We Reconnect with an Old Friend and we See some Very Old Trees and weFace the Drought

Not many pictures today, alas.   But here is one Dan took when he went to close up the chicken coop.  The rooster is standing on top of two hens, while towering over the rest of the brood.  They are regularly laying three or more eggs a day. 

Look closely, the rooster is the  king of the hill!

Played pickleball this morning, we are loving it!  Came home and had an old friend over for lunch, Maria.   She was our secretary many, many years ago when we worked in clinic in Dearborn--she was a young gal then, newly married, wile her husband was at Wayne State Med School, a very bright, delightful gal that we've exchanged Xmas letters from for years.   It was so nice to see her !  She looks the same, and we were all immediately comfortable with each other.  She lives about 5 minutes away, and invited us to her house on friday.  Just set the pace for a nice day, especially after pickleball.
In the afternoon, we drove to Calistoga, but actually drove through it, and north of it on the Silverado Trail.  There was nothing of note there, except a beautiful road that wound it's way up the mountain to the Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.  Very rustic, hair-pin turns, full of very old Redwoods and Eucalyptus trees.  (I just had to ask "Siri" how to spell that, try it yourself!)   Then, drove down to St. Helena, a wonderful little town in Napa Valley.
Came back on Spring Mountain Road, which we haven't been on before.  It connects Napa Valley to Sonoma Valley, is one of about 3 or 4 backroads that does.  Again, it was beautiful!  Woodsy, and winding, narrow and steep, with vineyards and a few wineries along the way.
Got back to our area, and had a drink at a nearby bar.  I am enclosing the blurb they have in the menu, as it is SO California!   Full of everything sustainable and fresh and organic and carefully cultivated, etc. etc. etc.!    I joke about this, but truly, it is a good thing.
At the end of the menu, and as you walk in the restaurant, they have a sign saying they would only give water to you if you asked, because of the drought.    So us mid-westerners, really, have no sense of what this means.  At least, I don't, perhaps others do.   But I am getting a sense of it.  We've been out here a lot, but this is the worst drought since our longer visits began, and you become aware of it.
Lucy, our hostess, as she was showing me the house, kept mentioning all the ways they conserve water.  Such as:
1. keeping a bucket in the shower to collect the cold water as the shower is heating up and using that water to water the plants
2. not flushing the toilet after every use if it's "yellow"
3. not using the dishwasher, or being sure to put it on the light load
4. not overwatering plants at all
5. the obvious, not running the water in the sink or any place at all

very California!

I find myself having more awareness of this, as we experience this life in Sonoma.