Thursday, January 19, 2012

Winter color

The winter vineyard looks brown and drab, but it is actually alive with color. First, the grass between the rows of vines is deep green. It doesn't get cold enough here to turn the grass brown and it stays green as long as there is rain. There is also a good variety of evergreen plants and trees to balance out the browns and grays of the bare deciduous varieties.

An osier on the edge of the vineyard.

Here and there you can also see plants with berries, most common among them are the wild roses with their bright red hips. The plant pictured above is an osier, a variety of willow sometimes used in making wicker baskets and other items. Around us, the growers cut and use it to bundle grapevine trimmings for kindling.

Osier likes water and grows near ponds or small streams. In the fall the stems turn this bright yellow-orange color.

10 comments:

  1. Very nice :)
    I hope that Bertie's vet visit is uneventful :)

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  2. What a beautiful, cheerful photo.

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  3. Ah, Walt the Fourth, another brilliant work of art. What an eye and what skill with the camera. Beautiful!

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  4. Reds and oranges -- delightful!

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  5. Nice photo!
    Some varieties of grass stay green all winter I think. Fescue was one we had in KY that was beautiful all winter and good food for horses and cows although I guess hay is brown grass and is good food as well.

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  6. melinda, thank you!

    judy, it was fine, except that Bertie has gained weight. Diet time!

    ron, lukily I still have both my ears.

    chris, merci!

    mitch, and I really hesitated with this picture, thinking nobody would find it particularly interesting.

    will, if this were the 70s...

    evelyn, I'm glad our grass stays green. It makes winter feel less desolate.

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  7. Interesting composition. I will have to keep view in mind the next time I see a vertical speciman that I want to photograph.

    Mary in Oregon

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  8. Walt the Fourth:
    Well, I'm really glad you posted it. I love it so much, I just came back to look at it again.

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