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Lake County’s only commercial dairy lies outside Lakeport on picturesque Scotts Valley Road. Named for the herb that grows wild in nearby hills, Yerba Santa Goat Dairy is run by cheese-making brothers Javier and Daniel Salmon.
The only access into the dairy is via a rustic bridge slung over a shallow gorge in which a swollen creek flows after the winter rains. Three low-lying meadows are home to 87 milk goats, and a couple dozen yearlings – milk goats in waiting, so to speak – make their home in a fenced area at the edge of the meadow.
It is here that the brothers from Lima, Peru create the cheeses that are sought after locally, as well as throughout much of the San Francisco Bay Area.
This is the time of year that cheese production slows, as the milk goats have been carrying young since mid-September. Two very busy bucks have impregnated the entire herd, and the twice-a-day milking cycle has dwindled to one.
Come November, the does will not be milked at all. Instead, they’ll spend the winter wandering the hills, eating brush and the coveted Yerba Santa herb. Their babies will arrive in late February and early March, and after they’ve had a month or so to nurse, milking and cheese production will once again begin.
The Salmons also produce cheeses under the Bodega label, carried over from the dairy’s former location in Sonoma County. Generally their cheeses are available from April through October, though some locations may have a supply they can sell beyond October.
Milking more than 80 goats is a three-hour process, which means that in the peak of season, a full six hours of each day is spent coaxing milk from the does. Milking begins on machines (they have four in their milking barn) and is finished by hand.
The milk is pumped directly to a bulk tank, where it’s stored for a day at 38 degrees. The tank can hold up to 250 gallons, but peak-of-season production is generally about 80 gallons a day.
After a brief storage in the bulk tank, the milk is pumped into a neighboring room where handcrafted French and Spanish style cheeses are created. Both raw and pasteurized cheeses are made at the dairy.
Younger brother Daniel handles making the raw cheeses, which include a hard shepherd’s cheese, wonderful for grating; chevito, a semisoft cheese; and cabrello, which is similar to manchego, the historic sheep’s milk cheese made in Spain.
Raw cheeses are aged and allowed to mature for 60 days, while the pasteurized cheeses are sold fresh to stores, restaurants and the public.
Older brother Javier is in charge of pasteurized cheese production, which is generally a two-day process. After the milk is pasteurized, a culture is added. Once the cheese reaches the desired acidity, vegetarian rennet is thrown into the mix, causing the cheese to “clabber” or thicken.
The thickened product is put into cheesecloth bags and left to hang overnight, allowing the whey to drain from the cheese. The Salmons feed the resulting whey, a yellow liquid, to their goats. I was told by Javier that goat’s whey is traditionally drunk in Russia for longevity of life.
By morning, the content of the hanging bags is ready to process into fromage blanc, a creamy, spreadable cheese in tubs; chevre, fresh cheese shaped in soft balls; or fresco, a feta-like cheese with a short shelf life sold in tall wedges.
While many of the cheeses are flavored only with natural sea salt, others have ranch-grown herbs or peppers added. While I was there, a bowl of roasted Serrano peppers, bright green with blackened skin, stood ready to be mixed in with a batch of fromage blanc.
Goat’s milk doesn’t have to be homogenized. Unlike cow’s milk, which separates with cream rising to the top, the fat molecules in goats’ milk remain suspended in the liquid.
Goat’s milk is lower in fat than cow’s milk, and because the fat molecules are much smaller, it’s easier to digest. Its molecular makeup is closer to that of human milk, in fact, which gives many unable to tolerate cow’s milk an alternative for dairy products.
Cheese has been made from goat’s milk for thousands of years, and is likely one of the earliest made dairy products. While cow’s milk cheese has dominated the scene in the U.S., most of the world eats more cheese made from goat’s milk than from cow’s.
Like cow’s milk, goat’s milk is a very good source of calcium and the amino acid tryptophan. It is also a good source of protein, phosphorus, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and potassium.
“During YSS, we'll see triple the [usual] number of launches, flybys and orbital insertions,” said Jim Green, director of Planetary Science at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters. “There hasn't been anything quite like it in the history of the Space Age.”
Naturally, it's a Martian year.
“These events will unfold over the next 23 months, the length of a year on the Red Planet,” explained Green. “History will remember the period October 2010 through August 2012 as a golden age of planetary exploration.”
The action begins near the end of October with a visit to Comet Hartley 2.
On Oct. 20, Hartley 2 will have a close encounter with Earth; only 11 million miles away, it will be faintly visible to the naked eye and become a splendid target for backyard telescopes.
Amateur astronomers can watch the comet as NASA's Deep Impact/EPOXI spacecraft dives into its vast green atmosphere and plunges toward the icy core. On Nov. 4 EPOXI will fly a mere 435 miles from Hartley's nucleus, mapping the surface and studying outbursts of gas at close-range.
Later in November, NASA astrobiologists will launch O/OREOS, a shoebox-sized satellite designed to test the durability of life in space.
Short for “Organism/ORganic Exposure to Orbital Stresses,” O/OREOS will expose a collection of organic molecules and microbes to solar and cosmic radiation. Could space be a natural habitat for these “micronauts?” O/OREOS may provide some answers.
Bonus: The same rocket that delivers O/OREOS to space will carry an experimental solar sail.
NanoSail-D will unfurl in Earth orbit and circle our planet for months. Occasionally, the sail will catch a sunbeam and redirect it harmlessly to the ground below where sky watchers can witness history's first “solar sail flares.”
On Dec. 7, Japan's Akatsuki (Venus Climate Orbiter) spacecraft grabs the spotlight when it enters orbit around Venus.
The mission aims to understand how a planet so similar to Earth in size and orbit went so terribly wrong.
Venus is bone-dry, shrouded by acid clouds and beset by a case of global warming hot enough to melt lead.
Instruments on Akatsuki will probe Venus from the top of its super-cloudy atmosphere all the way to the volcano-pocked surface below, providing the kind of detailed information researchers need for comparative planetary.
“Take a deep breath,” said Green, “because that was just the first three months of YSS!”
The action continues in 2011 as Stardust NExT encounters comet Tempel 1 (Feb. 14), MESSENGER enters orbit around Mercury (March 18), and Dawn begins its approach to asteroid Vesta (May).
“For a full month Dawn will be able to see Vesta even more clearly than Hubble can,” said Green. “The only way to top that would be to go into orbit.”
And that is exactly what Dawn will do in July 2011: insert itself into orbit for a full-year study of the second-most massive body in the asteroid belt. Although Vesta is not classified as a planet, it is a full-fledged alien world that is expected to mesmerize researchers as it reveals itself to Dawn's cameras.
Next comes the launch of the Juno spacecraft to Jupiter (August), the launch of GRAIL to map the gravitational field of the Moon (September), and the launch of a roving science lab named “Curiosity” to Mars (November).
“The second half of 2011 will be as busy as some entire decades of the Space Age,” said Green.
Even then, YSS has months to go.
The year 2012 opens with Mars rover Opportunity running the first-ever Martian marathon. The dogged rover is trundling toward the heart of Endeavour Crater, a city-sized impact basin almost two dozen miles from Opportunity's original landing site.
“Opportunity is already under the influence of the crater,” said Green. “The ground beneath the rover's wheels is sloping gently down toward its destination – a welcome feeling for any marathoner.”
Sometime in mid-2012, Opportunity will reach Endeavour's lip and look over the edge deeper into the heart of Mars than any previous robotic explorer.
The only thing more marvelous than the view will be the rover itself. Originally designed to travel no more than 0.6 miles, Opportunity's rest stop at Endeavour will put it just miles away from finishing the kind of epic Greek run that athletes on Earth can only dream about.
Meanwhile, halfway across the solar system, Dawn will fire up its ion engines and prepare to leave Vesta. For the first time in space history, a spacecraft orbiting one alien world will break orbit and take off for another. Dawn's next target is dwarf planet Ceres, nearly spherical, rich in water ice, and totally unexplored.
The Year of the Solar System concludes in August 2012 when Curiosity lands on Mars. The roving nuclear-powered science lab will take off across the red sands sniffing the air for methane (a possible sign of life) and sampling rocks and soil for organic molecules. Curiosity's advanced sensors and unprecedented mobility are expected to open a new chapter in exploration of the Red Planet.
“So the end,” said Green, “is just the beginning. These missions will keep us busy long after YSS is history.”
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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NICE, Calif. – A four-wheel all-terrain vehicle is believed to be the cause of a Friday afternoon fire in Nice.
The fire, dispatched at around 4:30 p.m., was located on the hillside above Lakeview Drive and Dodge Road, according to Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Steve Hart.
Hart said the fire burned about three to five acres of vegetation, and did not threaten any structures.
Northshore Fire sent Hart, four engines and two medic units, with Cal Fire sending multiple engines, a dozer and aircraft, he said. The US Forest Service also sent resources to the fire.
Firefighters contained the fire after about an hour, he said.
Nice resident Deb Clarke lives near the scene of the fire and witnessed the suppression efforts.
“The good news is my neighbor on the hill caught the blaze and the Northshore firefighters showed up quick,” she said.
Clarke watched as firefighters dug a fire line, cleared downed trees and used a spotter plane and a helicopter with a bucket to drop water on the blaze.
Hart said the fire was attributed to a quad runner, which firefighters found at the scene.
“We still have not been able to find the owner,” he said.
Firefighters were remaining on scene overnight to mop up, Hart said.
Clarke said she's been worried about what she called “the deadly combo of dry grass and motorcycles” for awhile.
“Every time I see them going up the private property trails, I cringe,” she said.
While her stepson is a semi-pro motorcycle racer, sparks that can come from the vehicles are particularly dangerous right now, she said.
Also on Friday evening, a fire was reported in Clearlake Park, although additional information wasn't immediately available.
A third fire, reported just after 7 p.m. in Clover Valley, burned a pump house, Hart said.
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Robert Peter Angle, 40, of Lakeport was the victim of the collision, according to Capt. James Bauman.
The CHP reported that the crash occurred at about 6:20 p.m. when Angle's Chevrolet S-10 pickup went off Highway 20 and into the lake in the area of Pepperwood Cove near Lucerne, as Lake County News has reported.
A Northshore Fire Protection District ambulance transported Angle at about 6:50 p.m. to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. Bauman said a physician at the hospital declared Angle deceased at 7:10 p.m.
Bauman said a deputy corner was dispatched at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday to Sutter Lakeside Hospital to investigate Angle's death.
Bauman said Angle's exact cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy, which is scheduled for
Tuesday, Oct. 12.
The cause of the crash is pending further investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
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But that’s what the Senate and House did last week. After a burst of closed-door compromises, they agreed to and separately passed the Veterans’ Benefits Act of 2010 (HR 3219), sent it on to the president.
The package has no clear blockbuster initiative. But it improves many veterans’ benefits including some allowances for disabled veterans and various veterans’ insurance options. Employment protections are toughened for those returning to civilian jobs.
Service members moving out of phone service areas will be able to sever cell phone contracts without penalty. And new federal grants will be authorized for job training and counseling, childcare services to homeless women veterans and homeless veterans with children.
“I think it’s fantastic and I’m truly incredulous that it went through as fast at it did,” said Tim Tetz, the American Legion’s legislative director.
A week before passage Tetz said he and the Legion’s national commander had visited with Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), chairman of the veterans’ affairs committee. Knowing Congress would adjourn soon and not return until after the November election, the Legion had urged Akaka to clear an omnibus benefits bill at least during the post-election lame duck session.
Akaka said a bill was being worked. A week later, to Tetz’s surprise, a bill chock full of initiatives had passed both the House and Senate.
“It’s quite expansive,” said Tetz. “It will be hard to find a veteran that in some way won’t be touched by it.”
“The package is excellent,” said Joe Violante, legislative director for Disabled American Veterans. “There are new and expanded provisions for disabled veterans that should help them in a lot of different areas.”
“We have about 20 to 25 separate bills in there,” said Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, in a phone interview. “It’s an incredible move forward for all our veterans, whether talking about those on the street or those suffering from mental illness or women veterans facing sexual trauma. I mean it touches virtually every issue that we’ve been working on for several years.”
The House passed an original HR 3219 in July last year with a contentious provision to establish a $1,000-a-month payment to former World War II merchant marines regardless of need or disability.
Senators and even many vet groups refused to support it, arguing it created a benefit not available to other vets.
WWII-era merchant marines, they argued, already have full veteran status and can apply for VA benefits including a needs-based pension for the elderly.
When House negotiators agreed to remove the merchant marine language, the benefit package came together, expanded by a final packet of Senate amendments, many of them bills already passed by the House.
Here are highlights to take effect when the bill is signed:
– An automobile assistance allowance for veterans who have lost limbs or have other qualifying disabilities will increase from $11,000 to $18,900. It also will be adjusted for inflation on Oct. 1 each year.
– The funeral or burial payment for veterans who die in a VA facility or who are eligible to be buried in a VA cemetery will increase from $300 to $700. This payment too will increase annually for inflation but after 2011.
– Supplemental insurance for totally disabled veterans will increase from $20,000 up to $30,000.
– Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) coverage for totally disabled veterans will be permanently extended to two years, from 18 months, after they leave service. This change will be applied retroactively to persons separated from service on or after June 15, 2005.
– The maximum loan guarantee amount under the Veterans’ Mortgage Life Insurance program will increase from $90,000 to $150,000. It will increase again, to $200,000, on Jan. 1, 2012.
– Individuals who qualify for retroactive traumatic injury protection coverage under SGLI (called TSGLI) will be expanded to include veterans who incurred qualifying traumatic injuries on or after Oct. 7, 2001, but before Dec. 1, 2005, regardless of where the injuries occurred.
– Veterans will be able to increase Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI) coverage by $25,000 every five years until reaching age 60.
– The Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (SCRA) will be modified to allow service members to terminate cellular telephone contracts when ordered to relocate for a period of 90 days or more to an area not supported by the contract.
– The SCRA also will give service members a “private right of action” to file their own lawsuits against those who violate their legal rights. They no longer will have to wait for enforcement action by a federal agency.
The SCRA is strengthened in two other ways, said retired Navy Capt. Samuel F. Wright, a legal expert with the Reserve Officers Association. It now will allow for the Department of Justice to bring a civil action against SCRA violators and those found guilty will have to pay court costs and service members’ attorney fees.
“That’s very valuable,” Wright explained, because SCRA claimants will find it so much easier to find a lawyer.
Architects of the bill found a way to pay for these improvements and many more by extending a reduction in VA pensions for veterans who have no spouse or children and who are covered by a Medicaid plan while residing in a nursing home. This allows the bill actually to save the VA $394 million over five years and a total of $8 million over the next decade.
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The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office is advising new residents of Lake County and registered voters who have moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county, or changed their name, that you may need to reregister in order to be eligible to vote in the upcoming statewide general election.
The last day to register to vote for the Nov. 2 general election is Monday, October 18.
The completed voter registration form must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters
Office on or before Oct. 18 or postmarked on or before Oct. 18 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office.
Section 2101 of the California Elections Code states, “A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not in prison or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election.”
Residents may register to vote at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office, Room 209, Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, or may phone the Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372 for information.
Registration forms are also available at most local post offices, libraries, senior centers, city offices and chamber of commerce offices.
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