Sonoma Square Buildings

The day dawned clear and sparkling after yesterday's rain and we decided that a nice drive and a visit to Sonoma were in order after yesterday's sedentary day.  The vineyards are still pretty, but, like the trees everywhere in the county, the vines are losing their leaves. The white grapevines turn yellow and lose their leaves first, while the reds turn red and are still hanging on . My favorite old vine zinfandel plants are looking beautiful, but are difficult to photograph from a moving car. The Sonoma Valley has largely recovered from the Nun's fire of 201, save for some of the trees on they hills . I put a picture of the Kunde winery and some of the vines in the hills behind it in extras. Some day we intend to visit their mountain top tasting room.

We walked around the square, which, unlike Santa Rosa's barren expanse of concrete, is what a square should be.  It is filled with huge old trees, a duck pond, the City Hall and a childrens' playground. People were walking through it, some purposefully headed to the other side or with their dogs, others meandering slowly, enjoying the sun or gathered around picnic tables. It is a  true gathering place used largely by local people. On the opposite sides of the streets surrounding the square are Gold Rush era buildings with shops, bars and restaurants.The main picture is of a couple of these historic buildings. There is also a mission, founded in 1823,  the last of a chain of Spanish missions .built a day's walk along the length of the state of California. It is no longer a Catholic church but has been restored and maintained as a museum and art gallery.

As we walked back to the parking lot, discretely. hidden behind the old presidio and officers' barracks we saw the raptor in extras fly in and settle on top of a tall pole. From the look of it, it  has settled there often before. I was taken by it's striking coloring and attempted to get a picture, but John already had the engine running and was about to back out before I had even gotten myself back into the car, so it's not a great shot. I think it is a red shouldered hawk, but if anybody has a better idea I would love to know.

Back home again, we engaged with our neighbor Janet about the placement of two of eight Sequoia redwoods in the lot behind their house  adjacent to ours. She bought a total of eight trees with the intention of blocking the view of the Bunker house and the camper van permanently parked behind it. looming above both our houses. It will take awhile but it was thoughtful of them to consult with us.

The rain was a welcome sight (John thinks we got about three inches based on the level of the water in his tubs and buckets outside) and made today's sparkling weather all the more appreciated.