Turning Water into Wine
County Supervisor meetings aren't the usual way to start a wanderlust tour, except when they involve water... I've always been a water scarcity nut. My friend Stella and her son are traumatized from it. Or suffice it to say, they would never leave the tap water running without a very good reason.
I used to have postcards with water borne diseases tapped to the tiles behind the sink as a teaching method for my young sons (and guests, family and friends). My family got irritated when I wouldn't bring individual water bottles to a Fab Four concert many years ago. But on mom's 70th Birthday or Wild Womyn on Wine/Sisters Just Want to Have Fun tour in north Sonoma County, I was asked to bring individual water bottles and offered instead to get gallon water. And everyone brought their own water bottle. Drip. Drip. Drip. And the flowers bloom. So, like I said. My current road trip began with a County Supervisor meeting in Mono County where they heard public outcry from environmentalists, biologists, film/tourism industry and ranchers to drain water from Crowley Lake and are fighting back.
Check out the report here. Advocacy Report: I'd like to see Angelinos value water and share more. Perhaps understand that southern California is a desert and the love for wild and green of Eastern Sierra is a respite from the busyness. I hope many, will drain pools. Replace lawn with gardens and native plants. Invite bees, butterflies, bats, hummingbirds. If you need advice on personal water systems, I pray people look around - check out Ann's system. So back to talking about lack of water... Fire!!! The smoke has been so bad because of the Yosemite fire. The in Sacramento for the Redding fire smoke.
But we did get to visit GG & Shawn in Woodland - Great brewery and great Winery. GPS couldn't direct me into Upper Lake because the lifted evacuation hadn't been updated. The Range Fire reaching the same record breaking 90K range as the 2017 Thomas fire in 11 days versus a month. If we divide that in a third again, climate change could burn nearly 100K square miles in three days. Reign of Fire sounds frightening to me, and what could happen if they drain the land where I live. More reports comes from a LA Dept of Water and Power retort - a liquid Monsanto.
Ann who lives in Upper Lake had been home for less than 24 hours when I arrive at her doorstep after being evacuated for 11 days with her dog Maya to the home of a woman she barely knew. We stretched out our time together to 22 hours, solving our challenges with more love. Last time I'd been to Ann's was the night Melinda had died. We dined on Thai food, snacked on apples with fresh almond butter did some midday dancing that was quite memorable. It was hard to leave a dear friend. When I finally shut my car door, I said, like ripping off a band-aid.Onto Geyersville to meet my mom, Aunt Elaine, and sisters Julia & Megan. Water turned to wine with the rapidity of a dashing hare and flowed like a rushing river at the FABULOSO DeLorimier House. The jokes were endless and unlike Vegas, we take many, many pictures. Video too. Dinner at BarnDiva was fittingly named and delicious. Sometimes we're Conquistadoras, sometimes we're Cholas.
On Saturday morning, we rented bikes from Wine County Bikes and rode along West Dry Creek Road among sprawling oaks, bay trees, and crepe myrtle to Lambert Bridge Winery. We enjoyed our host Harrison. He had great music insights. Along the way to the winery, I fell into a tuft forest of soft cattails trying to do too many things at once and Elaine fell on the driveway trying to swing her leg over the bike and hitting the backpack. Little chihuahua legs. Sucks to be short. Sandwiches at Dry Creek General Store were divine. Maurtiez where we posed for pics again and Amista for sparklings. Yum! Best service. Loved her.Mom fell in the ditch while riding back and gave Julia quite the scare. Mom is 70 after all. But she popped up, brushed off the leaves and took a short nap while the rest of us enjoyed free tastings at deLorimier, complimentary of my membership. The service at Catelli's sucked. But next morning views of Wilson Wines was divine. Always nosh at Bear Republic, which was lunch the next day. Rockpile was a bit too jammy for me. I think we all needed a break from Zinfindel.Back to water with lemon and salt in it as I rest in a bohemian cottage in Sebastopol. Time to rehydrate and integrate.