“Look around, isn’t the world simply amazing? Even from the window of a car, the passing world beckons us to partake.” – Ed Lehming

I experience this all the time, even when driving, or in this case, as a back seat passenger, there is so much beauty all around us, we just need the eyes, and mindset to see it. I, for one, can’t turn this off. Everywhere I look is an image waiting to be enjoyed.

Case in point, this roadside scene, enjoyed and photographed while exiting California’s Napa Valley on Highway 12, just outside of Creston, on our way back to Sacramento. It’s a scene etched into my memory; this scene of rolling hills, oak trees, vineyards, and sunshine. Oh, so California!

As I noted in earlier posts, we had experienced overcast and rainy days, but the clouds were thinning at this point, allowing some sunshine to spill through, lighting up the hillside. In my memory, this valley is the gateway to Napa and Sonoma and I wonder, how many millions of people have travelled this road and never give thought to just how lovely the journey is?

Perhaps it’s the Canadian in me, appreciating something uncommon in my southern Ontario countryside? We do have rolling hills, and vineyards, but it’s just not the same as this place.

What I have found interesting is how the landscape has changed over the years. It seems every flat space and many hillsides, which once sat bare, excepting local grasses and wildflowers, is filled with vineyards, a testament to the economic value of California wines. At least there is agriculture, rather than the blight of new housing developments I’m experiencing near my home. The ‘sprawl’ is green an lush, not brick, mortar, and concrete.

All the more reason to enjoy this pastoral scene, even in a photo, knowing it may change by the next time I visit.

iPhone 12 Pro @ 52 mm
1/657 sec, f/2.0, ISO 25