| Tiny grape clusters just beginning to bloom. |
More Good News and Bad News
This time: the “bad news” first— it is raining and the grapes are just beginning to bloom. Once our viticulturist told us that in our dry Mediterranean climate, rain is never bad. Indeed, the vineyards and lavender are getting a late season watering, over an inch and a half now in the last two days.
But what is also true is that during “bloom” the crop is particularly vulnerable. Rain washes away pollen, making pollination spotty. The grape bunches may not be consistently full, lessening the crop.
The good news? Rains this time of year are usually intermittent with sunlight, rainbows arcing from the valley floor to the heavens. In many cultures, the rainbow is considered a bridge between worlds, the union of heaven and earth. Scientifically, the observer is in the center of the observed arc, which, if completed, forms a kind of mandala, half in the heavens, half underground. For me, its appearance always brings a state of grace, reminding me that divinity resides in the every day.
| Rainbow over Napa Valley |
