Signs of Spring

I love the form of bare branched trees against the sky, and the  sky behind this tulip tree (Magnolia X soulangeana) provided a dramatic backdrop. The bank next to the road at La Crema winery is beautifully planted and maintained, and it is definitely beginning to show early signs of spring. I decided I'd better take a picture now if I wanted bare branches, because they will soon be covered in gorgeous dark pink blooms. There are just two in this photo.

The vines in the vineyard behind tell a different story. They haven't been pruned yet, but the growers always seem to have a lot of inside information about long term weather prognostications....Pruning is usually done in winter when the plant is dormant. The timing of pruning determines when the plant blooms, and is particularly susceptible to frost.Late pruning means late blooming , so perhaps the growers know more about the length of our winter this year than the tulip trees do! I suspect there is more frost to come...

There's aa lot of quiet drama going on behind the scenes in wine country as winemakers and grape growers, vineyard managers and workers all do their part to make a good bottle of wine. 

There's often more overt drama at vineyards as well. Yesterday a door in a blending tank at Rodney Strong winery in Healdsburg popped open, spilling almost 100,000 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon into the Russian River according to the Office of Emergency Services.  Rodney Strong says that only 20- 25% of the tank capacity made it out of vineyard drains and ponds into a creek which then flowed into the Russian River.

I imagine everyone is watching the fish very closely for signs of inebriation....