Famed artist Gregory Kondos of Sacramento comments on the beauty of the region and what it offers artists such as himself.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
New Guest Blog- Galt Winter Bird Festival fast approaching
By Liz Aguire, Galt City Clerk
Birds add beauty to our community year-round, but their most prominent role happens during the winter months. To celebrate our feathered friends, we are planning the sixth annual Galt Winter Bird Festival January 26.
Join us to view thousands of migratory birds that call Galt their winter home. Flooded rice fields in the Sacramento Valley provide habitat to 40 percent of all shorebirds wintering in the Central Valley. PBRO Conservation Science and Audubon California have been working to further enhance California’s rice landscape for shorebirds. In cooperation with the California Rice Commission and California’s rice growing community, they are developing and testing rice field management practices that have the potential to benefit shorebirds during fall migration and winter.
Join our bus tours which will include: morning & sunset photo tours, a children’s tour, a dawn photo-op tour and a wildlife tour of the Cosumnes River Preserve. Festival guests will also enjoy good food, WILD THINGS Wild Animal Performances, a Youth Art Gallery and free children’s art and crafts. Bird photographer, Art Morris will be the keynote speaker Friday night, January 25. Tours require pre-registration. Space is limited. Call now 209-366-7115.
Here’s a link to more information on the festival.
We hope to see you there!
Birds add beauty to our community year-round, but their most prominent role happens during the winter months. To celebrate our feathered friends, we are planning the sixth annual Galt Winter Bird Festival January 26.
Join our bus tours which will include: morning & sunset photo tours, a children’s tour, a dawn photo-op tour and a wildlife tour of the Cosumnes River Preserve. Festival guests will also enjoy good food, WILD THINGS Wild Animal Performances, a Youth Art Gallery and free children’s art and crafts. Bird photographer, Art Morris will be the keynote speaker Friday night, January 25. Tours require pre-registration. Space is limited. Call now 209-366-7115.
Here’s a link to more information on the festival.
We hope to see you there!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
ANNUAL GROWER MEETINGS UPCOMING FOR RICE FARMERS
The latest news on issues affecting California rice farmers will be
presented during the upcoming Annual Grower Meetings held by the California Rice
Commission (CRC), scheduled for January 8, 2013.
Download News Release
Download News Release
California Rice Commission 2012 Annual Report
Read the report
New Guest Blog- An inside look at the Cal Poly Universities award-winning Rose Parade Float
By Paulina Trujillo, Biomedical Engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Rose Float Decorations Chair
Cal Poly Universities joined forces yet again to create another award winning float. This was the 65th float that the two universities have worked on together and entered in the parade. The theme for the 124th annual Rose Parade was “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” inspired by the Dr. Seuss classic. Cal Poly Universities’ entry was titled “Tuxedo Air” which featured Penguins, a flightless bird, learning how to fly. Cal Poly Universities created the first float to ever be certified California Grown last year, and they continued to be California Grown this year.
The float process began in January when the students held a “Concept Contest” which is open to the public. A Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Rose Float Alum, Kelsey Christoffels submitted this year’s winning concept. Then Rose Float committees on both campuses held several meetings to decide on the final designs of the float. Once the design was finalized, construction began. The construction took the students well into the fall quarter. Right after their finals, the students held Design Week, which is an entire week and a half dedicated to putting the final design touches on the float. Once Design Week was over the students got to go home for a few days to celebrate the holidays with their families. Then on the 26th they started up again with Deco Week. The students had until December 31st to get the float completely decorated and ready for the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.
Tuxedo Air was certified California Grown, which meant that at least 85 percent of all the decoration materials are from California.
We would like to thank all the California growers who worked with us to make this possible including the California Rice industry who donated 300 pounds of white rice. This rice was blended and used to create “snow” to adorn some of the mountains featured on this year’s float. The rice helped add a detailed element to the float, thank you very much! This year’s float won the Bob Hope Humor Trophy, signifying the most comical and amusing entry.
Here’s a shot of our two decorations chairs- myself and Nelson Chang from Cal Poly Pomona.
The student’s are extremely happy with the finished float and we hope the public enjoyed the float as much as we did!
Cal Poly Rose Float Decorations Chair
Cal Poly Universities joined forces yet again to create another award winning float. This was the 65th float that the two universities have worked on together and entered in the parade. The theme for the 124th annual Rose Parade was “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” inspired by the Dr. Seuss classic. Cal Poly Universities’ entry was titled “Tuxedo Air” which featured Penguins, a flightless bird, learning how to fly. Cal Poly Universities created the first float to ever be certified California Grown last year, and they continued to be California Grown this year.
The float process began in January when the students held a “Concept Contest” which is open to the public. A Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Rose Float Alum, Kelsey Christoffels submitted this year’s winning concept. Then Rose Float committees on both campuses held several meetings to decide on the final designs of the float. Once the design was finalized, construction began. The construction took the students well into the fall quarter. Right after their finals, the students held Design Week, which is an entire week and a half dedicated to putting the final design touches on the float. Once Design Week was over the students got to go home for a few days to celebrate the holidays with their families. Then on the 26th they started up again with Deco Week. The students had until December 31st to get the float completely decorated and ready for the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day.
Tuxedo Air was certified California Grown, which meant that at least 85 percent of all the decoration materials are from California.
We would like to thank all the California growers who worked with us to make this possible including the California Rice industry who donated 300 pounds of white rice. This rice was blended and used to create “snow” to adorn some of the mountains featured on this year’s float. The rice helped add a detailed element to the float, thank you very much! This year’s float won the Bob Hope Humor Trophy, signifying the most comical and amusing entry.
Here’s a shot of our two decorations chairs- myself and Nelson Chang from Cal Poly Pomona.
The student’s are extremely happy with the finished float and we hope the public enjoyed the float as much as we did!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
New Video- The Basics of Wildlife Drawing
Naturalist, artist and educator John Muir Laws demonstrates the basics of a quick yet accurate and compelling art featuring Black-necked Stilts.
New Video- The Basics of Wildlife Drawing
New Video- The Basics of Wildlife Drawing
Thursday, December 27, 2012
New Blogger Mike DeWit- Winter in Rice Country
Family farmer Mike DeWit comments on the highlights of the season, including large numbers of wildlife in rice fields.
Mike DeWit, along with his father Jack, grow rice in Sutter, Yolo and Sacramento Counties.
Mike is a second-generation rice grower. He and his wife Trucie have two children, Jacob,20, who is severely autistic and living and going to a special school for autism in San Jose. Daughter Debra is a senior at Davis high School.
He is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. While not farming, he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.
“I feel blessed to do what I do,” Mike said. “It’s not work if you love what you do for a living.”
Mike DeWit, along with his father Jack, grow rice in Sutter, Yolo and Sacramento Counties. Mike is a second-generation rice grower. He and his wife Trucie have two children, Jacob,20, who is severely autistic and living and going to a special school for autism in San Jose. Daughter Debra is a senior at Davis high School.
He is a graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. While not farming, he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.
“I feel blessed to do what I do,” Mike said. “It’s not work if you love what you do for a living.”
New blog from Brendan O'Donnell – Historic drink gaining ground in the U.S.
I recently attended the 8th annual Northern California Premium Sake Festival in downtown Sacramento. For those of you that have never been, be sure to pencil it in your schedule for next year. What a great time! Hundreds of different sakes from local breweries as well as Japanese imports. Did I also mention- great food and a sushi making contest! Here’s one photo from the event with me, a great sushi chef Billy Ngo of Kru and another friend, Eric Johnson.
And here’s a second photo – this time with Takumi Kuwabara from Takara Sake USA.
Sake is such an interesting thing to me. It’s unbelievable how the sake makers are able to pull so many complex flavors out of the rice simply by using rice that is milled to different levels and the use of Koji mold to aid in the fermentation.
Sake is brewed, but it is not beer. Sake is sometimes referred to as “rice wine” but it is not wine. The Sake making process is unique. This is a very old diagram from Takara Sake (one of our local California Sake breweries) of the traditional way to make sake. Of course it is modernized now, but the basic principals are the same.
Sake is classified by the amount of polishing that the rice receives. Junmai Sake is made from rice that is milled to 70 percent from brown rice. This means that if you start with 100 pounds of brown rice, you will continuously and slowly mill the rice on specialized sake equipment until only 70 pounds remain. Ginjo Sake is made from rice polished to 60 percent and Daiginjo is polished to a minimum of 50 percent. You will sometimes find Daiginjo sakes that are made from 30 or 40 percent polished sake rice.
If you’re one of the many people that have never tried sake, or if your sake experience is limited to a “hot sake” at a sushi restaurant, I strongly encourage you to visit one of our local sake breweries and spend some time in the tasting room. With so many different types and flavors of sake, you are guaranteed to find one (or maybe several) that you absolutely love.
There are Two Sake companies right here in Northern California that offer regular tastings in very nice tasting rooms.
Takara Sake in Berkeley
Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom
Brendan O’Donnell is Vice President, Sales at The Sun Valley Rice Company, LLC, which mills, packages and markets premium California rice both domestically and around the world. He is the Fifth generation of his family to be involved in California agriculture and has been marketing and promoting California rice since 2007. He is a graduate of UC Davis with a B.S. in Agricultural Systems and Environment and Communications. Brendan is also an active member of the Rice Leadership Development Program. When he’s not selling rice, Brendan enjoys golfing, skiing and spending time with his family. He and his wife, Erin have Two children, Bridget and Liam.
Sake is such an interesting thing to me. It’s unbelievable how the sake makers are able to pull so many complex flavors out of the rice simply by using rice that is milled to different levels and the use of Koji mold to aid in the fermentation.
Sake is brewed, but it is not beer. Sake is sometimes referred to as “rice wine” but it is not wine. The Sake making process is unique. This is a very old diagram from Takara Sake (one of our local California Sake breweries) of the traditional way to make sake. Of course it is modernized now, but the basic principals are the same.
Sake is classified by the amount of polishing that the rice receives. Junmai Sake is made from rice that is milled to 70 percent from brown rice. This means that if you start with 100 pounds of brown rice, you will continuously and slowly mill the rice on specialized sake equipment until only 70 pounds remain. Ginjo Sake is made from rice polished to 60 percent and Daiginjo is polished to a minimum of 50 percent. You will sometimes find Daiginjo sakes that are made from 30 or 40 percent polished sake rice.
If you’re one of the many people that have never tried sake, or if your sake experience is limited to a “hot sake” at a sushi restaurant, I strongly encourage you to visit one of our local sake breweries and spend some time in the tasting room. With so many different types and flavors of sake, you are guaranteed to find one (or maybe several) that you absolutely love.
There are Two Sake companies right here in Northern California that offer regular tastings in very nice tasting rooms.
Takara Sake in Berkeley
Gekkeikan Sake in Folsom
Saturday, December 22, 2012
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