Dogs Have Birthdays Too!

There is always a reason to celebrate here in Mendocino. Last week, the occasion was the birthday of Blair's twin Springer Spaniels. All of the dogs brothers and sisters, as well as their parents, attended with their owners. An important tip I learned the hard way -- at a dog party, those things that look like brownies may well not be!

The Maltese Falcon

Last fall, a friend of mine invited a few of us to travel down to San Francisco and go aboard the Maltese Falcon. At 289', the Falcon is the largest privately owned sailboat in the world. Its construction called for the biggest private purchase of carbon fiber ever made. The sails can be unfurled and the ship steered from a touchscreen at the helm. It was an amazing experience.

Seldom Scene a hit at Mendocino's Music Festival

Since its inception in 1971, the Seldom Scene has thrived on playing bluegrass a little differently than everyone else. If other bands used a fiddler, the Seldom Scene used a Dobro; if others relied on old standards, the Seldom Scene played rock classics like J.J. Cale's "After Midnight." Through skilled musicianship and an urban approach to bluegrass, the Seldom Scene has become one of the most influential -- if not the most influential -- bluegrass band of their time.

They played tonight to a sold out crowd at the Mendocino Music Festival. More than 2 1/2 hours of incredible music (and two encores). What a show.

The Music Festival continues through July 25th.

Our first harvest

Thanks to help from the Schoenemans and their vineyard manager, Norm Kobler, vegetables were ready to be picked from BGI's Anderson Valley Heritage Garden. Zucchini, squash and beets were the first veggies that will reach the plates of inn guests tomorrow!

Lucky Lulu The Pug

Have you ever met a dog that was just too funny for words? Taylor and I met Lucky Lulu outside of Queenie's Roadhouse Cafe in Elk.

BGI's Anderson Valley Heirloom Vegetable Garden Taking Shape

This past spring, the Schoeneman family (owners of Ferrington Vineyards) was kind enough to offer us some space on their Anderson Valley property to plant an heirloom vegetable garden for Brewery Gulch.

All the plants were started from seeds in the greenhouse and when they became large enough, we moved them out to the garden beds. We planted 12 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, squash, carrots, brussell sprouts, cabbage, swiss chard, zucchini, cucmubers, beets, cress, eggplant, pimiento peppers, leeks, spinach, bell peppers, and kale.

We are just ready to start harvesting the squash, beets and zucchini.

Our amazing chef!

I like to cook. I really like to cook, but I need a recipe to follow. I'm not the kind of person that can look at a few ingredients and create a dish.

Here at the inn we were fortunate to find an extraordinarily talented chef, Rick Anderson, to oversee our kitchen. Rick is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. He served as the executive chef at several East Coast restaurants and as a private chef on a yacht before opening Kendricks at the Quaker House on Nantucket, a restaurant he ran for 8 years. He walked in our door two years ago and elevated the food we offer to guests to new heights.

It has been educational for me to watch Rick practice his craft. I have learned quite a few things that I practice in the kitchen once he has left for the day.