Landmark Winery Vineyard

It's about two miles down the road, but we haven't driven through the Sonoma Valley in several months. Despite our beautiful views, life in seclusion seems to take on a sort of monochrome quality as each day slides by much the same as the one that preceded it and the one that will follow. 

We determined get out for a walk today and it was both a surprise and a pleasure to see the vines thriving...and to be reminded that they have continued to grow even as we have been restricted to barracks.  There are 454 wineries in Sonoma County, many of them almost within walking distance .... If only there were a path through the contiguous vineyards lined up along the two lane highway, for it is one of the loveliest areas in the county, backed as it is by the Mayacamas Mountains. Some say it is these vineyards that saved the winery buildings from destruction when the Nun's and Tubbs  fires burned through the length of these hills and into Napa County in October, 2017. 

A couple of mothers and their toddlers were sitting in the grass next to the parking lot beside the Sonoma Regional Park. Sights which we once probably wouldn't even have noticed make us smile after so many weeks of not seeing anybody. As we walked along the narrow hilly trail it seemed as if spring came and went without our noticing it and it is now more like August. The wildflowers have come and gone, replaced by the dried golden grasses of a California summer. The fire burned fiercely through this park, and many of the trees haven't recovered. It's safe to say they probably won't, but their skeletons will be left to slowly fall and decompose and become part of the soil. 

We stopped a VJB Winery on the way home to pick up our wine club selection of Italian varietals. Yesterday was the first day the tasting rooms were allowed to open but I suspect that even with distancing and other restrictions in place, it will take awhile for people to return.

We have a few months before having to worry about fire season. I devoutly hope we don't have to worry about wildfires and a pandemic at the same time...