Snapshot

Fun Facts: The Grange’s full name is: National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry.  Eight individuals sitting around a wooden table started it in 1867. The eight founders of the Grange are memorialized with a marker on the National Mall; it is the only private marker on the Mall.

'On cool days, their spot is on this hillock. On warmer summer days, their spot is beneath a shade tree. So regular are they, that anyone driving past the intersection of Mill Creek Road and Mill Creek Lane after 3pm will likely see them standing together or nuzzling...'

Wishing everyone Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year—grateful for our blessings lest we take what we have for granted rather than count them each day. Here's some holiday movies that always make for a seasonal uplift.

"Lawn Tennis describes the game we know.," writes columnist Pierre Ratte. "It’s played on a tennis court, as opposed to Court Tennis, which is played in a courtyard. Confused? Let me explain..."

"Look! It’s a two-eagle barn!” That’s what Dick said to Jim after passing an old barn and estimating the width of its central opening in Golden Eagle wingspans." - So begins Pierre Ratte's meander through history, philology, and ornithology in this week's 'Snapshot'...

Warmth and water are most always welcome in California. These happy spring flowers, coppery mesemb, Malephora crocea, cheer up spring gardens with wild pops of color, like so many little suns. They are succulents in the ice plant family. Native to Africa, this plant is considered a noxious weed in some areas and a perfect garden addition in others.

Vihar is a great horned owl, one of several ambassador birds at The Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County (BRC), a local resource that’s been around for 50 years and needs help.

"Healdsburg has such lovely hiking trails. It offers so many things to do to kick-off summer over the long Memorial Day weekend. The Future Farmers of America Fair and the Thursday night Twilight Parade, where Healdsburgians either join the parade or watch it... But Healdsburg also offers the possibility of stepping outside the hubbub and hitting a trail," Pierre Ratte reminds us in this week's Snapshot column...

Hot air. Sonoma summer. So much going on, including Sonoma County’s Hot Air Balloon Classic. Early morning reveille and revelry at the County Fairgrounds with gates opening at 4am. Although it was dark, once the hot air balloons “stood up,” propane flames and glowing balloons became a sound-and-light spectacle...

"For over 30 years, my daily pour has been a latté. Some years ago, I took a latté art class in Seattle. While it’s not every day that hearts and recognizable shapes like the one above get poured, it’s often enough that it is intriguing. What will my coffee look like this morning?" asks Pierre Ratte.