Anna Zakaria and the PH Succulent Garden Club made these gorgeous, succulent, filled pumpkins to sell at tomorrow's Holiday Boutique. They make wonderful gifts, and proceeds will go to fire victims up north. 

PHRPD had their board meeting at the ranch last night. RRHC was on the agenda and President Denise Koroslev, John Matthesen, and Christian Rousset (with Marian Woodard, Lynn Spatz, and Alison Clary also present) reported on the ranch's activities this past year. RRHC is a Pleasant Hill Park and Rec facility, and they use our site for programs and events. Members of both boards enjoyed s'mores and hot chocolate before the meeting began, and we look forward to further cultivating our relationship with them!                                                                                                                                     Photo by Alison Clary

                                                                                                                                        Photos by Alison Clary

Our annual Harvest Festival yesterday had record visitor attendance yesterday!
We thank all the organizations who spent the day with us, spreading the word about their organizations and providing family-friendly activities. Families loved all the free games and crafts, and the pumpkin painting station and 4-H pen were especially popular! Patrick Remer's story time was packed to the gills in the house (we've already decided to do it outdoors next year!). A big thank you to the Lions Club for providing the hot dog stand, and a shout out to Tom McVeigh and Maxine Chan for their charming folk songs on guitar. John Burgh was new this year with his vintage truck and rope-making station. Thanks to the urban farm up the hill for providing impromptu tours and mini-talks about organic farming and healthy soil. Most of all, thanks to you, the public, for all your support and enthusiasm. Happy autumn, everyone!

Here's a link to some beautiful photographs from the day, thanks to Hal Jeffrey and his son, Mark Jeffrey. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gsLB_DZPnLh-tsLr3Lu7aDM979YqEUwl?usp=sharing

​More photos to come soon!!! 

Last night, we enjoyed co-hosting another sustainable workshop, "Healthful Home Fermenting: Kombucha and More" with Sustainable Contra Costa. Attendees of the workshop learned how two safely make kombucha at home from our fabulous instructor Jennifer Brennan, who gave everyone a SCOBI and starter to take home. Everyone loved tasting samples of pineapple and triple berry kombuchas as well as her delicious and healthy fermented cauliflower and zucchini. For more information on kombucha, please see this article from SCOCO's newsletter: 
sustainablecoco.ning.com/forum/topics/coffee-tea-or-kombucha.
We have one more workshop in the sustainable living series, "Green Your Holidays," on October 18, before we start a new series in January 2019. For more information and to register for workshops, go to www.sustainablecoco.org.
                                                                                                                                                                              Photos by Alison Clary