Lilacs, the elegant pink dogwood and our old tulip tree were beautiful and fragrant but, did not linger.

Our gardens are ever changing. Now, that May is here roses are blooming, irises are popping and birds are seranading as they make their nests around the house and barn. The view from the dining room this morning was more like June!

WHAT BETTER TIME TO VISIT SAND ROCK FARM, SANTA CRUZ AND APTOS.!

Roses of Yesterday and Today have a special Mother’s Day, May 12th treat of their extensive rose gardens now in full bloom, with complimentary ice tea, lemonade & cookies. Potted & bareroot roses available. visit web site

A day on the farm at the Fairgrounds www.aghistoryproject.org May 18th. A free day of fun, including hayrides, ice cream making, butter-churning, spinning, blacksmith demos, hay baling.

On Memorial Day Weekend you can visit a Civil War Ren-enactment at Roaring Camp, the Longboard Invitational, www.santa-cruz-lonboard-union.com and the Santa Cruz Blues Festival right here in Aptos. www.santacruzbluesfestival.com

So much to do! Don’t miss early summer at Sand Rock Farm, Aptos and Santa Cruz.

Come to the Mavericks Festival and enjoy the coast this weekend!
http://mavericksinvitational.com/contest/mavericks-festival/

You will see attached, a downloadable Gift Certificate. You may print and fill it out yourself, but will need to have a Certificate number to make it valid as a gift.

It will take just a minute to make a phone call to Sand Rock Farm, 831-688-8005, or send an email with your contact and credit card information. We will give you a Certificate number to include which will make the Gift Certificate active.

You may purchase the Gift Certificate with a minimum of $100 which can be used for any of the five lovely rooms in the house. (Of course you may increase the certificate value for any amount you wish.)

If you purchase more than one certificate for $100, or a $200 gift certificate, you will receive a %10 discount on the Gift Certificate or Certificates.

My granddaughter Emma and I decorated our tree the other day and it stands in front of out antique mirror welcoming guests as you come up the drive.

To friends and family near and far, we wish you the very best of the Holiday Season and hope to see you at Sand Rock Farm early in 2013.

This year we were searching for a very special 18-20 foot tree to for my daughter’s living room with its 40 foot ceiling. As she is currently in Asia, she entrusted me to find that Special Tree!! Lots of responsibility!

But, off we went to Crest Ranch, the oldest Christmas choose and cut tree farm in California, maybe the whole West! www.crestranch.com/.

It is a beautiful drive up into the mountains above UC Santa Cruz and up the coast from Sand Rock Farm.

I thought an 18-20 foot tree might be a challenge, but not for Louise, the Jensen’s daughter, who with her husband Ed take care of the hundreds of acres of trees and open up the ranch to the public for six weeks in the Holiday season.

Louise directed us to the tall trees around the property and we soon found The Tree.

We tagged it, paid for it, photographed it and sent on the picture to our family, hoping they will approve, as the tall trees, go very fast! If they like it, they will come chop it down when they get home before Christmas.

Of course, while there I also got a tree to stand in front of Sand Rock Farm’s antique mirror in the living room and one for my cottage as well. With an arm full of greens, we are well on our way to Christmas decorating.

The trees won’t go up till December 1st, but we will keep them in water and know that we have the freshest and the best! (We will highlight the ‘dressed’ trees in the next blog.

Autumn –When did that happen! While away some time in the Spiral Garden with the birds noshing the bright currant berries as leaves color. Though a gentle rain freshened the Farm the other day, not a drop fell on any wedding, even through the end of October!

As the year winds down, we think of weddings to come; welcoming couples to Sand Rock Farm to wander the grounds, find the perfect location, and begin planning for their weddings.

Come to Santa Cruz to enjoy this quieter time. We would love to have you stay at Sand Rock Farm. There is much, (or nothing, if you wish) to do.

Monarchs have returned to Natural Bridges (here through early spring.) Natural Bridges State Beach www.parks.ca.gov

This weekend the surfers are out and the waves are high. Great people watching!
O’Neill Coldwater Classic, November 1 through 11. Upgraded to a World Tour event for 2012, the O’Neill Coldwater Classic is delivering a new level of excitement as the world’s top 36 surfers reach the 2012 stretch drive. visit web site

From the ocean to the mountains, Santa Cruz offers something for everyone. The Wine Passport Program, November 17, 2012, www.scmwa.com provides a chance to visit wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains not normally open to the public. Taste wine & have a great time. visit web site.

Visit Sand Rock Farm while the sun is shining and the weather mild. Enjoy the great outdoors here on the Central Coast. Hike, Bike, Picnic and, follow that with a relaxing Massage. Stay in either the Honeycomb Suite with double Jacuzzi tub and luxurious sitting area, or the Hidden Garden Suite with a private garden and outside hot tub. Sand Rock Farm’s Special Fall Getaway includes a two night stay with a Picnic Lunch and massage for $495 in either room, based on availability. Good through March 30, 2013, except holidays.

Not too long ago we were fortunate to have Joan, (Sand Rock Farm’s second owners, the Waugaman’s), granddaughter, visit. Joan brought pictures with her of her mother and father, Nan and Don Linz’s wedding. It took place over 50 years ago at Sand Rock Farm, August 27, 1957, and is one of the first weddings of which we have pictures.

Much is different, and much stays the same. Bride and Groom still cut the cake and take a bite. But, I can’t remember a formal receiving line at Sand Rock Farm in the past few years.

Each year that we do weddings, Brides, or Mothers of the Brides ask the question, what do we do it rains in Aptos on my wedding day? Depending on the time of the year and the size of the wedding, the answer differs. But, when a June wedding is planned, we might mention “June Gloom”, (a bit of coastal fog), but not ncecessarily talk about a rain plan. That is, until last year. The Heavens opened and rain poured down from early morning till evening, June 4, 2011. Jennie and Chris, their family and friends will long remember that rainy day. We won’t forget the many smiles and happy times guests had partying in the shelter of the tent in the Meadow, or the Bride and Groom under an Umbrella in the Winery.

Though early in the Season, 2012, another special memory was created last week when Melissa and Rob got married. Were a Bride and Groom meant to travel on a tandem bike to their reception?

Nisene Marks State Park, just over a mile from Sand Rock Farm, near apple oarchards and through a few redwood groves was named the Best Bike Trail this past week by the Good Times.

You can enjoy a leisurely ride through the park, or get more serious, biking the 13 miles of trails deep into second growth redwood on the old fire road. Nisene Marks offers a variety of rides, with some challenging climbs and speedy descents.

You could also participate in the 25th Annual Bike Week, riding to work or school A number of activities are offered to get folks out of their cars and onto their bikes.

Local Aptos biking excitement will be at fever pitch, May 14th when the Amgen Stage 2 Finish ends in Aptos village, just a mile from Sand Rock Farm.
Watch the Finish with other biking enthusiasts and enjoy the great outdoors.

This past Wednesday was particularly enjoyable. I was so excited that Ann Parker from the Sentinel published such a delightful and informative review of my favorite restaurant! I love Café Sparrow. If I could indulge more than once a month or so, I would. Instead, I have highlighted Café Sparrow on the map I give to all my guests noting that it is a very popular, consistently good restaurant.

I gladly make reservations for them. I know when I ask them the next day, guests will always tell me that they had a great experience. The food was unique and delicious and the service was excellent. They tell me that they will tell their friends and, definitely want to go again when they return to Sand Rock Farm.

Cafe Sparrow, Restaurant Review: This Aptos Village bistro isn’t just for the birds
By Ann Parker – Sentinel correspondent
Posted: 04/04/2012 01:30:38 AM PDT

The Historical Landmark plaque in front of Cafe Sparrow reads, “1889 Aptos Grocery and Post Office built by James Leonard and financed by his gold mine.”
Next to the cafe’s front door, a less historic but equally informative sign revealed the restaurant’s specials for the night: herbed Dijon chinook salmon, pepper-crusted ahi, spiced New Zealand venison. Cosmopolitan cuisine in the heart of Aptos Village.

www.cafesparrow.com
Phone: 831-688-6238,

For the full article: www.santacruzsentinel.com/food

Don’t miss Spring. Visit Santa Cruz and Sand Rock Farm in April. You can ride the steam engine to Roaring Camp and enjoy the Eggstraordinary Egg Hunt on Bear Mountain, APRIL 7 & 8. Eggstraordinary Egg Hunt visit web site | more info

Just a few miles South in Monterey, the Jellies have arrived for an extended stay at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

THE JELLIES EXPERIENCE
Opens March 31, 2012
Discover a world where jellies dance and glow, bloom and sting. You’ll meet thimble-sized jellies as clear as glass, colorful creatures with ruffles and beads, and jellies that live their lives upside down. Prepare to be amazed.
Learn more

Visit the hugely popular Pebble Beach Food & Wine – April 12-15, 2012 www.pebblebeachfoodandwine.com , the premier epicurean lifestyle event on the West Coast, matching 250 acclaimed wineries and 75 celebrity chefs

April is a great month for the fresh and new. Baby animals abound and frolic for visitors at a smaller version of the County Fair to be held at the end of the month at the Santa Cruz Fairgrounds.

Ok, so gas prices are out of sight unless you have one of the new hybrids, or an electric vehicle. If so, you are really lucky as prices are not inching, but flying higher daily!

But, if you, like many, still have one of those gasoline vehicles, think of a short get away to the Monterey Central Coast and Sand Rock Farm. Sand Rock Farm is near Aptos village, a few miles South of Santa Cruz on the way to Monterey.

Discover Spring peaking out with daffodils in the meadows and trees budding out, fountains splashing. The lilacs and the dogwood are not far behind.

Hiking the coast or the hills, Nisene Park or Big Basin, whale watching, bird counting, surfing, the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, over 30 wineries – whatever tickles your fancy, we have it here.

We would love to have you visit Sand Rock Farm with wisteria greeting you at the door. Let us show you a STAYCATION!

http://www.sandrockfarm.com/2011/01/staycation-sand-rock-farm/