Kelseyville is called the Pear Capitol of the world. I have done a vast amount of business in the pear industry in Kelseyville. Starting in 1965 I sold agricultural pesticides and fertilizer to pear growers that produced the prized Bartlett Pear. Kelseyville is part of the area called Big Valley, and ultimately part of Lake […]
A big rock, located on the far back of my property, has always intrigued me. You need to know where it is and how to get to it. The rock is a round mass of smaller rocks held together by what looks like some kind of mud or gray plaster. The diameter of the big […]
A good friend of mine’s wife called a few months ago and asked me to call her son. I called the young man and found out that he and his live in girlfriend were going to get married. I had volunteered to perform the ceremony, when it occurred. The son informed me that no date […]
I generally go from my newly acquired home in Windsor to Hopland at least once a week. By Thursday morning, October 24, I heard that there was a fire at Geyserville. Certain areas were evacuated and certain roads were closed. I listened, watched, and tried to adsorb as much as I could. First, could I […]
I traded some property many years ago and bought an older country home in Healdsburg just out of town. I rented this house to a young couple with one child. The husband Nick approached me one day with a need to store a boat in my equipment shed for a couple of friends who were […]
I appeared in front of the Russian River Cemetery District Board of Directors last week at their monthly meeting. I was ushered in to what must be their chapel. They had set up a table in front where all of the board members sat, and then a crosswise table at each end. One end was […]
I was transferred back to the North Coast in 1965 by Ortho Chemical Company who I had worked for five years. I started with Ortho on the day my first of three daughters were born, June 1, 1960. My first job was in Ukiah running an agricultural chemical warehouse. I quickly was promoted to outside […]
I will probably not live forever, so it is time to make some plans for my passing. Last month I called Eversole Mortuary and inquired about a nice headstone to be placed in my Grandfather’s cemetery plot at the Ukiah Cemetery. I know there is one space left in this plot and it is for […]
With so much water this year, you probably think the state wouldn’t care about water for the coming growing season. Well, I am one of the lucky ones who got a stinging letter from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to wit: we have discovered dam sites impounding water on your property, and you are […]
In my short life I have observed Mendocino County give away some great assets. In looking back, I can find no one who can justify just what was the thinking of our great leaders in the past years. The most talked about great give-away was Lake Mendocino. I recently attended the showing of the movie, […]
Nothing is closer to me than my grapes. I live and breathe each and every vine. So when I traveled down the Pinot Noir rows and observed damage I was immediately concerned. In no time I inspected damaged leaves and stems. They were not growing properly. Something was dreadfully wrong. The leaves were misshapen, the […]