Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

PLAY TIME FOR BIG KIDS and THE HILLARY v. DONALD KNIFE FIGHT-


   We will rejoin the adventures of these lovely citizens of the Republic, but first a reflection on this business of Campaign 2016.
WHO DON'T YOU LIKE, LEAST?
    Remembering that in politics 24 hours is a long time and one should never say never, the pundits none-the-less are at work.
     IF the yacking heads are correct Donald Trump (Drumpf)
and Hillary Clinton will take saber and machetes in hand and make like human Popeil slicers and dicers. The one with the most body parts still attached November 9th will get stitched together so they can start driving the ship of state in January 2017.
    Lets assume the "experts" are correct. We then face a unique Presidential Election; two candidates with some of the highest negatives in history. What a start huh? Negatives always rise during the knife fights so there is a chance the new President will be one of the least liked people since Adolf Hitler. Charming!
     And there is a chance that one, or perhaps both could be indicted. Actions of both are being investigated; Hillary for the classified e-mails on a private server and Trump for alleged fraud at his now folded Trump University. Even more charming!
     I'll go against my own borrowed wisdom (borrowed from Eric Sevareid) and predict if Hillary Clinton and Donald Drumpf are the candidates, there will be a lot of cross over voting. The angry and more racist stripe of Democrats for the Donald and educated and moderate Republicans for Hillary. And a lot of folks may not vote which would probably help Drumpf.
    Much can and likely will happen so we stay tuned to an election that could have been an appendage to a 1976 Paddy Chayefsky script.  So, enough of that!
LETS PLAY
     The ever pleasing sounds of the Bellmores offer forth from
  a mountain top on the west side of Paso Robles.
      A red letter day-Le Cuvier pick up day. Club members are 
  treated to a gentle and sunny afternoon of wine and food pairings, great music and no politics.  
  Respected and well collected artist Ken Christensen set up shop for additional visuals on the mountain top with a view. 
AND....
SOMETHING NEW AT A CLASS ACT
back to the beginning
  Lana and Diane emerge from an inspection of the new public tasting room at the extraordinary Halter Ranch Winery.
   The following two photos are taken from approximately the same spot a couple of years apart.  The photo directly below is on the new public tasting room patio, near the entrance to the 22 thousand square feet of caves.The second photo shows the entrance previously.

  Views inside the new tasting room are also spectacular


    And in this new facility on the Halter Ranch complex, construction is stunning.
    The office, work space and members lounge is evidence of the state of the art nature of the operation.  Owned by a Swiss-German philanthropist and land conservationist he asked his staff to find best case design and standards. They did and the place is testament to excellence. It could be the most efficient and best designed winery in the world. 
  The works area was specifically designed; cement, iron, light, ventilation, work flow, access all customized.













    Friends are coming next month for a visit and we were concerned they were coming on a day when the members lounge is not open. After our inspection of the public tasting room our concerns drifted away.

    See you down the trail.

12 comments:

  1. That winery is a piece of work, wonderful. BTW, how's the grand baby? Probably hade to drag Lana home.

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    1. It was hard to leave for sure. Thanks for face time and Skype. She's a doll.

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  2. HAS AMERICAN POLITICS FALLEN SO LOW, OR ARE WE SIMPLY UNAWARE OF HOW LOW IT WAS IN THE DISTANT PAST?

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  3. Maybe it has been ever such but it seems more low brow and amplified now.

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  4. This is what happens when you scapegoat and demonize a sitting president and convince people the country is going to hell. You create room for someone like Donald Trump. Conservatives ade him possible and now they have a Frankenstein on their hands.

    Great pictures of that impressive winery. Much nicer than the one I worked at while attending college.

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  5. Stephen, there is a term some are using now, Frankentrump! A leading malefactor in this creation is Mitch McConnell who poisoned the political waters after Obama's election.

    The design team for the winery traveled to wineries around the world to study. They have created a truly marvelous facility that operates with extraordinary efficiency.

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  6. All political stuff aside, what a lovely area you live in, as you know. Bucolic, in the true sense of the word. Montana is becoming a warmer place, my snow is almost gone, and I wonder what my area and yours will look like in the decades ahead.

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    1. I've wondered why there is such little evidence of indigenous civilization here further back than Salinan or Chumash. The area may be given to historic droughts. Much of the Central Coast bench may also have been below the Pacific. Perhaps with the axis shift, climate change is an inevitable enemy of settlement. Perhaps the decades ahead will be a visit to the past.

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  7. Well I'm gonna bite the bullet and watch my first republiCON debacle tonight. I love your blog today as it reminds me to, cork a bottle or two prior to watching...

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  8. Indeed! It should be interesting with Mitt's comments. Carson however is off to nap land.

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  9. I was thinking of you today as J and I took a little road trip to a site I'd only just learned about in Sedona and then down Page Springs Road, passing three wineries in close proximity. There is a growing viniculture in the Verde Valley and the Page Springs area. Next trip over we'll have to explore some of it.

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  10. I'll be in touch. We have some dates to run by you.

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