Meanwhile–this video does a good job of capturing the flavor of barrel tasting weekend, and has scenes shot last week at Joseph Swan, Bella, Stryker and other Sonoma County wineries.

Spring is in the air! The sun has come out this week, it is coming up earlier in the morning, and setting later. We are all acting a little goofy after so many weeks of (much needed) rain. I wondered, “When will the ducks be back in the pool?” Right on schedule, the mallards returned. They arrived just after dawn, take a liesurely swim and then sit under an apple tree on the warm pool deck, napping and drying off. Not a bad life. They are the picture of contentment.

Ducks sunning by the pool during their annual visit to Sonoma County

This morning, I wondered “How am I going to make my Ducks in Wine Country Post, Part Trey, the sequel any different than the first two?” (Side note: Do I need to? After all the joy of the seasons is in their repetition. I guess the same could apply to seasonal blog posts.)

Then, serendipitously today, I learned what the ducks and Sonoma County residents both know.
Courtesy of Nathan Halvorsen and the Press Democrat newspaper:

Do you have a smile on your face and a little extra pep in your step? Well, so does your neighbor.

A massive study released Monday determined that people in Sonoma County are happier and healthier than anywhere else in California — and ranked fifth overall in the nation.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, based on interviews with more than 353,000 Americans during 2009, asked people to assess their jobs, finances, health habits, mental attitudes and communities.

A large scale study of 300,000 plus Americans, including 750+ from Sonoma County, sponsored by the Gallup organization, determined that Sonoma County, specifically the Santa Rosa-Petaluma area, is home to the happiest people in California, and the community is fifth ranked in the nation for happiness and quality of life, also reported in USA Today.

Sonoma Coast Video

This time of year there is an extra good reason to visit the coast. From January to April, if you are lucky you may spot Pacific gray whales as they make their way both north and south between Alaska, where they do their feeding, to the lagoons of Baja Mexico where they give birth to their babies. Here is a link to details. You can find out about volunteers who will be happy to help guide your whale watching.

I already use my iPhone in so many ways when with clients and this tool will be a welcome addition.
So far I have used the iPhone out on location

to show maps, routes, and traffic
to take pictures and videos
to show pictures and videos from listings
to determine the orientation of a home with the compass
to send and search emails and review contract documents
to locate and make lunch reservations
to view the multiple listings,
to make blog posts or Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook updates
do calculations and more.

Now I can quickly point out what wineries are in range of a given weekend home, point out the latest upcoming tasting event or festival, recommend hotels, etc. I am not a golfer but this app finds all the golf courses within radius of a give property. It looks pretty good for a start and takes advantage of the iPhone environment. Check it out!

Visit Sonoma? There's an App for that!

Christian Wright and Gerald Simpkins were friends and fellow Vizsla owners long before they became clients in 2003 when we found them an astonishing 1915 farmhouse on acreage in Sebastopol, since lovingly restored. We sold their charming cabin in Guerneville near the Russian River so that they and their dogs would have more room to roam, and also to be closer to their full-time home in San Francisco, where they ran a successful interior design business, Wright-Simpkins, Inc., serving clients all over the United States.

Gerald and Christian have progressed along a path somewhat typical of second home owners in Sonoma County. At first they left San Francisco on Friday evenings and returned home Sunday afternoon. Eventually Friday reverted to Thursday and Sunday became Monday, stretching the weekend to nearly four days. Holidays meant two week stays whenever possible and they became increasingly involved in the community of Sebastopol and Sonoma County. The house had already had some extensive restoration by the previous owners and Gerald and Christian took it and the grounds to the next levels, so much so that the house and gardens have twice been featured on the West County Garden tour sponsored every year by Food for Thought in Forestville.

In 2008, Gerald and Christian decided to move to Sonoma County full time, and sold their home in San Francisco. The recently opened a small studio and shop in Sebastopol at 2833 Old Gravenstein Highway on the way to downtown Sebastopol. If you care to stop by and visit, you might call first, to 707 829-9177 to make sure they are in.

Oh, and in their spare time in 2009, they neared completion of a project in Kohala on the Big Island of Hawaii. If you, like I, are thinking of tropical weather these winter days, take a look!

Soon it will be time to think of pruning, which has already begun in the Dry Creek Valley in Healdsburg. Next week the daffodil shoots will poke up their heads in the garden. Two months to go till the mustard is up and early spring gets underway.

Posted via email from pambuda’s posterous

Santa Rosa CA Video

Farms from Knights Valley to Petaluma, Santa Rosa to Sebastopol offer stunning wine country vistas and a chance to cut your own tree, or buy a live tree. Many have picnic areas and other attractions such as tractor rides for the kids. You can find Christmas trees of every variety, wreaths and cedar garlands.

What a great way to spend a day or two this holiday season! Drive through some of the most gorgeous country on earth, take a hike in the fresh air, drink some free cider, gobble up some candy canes, and come home with a very fresh Christmas tree for your holiday celebrations.

There are at least 20 farms in Sonoma County that offer cut your own or live Christmas trees for sale. Most of them offer free apple cider, candy canes and coffee. Many offer tractor rides to the kids and Santa Claus is even know to visit a few. There are farms in Sonoma, Petaluma, Penngrove and Santa Rosa, but Sebastopol is the Christmas Tree Farm capital of Sonoma County with 12 farms in all. Tree farmers seem to be a dying breed as many folks go to a parking lot at a mall to buy trees trucked in from who knows where. Visiting a local tree farm sure is a lot more fun. Follow the link below to Sonoma County Uncorked for a beautiful slide show, map and guide to all the Christmas tree farms in Sonoma wine country.

Feel free to comment with your favorite Christmas tree farm!

The latest Bite Club post by Heather Irwin

Then you should check out Heather Irwin’s BiteClub which is a great source of the latest foodie restaurant news in Sonoma County. You will find the latest restaurant gossip, new openings, and guides to the best places to get a bowl of soup or a chile relleno. She is in the midst of running the second annual best cookie recipe contest. A community of commenters and Twitterers offers their own takes and tips. “Find it Fast” helps you quickly search by cuisine and location.

I also use Yelp quite a bit, especially on my iPhone where I can find nearby restaurants based on my location. Posts are filed by nearby Yelpers in the community. Very handy.

And then there is Open Table. I used to use this just to make reservations on my laptop, but it is far more powerful on the iPhone, since it takes advantage of the GPS to find me something near by that is open, and then automatically sends an email from the iPhone to confirm my reservation. It is a completely simple and fast. I use Open Table way more often now since I downloaded the iPhone app. There are only 98 “wine country” restaurants on Open Table, so it is a limited list of the better restaurants rather than the more comprehensive listing on Heather’s site or on Yelp.