New Digs

It only took four tries to get something that didn't end up back in the clay pot. And then three trips to the hardware store with an additional trip to the Oakland Tool Library to engineer the hanging system. Thankfully, everyone was very helpful.

But the old, worn (decrepit, even, one could say), albeit well-loved gourd has now been replaced. I only hope that the wrens are as pleased with it as I am.

How to (And How NOT to) Make a Trellis: Part I

Bad Idea

Over the past while, I have constructed quite a number of trellises to support big viny plants, such as peas, pole beans, squash, cucumbers and gourds. With advice, trial and error, error, and more error, I now have a system that, although not quite bulletproof, may actually withstand the next earthquake.

First lesson: do not use bamboo stakes if you want the trellis to last longer than part of one season. Not one entire season, just part of one season. No matter how well, deep or meaningfully those stakes are anchored, and regardless of the rebar reinforcement, they will fail. You see, when that first big wolfish wind comes along, (think Three Little Pigs), your growing plants act like a giant sail, and take down the entire ship.

The solution - 1/2" electrical metal conduit (EMT). It is inexpensive, readily available, sturdy and not completely ugly. And a 2' piece of rebar inserted up one leg at each side means additional security.

Second lesson: use three support posts at each end. Now you may remember from eighth grade geometry class that three points define a plane. You may not. But it sure makes for a much more solid and grounded base. And since you are paying less $3 per 10 ft. length of EMT, it's a small splurge.

Hose clamps

The support posts are linked together with a metal hose clamp. The cross piece is then tied in with a separate smaller hose clamp. The only issue I have encountered with hose clamps is that someone has been cheating on their length. So buy the next larger size if you have any doubts about the diameter of the pipes to be tied together.

Third lesson: work with a friend. It's more fun to argue with someone else than just yourself. And once you're done, it's definitely a lot more fun to sit down, have a beer and admire your handiwork with someone else.

Fourth lesson: Tie up your own netting. I start at the top, anchoring the string at the bottom with a a bamboo pole (finally, it has a use!), about 6"- 8" apart. The horizontal rows are also spaced at approximately 6"- 8" wide.

It takes less than an hour to string up an 8' x 10' mesh, lasts for one year (a winter season of peas and a summer season of cukes and pole beans), and if using cotton string, can be tossed in the compost bin along with the green waste.

The Completed Trellis w/o the Netting

Epilogue: After the first summer of Fortex pole beans, two more posts were added to the middle of the 10' expanse for additional support. I would never have guessed that the bean vines could be so heavy as to cause that much sag...

Total cost for the trellis: under $40.00

Monastery Stones

Abbey of New Clairvaux Reconstructed Chapter House

As long as you're going to the Central Valley to see the wintering birds, you may as well keep on driving to the Abbey of New Clairvaux in Vina. There you can check out the reconstruction of the chapter house that William Randolf Hearst took away from the Santa María de Óliva Monastery in Spain. You may even taste the wine the monks produce.

The monks are of the Cistercian branch, which dates back to the 11th century. They originally built Santa María de Óliva, which still exists (mostly in ruins). It's about two hours away from Anchuela del Campo, a most lovely part of Spain.

It's an interesting story of how the chapter house (a chapter house essentially is a large meeting room) was purchased, dismantled and dragged over to San Francisco to molder away for years in Golden Gate Park.

While in the park, the pile of stones was diminished not only by time, but also pilfered for other uses, such as: bumper stops for parking in the Park, retaining walls in the Strybing Arboretum (yes, I know it has a new name; I just don't agree), stepping stones at the Japanese Tea Garden and to decorate the Park and other less public garden spaces (ah, ahem) around the Bay. The stone pile also served as a site of worship for a while by Guru Baba Kali Das and his followers.

Ultimately, the monks were able to get their hands on the remaining stones and put them to good use. At this time, the medieval portions of the structure have been completed, but the purpose of the building has changed. No longer to serve as a meeting place, the chapter house will now form part of the new church for the Abbey. Donations gratefully accepted.

The reconstruction of the pointed arches for the chapter house was featured on Nova's Building the Great Cathedrals in 2011. When we visited, all was quiet and calm.

Except at the tasting room. It seems that it was pick-up day for wine club members, and local wine lovers were bustling through to gather up their boxes. We didn't walk away with a full box, but we did bring home something for later.

When Friends Give You...

Extra, unwanted tiles, make stepping stones.

And lucky me, the materials were all on hand, except for the pair of 98¢ cement squares. Yup, concrete sealer, thin-set, usable grout - I had it all. Perhaps I should open a little local building supply center in the garage? No doubt it would still take years to clean out this mess.

My benefactor? Jack Miller, architect, now engaged in re-doing his own home space (or so I assume, since I haven't seen him around much). Or perhaps he got a better idea and slipped off to Paris...

A Good Use of Fame and Fortune?

Collect art. Own a large tract of land in the Napa Valley, use it, live on it, grow stuff on it, even plant your art collection all over it. Then turn it into a museum. With your name on it: di Rosa. Strange, though. It seems that it used to be known as the "di Rosa Preserve." I guess those two extra syllables just didn't measure up.

At any rate, the di Rosas did a damn fine job. I can't say that I appreciated all of the objects in the collection, but I did enjoy the experience.

To visit the preserve you will need to sign up for a tour. But no worries, our tour group had a total of three people and a knowledgeable, albeit a bit chatty, guide.

di Rosa participates in the Discover and Go programs of both the Oakland and the Berkeley public libraries, so reserve your tickets that way and save a chunk of dough.

Then you can spend it all on a fancy lunch after the tour...

Go Take a Hike....on the New Bay Bridge

We did. And can recommend it, especially before the old one is completely gone. 'Cause after all these years of traveling over it, you've never seen it look like this before: totally empty. Privately, I wonder if someone will pay enough to be allowed to film some apocalyptic, car-chase movie on the bridge before it is all torn down...

To get onto the pathway, we used the Burma Rd./Maritime St. trailhead near the Port. We went on a weekday morning (be aware that you must walk from the parking area back to the intersection - the way is not obvious - but the trailhead actually starts back there.) and parking was easy. Dress in layers: we started out all bundled up but by the end, were both sweaty hot.

And that's because it's a looong walk. Or at least much longer than I was expecting. Everything I read about the trail mentioned "2.2 miles." But that doesn't count the nearly 2 miles of walking before you can actually get onto the bridge. So count on nearly 8 miles round trip, and on being starved for lunch by the end.

But that little detail didn't stop lots of people from enjoying the outing.  I counted about the same number of bicyclists as pedestrians, the majority of whom were women. Yup, surprised me, too. 

Also along the way we came across an art class from a local elementary school drawing the old bridge, an entire fleet, organized in small pods, though, of parents, grandparents and babysitters pushing strollers, and more than a few older goofballs like us.  Many of the people on the trail were a little giggly, probably because it seemed pretty darn unusual to be walking above the bay.

Everyone had a camera, and stopped repeatedly to take photos. The "real" traffic was also stopped for some of the time, but I doubt they were having nearly as much fun as we were.

In the Kitchen

Private home in the Markha Valley

I've been spending a fair amount of time in the kitchen these days. I would like to say that it's because of the bountiful tomato crop, but I'd be lying. Zucchini, sure, but if the tomatoes show up for Thanksgiving, it will be a miracle. And I will be grateful. 

Other kitchens I've been visiting? The photo to the right is of a Ladakhi kitchen in the village of Yurutse (alt. 13,500 ft.), a "village" of one family, with three generations living together. We stopped for tea and a rest on our trek in the Markha Valley. The family was very kind to this tired and slightly sick traveler.

An important feature of the Ladakhi kitchen is the imposing metal stove. It is not only used for cooking, but for heat during the long winters. Surrounding the stove are cabinets containing beautiful brass utensils, cooking pots and food storage containers. Many of these items have been handed down for generations.

The kitchen also serves as the living room, dining room, playroom and, sometimes, even as a sleeping area. In fact, much of Ladakhi daily life is carried out in the kitchen. Sound familiar?

Many families in the Markha Valley now use outdoor solar cookers, especially for heating water for the generous rounds of tea which are consumed each day. Since the traditional stoves use animal dung - hand collected - for fuel, there are obvious advantages to the solar cooker.

Our traveling kitchen consisted of two gas burners, set up in a large yellow tent (smoked to black on the inside. It could have been declared a toxic waste site. Makes burning dung seem like a plausible option after all...). Our cook's meals were astonishing in their complexity, range of flavors and sheer tastiness. Needless to say, the tent also served as the dining room on windy nights, the storage area, and the bedroom for our helpers.

Gelsim cooking dinner

Put a Cork in It

At our house, we joke that we'll really know that we truly are in deep economic trouble when we have to drink wine from a box. Thankfully, we're not there yet, but there are other worries.  Like what to do with all those corks.

(I really dislike the plastic jobbies. They are difficult to get out of the bottle, impossible to get back in, and, well, they're just trash.  The metal screw tops are OK, but relatively few wineries use them.)

For a long while I would throw corks in the green bin - it's tree bark, after all - and they became compost.  That was better than the trash can.  And sometimes I would take them over to the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse for someone else's artistic pleasure (There are lots of ideas for projects using corks, but I'm not about to do any of them.  I mean, corks through the blender? Really?).

Now there are more options for their re-use.  ReCORK will help turn your old corks into sandals (by SOLE), if you drop them off at one of their many participating partners around the country, including BevMo! locations.  And Cork ReHarvest has set up drop-off locations throughout the country for corks, including the entire chain of Whole Foods grocery markets.

And if you really want to wake-up in a WineLand fantasy (and I don't mean a wicked hang-over.  For that, consider Blowfish, where our friend Erin Anderson works), imagine an entire (tiny) living space made out of cork.  The Portuguese designer Gabriela Gomez has created such a space.  And she should care: Portugal is the largest producer of corks in the world.  (Believe me, it's worth the bother: the cork oak forests of the Mediterranean are among the loveliest places on the planet that I have ever been.)

If nothing else, you can always have a contest as to how long the corks wait in the car. They are patient: I have one bag which has been on the back seat since last December. Maybe this week...