Springtime in California
Springtime in California can take you by surprise sometimes. A week ago, at my daughter’s wedding, I noticed the pink color of the stems and new leaves starting to unfold from a tree in a courtyard in the church. I pointed them out to my father, who at 85 years had made the journey from Ohio, where the expected high temperature the following day was expected to be 14 ℉. Sure, I had noticed the foot-high daffodils around the tree in my front yard doing some serious thinking about coming into bloom, but I had not really noticed that spring was in progress. 
Earlier in the week, I had taken some photos (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) of a ranch north of Livermore on Manning Road, and of a tree and stump on Manning Road (1, 2). I had noticed the unusual light green color of the blades of grass in the fields and on the hills, characteristic of spring. I also took some photos (1, 2, 3) of Altamont windmills that dwarfed the herds of cattle beneath them, and some photos (1, 2, 3, 4) of one of Livermore’s oil wells on Patterson Pass Road. I also took a few photos (1, 2, 3) of vineyards in Livermore, as they begin to grow new stems and leaves for a new season of production.
I placed this note on the News / Blog page:I uploaded 32 photos taken last week. They include 3 photos of Livermore vineyards (in the Viticulture and Wine section of the Portfolio), rural shots of a ranch north of Livermore on Manning Road (in the Other Places section), and photographs of Altamont windmills and of an oil well in Livermore (in the Wind and Power section). As always, higher resolution versions of these photos can be seen in the corresponding albums of the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™.
Even my roses (as old as the house) get little rest in California. I usually trim them way back in early January, and they are growing actively by sometime in February. I noticed earlier this week that flowering trees had bloomed on Concannon. Obviously, this kind of behavior has taken awhile to get used to, for a man transplanted from the Mid-West. I think of my friends in Madison, WI who are eagerly awaiting the ice on the lakes to break up in mid-March…
-Bill at Cheshire Cat Photo™
You can view higher-resolution photos (*generally* 7-30 megabytes, compressed) at the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Pro Gallery on Shutterfly™, where you can also order prints and gifts decorated with the photos of your choice from the gallery. Apparel and other gifts decorated with some of our most popular photos can be ordered from the Cheshire Cat Photo™ Store on CafePress®.
