365 Photo Project - Day 272

Taken: September 29, 2010, approx 4 p.m.

Location: Marshall, Ca.

We spent the day down at Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall, Ca., which is right on the Bodega Bay. After two straight scorchers that reached over 100 degrees, it was the best respite ever.  It felt like the last gasp of summer but somehow the coming fall and winter makes me more hopeful than usual. We packed a picnic and went with some friends to celebrate my husband's birthday. Beautiful day, wonderful friends, great food. It's all good.

365 Photo Project - Day 271

Taken: September 28, 2010, approx 6 p.m.
Location: Santa Rosa, Ca

Whole Foods recently opened a huge market near us and, having shopped at Whole Foods, for almost 20 years, I was looking forward to seeing the new place. They have a lot of a lot of stuff - -most notably and incredible selection of local and international beers. I'm an old school beer drinker -- my husband and I met at a micro-brew bar and one reason we moved up to northern California was for the fresh, local beer (it's really "beer" country to us".  I'm not drinking at the moment but that didn't lesson the pleasant jolt of walking around a corner and seeing this. They even have a beer bar in the middle of the store -- 30 locals on tap and they'll open any beer in the store for a dollar. However, it's most useful for me when I lose track of my husband in the maze of aisles. At least I know where to find him.

365 Photo Project - Day 252

Taken: September 9, 2010

Location: Rutherford, CA

Whenever I say I live in Northern California wine country, most people assume I mean Napa Valley. Sonoma County is still behind Napa in terms of tourists if not its equal in winemaking. I would say most of us are very much okay with that as Napa has become very tourist-oriented and traffic can be awful there. That aside, every few weeks or so, I find myself driving through Napa -- in this case I was staying in St. Helena for a week to watch a friend's wonderful 13-year-old while they were away.

I had a chance to take a drive around the valley and it was one of those days that make you glad to be alive. Temperate and sunny with some post-rain clouds drifting harmlessly across a bright, blue sky. Just beautiful. I didn't have my camera with me so I snapped this shot with my iPhone 4 hrough my windshield on a two-lane cut-through road between the well-travelled Rte 29 and the Silverado Trail.

I pulled over about a mile down the road, got out my notebook and wrote under the shade of a row of olive trees. The thing about moving -- and committing to staying on in wine country is that you get reminders every day why the choice is such a natch. I guess the day I get sick of the view will be the day I move somewhere else. Not expecting that to happen anytime soon.

365 Photo Project - Day 249

Taken: September 6, 2010

Location: Forrestville, CA

I live in Northern California. Any questions?