Flower Friday : : Salpiglossis "Stained Glass"

Dana has been toiling in her garden for days spreading 15 cubic yards of mulch. In case that measurement doesn't mean much, it is a LOT. Despite all the work she has put into our garden, she won't let us help her, saying we'd get too dirty and hot. I do have to admit that she was indeed both, with bits of twice ground redwood bark working its way into the creases in the back of her neck. She did let us have the dogs at our house for a 'play date'. Ozzie (who is back to normal) still didn't really 'play' with them but they had a good time outside knocking down walls in pursuit of lizards....

When I took them home, I had a tour of Dana's garden in the search for a flower shot. Despite the unspread piles of mulch and the makeshift fence erected to keep the dogs out of her flowerbeds, Dana's garden is still beautiful and filled with a wonderful variety of blossoms.

It has been awhile since I read a newspaper, and for good reason, given the ongoing chaos in Washington, but today's paper yielded several local stories which bear repeating just because they are quirky.

In Sebastopol, Spirit Works Distillery in the Barlow has a special experiment going for 12  barrels of whiskey. In a special section of the barrel house six barrels have headphones stretched around them blasting playlists selected by Spirit Works employees. The other six 'control' barrels sit in silence. The idea is to find out whether the musical vibrations' agitation of the whiskey , moving it in and out of the oak barrel staves, gives it more flavor, or 'sonic maturation'. I don't know about you, but I think I would prefer  bluegrass (Devil Makes Three - Old Number Seven)  whiskey, even though the Classical (Nutcracker) one won  in a blind tasting and was noticeably darker in color. Stay tuned...Michael Jackson Beat It and Led Zeppelin Goin' to California are on their way...