Southern Sonoma Country Life

Save Petaluma Wildlife & Natural Science Museum — Community Crowdfunding Spotlight

 

The Petaluma Wildlife & Natural Science Museum is the only student-run natural history museum in the country, dedicated to “inspiring the next generation of conservationists through environmental education and practical conservation.”

The Museum, which relies on donations as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, has had to cancel its school tours, open houses, fundraisers, and summer camps due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing income down to zero even as operating costs for maintaining the animal exhibits continue.

I have a special place in my heart for this one-of-a-kind community treasure as all three of my boys attended preschool and elementary school tours and camps and my youngest son, Dom, who just graduated from UC Davis this June, worked as a camp counselor throughout his high school years. As an out of the box kid, the Wildlife Museum was a second home for him and the friends he made and instructors he learned from enhanced a deep appreciation and love for his native Sonoma County and Northern California environment, landscape and wildlife. There are hundreds if not thousands of young people like Dominic who have benefitted so greatly from this program. 

Click here to donate to Petaluma Wildlife Museum's GoFundMe Campaign. 

Yearly operating costs sit at $50,000 for animal feed, supplies and payroll for the Animal Care Technician, who is leading a group of Board volunteers in keeping the museum animals alive. The museum team is exploring every avenue for fundraising and loans, but with the cancelation of its annual Pasta Feed fundraiser and summer camps, the situation is dire.

Recently, amidst the chaos of our global pandemic, another potentially devastating pathogen – one that is specific to snakes and lizards – has taken hold inside the museum and infected one of the animals in its care. Museum staff are taking immediate and decisive steps to prevent the spread of this parasite throughout the museum's collection and making major changes to its husbandry and exhibition protocols going forward in order to protect students, visitors, and staff from spreading this pathogen to additional lizards and reptiles. 

Donations will be utilized as follows: A first goal of $15,000 has helped to purchase animal feed and husbandry/maintenance supplies through the summer and into the fall semester, as well as making a start with begin quarantining and testing of reptiles for this parasite.

Reaching $25,000 ensured continued maintenance of the museum and to pay the Animal Care tech to lead the adult volunteers until the end of 2020. That goal has been met.

Next goal of $42,000 is required to maintain the museum and continue to pay the Animal Care tech until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. And, hopefully, reaching $55,000 will carry the museum through the summer of 2021 and help to pay summer camp counselors if it is safe again to host summer camp next year.

The Petaluma Wildlife Museum was created due to the generosity and passion of the community and it is again up to the generous donors of our community to keep the PWM – and its mission of environmental education and wildlife conservation – stay alive for the 2020-2021 school year.

For more information on the Museum or on Cryptosporidium click the Petaluma Wildlife Museum webpage and FB page. 

 

 

 

Support California Artisan Cheesemakers with a Shipment of Cowgirl Creamery's Good Neighbors Collection Victory Cheese Box

FREE OVERNIGHT SHIPPING, ORDERS INCLUDE A $10 DONATION TO THE CALIFORNIA ARTISAN CHEESE GUILD

A celebration of the strength and resilience of community, the new #VictoryCheese box is Cowgirl Creamery's call to join the fight to save the American artisan cheese industry. From Sonoma & Marin county backyards to your table, comes a collection of full-flavored, award-winning cheeses from some of our region's favorite creameries.

$10 of every purchase goes to the California Artisan Cheese Guild, a non-profit organization supporting California cheesemakers through partnerships, outreach, and education. Each collection contains a Cheesemonger's Choice, a rotating selection of cheese from friends and neighbors in artisan cheese.

Weights may vary. Substitutions will be made as needed with like product of equal or greater value.

Mt. Tam
Cowgirl Creamery • Petaluma, CA
As a respectful nod to the majestic beauty of Mt Tamalpais, located a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, Cowgirl Creamery named its signature cheese Mt Tam. Creamy and elegant, Mt Tam coats your tongue with a rich, buttery flavor that carries an earthy hint of white mushrooms. The triple-cream Mt Tam is made from unblended, organic, single-herd milk from Straus Family Creamery. (8 oz)

Estero Gold Reserve
Valley Ford Cheese Company • Valley Ford, California
The Bianchi family has owned and operated their 640 acre ranch since 1918 and began producing cheese in 2008. Estero Gold Reserve is made from raw milk and aged for about 16 months, giving the cheese a hard texture and sweet flavors of fruit that are reminiscent of Parmigiano. (12 oz)

Point Reyes Original Blue
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company • Point Reyes, California
Made from raw milk and aged for six months, Original Blue is creamy and tangy with a medium punch of blue mold flavor, and a perfect balance of salt. The cheese’s rich, unique flavors are attributed to the high quality of the farm’s pastures and their proximity to the ocean. (6 oz)

Cheesemonger's Choice
A rotating selection of American artisan cheese from one of Cowgirl's favorite producers. Whether it be cow, goat, or sheep, this cheese is sure to round out a cheese board and provide much needed support for our industry partners.

Weights may vary. Substitutions will be made as needed with like product of equal or greater value.

Click here to order. 

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Shipping Policy & Rates

Due to the perishable nature of cheese and Cowgirl Creamery's standards for the quality of its cheese, the company ships via FedEx Overnight Monday - Thursday. Please note the selected ship date is an estimated ship date. All orders will arrive within the selected week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

 

Memorial Day 2020 — A Moment of Remembrance

Photos Via Pinterest

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

– Joseph Campbell

"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

– Mark Twain

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."

– Bob Dylan

 "Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility."

– Eleanor Roosevelt

"Ceremonies are important. But our gratitude has to be more than visits to the troops, and once-a-year Memorial Day ceremonies. We honor the dead best by treating the living well."

— Jennifer M. Granholm

“Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.”

— Mary Roach

2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards Names Big Green Country by Frances Rivetti as Gold Medal Winner for West Pacific Best Regional Fiction

Still pinching myself following recent exciting news on a big, first award for my debut novel Big Green Country. The 2020 Independent Publisher Book Awards is a highly respected annual literary award competition open exclusively to independent authors, small publishing houses and university presses around the English speaking world.

Big Green Country, a contemporary novel set in coastal Sonoma County, Russian River and into the Emerald Triangle counties of Humboldt and Mendocino was judged Best Regional Fiction in the West Pacific.

I'll share more on this news later, but for now, thank you to everyone who has read and all of those who have taken time to write a brief review for my latest work. A book is not worth its salt without readers. The hardest part of writing a book is finishing it. The next hardest, putting into print, the hardest of all is the marketing and promoting. So every time a reader shares my work with another, word spreads and my books take wings. Please do continue to tell friends and family and fellow readers about Big Green Country. 

I'm delivering signed books locally in my hometown, via PayPal store orders on the homepage of Southern Sonoma Country Life and will mail to addresses in the U.S.  It is available on Kindle and all the major online booksellers, including my favorite, Bookshop (click here) and through local bookstores. Big Green Country is available in the UK. 

I'm back at my desk starting on the next one, slowly, but surely! 

This is my second IPPY. Fog Valley Winter — Pioneer Heritage, Backroad Rambles and Vintage Recipes won a Silver Medal in 2018. in the Holiday Book category. I was thrilled to attend the awards ceremony at the iconic Copacabana Club in NY. No award ceremony this year for obvious reasons but I will plan a party for the Big Green Country Gold when it is safe to gather. I hope you will join me in a toast! 

Click here for full list of award winners of this year's Independent Publishers Book Awards (Ippys).

Victory Day 75th Anniversary In Words & Images — Lest We Forget

photos via Pinterest

“At eleven o’clock this morning came to an end the cruelest and most terrible War that has ever scourged mankind. I hope we may say that thus, this fateful morning, came to an end all wars.”

David Lloyd George

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Winston Churchill

“The world must know what happened, and never forget.”

General Eisenhower 

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Albert Einstein

"Humility must be the measure of a man whose success was bought with the blood of his subordinates, and paid for with the lives of his friends."

General Dwight Eisenhower 

“I believe it is peace in our time.” 

Neville Chamberlain 

 

Lockdown in Our Sonoma Country Kitchens — A Return to Home Cooking

"Appetite, a universal wolf."

Shakespeare

Snagging a bag of flour in the weekly shop is like hitting the jackpot during lockdown. It's not hard to guess which pantry staples will continue to be in short supply on our local supermarket shelves, though supplies of dried goods, beans, grains and pasta have begun to reappear now that we're not seeing shopping carts nearly as filled to the brim as they were at the start of the shelter in place orders. 

Flour, however, remains an elusive score on the pandemic-era shopping list. And anyone who has a bag or two is baking up a storm the likes the western world hasn't seen since the grandparents of today were kids. 

What is it with this sudden rush to whip up a batch of homemade oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies each afternoon? Favorite cake recipes from our childhoods have made a massive comeback — and there's a weekly banana bread bonanza on every block in town! 

Not to mention the bread. Boules, bagels, sourdough, soda bread, baps, rye, brioche and baguette. Not to mention the focaccia. And our social media feeds stream a veritable visual feast of the photographic evidence that we've all gone nuts for baking.

There is an indisputable truth in that home baked goods satisfy and sooth all of the senses, calming those who are in charge of the daily baked offering, filling our homes with the aroma of comfort and bite by bite, bringing us to table in the knowledge that if there's one thing we still have some control over during this crazy, unsettling, even terrifying times, it's the ability to satisfy the time-old stress-relieving sugar and carb crave that unites us all. 

And that's not all we're cooking. Which is a good thing seeing as sugar consumption increases serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, appetite, memory and social behavior should be kept to moderation. As sugar boosts our serotonin, we feel happier, albeit temporarily and that's why our brains crave this happy chemical over and over. Still, it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway. We all know that it is vitally important and now more than ever, to keep our diets balanced. 

I reached out on my Facebook feed to ask friends and family to share what they've been cooking. What struck me is how adventurous we've become. We're so accustomed to eating and savoring international flavors, we've expanded our standard at-home fare to include a lot more exotic dishes and daring culinary treats. 

During this age of Covid-19, foodies are going to town on their home countertops, sharing recipes and inspiring on social media. Others are simply making the most of having the time to plan, shop strategically and cook from scratch. Meals that take longer to prepare are back on the agenda. Other times, it is the simple omelet with garden greens that brings us a little ray of much welcomed joy in our day. 

We are eyeing the overhanging lemon tree on our daily walks, planting summer veggies, pickling and prepping for canning season, in many cases, for the first time in our lives. When we stick to a weekly shop or stretch it even longer, it's amazing what we're able to put together from our fridges.   

Wild nettle & leek risotto - Frances R

 

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers."

Laurie Colwin

British pub-style pickled onions — Frances R 

 

"By economy and good management, by a sparing use of ready money and by paying scarcely anybody, people can manage, for a time at least, to make a great show with very little means."

Vanity Fair, Thackeray

 

Kimchi —Herlina H

Greek Night — Elaine S

Pork chops in a spice rub with risotto and Swiss Chard - Susan L

Janis L C — Sourdough Boule

Becky M — Sicilian Focaccia with arugula

 

Janis C L — Soufflés

Tamara A — Grilled octopus salad (Anna's Seafood) with McEvoy olive oil

Butternut squash soup and grilled cheese sandwich — Linda S

Nonna's Italian Frittata made from a friend's Swiss Chard — Elaine S 

Hot sautéed shrimp salad — Linda St. A

Lemon chicken orzo soup — Lesley M

Yorkshire pudding with mushrooms — Timothy C

Kitchen sink cookies — Lesley M

Liver, bacon and onion on a bed of mash with crispy Brussel sprouts — Francesca R

Vegetarian Molokhia with sumac, onion, olive oil and lemon juice — Hanna A

Pickled asparagus — Kathy S

Hubby's Vietnamese "Nem" rolls — Janis L C

Huevos diablos! — Lotte H G

Yorkshire Pud — Lesley M

Anzac Cookies — Lesley M

Lasagna — Alicia P

Sausage rolls — Colin P

Pickled Veggies — Claire Z S

Still not sure? Meloni C

Ahi tuna about to be quickly seared, in a s’mores holder — Val R

Southern Italian cabbage green savory pie — Timo R

Perfect Baguette — C Smith

Open faced Danish sandwiches with what was in the fridge and freezer — Pia H

Italian green bean, egg, tomato, red onion and potato salad — Nonna Pina

 

Green String Farm Shop 

And a word for those in our communities who don't have the means to stock their fridge and pantry to feed their families fresh, wholesome food, we must continue to support our county, state and country's efforts to keep the food banks, school meal programs and non-profits such as Sonoma County Meal flowing. Here in Sonoma County and neighboring west Marin, much of the best farm produce of the coastal west is being funneled into these programs to feed those in need while avoiding waste of what would, in normal times, supply the region's top restaurants. Chefs, in turn, have redeployed during lockdown into cooking for these vital lifeline programs. 

I think we all agree we can't take our food supply for granted. Support local whenever possible. And now that our favorite eateries are taking the first steps to reopening with curbside pick-up, we can begin to imagine eating out again in whatever perimeters the new normal requires. Until then, in the words of Harriet Van Horne: "Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon, or not at all."

Treat Mom to Books By Sonoma County Authors This Mother's Day

At least fifty-eight books by Sonoma County authors are available to order online at Bookshop.org. 

I know this as I gathered as many as I could find with distributable titles and placed them on a local author's virtual shelf in my own little store within a store on Bookshop, a new bookselling service which gives a portion of its online sales back to brick and mortar bookstores that don't have their own online sales system in place. Year to date, Bookshop has sent over a million dollars back to bookstores at a time when every dollar counts. 

Lots of local authors sell their books directly from their websites, so it's always a good idea to order from an indie this way, as a bigger percentage of the book sale supports writers in their work. 

If you'd like a copy of my suspense novel Big Green Country signed and delivered to your mom by Mother's Day, May 10th, go to the homepage of Southern Sonoma Country Life and look for the PayPal store half way down the right hand side of the page. No charge for delivery. 

I also have copies of Fog Valley Winter, Pioneer Heritage, Backroad Rambles and Vintage Recipes available directly by request. Fog Valley Winter is a non-fictional favorite with local foodies and historians and anyone who loves the southern Sonoma County and coastal west Marin foodshed area and is unable to visit for obvious reasons right now. 

And if you've read any books by Sonoma County authors recently, please do take a few minutes to write a brief review online. Amazon reviews are so important and serve as a benchmark for readers and the publishing industry to take a look at when considering the merit of a title. Doesn't matter if you didn't buy it there.

 

Plant a Shakespeare Garden This May — 48 Bard-Approved Seed Varietals Suitable for Sonoma County Climate

‘I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows.’

Front and back yards are blooming with roses and wisteria as May approaches in Sonoma County and with time on our hands at home, what better way to boost spirits than tending to a garden? 

A notice in the window of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Bank caught my eye on my morning walk this week. "Plant a Shakespeare Garden," it called out! And there's no finer example of this than the grounds the Bard tended to himself over 400 years ago. From Avon to Stratford, the English country gardens he grew up in and explored continue to inspire to this day.

The book Shakespeare's Gardens explores these gorgeous grounds — including Shakespeare's birthplace in Henley Street, his childhood playground at Mary Arden's Farm and his courting days at Anne Hathaway's cottage.  

It would be hard to replicate Shakespeare's plant list in its entirety, given the different growing conditions, though Baker Creek does stock some 48 of them!

Baker Creek Seed Bank in downtown Petaluma is closed during shelter in place, though staff are taking weekly, prepaid, no-contact pickup orders on Fridays, between 11 am and 3 pm. Email your order/questions to petalumaseedbank@gmail.com by 5 pm on Thursday evenings for Friday collection.  

San Francisco's Golden Gate Park website reports of many residents of the Bay Area and beyond who have focused their own gardens on the blooms and plants mentioned in their favorite Shakespeare play.

As is evident from this complete list, Shakespeare was enthusiastic in populating his works with flowers, plants, and trees.

aconitum (monkshood)
almond
aloe
apple, (also crab, pippin)
apricot
ash
aspen
bachelor’s button
balm
balsam and balsamum
barley
bay
bean
bilberry
birch
blackberries and brambles
box
brier
broom
bulrush
burdock
burnet
cabbage
camomile
carnation
carraway
carrot
cedar
cherry
chestnut
clove
clover (or honey-stalks)
cockle
coloquintida
columbine
cork
corn
cowslip
crow-flower
crown imperial
cuckoo-flower (buttercup)
currant
cypress
daffodil
daisy
darnel
date
dewberry
dock
dogberry
ebony
eglantine
elder
elm
fennel
fern
fig
filbert
flag
flax
flower-de-luce (iris)
fumitor
furze
garlic
gillyvor (carnation)
ginger
gooseberry
goss or gorse
gourd
grace (rue)
grape
grass
harebell
harlock (burdock)
hawthorn
hazel
heath (ling)
hebanon (possibly yew)
hemlock
hemp
herb of grace (rue)
holly
holy thistle
honeysuckle
hyssop
insane root (mythological)
ivy
kecksies (hemlock)
knot-grass
lady-smock
lark’s heels (larkspurs)
laurel
lavender
leek
lemon
lettuce
lily
lime
ling
locust
long purple (probably orchis morio, o. mascula)
love-in-idleness (pansy)
mace
mallows
mandragora, mandrake (mythological)
marigold (calendula or pot marigold)
marjoram
marybud (marigold)
mast
medlar
mint
mistletoe
moss
mulberry
mushroom
musk rose
mustard
myrtle
narcissus
nettle
nutmeg
oak
oats
olive
onion
orange
osier (willow)
oxlip
palm tree
pansy
parsley
pea
peach
pear
peony
pepper
pig-nuts
pine
pink
plane tree
plantain
plum
pomegranate
poppy
potato
primrose
pumpion (probably gourd)
quince
radish
reed
rhubarb
rice
rose
rosemary
rue
rush
rye
saffron (C. sativus)
samphire
savory
sedge
senna
speargrass
stover (grass)
strawberry
sugar
sycamore
thistle
thorn
thyme
toadstool
turnip
vetch
vine
violet
walnut
wheat
willow
woodbine (honeysuckle)
wormwood
yew

Source: The Plant-Lore and Garden-Craft of Shakespeare, by Henry N. Ellacombe. W. Satchell and Company, London, 1884.

And if you don't fancy the Shakespeare planting idea here's a handy list posted outside the seed store to let us know what to plant in Sonoma County in the month of May:

Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance Farmers & Winemakers Release a New Video Documenting How Covid-19 is Impacting Business. Buying Wine? Source Doorstep Deliveries From Hyper-Local Wineries to Support Your Local Growers & Winemakers (& Their Families)

Petaluma Gap growers and winemakers share first-hand stories of how Covid-19 is impacting their business. Our hyper-local growers are resilient and used to facing headwinds but they need your help with this one.

Thank you for purchasing wine and participating in virtual tastings while safely sheltering-in-place.

 

The Petaluma Gap is the premier gateway to the Sonoma Coast and northern Marin County wine region. Designated on December 7, 2017 as the country’s newest American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Petaluma Gap is producing premium grapes that make the new AVA one of California’s best areas to grow primarily Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah grapes.

The wind and the fog are the Petaluma Gap’s trademark. The “Gap” is actually a wind gap named after a coastal mountain opening that stretches east from the Pacific through the town of Petaluma and then roars south to San Pablo Bay.

The Petaluma Gap has a 150-year tradition of growing grapes. The Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance is dedicated to supporting growing wine grapes and production of premium wines in the Petaluma Gap.Vineyards are tucked and hidden in the most unexpected places. Crest a hill, round a curve, look into the little nooks and crannies that make up the Lakeville, Adobe Road, or west county landscape, and you’ll notice more and more pockets of green, made up of rows and rows of grapevines. The vines bring brilliant patches of color to the golden grasses that support the neighboring pastures of cows and sheep. These are the vines of the Petaluma Gap and the source of some of the most exciting wines to hit the California wine scene in a very long time.

The Petaluma Gap produces wines for some of the region’s finest wineries including: Keller Estate Winery, Rodney Strong Vineyards, Guarachi Family Wines, deLoach Vineyards, Flowers Vineyard and Winery, Hart’s Desire Wines, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Kosta-Browne Winery, Landmark Vineyards, Loxton Cellars, Sojourn Cellars, Schramsberg Vineyards, and Zepaltas Wines.

Click here for a full list of Petaluma Gap wineries. 

 

Call of the Old/New Wild West — To Howl or Not to Howl?

“We are never alone
We are all wolves
Howling to the same moon.” 

Atticus

Image: Pinterest

 

Time magazine reports in its April 10th 2020 edition: "It starts with a few people letting loose with some tentative yelps. Then neighbors emerge from their homes and join, forming a roiling chorus of howls and screams that pierces the twilight to end another day’s monotonous forced isolation.

From California to Colorado to Georgia and upstate New York, Americans are taking a moment each night at 8 p.m. to howl in a quickly spreading ritual that has become a wrenching response of a society cut off from one another by the coronavirus pandemic.

They howl to thank the nation’s health care workers and first responders for their selfless sacrifices, much like the balcony applause and singing in Italy and Spain. Others do it to reduce their pain, isolation and frustration. Some have other reasons, such as to show support for the homeless."

If it's the moon you're howling to:

"We hate to burst your bubble, but it is a myth that wolves howl at the moon!," writes the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute in an online article on its website as to why wolves howl.

"Howling may be heard at night, but it is not a behavior directed at the moon. Instead, it is used as a social rally call, a hail to hunt or as a territorial expression. Did you know that individuals have different howls that can be heard by other wolves 6-7 mile away? A howl can even help a lost wolf find its way home. A wolf separated from its pack uses a “lonesome howl” — a shortened call that rises in pitch. If answered, the wolf then responds with deep, even howls to inform the pack of its location."

Well, the vital connection many are seeking from being holed up in isolation makes for a need to connect somehow, some way and I guess the constant online chatter with our phones glued to our palms isn't cutting it given the longevity and severity of the current crisis. 

I've been wondering how many people have joined the pack. Way over half a million Americans, it's estimated are joining in the nightly baying. And according to news sources, it all started in Denver, Colorado at the start of the crisis with Facebook Go Outside and Howl founders, poet storyteller and activist Brice Maiurro and his girlfriend Shelsea Ochoa leading the call.

"We wanted to do this mostly because people are feeling isolated right now," says Shelsea, a street artist and activist who works at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. "I think it hit on something others needed." The howl was inspired by friends and their time abroad. 

In California, Shelsea's friends and family have long since howled at sunset; in Brazil, where she lived recently, residents cheer at sunset. Her partner, who also works at National Jewish Health and his fellow poets like to howl at the moon during back-alley poetry readings in Boulder.

Here in southern Sonoma County and neighboring Marin County, howling has certainly taken off through valley and hilltops and coastal bluff. But not everyone is a fan of the mournful call each and every night. I reached out on social media to ask friends and neighbors if they're howling or not and how it makes them feel, either way. The responses flooded in by the dozens and are equally fascinating in those individuals and families who I was surprised to hear are howling to their hearts content and others whom I might have thought more likely to unleash their inhibitions are not into it at all, or prefer to practice their own, individual call to the wild, somewhat less publicly. 

"People just want to be a part of the human family," my youngest son explained when I asked him if his neighbors in Davis, CA were howling. He hadn't heard a single howl and wasn't aware of this curious and captivating practice. "Wolves form complex social units," he added: "So it's not surprising that when people feel sad, lonely, frightened and isolated, they would identify with a call of the wild."

"Let all of life be an unfettered howl,"

                                             Vladimir Nabokov                                                  

"I've always howled at the full moon, so I am delighted to howl nightly," said Sarah G. And a handful of blocks from Sarah's house, Stephen P concurred: "We are howlers....ahooooooo".

Kathleen M was not so keen: "Not. I get it’s great for others but it’s like nails on a chalk board for me and my dogs freak out. I can see I’m perhaps too contained and uptight to make that type of noise though and it could obviously help to release tension. My son thinks it sounds fun and really wants to join in, he’s 14. I really like the countries that sing together and haven’t seen it successful here locally."

"I'm a howler!" wrote Becky M. "It helps me to feel connected to the collective consciousness, to have some kind of primal release in this mess. Didn't know this introvert would like it, but I'm really liking it!"

Kathy O.D agreed: "We are howling on Keokuk! Such a great opportunity to check in with our neighbors and let off a little steam." And Linda S.A also: "Yes by all means howl! We do every night with my next door neighbor . My doggie 🐶 joins in too."

Herlinda H came to the party later than some: "I howled for the first time last night; as I heard some children howling outside. I thought; they will remember this collectively for the rest of their lives. So I joined in."

"Absolutely no chance. That’s not to say I won’t stand outside and applaud politely 👏 👏 🇬🇧 Plus Holly gets agitated by it all 🐕," stated Lesley M, a sentiment shared by Sue D: "I'm not a howler. My dogs get agitated and start to bark. For some reason, their participation is not welcome. And now the illegal fireworks have started too. It's not a pleasant way for our household to wind down from the day."

Kellee Y confessed: "I howl on occasion, but never inhale." And Jennifer R.P shared: "I've howled once or twice last week. While it feels good in terms of release, I also simultaneously feel really annoyed by it. It feels kind of forced and "poser" as a gesture, but I get that it makes others feel connected."

"We are howlers!" Shannon H.B was proud to admit. "Did you see I was quoted in the PD? The most thrilling thing that is happened to me since being quarantined! I was cut out of the Argus version😢".

Mary F wrote: "Howling is part of my day I look forward to. And my little dog too!"

"I do, I did it a few times, it’s kind of fun to stand outside your door and howl and to hear the other howling, it only lasts for about two minutes," shared Hanna A from neighboring Marin County.

Annee B. K agreed: "We ring our gong. We also howl most nights. It feels neat to hear that we’re not so alone." 

Margo G was not so convinced: "No . . . I can see how it would be fun, or feel good, or help people feel connected . . . but not interested. I also don't understand how it's showing support of nurses/health care workers. It's howling! There are plenty of things one can do to actively support..."

Katy F. V howls loud and proud. Karen N said: "I don’t howl, but enjoy my neighbors enthusiasm, me, I personally feel like screaming because as an extrovert this social distancing is really difficult. I thrive on socializing!"

Louise L wrote: "Yes, I howl and love hearing the whole neighborhood appreciating the people who put their lives at risk to save ours." And Cathy P and her little dog love it.

Susan H was clearly not a fan. "No, thank you. IMHO (in my humble opinion), silence is golden," she shared, whereas Laurie F is an unabashed howler.

"I’ve been howling for 3 weeks. Every night," shared Cindy T. "It’s therapeutic. The first 3 weeks, I was the lone howler in my hood. I’m now joined by neighbors, thankfully. Tonight made me teary-eyed. It fills my heart knowing we’re acknowledging those who are holding up us home bound folks, those who are providing the tender loving care to those who are ill."

Suzanne M is howling in Penngrove. And: "Yes! It’s adorable and cathartic in my neighborhood, grown ups howling with kids, wrote Amanda M.

Marie M replied that: "Like Lesley M, I'm not much of a howler, love the intent and sentiment though. I prefer traditional applause like Europe.
Love the Thursday night tribute in Coventry UK."

Out in the countryside, Nariman M reported "Where we are, only the coyotes howl."

Mary M shared: "We howl, we drum, we yip. We have horn, tambourines, dancers. In our neighborhood 8pm is the daily pressure release valve as well as the shout out to the front lines. Why not is the real question?"

Whereas Helen P in Australia asked: "every night?"

Cathe H and her family do howl every night. "It's great fun, she wrote. And from Marta S: "I’m howling . . . it’s great to feel part of the pack!"

Beckie K confessed: "I did one night and no one in my family joined me nor could I hear any neighbors so it was a one time deal. My dog did join me though." And Shannon A feels that: "The howl is comforting. I’m not a howler. I’ve whistled, played a flute."

Over in Cherry Valley, Mary L said, thoughtfully: "We howl occasionally. I also see it as a cathartic release and, as an acknowledgement of those who are out there working so others can regain health, buy groceries, receive packages and so, so many other things. I also think, since we’re practicing “distancing”, it’s a way of saying to one another, “we are here!”.

"We do howl most nights and have a neighborhood full of beloved howlers!" wrote Marjorie H."Remember seeing a post from a nurse on the frontline of this battle who said “I appreciate the howls and claps and what I want you to do next is get us a new president!” We're busy working on that too!"

Across the pond in the south of England, Kerry P replied: "Oh good lord no". Jude M in Petaluma disagrees wholeheartedly: "Yep! I set my alarm for 7:59 pm and go out on my front porch for 30 seconds plus and then into my backyard for 30 seconds plus. Fellow howlers respond back...💕
I love that we are thanking our first responders, nurses, doctors and everyone else who is helping. It feels great. And it feels safe to know that there are others out there with the same attitude... being grateful❤️ ".

Drew W reminded us that: "Communities that Howl together stay together." Robin R on the other hand: "OH HELL NO AND FIREWORKS ARE NOT COOL!!!"

Donald McCrea shared a musical offering, alongside: "like Ginsburg, I have been howling all my life . . . (but, I channel it through music and photography) . . .if you want to learn how to peacefully resist the parasites who are plundering the planet, buy a copy of NEVER SORRY /AI WEIWEI) . . . and to remove stress from your life: meditate . . ." Click here for Donald's wonderful One WORLD. 

 

"Nope," said Jenny T.C. And Cara N: "No — but it cracks me up- because I always know when it’s 8pm!"

 

Joy T replied from Washington State: "This is spreading to near nation-wide. It was originally started to howl for the medical community. Some are howling, some are banging pans but all are making noise. I agree with Robin regarding the “NO Fireworks” bit."

 

Closer to downtown, Elaine S: "Oh yes! The first night we went out, could only hear clapping and cheering so that’s what we did. Now, we have Alexa remind us of the time .  . .  Then open the front door and the back door to howl, to clap, and ring our Cable Car type bell and our Tibetan gong! My friends in nursing have expressed their gratitude to all of us for showing them our gratitude and it feels like a primal way to feel connected to Community!"

 

Mary N wrote: "Yes, we’re howlers along with many on our block. There is some drumming going on as well!" And Leslie E from Marin: "Yes, we howl every night at 8pm! It feels great to let it all out and thank our Health care workers and first responders!".

 

Rachel K reported the howling was slower to take off through the east side of Petaluma though neighbors are catching on. Meloni M wrote from Bainbridge Island of her brother's reaction: "Alone in his apartment in San Rafael, he has been thoroughly confused. I explained it last night. He said "Oh, I just thought it was more crazy Marin".

 

Rural homesteader Susan V's take on it was more coyote than wolf: "I have my own countryside real deal. They unfortunately do realize they start two hours earlier than is required. I am not joining, my howl sounds more real than their howl ."

 

"Hans and I did it together the first few nights and then I stopped but he still partakes," shared Dena C G. "I like listening to it though.' Layla F declared she is: "More of a cat so I occasionally meow at 8 pm "

 

Trish B.I enthused: "Yes! Every night! The idea behind it is beautiful. Showing our support to all the medical professionals who are risking their lives to save the lives of others. 💕". And Gretchen S: "Howling yes - fireworks no - It's great to hear echos from the distance - as well as across the street!"

 

"I’m not, but I do open the door to listen," replied Nancy O. "However, last night I did one good howl and got a great response from the turkeys behind our house."

 

Tess B is a howler and she loves it. Gail B keeps forgetting, or she would, but she does have her Christmas lights on, as does Susan H.

 

"When I heard a lot of noise, I opened the patio door and joined the whole! Really fun! " — Lyndi B. Another Marie M howls every night in Mill Valley. "Have to admit I have an excellent howl! 😎".

 

In the words of Carol L: "Nope . . . I'm just not one to do something because everyone is."

 

From West Marin, Meegan L.O reported "We have been howling at 8 since the start, and it feels very unifying. We are all in this together, but the howling feels good to be vocalizing our thanks to essential workers and hearing that others in our community are also grateful for them."

 

"No not into the howling thing at all," replied Brenda M. "There are mixed messages about the reasons for doing it and some I don’t agree with personally. There are ways to thank the hard working responders, nurses, doctors etc. it sets off the neighbors dogs too." while a different Brenda M had other feelings: "I don’t partake but enjoy it immensely . . . the message fills my heart "

 

Ettamarie P said: "I could hear some way out here in the country!" And in town, Allison W. M said: "Yes howl, what ever the reason, it is fun!" 

 

"Our street howls and B joins in," responded Alice C. "I’ve started using it to tell the time. They are v punctual!" From Brighton, England, Craig B preferred a more British approach: "Thursday 8pm clap, cheer for NHS staff here in UK".

 

Maggie H wrote: "I'm too much of an introvert to howl. I would prefer banging on pots and pans or something less primal. But I am grateful for the howls. The men in my family howl. The women, not yet."

 

In the words of Kirsten S: "We howl. Loudly. Really try to sound like dogs. It feels great, it sounds beautiful." And Sally V.W: "No, but I enjoy it. 💕"

 

Last word at the time of posting goes to Nuala C, who replied, simply: "Yes we howl."

 

And, according to National Geographic: "Some canines, monkeys, and yes, even mice communicate and defend their territories by howling, experts say."

 

So, in answering the question of to howl or not to howl, it's pretty much all down to a matter of seeing ourselves as part of the animal world, of personal expression and/or a decent set of noise cancelling headphones. 

I'd like to make one little suggestion. When school's back in, it might be an idea to teach our future generations to sing like the Italians . . . 

~

“Down towards one end of the village, among the small houses, a dog complained about the cold and the loneliness. He raised his nose to his god and gave a long and fulsome account of the state of the world as it applied to him. He was a practiced singer with a full bell throat and great versatility of range and control.”

John Steinbeck, The Moon is Down