100% and Defining Local

contained

photo by Cal Fire

     The good news came from Cal Fire, The Chimney Fire is now 100% contained.

     Started August 13 the blaze destroyed 49 residences, 21  buildings, more than 46 thousand acres and for a week threatened the historic Hearst Castle.

      At its peak nearly 4,000 firefighters were on the scene augmented by 7 air tankers and 16 helicopters.  Cal Fire has released and re-deployed all but a few hundred firefighters.

       Local command will now supervise weeks of mop up, repair of roads, fire breaks, work to prevent erosion and stream run off.

      In the communities of Lake Nacimiento, Paso Robles, San Simeon, Cambria and in the adjoining wine country are signs and posters thanking the fire fighters. Heroes they are.

      Now they move to another fire or if lucky get a break and some time at home.

normal?

photo by Jacque Griffin

      Summer vacation season ends with Labor Day weekend and many California central coast residents are waiting to see an end to this. Midwest refugee Jacque Griffin captured this image noting it was "news worthy."  Traffic jams are a rarity, unless tourists flood the town as they do over the Pinedorado Weekend.

    The evidence of this photo is a touchstone in a community "discussion" in villages like ours. What is the balance between the quality of life of residents and the tourist hoards that are good for the hospitality industry?"  What is that balance? It's tricky.

     In the decade we have resided here we've witnessed an uptick in visitors. Friends who have been here for up to 30 years have seen a larger change, in size and character of the village as well as the tourist influx. 

    People came to Cambria because of its village quality and size. The quiet, natural character and location away from dense population was a draw. Some growth is inevitable but what remains with in the parameters of sustainability and resource use. How do you retain the character that makes a village unique and appealing? Would the restaurants we enjoy be here if there were not the seasonal visitors? What about some of those store fronts? What is reasonable?

     Opinions vary. In this village there are those who like its authentic, creative, funky and genuine nature. But there are some who prefer to see it more upscale, more like Carmel.

      This gets worked out by the coming and going of those who live here or who move on.

   Water is a friction point of course. Residents have reduced use by 20% to 40% but watch as thousands of out owners come and tap into our limited resource. And many tourists think nothing about dumping trash, leaving dog waste unattended, carelessly flicking cigarette butts, or ash trays and of course one of the most grievous offenses, take our parking spaces!

     In some ways, we are all tourists. California is a state where we drive. There is so much to see and do and so in our personal patterns we become visitors in another village or city.

   Though we note the end of summer often opens vistas and space.

   And it is hard to visit Morro Bay without an obligatory stop at Ruddells SmokeHouse where his fish Tacos have earned world wide acclaim. Deservedly.  But here I go only encouraging more tourist hoards.

    See you down the trail.

    

TALE OF TWO TITANS-A RARE POSE and SCENES OF FUN

     Spotted at twilight a young red shouldered hawk. As Dave our bird expert neighbor tells me, the species is not dimorphic so the sex can not be determined. It is an impressive raptor. 

      TALE OF TWO TITANS

      This is the tale of two Billionaires, both of them doing business in our beloved Paso Robles wine region and what a difference there is.

      You've read recently of Stewart and Lynda Resnick admitting they "were asleep at the wheel" when their Wonderful Corporation cut thousands of California live oak trees, denuded a hill side and without permission began building a reservoir that would suck millions of gallons frightening neighbors their wells would dry up. The Resnicks, who purchased the once prestigious Justin Winery, said they were "ashamed and embarrassed" as San Luis Obispo County continues an investigation.

      Then there is a billionaire you may never of heard of but who has done much to make this a better planet. He also owns a winery.

       Hansjorg Wyss was educated in Switzerland as an engineer and earned an MBA from Harvard. He sold his medical equipment manufacturing firm for $21.3 billion. Since then he has become "one of the most philanthropic people in the world" according to Forbes Magazine. 

      In one instance Wyss gave $250 million to Harvard to establish a cross discipline institute for biologically inspired engineering. Read here about its extraordinary work.

          Around the world his philanthropic giving is making a huge mark in science, conservation, the environment and more. He's leaving an indelible mark on wine making as well.

     He purchased the Halter Ranch Winery and added another 900 acres on which he created a preserve for the California oaks, the kind the Resnicks were decimating. He also added a wildlife corridor and began diligent water reclamation and protection, the opposite of the Resnick ethos. 

     Before he created the modern Halter Ranch Winery he had a team look at the best practices of grape growing, harvest, wine making, resource use and all aspects of the industry all over the planet. He then began to establish and improve on those best practices in what could well be the most efficient winery in the world.

    His manager, Skylar Stuck is exemplary of the class of the operation.  Stuck is a Johns Hopkins economist. It is my guess an objective of the Halter Ranch operation is to create a model of the absolute best way to operate a vineyard and winery with regards to resource use and protection, sustainability, efficiency, viticulture, wine making, customer relations, marketing and good citizenship.

     Halter Ranch has some 20 thousand feet of storage caves. They have a water conservation and gray water reclamation process that would be the envy of municipalities. 

      The Resnick operation, which also sells Fiji Water and Pom Wonderful, has been to dilute the quality of a once great winery by seeking more volume and sales which led to the trouble they are in.

       Wyss and Halter Ranch are continuing to fine tune sustainability, responsible agriculture and sound practices. In the long run, and the short as well, the model for the rest of the world is the intelligence, care, quality, precision and ethic of Wyss and Halter Ranch. There is more to life than the chasing of commoditization. 

       Wyss and Halter demonstrate one can be corporate and large but maintain a conscience. And they make an excellent wine!

can you see it?

     The frame below is a kind of eye test. Can you spot the "walking stick?"  The insect hides well. Identifying it is made a bit tougher by the somewhat out of focus head. It was a challenge to shoot and the thing was terribly uncooperative with the photographer.

local culture

   a wonderful brunch in Diane's garden

very provencale'

Zongo time in Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo

concert season is underway

the extraordinary Symphony Jeunesse

middle and high school students from San Bernardino

directed by Miche'le Brosseau-Tacchia

performing in Cambria

  

    See you down the trail.

TRUTH OF FARMER'S MARKETS & CALIFORNIA SPRING

TOUGH ODDS

     Michael Broadhurst who manages farmer's markets on the central California coast says less than 1/2 of 1% of America's food dollar is spent at farmer's markets.

     Depending on policies about where and how food is grown, farmer's markets provide the freshest, most local and sustainably grown food in America.

        Broadhurst spoke recently to a Cambria group and provided a kind of State of the Union of American food production.  He is a former chemist who worked in the pharmaceutical industry who became a farmer and grower of food.  He and his wife Carol operate Dragon Spring farms which enjoys a reputation for top quality produce and food products.

        Broadhurst said very few people can make a living in farming alone.  He sounded the dire warning that massive "food process systems" that control product from large farm operations to store shelves are responsible for food illness outbreaks "unlike any of us have ever seen before."   He said there are 7,000 fatal cases of food poisoning a year. A previous post details how one guy made a fortune and threatened your health.

        Broadhurst is a man of science and a farmer who says "food represents a gift in a world where we truly are what we eat."

CALIFORNIA SPRING
capturing blooms around Cambria

      See you down the trail.

SUSTAINABLE PLEASURE & BOB SCORES 100%

A NEW KID IN THE APPELLATION

The great looking design by San Luis Obispo

architect Heidi Gibson is the tasting room of

the new Shale Oak winery.

It's on a turn on Oakdale Road that just a 

couple of years ago was acreage for sale.

When ever I passed it I would tell Lana

"There's a great spot for a new winery."

New indeed!  And forward thinking.

As the Shale Oak philosophy states

"Sustainability in every facet."  They talk of

"holistic stewardship" of the vineyards.

Those are concepts and practices that 

are dear to Paso Robles wine growers and

drinkers.

Visible are the rain harvesting and water run-off

reclamation systems.

Their LEED certification is pending. Shale Oak

employs solar photovoltaic panels.

Regional natives are being used in landscaping.

Their beautiful tasting room looks out at vineyards

and Red Soles, a great "mom & pop" winery of distinction and elegant charm.

The winemaker, Kevin Riley, is known in the area

for a quality product. We left with a couple of bottles

and look forward to future visits and purchases.

Products from re-cycled, local and "green"

sources are sold.  We like the "ethos" of Shale Oak

and the commitment to doing it properly.

Even at that, I probably would not have posted

like this, had it not been for that "dream" that

always occurred as I drove by, usually on the 

way to Pipestone, another sustainable, organic

and top quality Paso wine.

Shale Oak promises to be a great addition to 

California's best appellation.

UPDATE FROM BOB

Frequent readers of LightBreezes have followed Bob Foster's 

progress in living with leukemia. As he undergoes pre-treatment

for a bone marrow transplant he is keeping busy.  He and 

I have begun preliminary work on a film treatment and

he's "tested" his brain cells.

I passed the "Amateur Extra Class" license exam today with a grade of 
100%. By upgrading my license to the highest level of Ham radio, I  
fulfilled a promise I once made to my father.

In 1964, Dad purchased a "BC-348-Q" WW 2 shortwave radio receiver for 
me. It cost $45, a lot of money for us at the time. The fact the radio 
came from a B-17 aircraft made it seem magical. Dad bought the radio 
only after I sincerely - as sincerely as a 14-year old boy can be - 
promised to one day earn the highest grade of Ham license. The old "348" 
opened the world to me. Many a night I sat, headphones clamped to my 
ears, listening to voices from Europe, Africa and South America. 
Interest in becoming a Ham would come and go. Slowly, I learned the 
Morse code. By age 20, I earned a "Novice" Ham license. By age 30, I was 
a "General Class" operator. Today, 47 1/2 years later, I fulfilled my 
promise to my father.  I am now an "Extra Class" operator. Thank you, Jesus.

Oh, Dad died last summer. I sure wish I could have called him today with 
the news.

--Foster

See you down the trail.

THE WEEKENDER :) GROWING THINGS

WAYS TO FEED

 California historically has produced

food for the world.  Blessed by great climate

and making accommodations for water

growers here have been hugely successful.

But is it sustainable?  As we 

learn more about resources, especially the need

for water conservation, we are finding

more imaginative ways to raise food.

Here's a fascinating example-

One million pounds of food on three acres-

plus fish.

Keep this in mind as you consider where

your weekend meals originate.

Enjoy.

See you down the trail