The Young Meet the Old

Many of the Roots volunteers and enthusiasts have been older men, and several have died in the past year. The everyday working machines they remembered as boys are now rare relics to be saved. Without an infusion of young, curious minds to inspire, the soul of these iron horses could be lost. It was great to see some young families exploring the steam-up displays.

Navarro Beach

A cool getaway from the hot interior valleys of Mendocino, this beach is one of my favorites. The river ends in an enclosed estuary this time of year, without the waterflow power to punch through to the ocean.

CWR Engine Number 53

Among the treasures of local industrial history, this California Western Railroad diesel locomotive joins the Roots collection. As lovely has they look fully restored, I like capturing the rust.

Lines at the Railyard

Name That Wool

Wool fiber artists and crafters can become very discriminating in their source of materials, right down to requesting wool from specific sheep. These bags at the county fair in Boonville give the names of the animals, and a warm feeling of true gratitude to the individual beast.

How To Show A Bunny

One of the many things that made Sunday a super day was watching two women show a kid how to "show" a nervous bunny. The trick is to cover their eyes. This assumes they are used to being handled in the first place, don't you think? Anyway, this little gray one didn't budge throughout the apparently complicated instructions.









I've had dust bunnies about that size and color, under my bed.

Racoon Paws

Saturday brought another big Steam Up of Roots of Motive Power. Every year, progress is evident and additional pieces of equipment are demonstrated. This was the Estep Diesel yarder, sometimes visited by furry friends.

Parked Bales

A logging truck loaded with redwood spins past a parked double trailer of baled straw or hay. If you enlarge the close-in picture, you'll see an advertisement for satellite internet service from the business behind. So many households in Mendocino county are so far from high speed cables, that satellite may be their only option. We are rural, you see.

Summer Display

The summer annual flower beds in front of the fire station are going like gang-busters right now. Each year is a little different, and this was my first look at orange colored cosmos-like flowers, exploding by the front door. I'm not even sure that's what they are. I read somewhere that sunflowers have been genetically developed to hang their seed-heads down, to make it easier for humans to keep the crop safe from birds.

Peaches and Pears

Along with some table grapes, organic fruit CSA subscribers got beautiful boxes of peaches and pears. I can barely keep up with all the regular produce, so skipped it this time. Not without some envy.