Contrast

...meandering at an old (1910) homestead called Doc Bailey's this morning.  Behind me are the mountains and a most fertile expanse called Garden Valley--aptly named as the whole area was farmland in the time of the settlers.  There are still a few farms, though nowadays much of the land has been converted to wineries and vineyards.  I loved this lone tree in a seemingly barren landscape...

 

And yet, turning--with the tree at my back--the contrast is startling, both in the landscape and the weather.  It's one of those light/dark days, clouds rolling like tumbleweed across the sky...