I love Spring in California. I know some people don't think we have seasons here, but of course we do and they can be dramatic. A week ago I drove on the I-5 south to Newport Beach. The drive was pleasant with hills and fields green from the recent rains. On Sunday, I did the drive in reverse as I headed back up north. This time the beauty blew me away. The sky was bright blue, the hills verdant green and the fruit and nut trees were like delicate fluffy white and pink clouds lined up in neat rows for acres and acres, miles and miles of tiny blossom-covered trees. A week before I had hoped that the trees might be flowering but they were completely bare. Now, I could hardly believe the abundance of life present in the trees.
I know the East Coast get the changing of the leaves of the trees in the Autumn, and that it is fantastic to see them. People go there just to have the chance to see their vibrant colors. But the Central Valley in California, which is home to more almond trees than almost anywhere else in the world, along with all of the fruit trees creates a breathtaking tableau of Spring that rivals anything that happens in the fall.
As I drove, I longed to be able to capture their beauty in photos. But I was driving on my own and it really isn't advisable to take photos while driving and there weren't any good places to pull over near the orchards. I had to just drink it in with my eyes and be thankful that I was witness to such beauty.
It did inspire me to zip up to Napa yesterday to see what was blooming there. Napa always celebrates mustard in the early spring with a Mustard Festival. I try to get up there during that time, but often I miss the height of it. The past few years with the drought, the mustard hasn't been as abundant. Yesterday was a different story.
As I approached Napa, the sides of the roads were green with grass and yellow with mustard. I was encouraged thinking that I was in for a real treat. And I was. I turned off Highway 29 onto a parallel side road a bit before Yountville. There was yellow mustard covering the ground underneath the dark gnarled grape vines all the way to the hills. I stopped for a few photos there before winding my way through Yountville.
Just past Yountville, you drive around a curve of a hillside and on the right is a spot that the mustard can be especially abundant. Accordingly, just a little further on the left is a fabulous restaurant named Mustards. Today I hit the jackpot. I pulled over and joined the line of parked cars along the highway. People were walking from their cars in a giddy daze, looking around in wonder at the golden fields of vibrant yellow mustard in front of them. They held phones and fancy cameras up as they wandered into the rows of grapevines in the waist high mustard.
I wanted to just meld into the scene, become one with the exceedingly fresh abundant beauty of nature. It almost seemed over the top. Almost too much. Not to mention the brilliant blue sky with streaks of white clouds and the green hills in the background. It was a perfect 75 degrees with a gentle breeze. I had to simply feast on it with my eyes, feel the sun and breeze on my cheeks, smell the fresh sweet air and rub some mustard blossoms with my fingers. And be grateful.
The last photo in this blog was taken in Israel in March 2011 on the Mount of Beatitudes. We walked down the hillside through shoulder high mustard, reflecting on the notion that this is where Jesus taught his famous Sermon on the Mount. I felt a connection between our land and flowers here and in Galilee.
I know the East Coast get the changing of the leaves of the trees in the Autumn, and that it is fantastic to see them. People go there just to have the chance to see their vibrant colors. But the Central Valley in California, which is home to more almond trees than almost anywhere else in the world, along with all of the fruit trees creates a breathtaking tableau of Spring that rivals anything that happens in the fall.
As I drove, I longed to be able to capture their beauty in photos. But I was driving on my own and it really isn't advisable to take photos while driving and there weren't any good places to pull over near the orchards. I had to just drink it in with my eyes and be thankful that I was witness to such beauty.
It did inspire me to zip up to Napa yesterday to see what was blooming there. Napa always celebrates mustard in the early spring with a Mustard Festival. I try to get up there during that time, but often I miss the height of it. The past few years with the drought, the mustard hasn't been as abundant. Yesterday was a different story.
As I approached Napa, the sides of the roads were green with grass and yellow with mustard. I was encouraged thinking that I was in for a real treat. And I was. I turned off Highway 29 onto a parallel side road a bit before Yountville. There was yellow mustard covering the ground underneath the dark gnarled grape vines all the way to the hills. I stopped for a few photos there before winding my way through Yountville.
Just past Yountville, you drive around a curve of a hillside and on the right is a spot that the mustard can be especially abundant. Accordingly, just a little further on the left is a fabulous restaurant named Mustards. Today I hit the jackpot. I pulled over and joined the line of parked cars along the highway. People were walking from their cars in a giddy daze, looking around in wonder at the golden fields of vibrant yellow mustard in front of them. They held phones and fancy cameras up as they wandered into the rows of grapevines in the waist high mustard.
I wanted to just meld into the scene, become one with the exceedingly fresh abundant beauty of nature. It almost seemed over the top. Almost too much. Not to mention the brilliant blue sky with streaks of white clouds and the green hills in the background. It was a perfect 75 degrees with a gentle breeze. I had to simply feast on it with my eyes, feel the sun and breeze on my cheeks, smell the fresh sweet air and rub some mustard blossoms with my fingers. And be grateful.
The last photo in this blog was taken in Israel in March 2011 on the Mount of Beatitudes. We walked down the hillside through shoulder high mustard, reflecting on the notion that this is where Jesus taught his famous Sermon on the Mount. I felt a connection between our land and flowers here and in Galilee.
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