down And Out" Dire Straits: "Telegraph Road" Dixie Dregs: "Night Meets Light" The Doors: "Light My Fire" (long version) The Drifters: "Under The Boardwalk" Bob Dylan: "Ballad Of A Thin Man" The Eagles: "Tequila Sunrise" The Everly Brothers: "All I Have To Do Is Dream" Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong: “Summertime” Bela Fleck & The Flecktones: "Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo" The Four Tops: "Bernadette" Aretha Franklin: "Doctor Feelgood" Peter Gabriel: "Blood Of Eden" Jerry Garcia: "Deal" Marvin Gaye: "Can I Get A Witness" Grateful Dead: "Dark Star" Jimi Hendrix: "All Along The Watchtower" Bruce Hornsby: "What The Hell Happened To Me" Hot Tuna: "Hesitation Blues" Howlin' Wolf: "Little Red Rooster" It's A Beautiful Day: "White Bird" Joe Jackson: "Chinatown" Jefferson Airplane: "Comin' Back To Me" B.B. King: "How Blue Can You Get" Carole King: "It's Too Late" Al Kooper: "How 'My Ever Gonna Get Over You" Leo Kottke: "Saginaw, Michigan" Alison Krauss: "Maybe" Alison Krauss & James Taylor: "How's The World Treating You" kd lang: "Constant Craving" John Lennon: "Imagine" Little Feat: "Willin'" John McLaughlin: "Lotus On An Irish Stream" Joni Mitchell: "Edith And The Kingpin" Moby Grape: "Three Four" Van Morrison: "Tupelo Honey" Steve Morse: "Highland Wedding" Randy Newman: "Political Science" New Riders Of The Purple Sage: "Panama Red" Old & In The Way: "The Hobo Song" Alan Parsons Project: "Eye In The Sky" Phish: "Back On The Train" Wilson Pickett: "In The Midnight Hour" Pink Floyd: "Comfortably Numb" Poco: "Anyway Bye Bye" Prince: "Little Red Corvette" Procol Harum: "Whiter Shade Of Pale" Quicksilver Messenger Service: "Mona" Bonnie Raitt: "I Can't Make You Love Me" Otis Redding: "Try A Little Tenderness" Return To Forever: "Romantic Warrior" Smokey Robinson & The Miracles: "Cruisin'" Rolling Stones: "Satisfaction" Todd Rundgren: "Black Maria" Sam & Dave: "Soul Man" Boz Scaggs: "Loan Me A Dime" Seatrain: "Job" Seldom Scene: "Old Crossroads" Paul Simon: "Under African Skies" Simon & Garfunkel: "The Boxer" Sly & The Family Stone: "Dance To The Music" Sons Of Champlin: "Get High" Spirit: "Nature's Way" Steven Stills: "Black Queen" The Temptations: "Ain't To Proud To Beg" Tower Of Power: "Down To The Nightclub" Pete Townshend: "Slit Skirts" Traffic: "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" Steve Vai: "Lotus Feet" Muddy Waters: "The Same Thing" The Who: "Behind Blue Eyes" Stevie Wonder: "Evil" Yes: "Your Move" The Youngbloods: "Darkness Darkness" Frank Zappa: "Inca Roads" Las Trancas Vineyard (Photo Essay)I pass Las Trancas Vineyard all the time, almost daily. It's located between where I live and the northeast corner of Napa. I've been taking photographs of it for most of the year, starting in early April just as the first growth of leaves began after the dormant winter. This is the same vineyard that I was fortunate enough to catch at harvest on October 7, which provided me the photos I blogged a week or so ago.                              The Growing Season Of A Vineyard Down The Road From Where I Live (Photo Essay)I often pass this nearby vineyard on my way to and from town. It's right down the road from where I live. I began taking photos of these Cabernet Sauvignon vines in February, when they were dormant. I liked the contrast between the curving, rolling natural shape of the hill, and the straight, orderly symmetrical lines of the rows of vines. I took periodic photos until the beginning of October. A few days after my last shots, the grapes were harvested.                              A Little Bit Too Much Peter Gabriel For ILustYou ...... I always say, "If you're gonna do something, might as well overdo it."Here's five Peter Gabriel Clips. First, the official "Sledgehammer" video that made such as splash a zillion years ago on MTV. It's pretty antiquated now, but still pretty cool. And of course, a great song. Next, three live 1993 tracks (GAWD! I can't believe these things were sixteen frickin' years ago!!!). This will show how this guy puts a great show together. The first of the three is a beautiful duet with Paula Cole, called "Blood Of Eden." Next are two group efforts, both of which show how this group can really work the audience around without being all "Lemme seeya putya hands togethah" cornball. They do it simply with the power of the performance and the song: "Shaking The Tree" and "Solsbury Hill." Last, and if you have to skip anything, THIS ONE IS THE ONE NOT TO SKIP!!!!!! "In My Eyes," videotaped during the 1988 Amnesty International concert in Buenas Aires. This one is the full blown, uber performance, with dancers, singers, and a wildly enthusiastic audience of major soccer-stadium size. It's just an unbelievable performance. I'll say it again: If you have to skip anything, THIS ONE IS THE ONE NOT TO SKIP!!!!!! And by the way, if you happen not to be ILustYou, feel free to indulge as well. There's enough for everyone. Sledgehammer Blood Of Eden Shaking The Tree Solsbury Hill In Your Eyes ... DON'T YOU DARE SKIP THIS VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Las Trancas Vineyards Harvest Of Napa Valley Chardonnay Grapes (Photo Essay)I pass Las Trancas Vineyards nearly daily, going to and coming from town. It’s a small/medium sized vineyard, perhaps 30-40 acres/12-16 hectares, very typical of vineyards in this area. Because of its convenient location, I’ve been regularly stopping and taking photos throughout the growing season, a few of which I’ve posted in my Picture Gallery.As harvest season came, I was a little frustrated because I wanted to capture pictures of the actual harvesting process, but never seemed to come across any easily photographed harvesting activity, even on a day when I spent the entire afternoon driving around Napa Valley taking pictures. I was taking a typical drive into town on an errand in the early afternoon of October 7, 2009. As I came to the corner where Las Trancas Vineyard is located, I saw that a crew was harvesting the vineyard’s ripened Chardonnay grapes. I quickly pulled the car over, jumped out with camera in hand, and began clicking away. The owner of the vineyard arrived shortly after I started taking pictures. (If you look closely at the left edge of the very first photo, you can see his pickup truck off in the distance heading our way.) I hoped he wouldn't kick me off the property. I'd already talked for a few moments with the crew boss, and I could tell from the glances that I was getting while they were walking around inspecting the crew that he was asking about me. After taking care of business with his workers, he came over and chatted with me for a little bit. He was a friendly guy, obviously proud of his vineyard, and seemed a little bit flattered when I told him that I'd been photographing his vines all year. He told me that he wouldn't mind my taking photos so long as I stayed out of the way, which I was happy to do.             One Year Ago Today ...Today is October 16, 2009. One year ago today my father died. He essentially died of old age, but the medical description of his death was a failure of his cardio-respiratory system. His lungs and heart were just too old and tired to continue. They didn’t fail him all at once in a dramatic episode, but gradually, over the course of perhaps twenty years, and the rate at which they failed him increased severely in his last year. He was ninety-three years old. His life is worth reading about. Really.My dad was of the World War II generation. The generation of the Great Depression. He was born in the backwoods of Southern Kentucky near the small town of Corbin in 1915. Corbin is still fairly small today, with nearly 9,000 residents in the town proper. It must have been tiny in 1915. Corbin is, incidentally, the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. My my father’s father was a farmer, who raised the same thing everyone else in the area raised: tobacco, vegetables, hogs, etc. My grandmother gave birth to thirteen children, the first of whom died at birth. That’s right. Thirteen. My dad had three brothers and eight sisters. He was the third child born in his family. They had an outhouse, a well you dropped a bucket on a rope into, a mule, all of the cliché turn-of-the-century-type American farm things found in a backwoods hick farm in Southern Kentucky. When my dad became old enough to chart the course to his own life, he decided that his future lay somewhere other than Corbin, Kentucky. And the easiest way to get out of a place like Corbin, Kentucky was to enlist in America’s armed forces. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1940. He chose the Navy rather than the Marines or Army because he thought it would be a better proposition to be able to sleep between clean sheets instead of a hole in the ground. (There wasn’t a U.S. Air Force in 1940, or he would likely have joined that.) My dad was assigned to a heavy cruiser, the U.S.S. Chicago (CA-29), which was part of the Pacific Fleet, based in Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. He was ambitious, and he opted to take whatever training courses were available. He was enrolled in a fire-fighting course on December 7, 1941, and was onshore studying, learning about firefighting techniques and such. His ship was on patrol in the Pacific. As many readers know, that was a fateful day, the day that the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor and the USA entered into World War II. My dad watched the carnage from the hillside where his barracks was located. The Chicago, and my dad, went to war. The first major battle they were involved in was the Battle of Coral Sea. The conquering of Australia was a part of the Japanese war plan, and this battle prevented that from happening. Although this battle is considered a tie by some historians, Coral Sea marks the point in which the Japanese Empire, which had been inexhorably expanding for nearly two decades, was finally brought to a halt. It was a critical step in the American war plan to defeat the Japanese. The Chicago was then sent northward, to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, where another important, but little known battle took place. Few, other than World War II buffs, know that the Japanese invaded and occupied two islands in that chain. The Chicago was part of the effort to destroy that occupying force. While the Chicago was in Alaskan waters, much further to the south the very well known Battle of Midway took place. It was the single major naval battle in the Pacific that my dad didn’t take some sort of part in. The Chicago’s next battle was a fateful one for the ship, and for my dad. U.S. forces invaded the Japanese stronghold on a shitty little hell-hole of an island called Guadalcanal. This place was no tropical Pacific paradise. It was filled with rotting jungle, typhoid, malaria, and was a horrible place for the soldiers and Marines that fought there, as well as the Japanese who sought to retain their hold on it. It wasn’t much better for the naval forces. While they had just suffered a decisive defeat at Midway, the Japanese were holding tenaciously onto the South Pacific. Guadalcanal became one of those places where the Japanese invaded, the Allies invaded to repel them, the Japanese poured forces in the area to repel the Allies, the Allies poured forces in to repel the Japanese, and suddenly this little shitty island had a very big battle happening on and around it. At that particular time, the Japanese had a couple of decades of continual training and fighting naval battles, and they were particularly expert in nighttime naval fighting. And at that time, Japanese destroyers and cruisers were using what was called a “Long Lance” torpedo, a huge weapon, with a very long range, and packing a huge explosive warhead. While the battle as a whole has come to be known as Guadalcanal, there were numerous smaller battles within that battle. One of them took place on August 8, 1942, and is known as the Battle for Savo Island, yet another of the many Islands in Solomon Islands chain with Guadalcanal. A group of Allied ships, including the Chicago, were ambushed at night by an opposing Japanese force. The Japanese first did a flyover, dropping flares to illuminate the Allied ships. The Japanese attacked with gunfire and torpedos, sinking three cruisers, damaging other ships, and wounding and killing many. The Chicago was struck in her bow by a Long Lance, blowing the bow completely off of the cruiser. The concussion resulting from the explosion of this torpedo severely damaged the inside of my father’s ears. As a result, he lost much of the hearing in one ear, and almost all of the hearing in the other. The carnage on the Chicago and the other ships was, of course, horrible. While my dad may have joined the Navy to be able to sleep in a bed, he was on a ship in the largest, most vicious naval battle in history. What happens to the human victims of these kinds of battles is unimaginable. The Chicago, minus its bow, made its way to Sydney, where it underwent some initial repairs, then steamed for San Francisco, where a new bow was fabricated and attached. This layover in San Francisco was another critical juncture in my dad’s life. It was here and then that my dad met my mom. They had been fixed up on a double blind date with another couple, but weren’t partnered with each other. It turned out that my dad and my mom both had eyes on their friends’ dates. My dad took note of where my mom lived, and the next day was knocking on her door. They went out on a date soon afterwards, and that was that. They got married. Just like that. My dad took a wartime bride. The Chicago was repaired, and my dad left his new wife behind as they set off for war again. (This is the cool part of this story!) My mom, and many others, went down to the docks to see the ship off, and after it left, she just sat down on a bench, not wanting to go home, while everyone else left. A shore patrolman asked her what she was doing, and she told him she didn’t want to leave just yet. He tried to persuade her to go, but she refused, so the patrolman left her alone and just went on his way. The Chicago left San Francisco Bay, steaming out into the Pacific, and immediately developed some sort of mechanical problem which caused it to have to turn around and return to San Francisco within a matter of hours. As the ship neared the same mooring it had just left, my dad was beckoned by a small group of sailors on deck who had a pair of binoculars. “Hey Chief! Take a look at this good looking girl sitting there on the dock!” My dad took the binoculars, looked, and said, “That’s my wife!” So they got a few more days together, and then it was back off into the fight for my dad. The Chicago was escorting a convoy bound for the ongoing battle in Guadalcanal, and was again attacked by a Japanese force at night. In another “battle within a battle,” this time called the Battle of Rennell Island, two Japanese planes were shot down. The light of these burning planes illuminated the Chicago, and she was again torpedoed, this time twice, and was damaged far more severely than before, losing power and flooding badly. Although the crew was able to stem the flooding and stop a list, she was dead in the water. Taken under tow and heading for Pearl Harbor, the Chicago was attacked again the next day, this time by aircraft, took four more torpedos, and sank. My dad, along with nearly a thousand other sailors, spent a harrowing night floating around in the Pacific Ocean before being picked up the next day by other ships. He was shipped back to San Francisco again. Got a little bit more time with my mom again. And was assigned to another cruiser, a light cruiser this time, the brand new U.S.S. Santa Fe (CL-60). And back to war he went. By this time, the Japanese were being rolled back. The carnage continued, but for the most part, the naval battles were being won by the U.S Navy. The Pacific Fleet pushed the Japanese out of the Solomon Islands, out of the Gilbert Islands, out of New Guinea, out of the Marshalls, and the Marianas. The Pacific Fleet was huge by this time. The Santa Fe was just one of hundreds and hundreds of ships pushing the Japanese out of their conquered territory. The Santa Fe had a part in every remaining major naval battle of World War II. This was the time when the Japanese began using a new and terrible tactic, the Kamikaze, a human flying bomb on a one-way mission. In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, my dad was at his battle station. He was a “talker.” Orders to gunners would go from the officers controlling the combat to various talkers, who would then relay those orders to the various gun stations. My dad would be stationed in a “tub,” a round ring of protective steel, where he would watch the action, relay information back and forth between the gunners and the gunnery officers. On one occasion, some planes appeared in the distance on a bearing straight for the Santa Fe. As my dad described to me, all of the guns on that side of his ship began firing at these planes. Other nearby ships were also shooting at this group of planes, and they began falling in flames into the sea. One plane, however, just kept coming, pieces of it falling off, flames coming out of it. From the tub where my dad sat, watching this, it appeared that the plane was coming directly at his face. He was sure he was going to be killed, and could do nothing but watch it come in at him. The plane flew directly over his head, barely over the top of the Santa Fe, continued a short distance further and hit one of the Fleet’s destroyers amidships. The destroyer blew up, and a minute or so later, when the dark cloud of smoke had been dispersed by the wind, the ship simply was vanished. When in war, every man has a “buddy,” a friend, someone he’s close to, pals around with, confides in, gets drunk with on shore leave. It’s a psychological necessity, I suppose. My dad had a buddy on the Santa Fe. He was killed. I saw my dad cry twice in my life, at my mom’s funeral, and when he told me about this guy getting killed. It turned out that when a Japanese plane strafed the Santa Fe, this guy had a good portion of his head shot away. Because a battle was ensuing, the guy’s body was simply shoved into a nearby compartment. Later, after the combat had stopped, my dad tried to track down his buddy, and learned that he’d been killed. He was told he’d had his head blown off and his body was in such-and-such compartment. My dad found his friend, his head an obscene mess of skull, brains, and blood. But the guy was alive! He was breathing. But he was dead. He might have been breathing, but he was a dead man. He lived for nearly a full day before finally giving up and dying. Like the other casualties of naval combat, he was buried at sea, sewn into a canvas sail, given a simple group ceremony, some Scriptures read, and then dropped, feet first, over the side. Later in the war, during the Battle of Okinawa, the Santa Fe was patrolling off of the coast of Japan and was attacked again by Kamikaze. This time a plane, fortunately not carrying a bomb, hit the fantail of the Santa Fe with a glancing blow, skipped off of the ship and into the ocean. At this same time, a Japanese plane managed to penetrate fleet defenses and bomb the U.S.S. Franklin, an Essex-class aircraft carrier, stopping it dead and nearly sinking it. 724 were killed and 265 were wounded. The Santa Fe was driven up alongside the Franklin, and held there as hundreds of crewmen were transferred to my dad’s ship while fires were raging and things were blowing up. My dad described the scene afterward, as dying and wounded were simply laid on decks and in passageways, the crew of the Santa Fe having to step around them. One of the most familiar photos taken in the war is of the Franklin, taken by a photographer aboard the Santa Fe, the aircraft carrier burning fiercely, with a huge list, flight deck crowded with surviving crew members waiting as the Santa Fe makes its approach. Finally the war came to a close. Tokyo Bay was filled with ships from the Pacific Fleet as Japanese officials boarded the battleship USS Missouri and signed the surrender. The Santa Fe was one of the many Fleet ships in Tokyo Bay. My father was there for the first day of World War II, and was there for the last, just one of thousands, millions, who saved the world for us. After the war, he decided to stay in the Navy. He was a chief petty officer, the equivalent of a sergeant in the Army or Marines. He liked the Navy, and decided to make it his life. My mom became a Navy wife. The years after the war were tough on Navy wives. They stayed at home while their husbands sailed around, returning for short stays, then shipping out again and again. There was another war that followed World War II, the one in Korea. Luckily for my father, this one wasn’t a naval war, and the terrible experiences of the previous war didn’t continue for him. During this war, in 1951, my sister was born. A couple of years later, in 1953, I came along too. We were a Navy family, and moved around frequently as military families do. We lived in Long Beach, in Southern California (twice), in Bremerton, Washington, and in Norfolk, Virginia. Then my dad was stationed in, of all places, Adak, Alaska, in 1957. This is one of the Aleutian Islands, in the same chain of islands where the Chicago had done battle with the Japanese years earlier. We lived there for a year. Then it was back to Long Beach for a year. Then four years in Japan, where my dad was stationed at a Naval air base. We moved around a lot. Finally, our family took root. My dad was stationed at the now defunct Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California, about a forty-five minute drive north of San Francisco. Within a couple of months, my parents bought a home in nearby Napa, the town I live in now. It was a pretty normal American house, on a suburban street, in a middle class neighborhood. By this time my Dad had long been a Master Chief with an “E-9” pay rating, as far up the Navy chain as you can go without being an officer. (His ruined hearing had long ago ruled out any possibility of an officer’s commission.) He stayed in the Navy until 1970, when he retired after a thirty year career. My dad’s Navy vocation was pretty unromantic. He was a storekeeper. Aboard ship, as one would expect, stores are kept, everything from lumber to engine parts to kitchen utensils to shoelaces. Someone has to keep track of these stores, and that was the unromantic, utilitarian job of my dad. When he left the Navy, he got a job with the City of Vallejo, in their Water Department, essentially doing the same thing as he’d done with the Navy. You needed a certain kind of valve, a shipment of concrete sewer pipe, tires for the truck, etc. he was the guy to see. After eleven years there, he finally retired for good. Just before retiring from the Navy, in 1969, my folks bought a second place, in the outskirts of Napa, with almost five acres of land. This was my dad’s dream, to live out of town, to have a place in the country, so to speak, where my sister could have a horse. Where he could experiment with raising a few head of Angus cattle, plant some fruit trees, have a barn, build some fences, that sort of thing. My dad always had a fondness for doing physically laborious work. He actually enjoyed working with a pick and shovel. He liked cutting limbs off of trees. He liked building fences. He liked painting. He just liked doing things like that. And his place in the country allowed him all sorts of that kind of work. He loved it. About ten years ago, my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That’s a very bad form of cancer. Usually it isn’t diagnosed until it’s simply too late and there’s virtually no hope of survival. That was the case with my mom. Luckily, it took her very, very quickly, so there wasn’t a prolonged period of suffering. It broke my dad’s heart. Can you imagine losing your wife of fifty-seven years? But he managed to get by. He was eight-four years old when my mom died, and his health wasn’t very good. His hearing had continued to degenerate, to the point that he was nearly deaf. He contracted cataracts on his eyes, and his eyesight deteriorated until his sight was so bad as to render him unable to read, barely able to watch TV, etc. And finally he had to slow down on the physical work. He was simply too old. After my mom died, I stepped in and became his right-hand man. I was his chauffeur, his office manager, his check-writer, his telephone answerer, his anything-he-couldn’t-do-very-well-himself-man. The last thing he wanted to do was go into an “old folks home,” and with me there, he didn’t have to. Not until the end. Finally, his state of health became a series of crises, hospitalizations, until they became one continual crisis. For the last month or so of his life, he lived in an “assisted living facility,” the dreaded “old folks home,” in the neighboring town of Sonoma. He was so unhappy. He was miserable. He just hated it. His body was failing him badly, and it embarrassed him. He had no control of his life anymore. He was terribly bitter. I drove over to see him daily. It was just so sad. It finally ended in one last crisis. He couldn’t breath. His heart wouldn’t work. He was in an intensive care unit in a Sonoma hospital, gasping for each breath. He had this mask thing on, delivering the oxygen to him to keep him alive. He’d had enough. He wanted to die. It was his time. We had a minister brought in, and he had his talk with her. Then the doctors administered morphine to lessen the discomfort as much as possible, and the breathing apparatus was removed. And so my dad died. Over the last weeks, we’ve been sliding inexorably from summer into autumn. The leaves are turning colors, and dropping off of the trees. The vineyards are harvesting, and the vines are also turning colors, beautiful mixtures of greens, yellows, reds, and browns. Over these last few weeks as the seasons have changed, as the vineyards have exploded into riots of color, I’ve thought about how it was a year ago, how I would enjoy the drive between Napa and where my dad was in Sonoma. It’s a beautiful drive any time of year, but now, with the colors and the mild weather, it’s nothing short of spectacular. I would enjoy that drive, and I would dread my arrival to his old folks’ home, and his sad, short life there. I love my dad dearly, and I miss him so much. He seemed to be nothing special in the way one looks at the entirety of the world around us … but I know better. He was an amazing man. He came from a place of so little, and through nothing more than his will and his love of working his damn ass off his entire life, he made a beautiful world, and an unbelievably beautiful life, for himself, his war bride, and his two kids. I weep as I type this final word. My Top Five ListsMy top five numbers:5. 5 4. 1 3. 7,246,309,406,311,264,888,309,808,240.3 2. 0 1. 69 My top five letters: 5. T 4. U 3. R 2. D 1. Z My top five elements: 5. Helium 4. Gold 3. Zirconium 2. Tin 1. Einsteinium My top five emots: 5:  4.  3.  2.  1.  My top five musical keys: 5. B 4. C 3. A flat 2. G sharp 1. E My top five silly words: 5. Plook 4. Fucktard 3. Tallywacker 2. Doofus 1. Nincompoopery My top five automobile engine parts: 5. Spark plug 4. Rocker arm 3. Distributor cap 2. Oil pan 1. Crankshaft My top five punctuation marks: 5. : 4. . 3. ( ) 2. ? 1. ! My top five things on the moon: 5. Dust 4. Rocks 3. Craters 2. American Flags 1. Vacuum My top five pieces of silverware: 5. Knife 4. Spoon 3. Salad fork 2. Tea spoon 1. Fork My top five tasteless names I’d name my punk band if I had one: 5. The Boogers 4. The Hairy Scrotum 3. The Zits 2. The Phlegm 1. Smegma On Toast My top five days of the week: 5. Saturday 4. Sunday 3. Thursday 2. Wednesday 1. Friday My top five reasons that I love barnstorming_girl: 5. Her typos 4. Because she’s so goofy 3. Because it’s impossible not to 2. Because she’s a loving mother 1. Because she loves me Way Too Much Information On Growing Wine Grapes In The Napa Valley (YouTube)#1#2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 Before & After: A Photo EssayRow 1 > Left Photo: January 30, 2009 - Looking across my nextdoor neighbors' field to a nearby hillside; Right Photo: The same view on July 2, 2009Row 2 > Left Photo: April 3, 2009 - The strange looking flowers on one of my Walnut Trees; Right Photo: Mature Walnuts photographed on July 26, 2009 (The familiar looking brown Walnut shell with the nut inside is encased within the green skin seen in the photo.) Row 3 > Left Photo: April 18, 2009 - A beautiful flowering weed, about a meter/yard tall, with the lovely purple blossom seen in the photo; Right Photo: What that beautiful blossom turns onto in less than a month, photographed on May 13, 2009 Row 4 > Left Photo: February 21, 2009 - Plum blossoms; Right Photo: The resulting yellow plums, photographed on June 7, 2009 ... Mmm! Tasty! Row 5 > Left Photo: March 6, 2009 - A blossoming plum tree; Right Photo: The resulting purple plums, photographed on July 26, 2009 ... Mmm! Tasty! Row 6 > Left Photo: March 6, 2009 - Apple blossoms; Right Photo: The resulting apples, photographed on August 28, 2009 ... not as tasty as the plums ... Row 7 > Left Photo: March 29, 2009 - Pear blossoms; Right Photo: The resulting pears, photographed on July 21, 2009 ... Mmm! Tasty! Row 8 > Left Photo: March 6, 2009 - Peach blossoms; Right Photo: The resulting peaches, photographed on August 28, 2009 ... mediocre, kind of small this year. Disappointing ... Row 9 > Left Photo: January 26, 2009 - The evil, nasty, troublesome weed, early in the year, when it looks quite pretty and harmless; Right Photo: The evil, nasty, troublesome weed, photographed on October 6, 2009, at it's worst. I took an old sock and simply touched it lightly to the dried evil, nasty troublesome weed. You can plainly see why this weed spreads very easily. Roy 10 > (the only two photos in this essay not made on my property) January 26, 2009: Shafer Vineyards, with Castle Rock and Stag's Leap in the background (dormant vines); the same view shortly before harvest, photographed on October 6, 2009.                    
          Around My Place IV, Part OneThese are photos that I took on my property between June 5 and July 26, 2009. They were originally posted in my photo gallery, and then as space ran out, moved over here to this blog. The comments shown below originally were attached to those photos. In a few cases, the comments are disjointed. This is because as people delete their WireClub accounts, their comments leave with them.Photo #01: Honey Bee > ThatGirl says June 14: Bzzzzzzzzzzzz instant death for Holly... > Karma says June 14: Nice photo > Karma says June 14: I've got an epi-pen right here for you Honey. > StuckInTheSixties says August 03: That's true, and it isn't garnering the concern that it should. Without bees, unless we're going to limit ourselves to eating only rice, wheat and other plants with wind-borne pollen, we're going to be in trouble. Not to mention the rest of the planet. Photo #02: Panoramic photo taken from my porch (No comments) Photo #03: California Kingsnake #1 > PTBO52 says June 17: Are they poisonous? > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: Nope. In fact, they're immune to snake venom (hence their name), so if they get the opportunity, they will eat venomous snakes. > Outbackjack says June 17: Interesting. Photo #04: California Kingsnake #2 > Dawn says June 17: wow kewl. We don't have those over here... i'd be scared of being bitten tho > ThatGirl says June 17: 1. are you mad? pick up a snake? I take it they're not venemous? 2. they sht all over people? I never knew this... > ThatGirl says June 17: 3. omg that's taller than me! > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: 1. Meh ... they're harmless. Non-venomous, but interestingly, Kingsnakes are immune to snake venom (hence their name) and actually will eat a venomous snake if it can. The bite from one that size, though, isn't too pleasant. Lots of needlesharp little teeth, and the bite gets a little red and irritated, perhaps from something in the saliva, perhaps just because they have dirty mouths, I don't know. If I come across a smaller one, I'll grab it and make some decent photos. 2. Yeah, in my experience, when a wild snake is first picked up, it generally shits all over your hand. Even if you grab it up there right behind the head, it'll coil up on you and wipe shit all over. Defensive mechanism. Smells kind of musky. It's not horrible, but not particularly pleasant, either. For some reason, in my experience, lizards don't tend to do that, at least not as much. 3. Yeah, he was a big one. Biggest Kingsnake I've seen yet on this property. He might be the same one I saw last year that was slightly smaller, but that was at the other end of the property, about 700 feet/213 meters away. > barnestorming_girl says June 17: wow they are interesting snakes! that's a long one. I'm glad you let it go on his merry way … Have you eva seen a snake eat a rat in one bite? It's amazing to see. > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: Yeah, it's cool. When I was a kid, I had pet snakes, Gopher Snakes. I would feed them "pinkie mice," little baby nearly hairless mice that wouldn't fight back. > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: I just located a YouTube vid of a California Kingsnake eating a live mouse, tail first. (laughs) It's pretty sick when his little face disappears down the snake's mouth. Should I post it? > barnestorming_girl says June 17: lmfao It mite put some people off! but it is great to see how they eat them, and you see the rat going slowly down the snakes body! > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: Yeah, I'm not gonna post it. (laughs) Sick-seekers, you've been advised! Go find it yourselves! > badgirl_72 says June 17: damm well i would be too scared to move let alone take a photo awesome pic though and your nuts for wanting to move it but if you have already had a pet snake when you were younger then you wouldn't have the fear as i do. xxx badgirl > StuckInTheSixties says June 17: I had DOZENS of pet snakes when I was younger. I would always keep them around for a while, and then let them go again. They don't bother me at all. And if they're little, it's actually kind of funny to have them try to bite you. It doesn't hurt, it's just a little ... weird ... I'll tell ya what ... If I catch a little one, it'll try to bite me, for sure. That's what they do. So if possible, I'll try to have the camera so that I can get a pic of his little snake head clamping down on me! (laughs) Photo #05: California Kingsnake #3 > Karma says June 17: Very cool Photo #06: Mt. George, interesting clouds, and a turkey vulture No comments Photo #07: Moo! My neighbor Gordon's Angus cow > Karma says June 28: Long cow Photo #08: Western Fence Swift (note that he lost the end of his tail) > Karma says June 28: Nifty > StuckInTheSixties says June 28: Spiffy. Photo #09: I get my place mowed every year ... fire prevention & suppression. Look how tall the dry grass is .. > Outbackjack says July 03:Interesting. The slasher has a wheel on the back as well as hydraulics.But then again I am used to driving 50 year old tractors.lol. > StuckInTheSixties says July 03: This kind of relates to the next photo, the sign about fireworks being illegal. > Outbackjack says July 03: When there is firebans we have machinery movement prohibited. > StuckInTheSixties says July 03: Yeah, ironically, sometimes machinery for reducing fire danger hits a rock or something, striking a spark and starting a fire. Usually, I try to get my place done in mid-May, but a miscommunication caused me to get bumped to the end of the line. The cutting was done on June 28, 18 days beyond the fire department's deadline. I'm lucky I didn't get hassled, and with the grass getting as high as you can see in the picture, I was getting pretty a little nervous. Luckily, weather conditions haven't been too bad. When you get abnormally low humidity combined with wind, it's time to worry. > PTBO52 says July 03: Yes, that looks like a fire just waiting to happen! You can have all our rain here. Been raining since last Sunday but sun now finally coming out!! Photo #10: Can you guess what this image is? (#3) > ThatGirl says July 04: Smirky's brainwaves? > PeopleAreStrange says July 04: a hair magnifyed or carpet fibers??Just a guess > missteree7 says July 04: something growing on a wall? > barnestorming_girl says July 04: I think I need another drink!!! or something stronger!!! lmao > barnestorming_girl says July 06: you took a photo of fire works??? > StuckInTheSixties says July 06: Bingo!!!!!!!!!!!! > barnestorming_girl says July 06: Did I get it right??? > StuckInTheSixties says July 06: You did, indeed get it right. This is a photograph of fireworks. *National anthem of Australia plays* *places the Gold medal around Barnsie's neck, kisses her on each cheek, shakes her hand* > barnestorming_girl says July 06: lmfao darling ... waaaahoooooooo I got gold medal!!!!!!  *big smiles* Thanku Thanku Takes a bow!!!! lmfao> StuckInTheSixties says July 06: This was my third "Can you guess what this image is." The other two remain unguessed. Photo #11: Cars leaving after the big fireworks show at nearby Silverado Resort > barnestorming_girl says July 08: That is a great Photo > StuckInTheSixties says July 09: My camera, a cheapy little Kodak, has a series of settings, such as this one, for night photography. There was a pickup truck parked there, and I was able to lean against it, place the camera on the edge of the bed, and hold it very steady. Photo #12: Mr. Jack Rabbit > ThatGirl says July 07: How do you know he's a boy? > StuckInTheSixties says July 07: I asked myself that too. I dunno. Bugs bunny maybe? > Karma says July 07: How do you know his first name? > barnestorming_girl says July 08: Rabbit loaf!!!! lmfao > StuckInTheSixties says July 08: Bunny loaf! (laughs) Karma, he's a jackrabbit. Jackrabbits are named "Jack." It's part of God's order of things. > niamhis says September 08: hmmmm i actually think its a hare lol wit the black markings on the ears and the size of them haha .. but i cud be wrong > StuckInTheSixties says September 08: I think that jackrabbit is essentially the same thing as a hare. niamhis says September 08: ah cool i se i see > StuckInTheSixties says September 08: I just Googled it up. This is a Black-Tailed Jackrabbit, which is a type of hare (which is different than a rabbit). It's all in the name. Photo #13: Wild Morning Glories > Karma says July 12: > barnestorming_girl says July 12: beautiful Photo #14: The walnut thief mocks me as he arrogantly consumes his illicitly obtained plunder. > Karma says July 12: Was it from your personal nutsack, SITS? > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: *rolls eyes* Luckily, no. WALNUTS, as the caption says. Sheesh ... > Karma says July 12: Yes, but you say he is a thief. if not from you, than who? > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: That's my walnut tree the little bastard is sitting in. Those are MY WALNUTS, DAMMIT! MINE! Actually, I really like having Walnut trees just for the reason that they feed the squirrels. > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: Earlier in the year, I took some pictures of a blossom in a walnut tree and then took pictures of the resultant walnuts, from that exact blossom, as they developed, with the intent of showing a progression of blossom to ready-to-eat walnuts. They got stolen by the squirrels. > barnestorming_girl says July 12: The little bugga, tell him to leave your nuts alone!!! lmao > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: (laughs) meh ... if he wants to nibble at my nuts, I'll indulge him ... > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: He turned his back, lifted his tail, and cut a little squirrel fart ... Bastard! Photo #15: (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #1. 3:10 PM: As I was returning from town, I saw that a fire had broken out, about a mile and a quarter/ two kilometers from where I live. > PTBO52 says July 16: Looks really dry there? > StuckInTheSixties says July 16: It's very dry here. The rain stops in May (sometimes in April) and won't start again until October (sometimes November). > Outbackjack says July 17: Uh oh!!!!! > missteree7 says July 17: Your very close !! Photo #16: (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #2. 3:13 PM : As I take photos, I can hear sirens coming, from the nearby firehouse, and also from the Cal Fire Station about 6 miles/10 kilometers up-valley. I can also now see that three fixed-wing Cal Fire aircraft are arriving on scene. > PTBO52 says July 16: Scary! > missteree7 says July 17: theres a river or ocean handy???? > StuckInTheSixties says July 17: There are many artificial "ponds" used for holding water used in vineyards nearby. I've seen firefighting in the past where helicopters with "buckets" hanging below would dip into these ponds, and then fly over to the flames to make their dump. As fires go, this one was relatively minor. There was easy access to the fire area, and it was squelched rather quickly. If fire breaks out up there on the hillsides, it's a completely different situation. There's much more fuel to burn up there, and it's much harder for the firefighters to get to the scene. Photo #17 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #3. 3:18 PM: As one of the fixed-wing aircraft circles far over head directing the others, one of them comes in low for a pass. > missteree7 says July 17: its a wonder he can see anything Photo #18 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #4. 3:18 PM: The aircraft has dropped his load of fire retardant, probably in a line between the fire and someone’s house hidden in the trees. > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: Luckily, there was only the slightest breeze > missteree7 says July 17: fire retardent??? > StuckInTheSixties says July 17: It's that red stuff you see in the picture. It's a (relatively) eco-friendly chemical solution that makes the place where it lands much harder to burn. The nature of this photo is somewhat misleading. The fire retardant looks like a plume of red smoke in the picture, but in actuality, it is a liquid that has been dropped by the aircraft and is now decending in a line. Photo #19 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #5. 3:24 PM: As I’m shooting photos, suddenly a couple of Cal Fire vehicles roar by on the road. My camera is zoomed for the long-distance shots of the fire, and I have no opportunity to adjust it. Instinctively, I simply turn and shoot. This is the result, a dozer being hauled to the fire flying past. > PTBO52 says July 16: It can spread so fast > missteree7 says July 17: a flying dozer..... > StuckInTheSixties says July 17: Hahaha! Flying in the poetic sense. It was being driven by on a large flatbed truck roared past. If you look at the picture of the Cal Fire truck, you can sort of get a sense of the fact that I was taking the photos from only a few feet off the side of the road. Photo #20 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #6. 3:28 PM: A team of fire-fighters have arrived, and the spotting helicopter directs them from above. > missteree7 says July 17: Photo #21 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #7. 3:33 PM: This is a grainy close-up of the Cal Fire spotting helicopter. > PTBO52 says July 16: Taken very seriously for sure. > missteree7 says July 17: over there over there.... Photo #22 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #8. 3:36 PM: A Cal Fire crew parks in front of my next door neighbor’s house. Presumably, the quick work of the firefighters on scene precluded the need for these guys. Note the “Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation” designation. This truck is carrying jail inmates serving sentences for non-violent crimes that have stayed out of trouble while incarcerated, and are probably working to reduce their sentences. > Doodsy says July 15: Sounds like a good plan......maybe we should have a similair plan here..... > PTBO52 says July 16: Does sound like a good plan. > missteree7 says July 17: and they get to do a public service...... or they would have Photo #23 (no caption) > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: #9. 3:40 PM: Although you can’t see them in this picture, firefighters have now managed to contain the fire, which will soon be completely put out. This one was fairly small, and was suppressed and put out in well under an hour. > Doodsy says July 15: That's how they start...then they become big fires sadly........ > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: This is our fire season. All the people who fight fires are primed and ready to respond quite quickly. They have this dance well rehearsed. But if weather conditions are a certain way (hot, dryer than normal, and windy), things can get out of hand very easily. Look at the line of hills in the background (seen much better in other shots). It's hard to see from these photos, but there are numerous VERY expensive homes up there in the hills. The last BIG fire here was in 1977. Look at the hills in these photos, and imagine every square inch of them ablaze, with several hundred luxury homes going up. It was caused by an arsonist, who set four seperate fires that all converged into one big one. > Karma says July 15: Interesting photos. Thanks for sharing them. Are most of the fires in the area arson? > StuckInTheSixties says July 15: Nope. Usually something accidental. > PTBO52 says July 16: Good shots SITS, California has its share of fires like BC here in Canada. The last big fire we had here where I live was 25 yrs. ago. > missteree7 says July 17: I hope they caught that arsonist. > StuckInTheSixties says July 17: No one was ever apprehended for setting the huge 1977 fire. Photo #24: The walnut thief lounges audaciously, mocking me as he lazily digests the stolen fruits of my tree > Karma says July 18: He looks tense > StuckInTheSixties says July 18: To the contrary, he's very relaxed, although he's keeping his eye on me. It was a very hot day, and he was stretched out keeping cool. As a result, I was able to get much closer then he's ever let me get to him before, thus I was able to get a much better photo than my usual squirrel shot. > barnestorming_girl says July 18: and look how relaxed he is from eating your nuts!!!! Lol He looks cute! > PTBO52 says July 18: They must be in heaven having walnut trees!! Good shot SITS!!! > Lina says July 21: When I used to take cookies from the jar and my mama would catch me, I held very still thinking if I just stayed still well enough, she wouldn't see me. I think he had the same idea. > StuckInTheSixties says July 21: It was hot. He was comfortable. He just kept an eye on me, and tolerated my presence. > niamhis says September 08: oh i realllllllllly love this pic > StuckInTheSixties says September 08: I think it's one of the best pictures I've managed to take. Photo #25: The walnut thief scrutinizes me, plotting his next theft, pleasured by my pain > StuckInTheSixties says July 18: Here's another shot of the little bastard. It's not as crisp of a shot, but I like the way he's acknowledging my presence as I'm inching closer and closer to him while clicking of shots. > Lina says July 20: It looks like you woke him from his nap! > StuckInTheSixties says July 21: He was awake, but very, very relaxed. Photo #26: Yet another of my endless series of pictures of Western Fence Swifts > barnestorming_girl says July 19: you know I don't mind spiders,snakes,and some other creepy crawlies! I hate lizards!! lol they make my skin crawl. I have one near me, He keeps coming back to haunt me!! lol with all that said, that is an awesome photo darling.. Photo #27: Western Fence Swift (again) > StuckInTheSixties says July 19: Indeed, he's a reptile. > PTBO52 says July 19: Do you have Gecko's there? > StuckInTheSixties says July 19: We have no geckos in this area. > Karma says July 19: Nice Photo #28: A pair of Western Fence Swifts; notice the skin shedding on the tail of the left one > ThatGirl says July 26: Trevor!! And Suzette!!  > StuckInTheSixties says July 26: ( laughs @ "Suzette" ) > barnestorming_girl says July 26: Clicked on this photo and now gotta clean my pants!!! lol runs for the hills now!!! Lovely photo thou darling.. > Doodsy says July 26: If they were sittin' on top, they'll blend right in......wouldn't know they were there.... > Karma says July 29: Excellent photo Photo #29: Mt. George in fading light > Doodsy says August 02: Wow, what a great shot. > barnestorming_girl says August 03: awesome photo darling Photo #30: My next-door neighbors' interesting tree > Karma says August 06: Like it.                               Around My Place IV, Part TwoThese are photos that I took on my property between July 26 and September 2, 2009. They were originally posted in my photo gallery, and then as space ran out, moved over here to this blog. The comments shown below originally were attached to those photos. In a few cases, the comments are disjointed. This is because as people delete their WireClub accounts, their comments leave with them.Photo #01: The dastardly thief of walnuts gorges himself, mocking me as he enjoys his meal StuckInTheSixties says August 03: If he had the dexterity, what he'd give me is the finger! > Karma says August 06: “You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion, or challenge the ideology of a violet.” - Hal Borland > StuckInTheSixties says August 07: Subversion, schmubversion! He's a damned walnut thief! Look at him! He's eating my nuts! Photo #02: The walnut thief munches on his illicitly obtained meal > Doodsy says August 02: hahahah, cute as. > StuckInTheSixties says August 02: Thievin' varmint will rob you blind ... Photo #03: Grapes grown by my next door neighbor Rugerro - an Italian variety of some sort ... > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: They're still growing. I just really liked the composition of this picture. A combination of different sizes and colors. > Karma says August 09: Great photo. > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: I know right where this one bunch of grapes is, and it's conveniently right next to my entrance road, so I'll try to take a photo every few days or so as it develops. > StuckInTheSixties says August 11: Okay. That photo was taken on 4 August, 2009. I'm gonna post another one from a slightly later date now. Photo #04: More of Rugierro's Italian grapes, pushing through the fence > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: (laughs) You nut! > Karma says August 09: What makes the grapes Italian? > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: They're a variety with an Italian name that I can't remember. It comes from Italy. Rugierro gives me a few bottles of wine every year. Those grapes make for good wine. He's a totally old-school Italian. So when he bought the property and moved in, rather than putting in grapes of the same variety as everyone else in these parts, he brought in some varieties from his neck of the woods. His vineyard is quite small, less than an acre, and he just has his grapes squeezed, barreled, aged, and bottled for himself. It's his hobby. He does all of his own tending. Rugierro talks-a with-a that-a really thick-a Italiano accent-a. Super nice guy. I love having him as my next door neighbor. Photo #05: Grapes grown by my neighbor Rugerro - the same cluster as in the earlier photo > StuckInTheSixties says August 11: Photographed 10 August, 2009 - I'm going to try to photo this cluster of grapes every few days to show how it develops > natowar says August 11: hey old man! nice grapes! > StuckInTheSixties says August 11: Look a few photos down in the gallery to see them a few days ago. You can see how they're developing day by day now. > Outbackjack says August 11: I had an ancient vine at my old place of these same type of grapes.Even though I pruned it once a year it was still huge and provided way too many grapes.My friend used to come over and take some grapes for his homemade wine.He reckoned that those grapes produced the best wine. > Babycool says August 11: I see youve been shining a few of em' pfttt" hahahahahaha. spot ya l8r!*** > StuckInTheSixties says August 11: (laughs) Photo #06: Looking Southwest From My House > barnestorming_girl says August 24: so peaceful and calm Photo #07: Interesting Cloud Formations > barnestorming_girl says August 24: lovely photo darling Photo #08: My neighbor's kitty cat > Raven says August 23: Aaaawww! > barnestorming_girl says August 24: cute > PTBO52 says August 28: Calico, sweet Photo #09: (no caption) > Karma says August 23: Very nice > barnestorming_girl says August 24: awesome > StuckInTheSixties says September 15: Thank you ladies! > CheeseburgerMAN says September 15: Would I be correct in saying that this camera shot is facing the immediate right of your usual weekly shots, Sixties? > StuckInTheSixties says September 15: You would be correct sir! (laughs) Photo #10: (no caption) (no comments) Photo #11: The Walnut Thief stares down at me > Karma says August 23: Do squirrels eat grapes? > StuckInTheSixties says August 23: Hmm ... probably they'd eat a grape, but they prefer nuts. I have some fruit trees, and I never see then pilfering plums or pears. Just my walnuts. > ThatGirl says August 23: Trevor. > barnestorming_girl says August 24: good photo darling Photo #12: I've been documenting the progress of this cluster of Rugierro's grapes: August 12, 2009 (no comments) Photo #13: The same cluster of Rugierro's grapes: August 16, 2009 (no comments) Photo #14: Rugierro's grapes: August 20, 2009 > Karma says August 23: Great photo. Makes me want a glass of vino right now. > StuckInTheSixties says August 23: Yeah, I'm pretty happy with this photo. I'll keep photoing this cluster of grapes every few days or so. > barnestorming_girl says August 24:  now opens a bottle of nice wine!!> StarFlavored says August 24: yum yum! i wish i had some hott piece of ass that couldn't speak english feed these to me! Photo #15: My neighbor Rugierro's grapes:August 14, 2009 > Karma says August 23: The grape shots are great. I love the variations of color. Photo #16: Rugierro's grapes slowly developing: August 16, 2009 (no comments) Photo #17: The same clusters of Rugierro's grapes: August 20, 2009 (no comments) Photo #18: Walnuts against a blue sky > Karma says September 02: All the leaves are gone? > StuckInTheSixties says September 02: Just at the top of this one tree. I look up there all the time, and see these round shapes against the blue of the sky. It appeals to me. I was only marginally satisfied with the photo, though. It pushes the capabilities of the camera. I'd really like to get a nice, sharp, crisp focus, but the camera isn't capable in this circumstance. Photo #19: Clouds At Sunset (no comment) Photo #20: The same cloud at sunset (no comments) Photo #21: (no caption) > Karma says September 02: Nice > StuckInTheSixties says September 02: I'm pretty happy with this picture. I just took it as a whim. I didn't even notice, at the time, the cool little doodads that look like diamond-shaped eyes or something. The make the symmetry of the cones more apparent. Photo #22: Rugerro's Grapes, August 28, 2009 > Karma says September 02: I love the grape photos > StuckInTheSixties says September 02: I've really enjoyed taking the shots of this particular cluster, watching it develop. Sometime fairly soon, I'll look, and it'll be gone. Photo #23: Rugierro's Grapes August 28, 2009 > Karma says September 02: Are those your fingerprints on a few of them? > StuckInTheSixties says September 02: No, those little places where the grape "coating" has been rubbed off come from Rugerro, probably when he's trimming leaves, stuff like that. Photo #24: The clouds get dramatic during the sunset > Karma says September 05: Nice > StuckInTheSixties says September 06: I'm pretty happy with this picture. > glowingtoad says September 13: wow just wow !! > StuckInTheSixties says September 13: It's purdy, ain't it? Photo #25: Mt George from my porch as the sunset progresses > Karma says September 05: Photo #26: Another shot from my porch as sunset comes (no comments) Photo #27: A decent sunset begins; photo taken from my porch (no comments) Photo #28: The full moon peeking through the clouds as sunset begins > barnestorming_girl says September 06: that is a perfect photo darling.. > StuckInTheSixties says September 06: Thank you Darling! Photo #29: A panoramic shot of the skyline at dusk > Karma says September 05: Wow. Is that a special camera? > StuckInTheSixties says September 05: Just my cheezy little camera. It has a feature where it can "stitch" together three pics into a panorama. > Karma says September 05: Very cool Photo #30: This is a closer view of the area near the middle of the above panorama > StuckInTheSixties says September 05: This is looking over the fence into the same vineyard my nextdoor neighbors' have. Usually, I take the "weekly" shot from my porch. This is taken from about two hundred feet/60 meters in front of my house, and pointed more to the left from the direction my weekly photos are shot. > barnestorming_girl says September 06: wow still beautiful darling                       
       Around Napa Valley IVThese are photos that I took in the Napa Valley area, where I live, between May 19 and August 5, 2009, basically as I went about my normal daily activities, going the few miles into town and returning. They were originally posted in my photo gallery, and then as space ran out, moved over here to this blog. The comments shown below originally were attached to those photos. In a few cases, the comments are disjointed. This is because as people delete their WireClub accounts, their comments leave with them.Photo #01: Maple seeds > ThatGirl says May 24: Helicopter seeds!! LOVED these as a kid... Photo #02: A flower outside of the Napa County Administration Building > ThatGirl says May 24: Purdy. > Karma says May 25 > niamhis says September 08: oooh nice lily love the orange ones the red ones are really pretty too Photo #03: Crimson roses > barnestorming_girl says June 01: I love roses.. > StuckInTheSixties says June 01:  X infinity for Barnsie> niamhis says September 08: lovely colour but dammmm these ones always get me wit their torns in work lol Photo #04: Crimson rose in close-up > barnestorming_girl says June 01: *beautiful* Photo #05: Pretty yellow flower ... I'm fascinated by that weird little doo-dad in the middle > PTBO52 says June 01: Looks like an octapus lol > StuckInTheSixties says June 01: It does! I was thinking squid! > Karma says June 01: I thought jester's hat. > RocktheFlaminCowboy says June 02: It's amazing the faces that flowers have.  > niamhis says September 08: oooh i like this one ... i love close ups of flowers > StuckInTheSixties says September 08: Me too! I like seeing all the little diddly parts inside! Photo #06: Wild Morning Glories > ThatGirl says June 14: Ahhh the one on the right is the 'smart' twin... I betcha. And alllll the bees hit on the little skinnier one on the left. I guarantee it. > Jemma says June 15: Twins? I just thought... breast flowers, when I saw this... lol! ** attempts to pick my mind up from the gutter** > niamhis says September 08: oooh this is pretty i likeys Photo #07: A nearby vineyard with Stag's Leap on the horizon to the right > ThatGirl says June 14: Do stags actually leap there? > StuckInTheSixties says June 14: I think they probably do. Photo #08: Sad, but necessary ... > babe_xxx says July 03: awh damn that sucks. well, I guess the city is more worried about houses and commercial business's catching on fire as opposed to forrests and non-rural land. > StuckInTheSixties says July 03: It's also illegal to use fireworks throughout the entire county. This sign is on the edge of city limits. It amused me (I amuse easily), so I photographed it. There are a number of large, professional traditional fireworks displays, however. One is at Silverado Resort, only a short distance from my place. It draws several thousand people, and I have to keep them from blocking our access road, trespassing, etc. Minor pain in the ass. > veronica says July 03: Is this to prevent bush fires or the powers that bee just like to be spoil sports. i have a recipy for napalm that will make a big boom! and more then satisfy youre independance day celebrations , > StuckInTheSixties says July 03: Yeah, it's a fire issue. The climate in these parts is such that everything dries out toward the end of may, and then bakes to a nice, crispy, very flammable tinder until october, when the rainy season starts again. We've already had one decent fire here already. I blogged about it, posted a couple dozen dramatic photos I took of smoke, firefighters, aircraft and the like ... apparently it was the invisible blog, so I removed it. When I was a kid around here they used to allow so-called "safe and sane" fireworks (nothing exploding, nothing flying, just sparkly fountains and such) in town, but those are now outlawed in this community, and they always were outside of city limits. So yeah, it's a fire danger. > Outbackjack says July 03: I fully understand sits,There is nothing more scary than being chased by a bushfire. > PTBO52 says July 03: Our fireworks have been curtailed quite abit because of insurance purposes. In Peterborough, the Festival of Lights had to cut out their evening fireworks because it cost $15,000. per night for insurance. Photo #09: On the car of a pissed off anti-Obama Republican > StuckInTheSixties says July 05: For non-Americans: The elephant is the symbol used by the Republican Party. The other symbol is that which was used by President Obama during his campaign. > Dawn says July 05: hmm... im not very well informed. But is obama a good president? > JassyJas says July 05: obama is fvkin up our country  hes the most racist bastarrd ive ever seen. what makes him think he can change whats in the constitution as well as the bill of rights? Sonofabitch > Dawn says July 05: what you mean racist? alright i've missed a bunch > JassyJas says July 05: he hates white people > StuckInTheSixties says July 05: Dawny: In my opinion, whether or not Obama is a good president remains to be seen. But to express another opinion, he couldn't possibly be worse than the guy before him. Jas: What has he done that you consider "racist"? What has he done to "change whats in the constitution as well as the bill of rights"? Please spell that out, if you please. > Dawn says July 05: hmm yeah i guess it is. Bush was prolly one of the worst presidents ever. In Sweden our "prime minister" (we call him city minister but it's basically the same) sucks big time > veronica says July 05: I saw an elephant get dissected last week tomorrow its a wale , a bit of topic but hey ! when politics is discussed opinions get divided > Karma says July 05: Here are examples of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights being usurped by the President of the United States; The imprisonment of American citizens whom he has determined to be the country's enemies without obtaining a warrant, letting them hear the charges against them, or following other safeguards against wrongful punishment guaranteed by the Bill of Rights; Engaged in inhumane treatment of prisoners that amounts to torture — and when Congress passed legislation to ban such treatment, declaring he would simply interpret the law his own way; Although the Constitution says treaties are the "supreme law of the land," the president abrogated them on his own; Ordering a secret program of electronic surveillance of Americans without court warrants … Oh. Wait. All those were done by his predecessor. Never mind. Photo #10: Weird looking dried weed flower > barnestorming_girl says July 08: wow! And I can see cob webs on it to!! Photo #11: Developing Chardonnay grapes > Karma says July 07: Cool > barnestorming_girl says July 08: Photo #12: (no caption) > Karma says July 07: Perfect > barnestorming_girl says July 08: awesome pic darling > niamhis says September 08: oooh nice .. wat kinda flower is this ? > niamhis says September 08: oooh nice .. wat kinda flower is this ? > niamhis says September 25: haha well its a very pretty flower **wishes she had it** Photo #13 Looking to the south on a muggy day > barnestorming_girl says July 12: *run forrest run* lmao > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: *reads Barnsie's confusing comment, scratches head, thinks about Forrest Gump, looks at picture, figures it must have something to do with the word "south", scratches head again, shrugs, moves on* > barnestorming_girl says July 12: when I see spaces like thru the vines, I think of forrest gump movie where he runs for the first time, down his long drive way with trees ... and also when My kids run I just say to them *run forrest run* so I also think it's a thing Ive been saying for years. I hope that clears it up beta darling… I guess Barnsie is/might be little silly? lmao > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: (laughs) Yes, Barnsie is quite silly. One of the main reasons why I love her so. Photo #14: White wildflower: Stage 1 (no comments) Photo #15: White wildflower: Stage 2 > Lina says July 11: woa! Photo #16: White wildflower: Stage 3 (fully developed) > Karma says July 12: Beautiful > barnestorming_girl says July 12: wow! beautiful > StuckInTheSixties says July 12: Just a weed along the side of the road. Photo #17: Fennel #1 (this is the plant from which licorice comes) > barnestorming_girl says July 26: wow awesome! Photo #18: Fennel #2 (no comments) Photo #19: Fennel #3 > barnestorming_girl says July 26: thats a great photo! > lovergoo says July 26: awesome photo > Karma says July 28: Very cool Photo #20: Fennel #4; note the ladybug > lovergoo says July 26: its a baby ladybug..... right? (it has no spots) > StuckInTheSixties says July 26: Nope, it just looks like that. Photo #21: Developing Cabernet Sauvignon wine grapes > barnestorming_girl says July 26: yummy!! > Doodsy says July 26: mmmmm.....I love grapes.....and the odd glass of Cab Sav too. Photo #22: Datura, also known as Jimson Weed, or Loco Weed, due to the drug it contains (Scopolamine) > barnestorming_girl says July 26: wow! It's true *you do learn something new everyday!* Photo #23: Close-Up of Datura (no comments) Photo #24: Blossoming Weed > barnestorming_girl says July 26: wow!! it is beautiful Photo #25: Developing Pinot Grigio grapes at nearby Luna Vineyards > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Totally nuts ... Photo #26: Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in a nearby vineyard #1 (no comments) Photo #27: Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in a nearby vineyard #2 > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Imaginary grape conversation ... ?!? > Karma says August 09: So are they good eating grapes as well as good for wine? > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: No, they're not very tasty for eating. > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Nah, they're best used for the reason they're grown, to make good Cabernet Sauvignon. Really compliments any meal based around beef or pork, and is great on it's own. It's my favorite red variety. Photo #28: Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in a nearby vineyard #3 > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Holly, you're nutty! > Thatcdnguy eh! says August 09: it's a social mixer eh.....get it...different colored grapes...wine is used for mixer parties...I'm going to leave now.....  > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Hahaha! You're nutty, too! Photo #29: Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in a nearby vineyard #4 > StuckInTheSixties says August 09: Completely nutty ... Photo #30: A vineyard down the road from where I live > barnestorming_girl says September 02: awesome pic darling    
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X infinity!