until suburbia!

Delight Yourself at a Fairy Garden in Woodland

April 21, 2023Silvia

Remember the fairy garden in Fairy Glen, San Jose? Someone told me about one in Woodland. In this garden the fairies and gnomes live together. They enjoy gardening (of course!), but they also have a zip line that you can help them use. If you have a wish you can take one of the trinkets, turn around, close your eyes and throw it over your shoulder into the pond. Adults will find a penny jar to use for their wishes.

The garden itself is a gem on its own. I believe the grown up inhabitant is a landscape architect. There are various elements of Japanese garden design, like bonsai trees, and buddha statues. Another interactive feature is the gong and children are encouraged to ring it.

You can find the fairy garden on the corner lot of Rancho Way and Westway Drive in Woodland. Please supervise your children when they interact with the fairies and gnomes.

I hope your wishes will come true.

Do you know of other fairy garden in the Bay Area?

Combine Flowers and Art, Margrit Mondavi Art Garden

April 14, 2023Silvia

Adjacent to the Manetti Shrem Art Museum on the UC Davis campus you will find the Margrit Mondavi Art Garden. A lovely tribute to a main donor to UC Davis, Margrit Mondavi on her 90th birthday in 2015,. A painter herself, Mondavi’s subjects were flowers. Atlas Lab, who landscaped the garden in 100 days, took inspiration from Mondavi’s paintings and planted an array of diverse and colorful flower beds. Curvy small walls with curved benches invite the visitors to sit, to contemplate, or start to sketch.

The sculptures you will encounter at Margrit Mondavi’s Art Garden are William Tucker’s Leda (1989-90), bronze, John Connell’s Earth-Touching Buddha (2002), bronze, Dan Snyder’s The Restoration of Hope II (1983), ceramic with cement, and Andrew Rogers’ I am (2016). Above all, this is a flower garden that even has a rose cultivar named after the gardens namesake “Margrit Mondavi”.

I found this an unexpected but joyful place worth discovering. Best said by Margrit Mondavi herself in the UC Davis Magazine in 2014, “There is so much beauty in the world, if we look for it.”

What is your unexpected but beautiful place?

Culinary garden at the CIA at Copia, Napa

Savor the Culinary Garden at the CIA

April 8, 2023Silvia

Not only should you check out the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum when you are in Napa, you should also make a stop at the culinary garden. This gem of a cuisine garden is in front of the CIA at the Copia. While it features a variety of citrus trees on the right side, the main attraction is the 32-bed-garden. It is as educational as practical. Everything this edible garden has to offer is used by the CIA. In rare cases the website promises to offer any surplus at the Marketplace. The two gardeners Jacob Tracy and Rachel Kohn Obut show their love for the job and the sustainability of the land by ensuring crop rotation, no-till gardening, and an interesting array of local and climate related plants.

Currently they are working on offering garden tours, summer produce and flower sales.

The little stone walls invite you to sit down and take in the beauty and smells. You could even bring lunch from the next door’s Oxbow public market. The only thing you are asked to not do is sample any produce. Nevertheless they do offer a seed library! Get inspired and start your own culinary garden.

I hope you will take some time to enjoy the culinary garden at the CIA.

Entrance to the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum, Napa

Inspire your Culinary Creativity, Culinary Arts Museum, Napa

March 31, 2023Silvia

If you are in Napa, CIA is short for the Culinary Institute of America. The CIA expanded its campus in 2015 when it bought part of the Copia, a museum and event venue that declared bankruptcy in 2008. Now this is the site for the Business part of the CIA. In 2017 the Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum opened. Named for the founder of Williams-Sonoma, this museum showcases his extensive 4,000 pieces cookware collection.

Chuck Williams through his store and cookbooks introduced Americans to French cooking and authored more than 100 cookbooks. At the museum you will be greeted by porcelain boar heads and everything you need to butcher an animal. If that is not your area of interest maybe you’ll like the 30 different rolling pins? I was fascinated by the wall of shiny copper bundt pans. Additionally, the old mixer and mixing utensils are ingenious pieces of equipment.

Although by any standards a small museum, it is still worth the trip and admission is free. Opening hours are every day from 11 am to 5 pm; except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The Chuck Williams Culinary Arts Museum is located on the second floor of the CIA at Copia, 500 1st Street, Napa, CA. I recommend you stop at the gift shop afterwards, if you like cookbooks and the latest and greatest of cookware.

Do you have a favorite kitchen utensil?

Sign for di Rosa with red sculpture in the back

Picnic and Art, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

March 24, 2023Silvia

Once the rain is gone I’m looking forward to a picnic. A classic spot for a picnic is Napa. You can combine it with wine tastings surrounded by vineyards. If you want to step up your game, impress someone special, or just not into wine, I recommend visiting di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.

Di Rosa hosts two galleries with a focus on contemporary artists from the Bay Area. However, there is much more to discover. Located in a nature preserve within wine stocks, you walk by sculptures, an immersion of nature and art.

When we visited last weekend we saw Willian Allan’s Negotiations with Eden in gallery 1. Allan was a leading figure in the Bay Area’s Funk scene in the 1960s and 70s. His fish paintings show off a whimsical trait reflected again with the painted beans in a few display cases. This playful view on art, e.g., lucky number beans or birds eyes painted on beans, continues in his photographs where he reveals an eye for nature’s curiosities. Negotiations with Eden is open until May 14th, 2023.

Gallery 2 is labeled The Incorrect Museum – di Rosa’s permanent collection with a focus on ‘beat,’ ‘funk’ and other key movements in Bay Area art history. My favorite was the house of bottles in an outside area: Mildred Howard’s Memory Garden Phase 1. You can actually go inside the bottle house!

Due to the heavy rain the sculpture meadow, as well as another installation, were closed to the public. A bit unfortunate since I was looking forward to seeing the sculptures. However, while there were some sculptures on the way to the gallery 2, I can see myself returning on a sunny day with some friends, a picnic basket, and enjoying the sculpture garden and installation we missed.

On the second Sunday of the month they also offer nature hikes through the Sculpture Meadow and up the northern side of the property. Hikes start at 10 am, advanced tickets are required.

di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is located on 5200 Carneros Highway in Napa, CA. General Admission is $20, senior, military and students are $17, under 17 free. Opening hours are Friday to Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm.

Do you know of great picnic spots?

Entrance to the exhibit Fearless by Ana Lazaro

Celebrate Women’s History Month

March 17, 2023March 17, 2023Silvia

March is Women’s history month. A great way to celebrate is to check out your local library to see if they have anything special planned. I went to the Yolo Library in Davis and they currently have three (3!) exhibits to celebrate women.

The first exhibit is Fearless by Davis based artist, Ana Lazaro, in the Blanchard Room. The Blanchard Room is the left entrance of the library and is open during opening hours. Lazaro’s works are mostly acrylic on wood and depict famous women, like Maya Angelou, Dorothea Lange, and Dolores Huerta. The portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is especially striking. I enjoyed the short biography of the subjects and the notes about the books and other library materials available to borrow. Some of the pieces are auctioned off as giclées (high resolution prints) to benefit the Friends of the Yolo Library.

For the second exhibit you have to go to the other end of the library. Herstory 1 & 2: The Legal History of Chinese American Women is shown until the end of May in all Yolo County libraries. This collection of legal milestones was curated by Dr. Chang C. Chen. An amazing reference to brave Chinese American women from women’s suffrage, to the first Chinese American female to hold the office of Secretary of State, and other less known stories.

I was delighted to see a collage of Riot Grrrls at the teen center. Pictures of women in all shapes and colors ready to riot.

Mary L. Stephens Davis Library

is located at 315 E 14th St in Davis. Opening hours are Monday 12 to 8 p.m, Tuesday to Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 5:30 p.m.

Does your library have an exhibit celebrating women?

Hanna & Herbert Bauer Community Garden in Woodland

Plant a Community, Hanna & Herbert Bauer Community Garden

March 10, 2023Silvia

After all these extreme weather events it is finally time to plant your garden. If you don’t have a garden of your own you can ask for a community garden plot. The Hanna & Herbert Bauer Community Garden in Woodland is managed by the Health and Human Services department. The 32 plots are tended by residents, but they also offer classes that are open to the public. The garden was established in 2013 with the goal to increase access to fresh produce for the community.

It was great to see the different plots, some still with the winter vegetables, like chard and cabbage. The many benches promise an interaction on warmer days. Next to the garden area is a small orchard with about 10 different trees. Also the solar farm adjacent to it is harvesting hopes.

To apply for a 10 x 10 plot you can contact the Garden Coordinator: David Linebarger at david.linebarger@yolocounty.org. There is no fee for plot rental, just a commitment for giving 12 hours/year of maintenance service to the garden. With this amazing offer it is no surprise that the plots are usually taken. But turnover does happen.

The Hanna & Herbert Bauer Community Garden is located in the back of the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) Bauer building in Woodland, 137 N Cottonwood St. If you are interested in classes check their facebook page for upcoming events: https://www.facebook.com/YoloCountyHHSA

Are you a member of a community garden?

Experience Yolo Snow

March 3, 2023Silvia

Last weekend was the Almond Festival in Capay Valley. A 108 year old tradition celebrating the beautiful sight of almond trees in bloom. I heard that the bloom is usually best experienced a week before the festival, around mid February. But maybe because of the unusual weather patterns we had, blossoms held off for a while. They are in full bloom now and it is a spectacular sight!

Going up Rd 16 you will go by small towns that offer various activities, local delicacies, arts and music. We went all the way to Rumsey and enjoyed getting to know the local farmers, were impressed with the art show, and will be back next year for their famous oven fired pizza. We had already decided to stop on our way back in Guinda for BBQ oysters offered by the volunteer fire department. At the Grange Hall, crafts were available and we savored our almond vanilla ice cream.

After we enjoyed the festivities I wanted to stop at an almond orchard and take a few pictures of the Yolo snow and the trees. This turned out to be more involved than we bargained for. Our car got stuck in the mud and it took us a long time to push it out on the road.

The Almond Festival of Capay Valley is always the last weekend in February.

Have you ever experienced Yolo snow?

Shop for Vintage Clothes in Davis

February 24, 2023Silvia

It makes sense that Davis as a college town has lots of ways to shop second hand. There are a few vintage clothing stores downtown. If you are looking for a more social experience check out Davis Craft and Vintage Fair. Besides vintage clothes this fair also features local crafts and jewelry. I saw some cute Amigurumi (Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals and dolls), interesting artwork, and homemade jewelry.

The Craft and Vintage Fair was started more than 10 years ago as the Square Tomatoes Craft Fair by some instructors for the UC Davis Craft Center. The best news is it is usually twice a month from 10 am to 4 pm (only once a month in July and August). Stroll down the covered area at Central Park Pavillion, where you can find the farmers market on Saturdays. There is live music and food trucks, too. But wait there’s more. On the second Friday they move to E Street Plaza from 5 pm to 9 pm, as part of the 2nd Friday ArtAbout.

On my way back home I found a pop-up vintage market in the University Mall parking lot on Russell Blvd. They also had vintage clothing, art, and toys. I really enjoyed my sample of dill pickle flavored popcorn.

Davis is definitely the place to be if you are looking to buy vintage clothes and local art. It is also great for the environment to re-use.

The Davis Craft and Vintage Fair is located at Central Park 301 C St. for their Sunday markets. Find them at E Street Plaza near Baskin Robbins for the 2nd Friday ArtAbout.

The Vintage pop-up market is on Sundays in the parking lot of the University Mall on Russell Blvd.

Where do you go vintage cloth shopping?

A small pink tractor is parked next to some antique tractors

Count the Tractors at California AG Museum, Woodland

February 17, 2023Silvia

It is no surprise that Woodland has a museum for agriculture. Surrounded by fields and orchards, agriculture is ever present. But I did not expect to learn about the many different kinds of tractors.

The California AG Museum has over 100 tractors. All shapes and forms, from horse drawn, to steam, to fuel powered. The machines stem from a collection from Fred Heidrick Sr. and his brother Joe. Previously the Heidrick Ag History Center, it expanded in 2015 to the California Agriculture Museum.

The tractor’s history is fascinating. Beginning in the late nineteenth century tractors had metal wheels. It evolved with spikes then large rubber tires, and even tank-like tracks. One tractor built to tow artillery, the Hold “120” HP, was almost to France when World War I ended. Today, this is thought of as the only one of its kind. But with more than 100 antique tractors everyone can find their unique fascinating piece of farm equipment. Maybe it’s the white and red painted caterpillar? Clown-like made up for the county fair it stands out from its yellow family members in the rows ahead.

On our visit there was a huge party going on. The kids all got their own little tractors to zip around the museum. It definitely added to the fun!

Admission to the California AG Museum is $10 for adults, students, seniors and veterans $8, kids 6-12 $5, kids under 6 free. It is located in 1958 Hays Lane, in Woodland, CA. Opening hours are Wednesday – Sunday 10 am to 4 pm.

Do you have a favorite piece of farm equipment?