Pruning the Vines

We have been avoiding the large plain between Santa Rosa and Sebastopol because large parts of it it were  completely under water. The weather has improved greatly,, we've had sun for several days and we needed to go to Sebastopol Hardware, a rambling old fashioned  store  that sells everything from nails, wood and wire, to pots and pans, rubber boots, and garden supplies. They have free popcorn on Saturday and everything is 20% off on the first Saturday of every month.

We took the flat trail through the Laguna figuring we'd turn around if it became too muddy. As usual Sod's Law applied and we had to traverse the mud when we were about halfway. There were vineyards on both sides, and fences forced us to the middle. The water table is about a foot below the surface at the best of times, and it was a good foot above it today. There was nothing for it but to forge ahead. OilMan managed to leap the worst of it and Ozzie walked straight through winding up with muddy boots. OilMan was pointing out the way  he considered best , but as often happens with us,  communication was not ideal. I wound up with wet feet, mud over the tops of my shoes and an unhappy expression on my face.

The vineyard workers were better prepared as they pruned the last of the vines in the Baletto Vineyard. It is fascinating to watch them and see how quickly and uniformly they manage to make their way through a vineyard, especially when it stretches almost as far as the eye can see. These workers are artisans and the industry depends on them for pruning and picking the grapes. If they are deported, the wine industry in the region would collapse. They are a vital part of the agriculture of the Napa and Sonoma valleys and beyond....

We had lunch at a place called Handline...a beautifully restored old Foster's Freeze with a lovely patio. They display three kinds of fresh oysters on ice  at the bottom of a window into the kitchen. (see extra) The food is fusion Mexican food based largely on fresh fish and local produce. I had a delicious smoked trout salad and OilMan had a salad of mussels and bitter greens. They still have soft serve ice cream, chocolate and vanilla behind the bar with huge fish portraits above it. (second extra) The ice cream comes out of a machine into a cone in a spiral. The little girl next to us was wearing a lot of her combination chocolate and vanilla  and licking frantically to  finish it before it landed in her lap! Every time we go there I start thinking about when we will go next....