Month: September 2008

Low Altitude Viewing of Montclair

For the first time, I was able to take a Cessna joyride today – which meant low altitude flying over Montclair and the Oakland Hills.  Even during the brown season, Montclair looked great!  Of course you’re able to view the open spaces above and city below, with Montclair’s forest in between.

It’s pretty different than flying commercially to/from Oakland Airport, with its view of the hills and entire Bay Area.  Even at this higher altitude, you can still see the vast open spaces that make our metropolitan area unique.

Anyway, I was just thrilled by buzzing over our hills and checking everything out.  We actually flew over all the East Bay Parks, and they seemed rather empty.  I think that’s because it was just too hot for hiking today, unless you were wandering under the trees.

When you fly at low altitude, you get a better feel (literally) of the hilly terrain in the green belt.  We followed the ridges, and the airplane bounced around from the air currents and uplifts.  Of course, this was also happening in the windy afternoon.

My regrets for not bringing a camera today – but Google Earth is one way to take a virtual joyride instead.

Napa Comes To Montclair This Sunday

Even if you aren’t an oenophile, the Napa experience can be fun.  This weekend in Montclair, there’s no need to travel because the wineries will be coming to the Village.  Dubbed the Montclair Jazz and Wine Festival, this is the place to hang out on Sunday, from 11am to 6pm.

The entertainment lineup features five jazz acts, including New Orleans stylings from Brass Monkey Brass Band, organist David Matthews (not that one) who backed Etta James, vocalist Clairdee, saxophonist Vincent Herring & Earth Jazz Agents, and percussionist Pete Escovedo with his Latin Jazz Orchestra.

Wines will be poured starting at 1pm, and you pay $30/head or $50/couple for all tastings – along with commemorative glasses to use and keep.  Bring this $5 coupon for a discount, too.  You will be able to sample wines from Napa and beyond, with 29 different wineries on hand.

The crowds are large but worth battling.  This is the sixth year the Montclair Village Association has sponsored the event, and they have even invited the Guardian Angels to keep things orderly.  Wine is the main draw, although there’s beer and kids activities as well.

Most of the wines come from Northern California, or are strongly influenced by us.  To whet your appetite, here’s the complete list of who pours this Sunday:  Concannon, JC Cellars, Wente Vineyards, Tamas Estates, Twisted Oak,  Aubin Cellars, Robert Keenan Winery, Dashe Cellars, Andrew Lane Winery, Urbano Cellars,  Carica Wines, R&B Cellars, Cycles Gladiator, Esterlina Vineyards & Everett Ridge, Honig Vineyard & Winery, Lolonis Winery, Tarrica Wine Cellars, Mark West Winery, Watts Winery, Benzinger, L de Lyeth, Bouchard Aine & Fils, Dogwood Cellars, Unti Vineyards, Rock Rabbit Winery, Enat Winery, Beaucanon Estate Vineyards, Bonneau Winery, Chateau Beauchene.

Montclair has finally found its niche with this event.  Even with the crowds, stop by and check out the scene.  There’s free bicycle parking so you can get a little exercise, too.

Take Care Of Reiser Kids

We thought the Montclarion saga was over.  Hans Reiser has been officially locked up 15-plus years, for the murder of his estranged wife Nina.

Well the saga continues for the Reiser kids, who now live with their maternal grandmother in St. Petersburg, Russia.  Last week, a pro-bono suit was filed, which attempts to extract financial support for Rory and Niorline.  The wrongful death suit, filed on their behalf, is hardly a reach.

While this suit was reported by the Oakland Tribune and SF Chronicle today, I wanted to record the sorry tale of the Reiser children here.  It’s the least we can do to honor this local Montclarion mom, who was strangled to death by her husband – while their kids were around.

Older son Rory was quite clear-headed at the trial, even testifying that he saw his father carrying a black bag down the stairs.  This bag was Nina’s burial shroud, unearthed when Hans led cops to her hillside grave this summer.

The suit clearly states that both children “were in the house when the Defendant murdered Nina, which has resulted in severe emotional distress and psychological damage.”  No kidding.

At his sentencing hearing last week, Hans insisted the kids did not witness the crime and “never even knew what happened.”  He expressed remorse and actually seemed sad for them.  This delusional, alternate universe of Hans Reiser continues to make me sick.

As part of his sympathy campaign, Reiser also set up a token trust fund which will accept donations for his kids.  Around Montclair, the scuttlebutt says to ignore this request because funds won’t ever make it to the offspring.

Here’s hoping the kids’ lawyers prevail instead, and they receive some compensation for their radically altered and irrevocably harmed lives.   It can’t be an easy life over in Russia, instead of Montclair.

Respect Montclair’s Naked Ladies

Montclair’s naked ladies deserve some respect!  They are lovely pink amaryllis flowers which have begun blooming on our hillsides right now – and are pretty much the only burst of color we’ll see during September.

The SF Chronicle reported about the naked ladies appearing in the lowlands nearly a month ago, and apparently they grow in all kinds of nooks and crannies there.  While these blooms take more time to emerge in Montclair, they eventually cover fields and can make quite a statement.

One of our neighbors, who has been living here for years, told me he has been planting them on our brown hillsides.  There are a few scattered up and down our street right now.  Unfortunately, he has mixed success because neighbors pick them all the time.

So I can’t resist declaring this:  We are killing the ladies, and it’s time to respect them.

Handling The Deer Roadkill

For the past day, there’s been deer roadkill lying on Thornhill Road.  You can’t miss this deceased doe lying on the north side of the road, before Merriewood.  When alive, the doe probably looked really adorable like these grazers.

Who is responsible for removing the roadkill in Oakland?  Maybe that city worker is waiting for other wildlife to clean out the innards and make the pick-up easier.  (Just kidding.)

Someone placed an orange cone next to the deer, presumably to prevent drivers from running over it again.  Meanwhile, Bambi awaits her final burial.

This roadkill is a perfect example of our nature-city interface.  In most places with wildlife, the removals are rather prompt.  Having lived in the Rockies, I can vouch for this fact.

I’m going to assume that the Labor Day weekend is to blame, and the regularly assigned city worker is off-duty now.  However the remains can get pretty disgusting quickly, especially in the heat of the day.

We’re all used to seeing deer frolicking around Montclair, and they become even more visible at dusk and evening hours.  They seem to bound across roads at the last minute, often requiring you to slam the car brakes.

It’s a wonder that we don’t have constant roadkill around Montclair – but need to deal with them a little more quickly.