Columns

In February 2019, Healdsburg got 20.8 inches of rain in 48 hours, causing flooding of the Russian River, shown in the left picture.  Flood waters crested just below the decking of the old railway bridge. It was the worst flooding in 24 years, cresting at...

Panettone is another one of Italy’s culinary gifts to the world. It’s a brioche-like cake filled with raisins and candied fruits, traditionally enjoyed over the Christmas holiday.  Italy reportedly produces 117 million panettone each year, about 10% for export. Italian production since 2005 is regulated...

Imagine a small kid, five years old, getting a Tonka truck for Christmas. Imagine later that kid playing with a dad who has slightly bigger toys, same color, all set-up to make playtime fantasies real.  Yup! Dad plays with a small kid in the dirt....

The picture above is a full arcing rainbow, portrayed in last week’s Photo of the Week dropping behind vineyards and trees, as if painted by John Constable. Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus, who claimed to be the light. He asked that people “love...

Four times in the past week. That’s the number of times people pulled over to the side of the road because something fantastic was happening. Arrested by the light or the sight, they needed to get a picture.  Two times, it involved birds. One of...

Kudos to the City of Healdsburg! The City of Healdsburg sure knows how to appreciate its seniors! We felt so very honored to participate in the glorious Christmas Dinner you so generously gave us at the Villa. Thank you, thank you! It was wonderful!  Being...

Back in the ‘Burg. Here’s the Plaza’s beautifully decorated tree. And here’s another digital tree, beautiful in its simplicity at Healdsburg Community Church.  The Plaza’s tree is 43 feet tall and hails from Oregon. The sign next to the tree tells its story. Left in...

Once upon a time, real trees were cut for warmth, shipbuilding, utensil making and various sundry things. And once upon a time not so long ago, Christmas trees did not appear until December. Now, trees can be pulled from a box or seemingly created...

Since Thanksgiving Day 1621, 401 years later there is much for which to be thankful. When sitting down this Thanksgiving, one should take a moment and imagine being by oneself. Then one can imagine the time and effort required to create each thing one...

Dang. What in the barnyard-livin’, truck-drivin’, T-shirt-wearin’, country-croonin’, cuzzin-cussin’, doggone tarnation is this? Photo of the week? Could be photo of the year, don’t you think? Maybe photo of a lifetime?  Seriously! Has anyone seen a Porsche like this? Porsches are strutted out polished to...