Sonoma Valley 'Ghost Tree'

I always love the drive through the Sonoma Valley so we decided to take Spike to a regional park near Glen Ellen which has a fairly level paved path which seemed about right for all of us. Spike has been obsessively licking his back paw and since I can't see anything it it my working theory is that he stepped on something in our field, since the grass is very high and John hasn't mowed a path through it  yet. A paved path seemed like a good idea except, of course, that Spike doesn't stick to the middle of the  path but navigates forward by zig-zagging across it, stepping into the grass at either edge for a good sniff. There is also a nice trail higher up where the wildflowers will probably be lovely, but coming down the steep rocky trail would have been tempting fate what with wonky knees and dicey paws....

Fire burned through this park in 2017 and burned a lot of trees, often right at the base, traveling from there down through the roots. The trees still looked pretty healthy but succumbed over time until the landscape was dotted with 'ghost trees' like the one in the top picture. A few of them survived and are getting leaves, but the majority of them are falling everywhere. It's a huge job to cut them up, and an even bigger one to get rid of the wood once it's cut so the rangers seem to be confining themselves to ones that are near the trails and in danger of falling on people.

On the way home, we stopped off at VJB winery, which has a wonderful deli and an open patio. It tends to be crowded with lovely young things in long dresses and sun hats, standard winery attire for visitors, apparently, so we just popped in and got a sandwich and some antipasto salad to take home and eat outside wearing our boots and jeans. 

We're planting orange aloes and Mexican sunflowers below the driveway and along the street where the echium is doing well this year. Half of the bank by the street is so steep that the only thing we have planted there that has survived is an aloe. Most of the year they don't look like much but they are really pretty when they bloom and we got them free from a neighbor so we're not risking much....