- Author: Betty Victor
We had an overnight visitor, a bird. It spent almost 2 days in our garage. It was a young Mockingbird.
It all started in the morning; my daughter Toni was doing some gardening in the front yard. When this young Mockingbird flew and landed right in front of her. It stayed to watch what she was up to. When she finished, she gathered her gardening stuff together and started walking into the garage to put things away. The bird followed her right into the garage. I could hear her saying “shoo, no, no, go away”, but this bird was not interested in leaving her. To let her know its intentions, it flew up into the rafters and there it stayed.
Out came the broom to try getting it to fly out the way it came in. By now it was a game, as it flew just out of reach when she was close. Leaving the side garage door and the main garage door open didn't work it was one happy bird.
By this time, it was night and dark, so we closed both doors where the bird spent the night. Morning came and there was a “chirp, chirp” from the garage door into the family room. So, opening the door from the garage into the house what Toni found sitting on the step yes “her bird”.
She called friends for advice that didn't work, finally called the Wildlife Center they suggested setting water and seed right outside the door. She did this no luck the bird was not interested.
Still, after seeing the bird that morning, she had errands to do so she left.
When she came home, we happened to look out the living room window, the wonder of all wonders the bird is sitting on the front lawn, very still almost statue-like. Looking around like it couldn't decide if it wanted to leave or not, but finally, it did leave.
I told Toni please if you want a pet, I said, “no birds in the garage.”
- Author: Kathy Low
Some citrus fruits are grown not to be consumed fresh like an orange, but for use in cooking. One such citrus is the sudachi (Citrus ichangensis X.C. reticulata var. austere), a very tart sour citrus. Its name, sudachi, loosely translates into citrus vinegar.
Native to the Tokushima Prefecture of Japan on the island of Shikoku, the sudachi is believed to be a hybrid of a papeda and a mandarin. It's a small citrus fruit with a round to flattened sphere shape, usually measuring less than one and a half inches in diameter and less than one and third inches high. It has a thin leathery rind that's deep green when immature, turning yellow when mature. The flesh is also pale green when immature, turning more yellowish when mature. It's juicy and has some seeds, but not as many as a yuzu citrus
Sudachis are generally harvested when green and immature because that's when they're said to be most flavorful. Its taste is sour, acidic, and described as having herbal undertones with a hint of cumin, dill, and pepper. Like the yuzu, it's a very aromatic citrus fruit.
Sudachi juice is used in Japanese cooking, in vinegars, in ponzu sauce and other sauces, marinades, and salad dressings. The juice and sudachi slices and zest are also used to flavor fish, soups and meat dishes. They're also used in non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
The trees are slow-growing, long-lived small to medium-sized citrus trees, usually growing from five to twenty feet tall. The trees are resistant to citrus canker and citrus root borers.
If you don't do enough Japanese cooking to warrant growing your own sudachi tree, you can buy sudachi juice from a number of online retailers.
- Author: Mike Gunther
- Author: Lanie Keystone
If you are looking for a place to view some wonderful California Native plants, look no further than the Vacaville Museum: Center for Solano County History and Culture. The Museum has provided a lovely guide for their Native Plant Garden, which is located in a delightful shaded area.
Although not all plants are to found at all times of the year, here are some that you might discover.
Allum Root, Heuchera
Buckeye, Aeculus californica
California Laurel, Umbellulania californica
Douglas Iris, Iris Douglasiana
Elderberry, Sambucus glauca
Harvest Brodiaea, Brodiaea coronaria
Sedge, Carex
Soaproot, Chlorogalum pomeridianum
Western Chain Fern, Woodwardia radicans
In addition to the Natives, the garden also features artifacts such as Bedrock Mortars from the English Hills area and Mortars from the Ulatis Creek area—both in Vacaville.
Many of these plants, (and others in the garden not mentioned), were used by the Patwin natives. They were used for a variety of purposes, most commonly for basket making. Many of these baskets can be seen at the Pena Adobe Museum. So, on a summer day, come visit either of these Museums and check out these wonderful Natives and their uses.
- Author: Jenni Dodini
At the beginning of June, we took a very long road trip to South Dakota in order to see Mt. Rushmore and the surrounding wonderful national monuments. It was a very memorable trip for two reasons. #1-- The country and scenery were amazing! We had a history lesson about the Native American Indians of the area, told by actual Native Americans, passed down from their ancestors. The picture below is what the Crazy Horse monument will look like should it ever be finished. #2-- The weather along the way was beyond belief! I have not seen a rain of such a torrential nature since I was a kid living in the tropics. I thought that we got a lot of rain this past winter, but it was nothing compared to what we encountered along the way. Then, there was the wind... Warnings for 70+ mph gusts and sustained winds of more than 40mph! Made our winds seem like gentle breezes.
The trip from which we just returned is the one that I wanted to dwell on more because it is more local, although not a day trip. We took a week off to go to Yosemite. It has been almost 10 years since I was there last, which was my first trip there. Steve has not been in much longer than that. Since then there have been several massive fires and a big rebuilding/renovation of several parts of the park. What impressed me greatly is the way the forest has regenerated. There was a very good article from CAL Fire about how and why fire is essential to the life of the forest in the tourist magazine that we received at the camp area where we stayed. I would recommend going to their site. It is very informative.
Another day trip that we took was to the Yosemite Sugar Pine Railroad and museum. We rode the steam-powered, very old train into the forest that had once been decimated by the logging industry way back in the day. 30,000 acres we're COMPLETELY cleared of all the trees!!! Then there was the destruction caused by the fires. The narrator during the train ride told of how the workers worked alongside the firefighters to save the museum building and depot building as well as where the trains are kept. As we traveled through the forest, the narrator spoke about the trees and flowers native to the area and how they have come back from the fire. It was a very informative and pleasant train ride that I would recommend to anyone.
The other attraction which we enjoyed immensely was a day trip to Bass Lake. The wild sweet peas were still blooming all along the roadside. It was a lovely drive on a beautiful day then time spent on the lake, which is something I have missed since Lake Berryessa was made less accessible to the public. We actually went there twice!
I think that I'm game for another trip there soon, but it definitely will be after the tourist season finishes.