Christmas Newsletter 2019
This is a short one. You can now open our Christmas Newsletter for 2019.
Archive for 2019
Home on the Range
If you met Chris Wujek on a mountain trail, your attention would immediately go to his companions: 2 Llamas, 22 Goats, 4 Sheep and a Yak. Technically these are “pack animals” which are allowed to graze on trails and certainly do, but more realistically, this is a coherent group that depends on each other for… (read more)
Eulogy for Joseph Barreca Sr.
Preface: This is the eulogy that I gave on December 6th, 2019 at the funeral mass for my father, Joseph A. Barreca Sr. I wrote it with the intent of speaking to and for my brothers and sisters but there were many more who came to the funeral because they also wanted to pay their… (read more)
A Death in the Family
A lot of things happen when someone close to you dies that bring life into focus. One is that things you were worried about or in this case intended to write about, were not all that critical. Another is that writing is pretty safe and controlled compared to getting choked up and wanting to cry. … (read more)
Mushrooms in the Chips
The rains came and don’t show any sign of going away. If you are anything like me, you noticed mushrooms popping up all over in this weather. Since I have imported a lot of mulch into my vineyard over the last couple of years, I am seeing more and different mushrooms than ever before. To… (read more)
Summer is Gone
Two months and two weeks ago (July 20th) I posted my last blog about what is going on here. The temperatures were up to 102° and the Williams Flat Fire, the biggest of the year, had just started. Unfortunately life does not play out like the plot of a cheap novel. There is no beginning,… (read more)
Chips in the Woods
Most of us are very glad that this year’s fire season has been relatively mild. But if you are a member of a fire-fighting crew like Alan McKee and his Northern Columbia Reforestation team, it’s been a tough year financially. Fire Fighting pays well, is recognized as necessary, is regulated to provide sustainable working conditions… (read more)
Cows in the Woods
I was driving north on Williams Lake Road. The woodland on either side had been managed in a variety of ways. Some was left alone to fill in with underbrush. Some had been grazed into uselessness. Some of the most interesting had been selectively logged and the ground was covered in chips. That technique minimizes… (read more)
Work Work work
I keep a journal of what goes on each day and intend to write something about it each month, at the beginning of the month. A quick review of the last few blogs will show that I have been completely blowing that schedule. A quick review of my notes for June could be summarized “Work,… (read more)
Spring Happens
I haven’t written a blog since the violets and buttercups were blooming. Now the tulips, fruit trees, dandelions, Quince, Locust, Frittilaria, Iris and Lupine have all bloomed. Is Spring officially over when a bear tears down your bird feeder (5/27/19)? There is a lot to catch up on and nobody needs a really long article… (read more)