Happy 4th of July

Turnbull Winery

Here is a shot of the beautiful pansies at Turnbull Winery in St. Helena.

Garden at di Rosa Preserve

 

It was a beautiful warm day today. Mid 80's. Stopped at di Rosa Preserve on Hwy 121 just west of Napa and took a few pictures on their gardens.

Spanish Steps

 

A friend of mine lives in a cool old Spanish style apartment complex. Here is a shot of the steps up to his apartment.

Mondavi

I have been off the grid for so long. Sorry. I will now resume my regular daily postings. Here is a photo to the entrance to the Robert Mondavi Winery.

Wildflowers Close up

Here is a closer shot of the wildflower from yesterdays post.

Wildflowers

Here is another shot from my hike with Napa Land Trust. These yellow flowers were about the size of peas. There were many wildflowers, but they were hard to photograph since I do not have a macro lens.

I'm Melting

It has been so incredibly hot here the last couple of days. It was 97 degrees today at 3pm. So tomorrow I am leaving work early and going out on the bay. Life can't get any better than that !

Panoramic Dam

While at the Dam last Sunday, we took a few shots from the observation platform. Several shots were taken side by side and I stitched them together using Windows Media Live photo Gallery. The shot below is 3 photos stitched together.   I like all the tools in Windows Live and will try using it more often.  If you click HERE you can see a bigger copy and can really see how the panoramic turned out. Compare it to my April 14th post below.

DOUBLE DELIGHT

Madrona Manor

Here is a a shot of the lovely Madrona Manor Wine Country Inn and Restaurant near Healdsburg in Sonoma County. This is the place to take out of town guests if you want to impress them. The grounds are beautiful and it is a popular place for weddings.

Lake Sonoma

Here is another shot from Sunday's picnic at Lake Sonoma

Lupine River

On the way home from my wildflower hike on Saturday we stopped off at James Creek Road and saw some magnificant displays of spring color.

The Easter Eagle

Went with my sister and brother in law for a Easter picinic at Lake Sonoma. As we were sitting in the park at at a picnic table a bald eagle flew into the huge oak tree right next to where we were sitting. In all the years I have lived in California I have never seen a bald eagel in the wild. The park ranger said there is a nesting pair that keep house on the lake.

LUPINE

I went hiking today with the Napa Land Trust. We went for a wildflower hike up at Snell Valley up by Pope Valley. On the way back we stopped on James Creek Rd to look at hillsides that were covered in Lupine.

WYSTERIA

Z
I never realized until this year how much wysteria is growing around the valley. I took this photo last Sunday at Turnbull Wine Cellars in Oakville which is 12 miles North of Napa. Turnbull is small and unassuming when seen from the road, but the grounds are quite beautiful in the spring.

The CIA

When I first moved to Napa, I met people who said they worked at the CIA. I thought how strange that they live in Napa and not Washington DC. I now know when locals say CIA they mean Culirnary Institute of America. CIA's Napa Valley Campus has occupied the former Christian Brothers Winery — Greystone Cellars “the largest stone winery in the world.” Greystone is on Highway 29, just north of the town of St. Helena.
Greystone's exterior walls are 22-inch thick tufa stone. Built in 1888 it has survived two major earthquakes. Greystone was used by the Christian Brothers to make sparkling wines from 1950 to 1989.

Zinfandel Lane Bridge

The casual tourist might not realize this, but Napa County has approximently 60 bridges. Many of them are from the turn of the century and are on the National Register of Historic Places. I took this shot yesterday at the Zinfandel Lane Bridge, built of stone in 1912 across the Napa River.

The Golden State

California's state motto is The Golden State. Maybe these are some of the reasons: , the California Gold Rush of 1840's, The Golden Gate Bridge, Our state flower the California Poppy California. Indians cherished the poppy as both a source of food and for oil extracted from the plant. Its botanical name, Eschsholtzia californica, was given by Adelbert Von Chamisso, a naturalist and member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, who dropped anchor in San Francisco in 1816 in a bay surrounded by hills of the golden flowers. Also sometimes known as the flame flower, la amapola, and copa de oro (cup of gold), the poppy grows wild throughout California. It became the state flower in 1903. Every year April 6 is California Poppy Day.

April Theme - Yellow

The valley is a blaze with yellow every spring. The wild mustard is everywhere and tourist can be seen along country roads snapping photos.

Apple Blossoms

The apple tree in the side yard is beautiful right now. The entire yard is blooming.

The White House Inn and Spa

Took this photo this morning of the White House Inn and Spa in downtown Napa.
There are many beautiful B&Bs in Napa. To find out more about this one click here.

SUNFLOWER

Here is a nice sunny picture of a sunflower.

Strolling

Strolling Yount Mill Rd in Yountville, the town just north of Napa.

SUNNY DAYS !

After many weeks of rain, the sun is finally here. Went sailing with
the Vallejo boys on Sunday. There was very little wind but we still had
fun sailing in tee-shirt weather.

Rain

Nothing has been going on here the last couple of weeks except rain, rain, rain. And the forecast for the next couple of weeks....Rain. Here is a shot between the fronts. We needed it though, we are now in 90 percentile of average rainfall.

March Theme Day - Glass

HAWTHORNE VASE

I love art glass. My tastes in art glass tend to be on the traditional side. I received this glass vase with a Hawthorne tree as a gift many years ago. It was purchased from Orient & Flume Art Glass in Chico California. If you are ever in Chico check them out. The master glass artists create their work right there in the kiln house behind the gallery. You can even go in and watch the artists at work. This place started in 1972 as a little art studio in a small house on the corner of Orient Street and Flume Street in Chico. Pieces from Orient & Flume can now be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum, the Smithsonian Museum, the Chicago Art Institute, the Chrysler Museum, and the Corning Glass Museum.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

SATTUI WINERY again

Here is another shot of the Sattui Winery. This shot was taken about 20 yards from yesterday's shot, but looking east instead of west.

SATTUI WINERY

Any visitor to the Napa Valley will recognize where this picture was taken. This is a shot of two of the most popular places to eat lunch in the Valley. Sattui Winery in St. Helena has the best picnic grounds and, a grand cheese and wine picnic shop. You can only buy their wine at this facility or online. The grounds are beautiful with lots of picnic table below huge vintage oaks. Then just across the street is Dean & Deluca, fantasy land for those who like food. D&D has produce grown on local farms, local artisan cheeses and the 1400 wines they sell are from California. If you are ever traveling north on Highway 29 though the Napa Valley, V. Sattui is a highlight.

Alameda Marina

Here is another one from last summer. This is for Raf of Port Townsend Daily photo who like I appreciates all things sailing. This Marina Village Yacht Harbor in Alameda where I leave out of when I go sailing on the weekends.

The Valley

Here is a shot I took a couple of months ago when the fall colors were still out. This is looking Northwest across the valley from the Silverado Trail north of Mumm.

Dreaming of Last Summer

It has been pouring rain for the last 7 days. Nothing to take a picture of but rain, rain, rain. So I pulled out a favorite from last summer. This is a photo taken at Wednesday night races at Vallejo Yacht club last June.

GOATS PLAYING CARDS

On Highway 121 on the way from Napa to Petaluma there is a small mom and pop dairy with a country convenience store next door. On the wall of the store is this mural of goats playing cards.

Art

Sculpture at entrance to Artesa Winery.

HAPPY V D

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Skywatch

ITS SKYWATCH FRIDAY


FOR MORE SKYWATCH PHOTOS CLICK
HERE and scroll to the links at the bottom.

Yountville Mustard

Here is a shot from a couple of weeks ago of the mustard near Yountville.

Sunday's Hike

Here is another shot from my hike to Linda Falls on Sunday. This was my 1st try with my new wide angle lens. I was pleased with the depth of field.

Linda Falls

Today I got up early and went on a great hike with the Napa Photographic Society. It was a cool and foggy morning as we drove up to Angwin and hiked to Linda Falls which is part of 39 acres of old growth douglas fir and Manzanita chaparral that was donated to the Napa Land trust. Napa County has some of most beautiful places to hike. Thanks to the Napa Land Trust over 50,000 acres in our county are preserved openspace.

Ramblin Road

Here is a shot of my favorite road. This is Yount Mill Road up in Yountville, just north of Napa. This country road is is a favorite for bicyclists, walkers, dog walkers and photographers.

Ducks at Dusk

I took this one a couple of weeks ago at the Napa River. As I was driving out of the parking lot, I saw these ducks out of my side window. I stopped the car real quick, but did not get my camera out quick enough to get a good shot of them.

Peju Province Winery

Here is a photo I took today at Peju Province Winery. Peju, founded in 1982 by Tony and Herta Peju, is a family-owned boutique winery located in the Rutherford Appellation in St. Helena, just North of Napa.

More Clouds

Clouds in the glass wall at Artesa.

Clouds over Artesa

We have not had that many cloudy days so far this year and when we do I never seem to be in the right place at the right time. Here is another shot from Artesa Winery.
The water in the background is Tomales Bay.

FOR MORE SKYWATCH PHOTOS CLICK
HERE and scroll to the links at the bottom.

Veterans Home

This huge campus is the Veterans of War Home in Yountville. The grounds are beautiful and it has its own golf course. In 1882 the Vet home's association paid $17,500 for the 910 acres where the Vet home was built. Prior to that is was Salvador Vallejo's Napa Rancho. For some better photos click here.

Green vineyard

Went to my favorite view point yesterday, the patio at Artesa winery. It was a beautiful day with lots of pretty clouds. When I got there I realized I did not have my polarizer with me so I blew out the sky which was disappointing.