Take the train to Sonoma Wine Country!

OK, you can't take a train to Healdsburg - yet.

But voters in Sonoma and Marin passed Measure Q , a bond issue to run a train from Cloverdale to Larkspur, through the heart of Sonoma County's Russian River Valley wine region.

This is good stuff. As a daily commuter on the SF Peninsula Caltrain line, I've grown very fond of ditching my car for nice rail. This line is similar in that it goes through the heart of downtown all the way down the line, taking people to where they want to go, and then "connecting" in Larkspur to the Ferry to SF. From our house in Noe Valley in SF, we could then get to Le Tournesol (our house in Healdsburg) by taking the J church to the Ferry building, the Ferry to Larkspur, then the train to Healdsburg. OK, we'd get dropped off 1.5 miles from home, but there will be a bike/pedestrian path along the rails, and the tracks cross our street about 1 mile from our front door (a mile walk that includes 4 wineries!)

Traffic on Highway 101 in Sonoma County is a nightmare, I predict this line will be embraced much as Caltrain has further south. The best part is that we should see results in a "reasonable" timeframe as the tracks are already in place, they just need to be upgraded and the train cars purchased.

With SMART in place Bourgogne will have nothing on Sonoma!

Planting Winter Greens in Sonoma County

Our Vacation House in Healdsburg has some very nice planter boxes for gardening. We are somewhat new to vegetable gardening despite Jill's experience in floral arrangement.

We took a class a few weeks back at Sloat Garden Center in San Rafael. This gave us some idea what to plant. We got a late start so we went with some starts.




The roster?

Herbs - Parsley, Oregano, Mint. We found a sprig of mint growing elsewhere on the property and transplanted it - it had probably seeded itself from the former owners garden.

Vegetables/Greens - Broccoli, Cabbage, Arugala, Mesclun lettuces, Spinach



It has started raining up in Healdsburg so we turned off our drip systems and will hope for the best. Some of these plants will produce all winter, some will go dormant and show up in the spring. Most of these plants can be cut and will sprout new leaves.

Our hope is to always have seasonal fruits and veggies for our tenants to enjoy. Right now, we are enjoying the last of our Pomegranates and eagerly awaiting the Persimmons (from the tree in the background). Otherwise right now all we have is our ever present Rosemary bush.