Mendocino County - More Photos!

A Mandolin, A Banjo and a Dulcimer

The view from a courtyard of shops in Mendocino looking at the Big River Cove.

One of the many watertowers in Mendocino...this one is now a restaurant.

Some of them are still used for water storage. One shopkeeper told me that one has been turned into a room you can rent while visiting the area! What a cool view that must be!

A View of Mendocino from the Big River Cove

The Mendocino Presbyterian Church


A view of the Presbyterian Church from the Big River Cove

A view of the vineyards of Navarro Winery

An old wine truck at the Lazy Creek Winery

I guess the sheep are the lawn maintenance crew!

Just a few photos I've taken the past couple of days. It's really hard to decide which to post! I love them all.

Will post more, soon.

Dial-up Internet and Naughty Cats - Not Fun.

This is going to be a very quick post.  Actually, it's really not going to be that quick because I'm working with dial-up internet and it's so-o-o-o-o miserably slow that I'm sorely tempted to throw up my hands and say "to heck with it".

I can't even post pictures because I don't have access to my photos...they're on my computer.  So here's the deal...I'm just going to summarize the past couple of days.

Friday we went to a bunch of wineries in the Anderson Valley.  Awesome trip.  Fabulous wine. Wonderful people.  Gorgeous scenery.  I've got lots of pictures which I will post as soon as I can get back to that internet cafe.

Okay, you're wondering about the Naughty Cats?  Well, I'll tell you about the Naughty Cats.   A few days ago Ricky didn't come home until after 11:00 p.m.  We hunted all over for him.  When it got dark, we were worried sick.  We were both convinced that we had seen the last of Ricky.  I thought for sure he got gobbled up by a bobcat or snatched by an owl.  Yes, an owl!

One of the neighbors told me that's what happened to one of their cats.  I said, "Really???  An Owl???" and she told me that you cannot believe the size of an owl's wingspan...and when they swoop down and grab their prey, they kill it immediately.   Not something I wanted to hear. 

Ricky was grounded for two full days.  Which meant that Lucy was, too.

Friday we let them roam while we went winery-hopping.  Also, the housekeeper came and it just seemed easier to let them out rather than have her keep an eye on them.  No problems that day.

So that worked well until today when Lucy was frightened by a strange cat and dashed up a tree by the house.  Had a terrible time getting her down.  Then, she brought a dead creature into the house and I stepped on it with my bare foot.  I cannot describe my  reaction except to say that it's a miracle I didn't have a heart attack.

And Ricky dawdled, again...didn't come home until almost dark.

Long story short...they will be inside cats for the rest of our visit.

Stay tuned.

Mendocino - A Scenic Tour

The village of Mendocino was designated as a National Historic Preservation District in 1971. It’s small and quaint. It’s also been the setting for more than 40 movies since 1904. A few classic movies that were filmed here include “Frenchman’s Creek (1943), “Johnny Belinda” (1947), “East of Eden” (1954), “The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming” (1965), and “Cujo” (1982).

I’m going to suggest to Jack that we put these on our Netflix queue so we can identify the places that we’re visiting while we’re here. Besides, old movies – especially classics like these – are fun to watch.

I was flabbergasted to learn that Mendocino was the setting for the television series “Murder, She Wrote” with Angela Lansbury (1984 – 1989)! It was supposedly set on the East coast…in New England… in a town called Cabot Cove but nine episodes were actually filmed in Mendocino. I will admit I really enjoyed that show. It was well done and could actually be watched by the entire family – yep, totally “G” rated and that was before ratings were used!

I took a couple of photos of Blair House (Jessica Fletcher's home) and the Hill House of Cabot Cove which were featured in the series and are still alive and well in Mendocino. Once you’ve visited Mendocino, though, you can see why it was chosen.

The town has its architectural roots in New England because of the “homesick” pioneers who came here to be part of the lumber boon in the 1850’s. There are cottages and Victorian homes with abundant gingerbread filigree mouldings, steep gables and picket fences.

We’re going to be digging around Mendocino – I want to see all there is to see – and then we’re going to hunt up some of the wineries that abound in Mendocino County.

Stay tuned.

Breakfast at the Whitesboro Grange

The lane going to the Whitesboro Grange.

An elderly neighbor (in her 80’s) called us Saturday to tell us that the local Grange was serving breakfast at the grange hall on Sunday morning (8:00 – 11:30) and invited us to attend. She planned to go at 8:15 so she could go to church afterwards but we decided that was wa-a-a-a-ay too early to be up and out – heh!

Her name is Helen and she invited us for a visit at her house while we’re here. I really want to go…from what we hear, she’s a really amazing woman. I can hardly wait to meet her. So if we do go, I’ll be sure to post about our visit.


We went about 10 o’clock. It was obvious that “everyone” was there! There were cars all up and down the narrow lane that led to the hall. Plus it had rained and it was muddy. Oh well. We just hoped that there would still be food!! And there was, of course.



The first room was full so we found a place in the smaller room where the kitchen was set up. We sat at a table with a couple from Fort Bragg and had a nice visit.


A Grange volunteer came to our table to see how we wanted our eggs and to bring us our orange juice and coffee…I asked for over-medium and Jack ordered scrambled. Plus, breakfast included ham and hotcakes with maple syrup or homemade blackberry syrup. Yum! The food was really good. And hot! You could even have seconds if you wanted. We didn't but our new friends did. Not bad for $6.00 each.

One of the elderly ladies who was working there told me that the building used to be a schoolhouse. They have these breakfasts on the fourth Sunday of each month and the money they earn goes to a local food bank or some other worthy cause. Right now, though, they need to replace the roof.

Our tablemates, as I said, live in Fort Bragg…they’re both lifelong residents of Mendocino County. The gentleman told us that he is of Finnish descent speaks the language! Since our sweet daughter-in-law is also Finnish, we found that most interesting. He also said that he has a son living in Plymouth, Minnesota! Just one more example of how small our world is.

After breakfast we drove into Mendocino for a few things from the Harvest market and then came home for a relaxing day by the fire. Tomorrow we’re going to an internet café in the morning for coffee and so I can post to the blog…then, if it’s sunny and warmer, we’re going to visit a couple of lighthouses. I’m looking forward to that.

Stay tuned.

Whale Festival and Coastal Scenery

Here's a shot of the one lane bridge that we cross to get to our cabin tucked in the redwoods south of Mendocino. It's a cabin that is also a year round home. We love it. The house is quite rustic but classy in a '70's sort of way!

I think Hemingway would have loved it. Or any artist or writer. It's clean and it's cozy and warm which is really great considering that the weather is less than ideal this weekend. The forecast is for much better weather this coming week.

The home owners are down-to-earth and friendly. During a delicious dinner they regaled us with stories of their youth here during the 1960's and 1970's. There are dozens of albums with pictures of their travels all over the world. They built this house 30 years ago as have many of their neighbors. The cats, Ricky & Lucy, are sweet and loving.

Also, I wanted to post additional photos of the coastline. It's so beautiful. But it's rugged as you can see, and potentially dangerous if you wander too close to the edge of the bluffs. There are warning signs everywhere.

The 27^th Annual Whale Festival at Fort Bragg started today and we went to see what it was all about. We got there for the Chowder Tasting which is an annual event and there was a long line of people waiting to sample the entries.


Four local establishments were competing for First Prize and for $10.00 we got unlimited tasting privileges. We browsed around a couple of art fairs and an exhibit of whale art created by the local school children while we were waiting for the line to get shorter. Pretty cool.

All of the chowder recipes were delicious. I voted for an organic version from a local restaurant and Jack voted for a New England version whipped up by a local market. (I think I want to get some sort of whale art before we leave.)


We didn't see any whales but I'm told that they migrate north between February and May so there will be plenty of opportunities before we leave.

A woman at one of the craft fairs we stopped at told me that if the ocean is too choppy, the whales tend to swim deeper. She said that what we'll probably observe is the whales "blowing" water…I don't care…I just want to see SOMETHING!

That's all for today. I'm going to hunker down by the fire with a book. Stay tuned.

Albion, California - March 21st 2009

The coastline between our place and the village of Elk.

The view from the porch, this morning.

I’m not even sure where to begin. We’ve arrived at our housesitting assignment and it’s the most amazing place. I think it’s accurate to say that Mendocino County is like no place else on earth.

There’s the coastline which is so rugged that you might think you’re on the East Coast. There’s the lifestyle which is casual and friendly. There’s the history which includes the famous hippy culture of the 1960’s and ‘70’s and, believe it or not, the filming of a very popular television show, “Murder, She Wrote”. The little town of Mendocino was the setting for the New England village of Cabot Cove where Angela Lansbury (aka Jessica Fletcher) solved a crime every single week!

Then, there’s our setting. It’s a real, honest-to-goodness cabin built by the homeowners more than thirty years ago. The kitchen countertops are thick slabs of redwood. It started as one room with a sleeping loft and a bathroom and it has evolved into a cozy home with a beautiful view of their ten acres of redwoods.

Here are just a few photos that I took, yesterday, and this morning I couldn’t wait to photograph the view from our little front porch!

That’s all for now. We’ve arrived just in time for the 27th Annual Whale Festival and I’d like to make it into Fort Bragg for the Chowder Tasting which starts at 11 a.m.

The icing on the cake would be if we could actually see a whale or two.

Stay tuned…

Happy St. Patrick's Day

"May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go." An Irish Toast

Just a short post to wish everyone a Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Although I didn't think about it when I chose that little Irish toast, I guess it's appropriate for more than one reason...not only is it St. Patrick's Day but we're we're getting packed up to leave tomorrow morning for Mendocino, CA and our next housesitting assignment. It would be lovely if we could avoid any sort of trouble along the way.

You know me...I look forward to the trip as much as the destination and we're taking different a route once we get into Oregon. I hope to take lots of photos the next couple of weeks - yay!

I also want to visit some of the wineries in that part of wine country. There aren't too many in Napa or Sonoma that I haven't visited so it'll be fun to see what's happening "wine-wise" (hey, I've coined a new term...) in Mendocino County.

Just for fun, I'm including this link to an "all things Irish" quiz. See just how much you know about the Irish!

All Things Irish! Quiz

So have a green beer or an Irish coffee and have a little fun, today!

A Wild Bobcat & A Trip to Deception Pass

On Wednesday, we set off on a sightseeing tour. That's the day the sky was so clear that we could photograph Mount Baker. But before we did that, we drove up near Mount Pilchuk.

I really wanted to visit Dale Chihuly's glass school at Pilchuk as a follow-up to visiting his exhibit (The Nature of Glass) in Phoenix. The school isn't open to visitors (not even family or friends of the students according to the school's website) but I hoped we could get close enough to take a photo or two. No such luck...the road into the complex is posted with no trespassing signs, no visitors allowed, etc.

So we decided to drive over to Deception Pass. As we were leaving the Pilchuk area we passed this field and spied a bobcat! It was just as bold as it could be.



You can see in this photo how close we were to two houses. That bobcat wasn't worried at all. We wondered if he'd just been visiting a chicken coop for a snack or two!

Then we drove to Deception Pass State Park. It's gorgeous and a perfect place for some "touristy" photos. I have to admit that at times like this I wish knew more about this camera.

This little island is in Cranberry Pass Lake, just below the bridge. Not real fond of heights, as most of you know, but I was determined to take some shots from the bridge.

We've never actually gone into the park because we're usually driving to the ferry at Oak Harbor for a trip over to the Olympic Peninsula. But you have to cross the Pass to get there.

Deception Pass Bridge, connects Whidbey Island to Fidalgo Island. I did a little research and learned that there are three lakes in the State Park with 77,000 feet of saltwater shoreline, and 33,900 feet of freshwater shoreline. The other two lakes are Campbell Lake and Heart Lake.

So that was Wednesday...today we're hunkering down inside...it's raining. Hmmmm...I think I'll dig out my camera book and learn some new tricks!

Stay tuned...

Mount Baker on a Sunny Day

Yesterday was a great day. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and we went out to see if I could get some good photos.


The mountains were really gorgeous. I got this shot of Mount Baker which, believe it or not, was 40 or 50 miles from where we were - a place called Fir Island! Joan said that Mt. Baker isn't always visible because of clouds so I was really lucky in that regard.

Did you know that it's actually an active volcano, it's almost 11,000 feet tall and it's 15,000 years old. I read that although it emits steam regularly, it hasn't erupted for more than 2,000 years.

Good thing, too, because it's a very popular ski area. It's always covered with a thick blanket of snow. It's a very popular climbing mountain but it requires "glacial travel and crevasse-rescue skills" (that's a direct quote from a newspaper report on mountain climbing in Washington) and the weather can change abruptly.

Here are a couple of other photos that I found on Flickr - since I'll never get up close and personal with that mountain, I'll never get any closer shots...

From the Flickr Photostream of Running Clouds. (Check out his other awesome skiing shots.)

This photo I found on Rusty O.P.'s photostream. If you pull up his photostream from this link and have your mouse hover over the photo, you can see he has highlighted an avalanche! Really.

I dunno......active volcano...dangerous crevasses...severe weather..."glacial travel & crevasse-rescue skills...??

Frankly, being 40 - 50 miles away appeals to me.

Sandhill Crane Migration

This gorgeous photo is part of this Flickr photostream:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coppercreek/

This morning I received the following bit of info from a daily newsletter (Audri & Jim Lanford's daily inspirational quote) that I receive.

(However, I should point out that when I decided to post about this I went to the Nebraska Game and Parks website to see what other information I could find and discovered that the Lanfords pretty much copied this piece verbatim from that website. In other words, I've plucked this verbatim from someone else who plucked it verbatim - ha!)

Who knew??

Since we lived in Nebraska (it was a wonderful place to raise a family), it caught my interest.

Did you know...

... that today is the start of the Sandhill Crane Migration Celebration?

From March 5 to April 7 more than 500,000 sandhill cranes (80% of the world's sandhill crane population) visit the central Platte River Valley near Grand Island, Nebraska.

Cranes are among the oldest livingbirds on the planet.

Fossil records place cranes in Nebraska more than 9 million years ago, long before there was a Platte River, which by comparison, is a youthful 10,000 years of age!

So this is my little tribute to the Sandhill Cranes of Nebraska. For more information and some great photos visit The Nebraska Game & Parks Commission. Nebraska. The Good Life. (That's the state motto and it's pretty much on the mark.)

Fast Forwarding...

I actually haven't fallen off the face of the earth...since my Rainbow post, we've been chilling out in Washington doing a little of this and a little of that...I like to think of it as "recharging my batteries..."

We've painted and redecorated a bedroom...shopped...waited with baited breath for my niece to give birth...shopped...delivered some hiking gear and miscellaneous stuff to a friend who is moving to Seattle from Los Angeles and is building a very cool house in the Capitol Hill district...shopped...you get the idea.

Yesterday the baby was born. March 3rd. My Grandma Coburn's birthday, actually. (I just thought of that - cool!) A gorgeous little boy. We went into Seattle to see mother, father and new baby at the hospital.

So that's the past week it in a nutshell...here's what I'm planning, next:

1) I am determined to visit Dale Chihuly's studio and today I'm going to check that out. That could possibly be a weekend adventure.

2) I want to take some photos of mountains and this beautiful Skagitt Valley...hopefully, I'll be able to talk my brother-in-law (who is really a "tour guide extraordinaire" into showing me some great photo ops.

3) I need to practice transcription if I ever plan to actually work at it - ha! Which I do, btw.

4) Believe it or not...I want to launch my next blog. I'm saying it out loud in hopes that I will shame myself into action. We'll see.

Mom and new baby are going home, today, and we're heading back to the City to see them. That's going to do it for today. Stay tuned...