CaliforniaGirlinOz (now just California Girl)

It was a lovely day in the Regional Park yesterday, for a little 3-miler. The wildflowers are coming into their own, and the grass is lush.  Interesting clouds above, and not too chilly. The rains this winter have cause the grasses to explode with lush grasses everywhere. Those woodpeckers did a great job of stashing acorns for the winter...they even have some left for early Spring. There are drifts of wildflowers all along the trails. I think this is the best year yet for Nemesia ( Baby Blue Eyes)...they are everywhere, in huge clumps. Hmmm.  Some clever hiker left this bottle, with a miniature terrarium inside, tucked into the hollow of this tree.  Hope no one mistakes it for spirits...ewwwww!  

 At last, we are seeing gorgeous, lush grass and brilliant sunshine.  There is one more small storm on the way, but next week we are expecting actually hot weather.  After all the gloom and rain, bring it on! We made a trip to Amador County to pick up some wine at Jeff Runquist Winery...superb, as always.  It was a lovely day, too. Driving back, this iconic sculpture in Napa was a nice welcome back to our own wine-growing areas, Napa and Sonoma.   Today was a perfect day day for a couple of miles of wandering through the Regional Park in Glen Ellen, where the tiny Baby Blue Eyes (Nemesia) are clustering along the little streamlets in the park.  Some years the tiny radiating lines are blue, hence the name, but this year the lines are nearly invisible.   But there are huge clusters of them scattered along the paths...such harbingers of spring. Lovely day in the park But beware these treacherous little guys:  Leaves of Three, Let Them Be.  Yep, ...

We headed to Novato to meet Greg and Aveah for lunch at Perry's, our first time to eat there.  What a lovely drive!  The greens are nearly technicolor, the wild mustard is startlingly yellow, and the trees are springing into blossom. With all the rain this winter, the grass is lush, and there are still lowland areas with water still visible along pastures. We must enjoy this while it lasts, because it's going to get HOT, HOT, HOT all too soon! The hills are greening up, as well as the pastures in the valley.  And along Hwy 37, there is still quite a bit of standing water here and there, along the huge pastures. I think there is a Perry's in San Francisco, too...kind of a sports bar/restaurant combination.  The food was very tasty.  Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the four of us.  Next time, for sure. The blossoms are dense and intense...right up until the Spring winds send them flying! And back north to Sonoma, where the intense yellow of the mustard...