Colonel Allensworth

Having gone to school in Oklahoma I learned about the state's many “historically black towns”. At least that was what they were called when I went to school. There were many such towns in Oklahoma. And while some are still in existence, there are many that no longer exist. And sometimes the town names tell us about the people that lived there, names like Bookertee and Liberty.

Monoculture

Wikipedia says that monoculture is growing a single crop over wide regions. This provides advantages since the farmers can concentrate on developing techniques to maximize yields for only one crop. So they can develop machines that can efficiently harvest one type of fruit or grain. And crops can be developed that are specifically designed to do well in a specific area.

If I Had A Hammer

Back in the 1980s observations of a layer of sediment right when the dinosaurs went extinct led to a hypothesis of an asteroid or comet impact being the cause of the extinction. Like many hypotheses that are fairly radical, it took a while to gain acceptance, yet now it is considered the likely cause of the extinction.

Cranes

Often when someone says they saw a crane, what they actually saw was an egret or a heron. And all are often found around water. But herons and egrets are typically more solitary. Oh, you might see several at the same place, but usually not too close together. And cranes come in flocks.

Mysteries

Most people like a good mystery. The lost continent of Atlantis, the Bermuda Triangle, Bigfoot. And of course, whatever happened to Amelia Earhart. And while some people just ready about the mystery and enjoy not knowing. Other folks go out looking for answers.

Banned!

A couples weeks ago, Sharon's annual kidnapping (every year she plans a surprise day trip around my birthday) took us up north to Salinas. Steinbeck country. And that was exactly why we went. We had lunch in John Steinbeck's boyhood home. It has been turned in to a place to have lunch, with mostly sandwiches and salads, though they also have an entrée that changes weekly and desserts.

Fining Wine

Wine making is an important California industry. It's even becoming more important in our own local area. And some of us make wine as a hobby. So when I saw a post recently on the Internet titled something like “Things Wine Makers Don't Want You To Know” I had to check it out. Now I can't answer to techniques for any particular wine maker, but there was one topic mentioned that seemed worth reading more about. And that was the fining of wine.