Don Quixote is a character in a novel by Miguel de Cervantes, first published in 1605. In the “real world” of La Mancha, Spain, Quixote is known as Alonso Quijano, a thin country gentleman, familiar to all as kind and friendly. He lives with his daughter...
In the late 1920s, the film industry was turned upside down by the arrival of the ‘talkies’. Silent films, which had for so long dominated the entertainment world suddenly seemed quaint and outdated. Audiences were thrilled to hear voices and music on the...
“Some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it.” (Matthew 13:4) Jesus tells the parable of the sower: A farmer flings seed far and wide. Some falls on good soil and flourishes. Some among thorns. Some on shallow ground. And some… on the path. Hard ground....
I’ve been staying at Stevenson’s at Manase, a big, rambling resort on the coast of Savai’i in Samoa. It’s a breath-taking location – palms and coral sand, sunsets and crystal, warm waters – but the buildings hint at another story. It looks like it was...
I’ve spent the last week trying to balance rest and responsibility as I let a head cold run its course while keeping up with the relentless task of winter pruning in the vineyard. The vines don’t care that you’re sick. They still need to be pruned in time for spring....
There’s a saying that I’ve come to appreciate more and more. It’s “Work with the willing.” It sounds almost too simple. But I think it might be one of the wisest pieces of advice I’ve ever received. We waste so much energy trying to get everyone on board,...
Going to the Well: The Journey That Becomes the Destination The day before the opening of duck season, a couple of shooters called into the cellar door to taste a few wines. They were filling in time, waiting for the season to begin, and I was winding down after a...
The Power of the Default: Saying Yes to Life Recently, I received an email informing me I would be automatically registered for a Conference unless I opted out. I never choose to go to this event, and yet, every two years, the assumption remains the same: unless I say...
What We Remember Most It had been a week of shifting gears, literally and figuratively. The week began, as it usually does, with me leading and preaching at our Sunday church service. By Monday morning, I had transitioned from the pulpit to the vineyard, overseeing...
The Belarus Lives Again: Finding value in the unlikely I have an old Belarus tractor. Built in the former Soviet Union, it was never a high-quality machine to begin with, and time has not been kind to it. My mate Slim reckons it must be one of the last ones still...
