Round Barn

After fasting for two days, this morning I had to perform a curious test--the latest in an endless round, which involved breathing into little tubes every 20 minutes for three hours. I learned a lot about what you can get done in 20 minutes....pay a few bills, take a shower or boil some eggs in anticipation of a meal, such as it was.

After breakfast two hard boiled eggs eaten standing up, we drove to Healdsburg to pick up a case of wine at Medlock/Ames., stopping along the way to photograph a field full of pigs. Black pigs, even baby ones just aren't cute, especially in their element, a dirt field, a shallow pond puddle and a lot of derelict buildings and vehicles.

We took Ozzie with us, so I walked around the grounds of the M/A tasting room with him while OilMan went in to collect the wine. Three cheerful kids, banned to the hinterlands with Ozzie and me, came over and acquainted themselves with him. His good natured personality won over even the smallest one who was a bit tentative at first. My picture, taken from a standing position, didn't do them justice, but I just couldn't bring myself to get down on the ground with the rest of them.

On the way home we located the second oulet of the Gardener, a unique store which began in Berkeley. Unlike the main store, which has gravitated toward furniture, and jewelry, the Healdsburg version actually has a garden and carries garden tools, outdoor furniture and even packets of seeds from Italy. Apparently the holiday gathering was last night and, despite this pleasant entry to the barn which houses the store, the pictures I took were not impressive.

As we drove across a busy intersection I managed to snap this picture of the Round Barn, a Santa Rosa landmark on a hill overlooking the freeway. There is a farmer's market here on Sundays and it anchors a neighborhood which is invisible from the main road.