Fuyu persimmons prepared for drying. Photo by Jesse Pizzitola First Harvest of Persimmons, Last Harvest of the Season We harvested our first crop of Biodynamic organic Fuyu persimmons these two weeks, 30 trees, 10 gallons of persimmons. Not a lot, but too many to just eat! Our son Jesse dried the crop. They are as… Read more »
Vineyard Worker Each morning we find him sitting on his dead branch at the top of a Valley Oak in the vineyard, sometimes with his mate. He doesn’t like being photographed, never smiling, never saying Gopher! always taking off when he sees I am focusing in on him. Yet he preforms very important work in… Read more »
Storms and Gaviota The weather report says Storms the next few days. Tomorrow only severe thunderstorms and up to 2 inches of rain. The ground is waterlogged already, so we are warned: there could be flooding. But then Thursday, the report continues, we are to be prepared for 6 up to 15 inches of rain. If… Read more »
An Environmental Novel About Love and Redemption Patricia’s novel Goatsong has launched this month! The books are on the way! Several events are being planned for the new year to introduce Goatsong, which will be announced in the coming weeks. What has been said about Goatsong: Smokey Zeidel, Author of The Storyteller’s Bracelet: A moving tale of love… Read more »
Shoots of native blue wildrye illuminated by sun photographed against the dry grass of mid October. The Greening This time of year is magical to me. For the last months in our Mediterranean climate, everything has been brown, and the fire danger, high, especially as autumn approached…. Read more »
One of the more magical experiences is walking in the forest in the early morning and finding a path of light—something so hard to capture with camera— the one place the sun makes it through to the forest floor. View Our Lavender Products
Rose geranium in vineyard. The slightrise on the right shaded the plants, causingfrost damage. This month we did a second distillation of rose geranium. Now we can put away the still for the winter. It was a small distillation, as this first year growing rose geranium has been a steep learning curve. For one thing,… Read more »
Loading rejected hay into truck with blackberry brambles. October: Vineyard Cleanup October is one of our busiest months. We clean out the invasive Himalayan blackberries that have sprouted by the small pond and take them, along with the organic hay we bought two years ago—and our goats refused to eat—to the county composting facility. The… Read more »
Racu rushing to a favorite rubbing spot. Racu’s Clooties Racu, our llama, brushes pieces of his coat onto particular bushes about the ranch, almost like prayer ribbons or Celtic clooties— at least, that’s what they mind me of. He is such a regal being, a conscientious guard of a… Read more »
Pumpkin Party in Petaluma this Weekend!
Grandson Wesley helping Auntie Lisa load pumpkins for the party. Pumpkin Party in Petaluma this Weekend! Our son Jesse, his wife Lisa, and his partner Nathan are sponsoring a pumpkin party at First Light Farm in Petaluma this Saturday, October 20, 4588 Bodega Avenue. There will… Read more »
© 2025 Patricia Damery.
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