Snapshot: Art in Every Cup
"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.
Snapshot: Comet A3 After Sundown
The name of the comet comes from China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory, which means “purple mountain.” It was discovered in January 2023. A month later South Africa’s ATLAS telescope observed it. Hence, two names for the comet given the close timing of discovery.
SNAPSHOT: Legends of the Fall
Pumpkins have been associated with Halloween since the 1800s when vegetable-carving traditions accompanied Irish immigrants to America. But pumpkin carving on Halloween stems from Celtic traditions to ward off evil spirits with figure carvings on root vegetables.
Snapshot: Healdsburg Forever
By Pierre Ratte
These are just a few of the 100-plus people who came together two weeks ago at Lambert Bridge Winery to celebrate Healdsburg Forever.
Healdsburg Forever? What exactly is Healdsburg Forever? It’s kind of a charity’s charity. Say, what? It’s kind of a “fund...
Snapshot: The One-Room Schoolhouse
One-room schoolhouses were standard around the turn of the century. The Felta School was built in 1906. There were reportedly 132 other one-room schoolhouses in Sonoma County at that time.
Snapshot: Bird Side of a Barn
"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'...
Snapshot: Lavender Is Also a Mint
Amazingly, lavender is in the mint family. Mint is known as a pick-me-up while lavender is a relaxant despite coming from the same botanical family: Lamiaceae.
Snapshot: Tennis Old and New
"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..."
Snapshot: Hoot Hoot, Woot Woot
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.
Snapshot: Yoga With a Purpose
Backyard yoga started for Shelley Gilbert in February 2020. On Valentine’s Day, around a dinner table of eight, Shelley quietly shared her Parkinson’s Disease (PD) diagnosis. Because exercise is essential in managing Parkinson’s neurodegeneration, Shelley and a friend decided to do intense but slow exercise: yoga.