Seven Generations of Buying and Selling Sonoma County Real Estate, Giving Us the Experience to Serve You!
Jan 25th, 2012 by Ron L. Welsh
Santa Rosa de Laguna-image courtesy of Bob Cornelis:click on photo for images for sale
This past week end we had our first real rain of our winter season. Yes, we did have some rain in October, but since that, nada, zilch, nothing. I love it when it rains here in Sonoma…why you ask? Let me count the ways: Continue Reading »
sign in front of Spud Point Crab Co.
One of the pleasures of living in Sonoma County is being close to the gorgeous Sonoma Coastline. And, one of the advantages of that is to enjoy the different fish/seafood seasons fresh off the boat. Since early December it’s been Crab season and can I say, we’ve been enjoying it tremendously! Continue Reading »
Dec 21st, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
Merry Christmas-image via alifeofbeautyandgrace.tumbler.com
This year we at Sonoma County Properties wish you the spirit of the the season, now and throughout 2012:
Wishing You and Your’s a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season!
Nov 16th, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
From time to time we will invite a guest writer to contribute to our blog. Someone like ourselves, who loves living here and finds inspiration everyday from our beautiful place in the world. Introducing Lesa Tanner; she is the author of the book Images of America: Graton, a compilation of over 200 historical photographs with captions that spans Graton’s founding to its 100th birthday. As a lifelong Graton resident, she also writes the column, Hometown Graton, published the second Thursday of each month in Sonoma West Times and News.
Lisa tells us the story of Graton’s history with preserving park land for all who pass through. The portion of the article about the “Shoot the Chute” is from an oral history left by my maternal Grandfather, Jack Robertson.
My "Gaddy" Jack Robertson, and my mother as a little girl in front of Handy's Service Station-Graton
Lesa says:
Nov 9th, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
From this charming 1910 Victorian bungalow in downtown Sebastopol!
Great Old Fashioned Front Porch
This is a beautiful property with a detached office, great front porch and lovely back yard. Close to all the amenities such as hospital, groceries, library, and town square. It’s not often that one of these comes up.
lovely back yard
With the master bedroom suite on the second floor, this 3 bedroom, 2 bath home is in great condition. And best of all you get a lovely backyard with room for children to play, your own organic garden, and space to entertain Sonoma Style!
Zoned Residential/Business, this home offers options and opportunities for the empty nester, entrepreneur or starter family with work at home parents. The details are endless for this charming vintage Sebastopol Bungalow.
For more information on this property or any others in Sonoma County,
We represent 7 generations of buying and selling
Sonoma County Properties;
we are the experts to help you!
Nov 2nd, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
thanks to google images for this photo
One of my favorite local cheeses is Bodega Artisan Cheese. First off I have an affinity for Bodega (NOT Bodega Bay, but Bodega) because that’s where I met my wife Irene Turner. Because she lived there I had the opportunity to meet Patty Carlin (owner and operator of Bodega Artisan Goat Cheese) and visit her Goat Farm, located there.
Bodega Artisan Cheese is a handcrafted goat cheese, sustainably made and 100% organic. Sold locally only, to keep their carbon foot print down, we are fortunate to be able to buy it at our produce stands and in specialty stores as well as directly at the source, the farm.
I love goat cheese in general because: Continue Reading »
You’ve heard me say this before, I love living in a part of our country where there is so much fresh and organic produce. And never more then this time of year, although our farmers markets are usually open from May through Mid November.
thanks to Downtown Farmers Market for this image
We have over 16 farmers markets located throughout Sonoma County. From Duncans Mill, Guernville, Occidental and downtown Sonoma; north to Gualala & Cloverdale to our southern tip, Petaluma, …and just about every town in between, including Santa Rosa. With the help of our Russian River Slow Food Organization, our Farmers Markets are a truly viable source of fresh food.
Here are 5 reasons why I do love our Farmers Markets: Continue Reading »
Oct 19th, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
I love Fall! It may be my third favorite season but I love it just the same. Right now out my back door nature is putting on a show that makes my eyes happy, filling them with the beauty of fall here in Sonoma County.
View at the Ranch
There is so much to do…from fine dining at restaurants like The Farmhouse to more casual eating at Peter Lowell’s and Willow Wood. And should you think that all we do here is eat, hiking along the Ocean cliffs and the hills in wine country is a great way to work off all the fresh and organic local meals. It’s also a great place to take an antique car tour. When driving in an old car, time naturally seems to slow down, if it’s an open car, a fabulous way to see the countryside.
What do I love about fall here in Sonoma County? Let’s see: Continue Reading »
Oct 12th, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
It’s that time again, ARTrails Open Studios…This fall the open studio falls on October 15-16 and 22-23, 2011. Studios will be open from 10:00 – 5:00 on both weekends. ARTrails is an annual fall tradition in the North Bay. It’s one of the better art exhibitions locally as it is juried. It is not just Sonoma County’s largest and most visible arts event, but also one of the oldest and most respected of its kind in the nation.
ARTrails provides a rare opportunity for the public to meet local artists in their workspaces.
Nothing like visiting the artist in their open studio!
While there are many artists, some of my personal favorites are:
It’s a great way to spend a couple of days…driving through some of the prettiest countryside, filled with fall colors, viewing beauty in both art and nature! For a preview, check out the following exhibitions running through October 28th; the Wells Fargo Center For The Arts in Santa Rosa, the Pelican Art Gallery in Petaluma, and…right here next door to my real estate office, the Graton Art Gallery.
While you are at it, you can visit some of our local wineries to finish off the day. If you come through Graton, be sure to stop by and say hi. Happy Trails!
Oct 6th, 2011 by Ron L. Welsh
image courtesy of Iron Horse Vineyards-FB post
As I write this it is raining here in West County Sonoma. Rain, water, is always a good thing in our part of the world, except during harvest month. And yes, we are right in the middle of harvesting grapes for the next great vintage!
Many of our neighbors have their grapes in and still others with more to come. But harvest is always a time of excitement…short picking time…under the clock and the weather gods…and much anticipation…that of another bit of magic to create that perfect bottle of wine many of us enjoy.
For us here in Sonoma County it’s harvest that marks the start of fall. We may not have the flaming fall foliage of other parts of our country, but, we are an agricultural community and therefore fall is one of our most anticipated seasons.
The Russian River Valley Chardonnay grapes are harvested in the coldest hours of the night to preserve crisp acids, ideal sugar levels and fresh fruit flavors. Below is some footage of vineyard worker picking crew captured 9/29/11. Chardonnay harvest began on 9/26/11. We are indeed blessed to live in a part of the world that is as abundant and productive as this one is. Why don’t you come and visit us? In the meantime…
Enjoy the video from a night harvest for Jordan Chardonnay grapes. It’s a bit of magic, and a lot of hard work. Cheers!
