You can feel it in the air. The excitement is as thick as this morning’s fog in Dry Creek Valley. Yes, folks, we are merely days away from the kick-off of our new (and exciting) Worms to Wine Nature Series at Michel-Schlumberger. In case you haven’t heard yet, this year we will present to you six fun, filling and educational events that highlight various aspects of our organic and sustainable farming practices. The series kicks off with Fish Day at Schlumberger from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Saturday March 20.
Last week Brunson, Wendy and I paid a quick visit to the Lake Sonoma Fish Hatchery to hash out some details (actually, we really just wanted to get away from our desks for awhile). Ranger Michael Carroll literally greeted us at the door with open arms. Michael is one of those preciously rare types that is simply so friendly and cool and knowledgeable that you can’t help but feel at peace with the world when you’re around him. This guy could take you on a tour of a feedlot and you’d still be smiling the whole time.
So it had been a few years since I’d been to the hatchery and they’ve really done some cool
improvements in the meantime. Ranger Michael started by strolling us along the small creek which links Dry Creek to the hatchery raceways. Numerous HUGE steelhead trout were paired up in the shallow creek, ready to spawn and perfectly visible from the walkway above. Simply breathtaking. Especially considering the view of the ponds around the hatchery grounds that buzzed with the activity of all sorts of waterfowl (I 
especially was enamoured with the incredibly beautiful wood ducks). And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better Michael glanced up and pointed to the sky where a bald eagle soared in lazy circles. Wow.
Inside the hatchery was just as amazing. I’ll spare you the details (you’ll soon see for yourself) but I will say that we were treated to plenty of face-to-face introductions with every one of the Steelhead life stages from egg to 15 pounder.
Anyway, the warm up tour was fun but frankly I’m itching for game day. So here’s the official scoop:
12:45 to 1:00 PM: All guests please meet at the Lake Sonoma Hatchery parking lot to check 
in.
1:00 to 2:00 PM: Hatchery tour with Ranger Michael Carroll. Following the tour, guests will drive to Michel-Schlumberger (about a 12 minute drive south of the hatchery).
2:30 to 3:00 PM: Walk, talk and sip along recently-restored Wine Creek with Winemaker Mike Brunson and fish expert Elliott Doss of California Fish and Game.
3:15 to 4:00 PM: Personal Cellar tasting of Mike’s favorite wines with snacks and pleasant conversation.
Event price is $20 and a portion of Fish Day proceeds goes to The Friends of Lake Sonoma – a non-profit organization whose purpose is to serve and support the interpretive and visitor service programs at Lake Sonoma. RSVPs for this event are nice but are not required. To RSVP or for questions or more details please contact our staff at #433-7427. Oh, and please plan on dressing warmly with comfortable walking shoes.
There you have it. I will see you there!
tony
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