Headlands Fleurs
There is a boggy place on the headlands just to the south of Main Street in Mendocino where the flowers this year are more lush and spectacular than I’ve ever seen them, and the bumblebees are in ecstasy visiting the myriad blooms.
Farmers Market
Every Friday from noon to 2:30 until October is the Mendocino Farmers Market. Such fun. I go every week and buy sunflower-seed sprouts and tamales, and this week I got a jar of ambrosial apricot jam, a jar of Laytonville honey, a jar of cannabis healing salve that really works, and a spectacular bunch of radishes.
The Bear Came
This morning I went out to cut a zucchini from my one zucchini plant growing in my orchard tub and found a bear had knocked over one our garden refuse cans to root around in the kitchen compost.
We call any bear who knocks over cans in our neighborhood the bear, though we’ve never actually seen the bear in the thirteen years we’ve lived in this house. He or she visits us during the night. We know the bear is different bears, but for some reason we like calling them the bear.
And though cleaning up the bear mess is a gucky chore, I’m always happy when the bear visits us so long as he or she doesn’t try to get through or over our deer fence. I like the idea of him or her out there sniffing around.
Sugar Snap Peas and Carrots
In my orchard tubs protected by the aforementioned deer fence, we have had the most successful crops of sugar-snap peas and carrots we’ve ever had. The lettuce crop has been good, the scallions marvelous, the sunflowers still stalks and no flowers, arugula plentiful, radishes ample, parsley galore, and the snap peas and carrots magnifico.
Lemons
Our lemon trees are also having a fabulous time this summer. I’m staying on top of feeding them and watering them, and we’ve had bumblebees and hummingbirds doing a great job pollinating them in the absence of honeybees. How lucky we are to have such a profusion of those tasty yellow orbs.
Reviews of The Farm at the East Cove Hotel
I’ve had several emails and letters and even some phone calls from people telling me how much they enjoyed my latest book The Farm at the East Cove Hotel, but until recently no one had posted a review of the book on Amazon, and finally someone has posted a nice encouraging five-star review there to go along with two good ones at Goodreads. Hurray!
fin
Todd’s happy song Wake Up Thinking About You from his album Dream of You