California Wildflowers

Last month, on a really nice spring day, v and I took a drive out to see the Mission San Antonio. One of his nurses at the chemo clinic clued us in on where to find fields of lupin and other wildflowers.  I've always loved to visit the old California Missions.  I've been to almost all of them now.  Mission San Antonio is one of the more remote.  It's also on an army base and army vehicles are frequently seen passing along the road just above the mission grounds.  The property used to be owned by William Randolph Hearst.  He sold it to the army.

There is a lot of lupin, but I hadn't seen such vast fields of California Poppies ever before.

As remote as this mission is there is a parson living there.  There is an entire section gated off for privacy, with a garden that is only open for a few hours a day to the public.

This was as close as I could get when we visited.  

The columns are much newer than the old adobe columns in front of the church

This was looking back toward the mission over the fields of lupin.

We'd been informed, before our drive, that this has been a bad year for wildflowers here.  What must it look like on a good year?

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Lupin Season

A pretty picture for all.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

A Flowering Tree

Every spring as we drive to church I have noticed this lovely, lonely tree flowering in a field bordered by forest.  It's the only fruit tree in sight.  This year I decided we might just take some pictures of it.  Such a brave beauty.

It's on farmland along Hwy 1 south of Carmel and north of Big Sur.  It's so nice that it hasn't been paved over and we hope it stays that way for some time to come.

The fields are full of wildflowers.  I remember at one time there were artichokes in these fields. I've heard that the padres brought the mustard to California.  The Carmel Mission isn't far from this farm.  Father Serra is entombed at the mission.

The tractor hasn't been busy for awhile.

 

There's even a nest inside the engine.  Nothing goes to waste.

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Saturday in Wine Country

Saturday afternoon v and I took a photo drive along River Road and the heart of the Salinas Valley wine country.  When I first moved to this area the fields were either full of the vegetables we put in salads or vast expanses of grass for cattle.  Now there are vines as far as the eye can see, sometimes.  Coming from Southern California where the fields have mostly been filled with concrete, asphalt, and matching houses as far as the eye can see, I'm so very pleased that agriculture still rules up here.

This lonely Victorian stands sentinel over pinot and syrah grapes.  Topping the rise with skeletal openings that once reflected candle and gaslight glow from within.

Side roads are planted with windbreaks of majestic trees casting dappled shade in the late afternoon.

We started out in a quest for fields of lupin.  We didn't find any along this route, but there were other wildflowers blooming.  I don't know what they are and would love it if someone reading this could identify them for me.

Barns are also on my list for photo capture, and there are several along the road and slightly off road.  We only captured a couple on Saturday, but plan to return soon.

We come across farmsteads neatly maintained yet uninhabited.  A mystery...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v

Early Mist and Lupine

My apples are in bloom! Apple pie, baked apples, applesauce in October.  That is if the neighbors and passers by leave any for us!

I headed out really early this morning while v stayed behind in his blanket cocoon.  The lupin is in bloom along the Monterey-Salinas Highway and I wanted early shots.  It was very wet and misty, but beautiful. And I wasn't alone...

In bocca al lupo.  m & v