Geyserville Grapevine by deTraci Regula - September 2017
It’s getting closer to harvest time and the season of thanksgiving, and it seems to be appropriate to start this month’s column with a message of thanks to our local Fire Department here in Geyserville and to the other local agencies and departments which assisted in the protection of Geyserville and the
While the exact cause of the blazes remains unknown, it was much too close for comfort. Even if a fire itself does not reach us, just the smoke alone can be devastating to the health of our elderly ocelots and servals and our very sensitive birds. In the end, fortunately, though packed up and ready to go, we did not have to evacuate. While stressful, on the plus side, it turned out to be a very realistic “fire drill” and we learned a great deal as we applied our long-standing emergency evacuation plan for real. As soon as the possibility of evacuation arose, we immediately started coordination with Safari West, which has become a leader in coordinating disaster preparedness for animal sanctuaries in Sonoma County, and so our crisis became a test case for them as well. We were especially touched by a number of calls and contacts we received from the local community asking if we needed help getting the animals out and offering other assistance.
One thing we learned was that some of our evacuation containers were too large to use effectively in boxing our cats if they were in their interior sleeping dens. If anyone has spare medium-size animal transport containers about 18-24” high, in good condition, the kind that would fit about a 30 pound dog, we would welcome a few more of them. Once the cats are inside the medium-sized containers, they can be transferred to larger ones for transport relatively easily. And while Safari West stood ready to evacuate our alpacas with one of their trailers, realistically it is much better if we have one of our own easily accessible at all times. So we are also looking for a reasonably-priced, or better yet, a tax-deductible donation of a horse trailer big enough for our three alpacas.
A Foodie Moment On the Way
Mark your calendars now for the 2nd Annual Geyserville Beer Wine and Spirits Festival in October. The first festival was a great success in bringing together local craft breweries, distillers, and wineries accompanied by bites from the Geyserville Grill, and tickets are limited for this year’s event which will be held on Saturday, October 7th from noon until 5pm. 21 and up only. Tickets start at just $35 and can be purchased at Eventbrite.com. Unless sold out, some tickets will be available on the day of the event at the Geyserville Inn.
