Where the Wild Things Are

You don’t have to watch too many shows on the Discovery Channel to learn that when a water hole opens up in a semi-arid area, it becomes a magnet for animals. It works in the Kalahari and it works in Sonoma. We built a little ornamental pond and waterfall here at Two Terrier Vineyards not realizing it would become a lifeline for the local animals when every other source of water...

Bad Sneakers and a Piña Colada, My Frien...

Maybe it’s me and maybe I’m just showing my age, but my summer soundtrack always includes Steely Dan’s Bad Sneakers: Bad sneakers and a Piña Colada my friend Stompin’ on the avenue by Radio City With a Transistor And a large sum of money to spend “Summer”, you say? Yup, as of this week, it seems as if summer in Sonoma has officially started. Days...

Snakes Alive!

I don’t know how Samuel L. Jackson would feel about it, but most of us here love snakes. Especially King Snakes. Louis found this guy up by the top of our man-made Lake Charles Falls. Normally, we don’t disturb the wildlife, but our friend here wasn’t living up to his potential in the woods. He’s needed down in the pasture which is being overrun with gophers...

Oh, Deer and Other Flora and Fauna Incid...

Our extremely wet winter seems to have had an electrical impact, causing our electronic gates to malfunction with varying degrees of regularity. Two of those gates are to the deer-proof fence around the vineyards. The malfunction has been in the form of gates springing open after we’ve thought they’d closed behind us. Opening the gates to vineyards in deer country is like...

At Last! Something to Shoot

You may be aware of my recent gun purchase, which was a great milestone for someone who’s a registered Democrat from San Francisco. If so, you know I’ve recently hit most of the milestones: I made it through the 10-day waiting period, I picked out my “Grumpy Old Man with a Gun Persona”, and I loaded it up and took a few shots. I’ve even named my gun. In...

The Birds and the Bees. And the Carrots.

After what seemed like months of rain, suddenly it’s Spring with a vengence in Sonoma. All week temps have stayed close to 80, the sun has been shining furiously and all the wild critters are in full mating mode. It starts with the birds. But doesn’t it always start with the birds? Dozens of barn swallows are swooping and hollering around … well…around the...