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Ruth Moorhead | profile | all galleries >> California >> St. Helena tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

St. Helena

Near St. Helena, my siblings and I own the tiny parallelogram of land where we grew up. We like it there; it has a lot to enjoy (hill, pastures, creek, several kinds of oaks, eucalyptus trees, birds, flowers, fruits, mushrooms...).

It is rainy and cold there in the winter; balmy and green, with lots of flowers, in the spring; and hot and dry in the summer. Autumn is kindof a combination of all of them--what I remember from then is not the weather, so much as the smell of fermenting grapeskins and the ever-increasing, industrial clamor of the bustling harvest.

Naked Ladies
"Naked Ladies"		 Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus		 St. Helena Sunset
St. Helena Sunset		 Branches in the pick-up
Branches in the pick-up
Same Sunset, Opposite Direction
Same Sunset, Opposite Direction		 Valley Oak
Valley Oak		 Vineyards...endlessly...
Vineyards...endlessly...		 Woodpile
Woodpile
Black Oak
Black Oak		 Lichens on Fender
Lichens on Fender		 Madrone Bark
Madrone Bark		 Quince
Quince

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Ruth Moorhead09-May-2013 06:26
Thank you, Mark, and yes, E. viminalis is one of the ones we have. The eucalypts in California were brought over in the 1930's and planted in groves in many different places as a grand (albeit misguided) experiment; they were hoping they could produce cheap wood quickly for construction of houses and furniture...bad idea! In the 1980's, the lerp psillids (I hope I'm remembering that name right) came by themselves to add to the ambiance. Highway rest stops have been developed in some of the groves, and I love to stop and enjoy the smells and the sounds that the wind makes in the tall trees. Growing up in a eucalyptus grove, we lived in fear of wildfire; now we kindof agree that a fire would be the best thing that could happen to the house on our place.
Mark Whitton 24-Apr-2013 02:50
Wow, sounds just like my home in Orange, New South Wales, Australia. I have many photos of the same subject matter too. The eucalypts even look like a native of this area. Euc. Viminalis (ribbon Gum). The shots are great. Mark.
Lily Franklin 19-Sep-2010 22:58
HI there, I'm an intern at Stag's Leap Wine Cellars living in Napa for the crush this year and I am trying to find out when quince ripen and where I can find some in the valley... I saw a comment you left on Simply Recipes with a link to this site and I was wondering whether you had any to share/sell or if you could tell me where to get some...? Thank you, Lily
Ali Majdfar06-Mar-2007 05:35
Spectacular Collecction, GMV
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