Angels We Have Heard on High

 

           

        A Renaissance angel welcomes in the new year

What is the purpose of angels and the extent of their powers? Angels serve as messengers of God (the word angel is derived from the Greek angelos meaning messenger). Angels can speak, sing, play musical instruments and dance but they are not omnipresent, omniscient or omnipotent and are not meant to be worshiped by mortals.

     

Merry Saffron Bread

 

Let's Celebrate Christmas Eve with loaves of Swedish Saffron Bread from the Cheese Board in Berkeley. The braided loaves are an annual Christmas eve tradition that I enjoy!

Autumn Splendor in November and December

Liquid Amber outside the window 12/10/'20 and it's almost as stunning today

     Liquid Amber 12/12/22

 

     

       Our Maple 11/14/22

  Jeanette's October Glory maple tree in Walnut Creek on a gray day- late November 2020

    Jeanette's tree in the sun. In our climate the October Glory is glorious in November

A nearby persimmon tree in late November

                                               

                                    

A Short Trip to Sea Ranch- We Finally Got Away

 

Foggy view from our Berkeley deck right before our trip

We left Berkeley on a foggy morning in mid-October for Sea Ranch on the Sonoma coast just south of Mendocino County. This was our first real trip since our Italian VACATION in the fall of 2019 before the lockdown in March 2020.  Reservations were made on VRBO for a 3 night stay in a little house on Foothill Close in the "tiny town of Sea Ranch which stretches along 10 miles of rugged Pacific Ocean coastline, offering stunning coastal trails and several beaches to explore."  We were renting one of the 2,200 houses in the unincorporated community. I had specially picked one with a sea view!

Gulls on the pier at Lucas Wharf in Bodega Bay

In October 2019 we had planned to stay in our friend Rita's house at Sea Ranch, but had to cancel when fires were raging toward the coast. We also had to cancel a trip to Tahoe this September when smoke from a Sierra foothill fire choked the Tahoe basin. This 3rd time was a charm. On the way north, we followed Rita's advice and stopped in Bodega Bay for lunch at Fishetarian.  Our fish and chips were delicious and I was glad I'd packed a few extra down vests for the chilly damp weather we endured sitting at the restaurant's outside picnic tables.

All bundled up in Bodega Bay

After lunch we wound around hairpin curves on HWY 1 and reached Sea Ranch over an hour later. We followed directions to our cozy house, figured out the lockbox, turned on the heat and made ourselves at home. Here it was even colder and foggier and instead of a sea view I could only spot waves breaking over a few rocks in the distance. The ocean was nowhere in sight. What a disappointment!  We entertained ourselves by visiting the nearby town of Gualala and stocking up on supplies for the wintery night ahead. We imbibed while soaking in the hot tub on the deck, and tried to get Netflix to work.

The next day dawned drizzly and foggier than ever, so we set out for Point Arena to visit Franny's Cup and Saucer, advertised as the best bakery in the area. Before hitting the town we went down to the pier and snapped photos of the sultry ocean and the deserted coffee shop

                  This Swedish fisherman filled us in on information about the area and his colorful life                                 

                                           

The misty town of Point Arena reminded Dean of Wales in the '70s, but Franny's Cup and Saucer, billed as the best bakery in the area, welcomed us with its colorful exterior and tempting scones and pastries.

 

Interior view of Franny's Cup and Saucer

They had one beautiful loaf of artisanal bread, which we coveted. A kind Franney's employee told us it was from the Pelican bakery down the street, which was only open on Wednesday mornings from 8 to 11am. We hustled over there to make it just in time.

After waiting in line outside, we discovered what the excitement was all about. Here was an array of freshly baked loaves that rivaled any rustic breads we had seen anywhere.

We chatted with the baker, bought a yeasted sourdough loaf, and soon regretted not buying more. We felt lucky to have shown up on a Wednesday before 11 am.

On our way back to Sea ranch we stopped at the impressive Russian hotel of St Orres. Many Russians had come down from Alaska in the mid 1800s and you can see their influence in some of the architecture. We made reservations for dinner on Thursday night and toured the grounds.

Though we intended to dine there one night, the scene was so chaotic and the place so understaffed that we left quickly.

Ohlson Pool, one of the two Sea Ranch pools

After touring the area all day, I hit the pool down the road from our house. Because it was late afternoon and foggy I had the pool and sauna all to myself - what luxury!

Wonder of wonders, Thursday morning dawned sunny and bright and as advertised, there was the vast expanse of the blue pacific seen from our deck.

We filled our last day with all the activities we had missed the days before. We drove around marveling at all the Sea Ranch architecture, much more appealing in the bright sunshine, and then visited the "neat little hardware store" that Rita recommended. 

All the Sea Ranch inhabitants patronize this treasure trove of hardware and such, as well as the lively garden center pictured above. And we were very fortunate that the woman at the counter encouraged us to walk up the path to the community garden.

We hiked up a short path and were amazed when we opened the gate and entered a wonderland of flourishing plants and trees. Though not at its peak, the late blooming veggies and flowers were thriving and garden members were greeting each other —and us!—while picking ingredients for a harvest dinner to be held in a few days.

There is a long wait list for membership in the garden community. In fact, technically we weren't  supposed to be there, but a member of the board and his wife, picking late raspberries and potatoes, took us under their wings and explained the garden protocol at length. It was obvious that they felt blessed to live there

We wandered around for a long time taking pictures and basking in the warm, welcome sunlight.

                 In the afternoon we checked out Black Point beach, but it was too windy to hike.

We found a charming little bookstore in Gualala. Actually, the only thing lacking in the area are good restaurants. I guess the Sea Ranchers like to cook at home, but I was disappointed. We ended up eating twice at the Thai restaurant because I was on vacation.

Friday morning was foggy again, so we packed up early and drove down Highway 1 out of Sea Ranch. A short drive down the coast, we stopped at Fort Ross State Historic Park and parked in the lot of the Russian fur trading outpost of Fort Ross.  

 

I knew nothing about the fort, but I learned that the area was settled by Russians who had claimed land in Alaska for fur trapping and expanded to what is now the California coast. They built this fort in 1812 and stayed until the 1860's. The buildings are almost all reproductions but they are so realistic that we could picture life within the fort in the early 19th century. Dean took this revealing photo of the arsenal from outside the bars.

    

         Still shrouded in atmospheric fog, we passed an old scarecrow on our way to the gift shop  

We amused ourselves viewing the displays in the fort's museum and left only after I found the perfect refrigerator magnet.

After about an hour's drive south toward the Bay Area, we stopped at the Valley Ford Creamery and had the best meal of the trip. Their grilled cheese sandwiches were beyond compare and they offered their own chocolate and vanilla soft serve ice cream. We also ordered cauliflower soup and cheese toasts on home baked bread! 

    We enjoyed our lunch outside on picnic tables and finally headed back home satisfied and happy

 

The Monarch Butterfly's Complete Metamorphosis

 

      

My sister texted me a photo of this monarch caterpillar posing on a leaf in her CT garden. How lucky for her. I've never come across one of these colorful creatures and wouldn't have known how to identify it.

   Another view from another garden. Monarch butterflies lay their eggs exclusively on milkweed plants.

Here is  a diagram of the monarch's lifecycle which takes about 30 days. (The adult butterflies live from 2 to 6 weeks.)

 The completion of the four life-stage process - the egg , the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis) and the adult butterfly - is called complete metamorphosis.

These beautiful butterflies, found all across N. America, were officially designated as endangered in July, '22.  Details of their plight can be found on this LINK from PBS.

Fire Season Preparations in the Berkeley Hills

Piles of boards and branches down hill from our house

 Fire season cleanup is in high gear in my North Berkeley hills neighborhood. Piles of dead branches can be seen in the front and back of many houses and every day we hear the loud whine of chainsaws and the whir of chippers in our neck of the woods. Because fires can sweep in from forested Tilden Park up the hill from us, this area is especially vulnerable and cleanup efforts are taken seriously.

Our back slope was littered with old wood discarded when Dean tore down an old retaining wall he rebuilt in 1991. Our downhill neighbors' complaints spurred us into action. Everyone's nervous!

It took 7 hours for Carlos Meza's yard cleanup and hauling service to clear out the piles of wood. Three workers filled their trucks twice. and here's the result- a barren hill.

Last year we had two trees cut down which were dangerously near the house - a no-no in a fire zone. Tree services are in high demand and all over Berkeley efforts to comply with fire safety regulations have left dismayingly bare yards. These businesses cut down trees and haul them away after they feed the trunks and branches into a chipper.

Complete Tree Service sent a skilled crew

                           This is how they did it!   We watched the whole scary event from our deck. 

Two doors down, our neighbor's yard exemplifies the clear-cut look. A few weeks ago the house was hidden by green trees and bushes, now look at it!

The city has a fire fuel chipper program, so many home owners clean up their property and leave piles of debris just off the road, awaiting their designated pickup day.

Piles line Keeler, a few blocks above us

                                                       Our next door neighbor's collection

This one's on Shasta Road

All these piles start to look alike. This one was hauled away a few days ago in a big truck. They didn't wait tor the city to come

      

We participate in a close knit neighborhood group called Shake and Bake which was formed to oversee emergency earthquake and fire preparedness. We communicate frequently by email and every September we meet in person to discuss group business and enjoy a yummy potluck. For the last few years these meetings have taken place on someone's deck for obvious reasons

Jill, our next door neighbor, designed this banner which should be displayed outside one's house in an emergency, to signify that the inhabitants are safe and have no need to be rescued.

Our Westinghouse generator in it's wooden sound insulating box

Like many of our neighbors, we installed a generator to prepare for preemptive PG&E  power outages which could leave us without power for long (or short) periods. After experiencing some of these, we decided to find a generator.  In 2020 during the Pandemic, it wasn't easy to find generators, much less parts to install them, but we persevered. Dean even built a sound deadening box to shield our household from the machine's excessive noise; he also converted the generator from gas to propane. Both of these were major projects which will pay off if the power goes out.

It's still cool and foggy up here, but we're not fooled. Sooner of later there will be heat waves with dangerously high winds and the smell of smoke from fires near and far. So we're checking items off our to-do list and making every effort to prepare for any emergency Mother Nature throws our way