grape vine bud with a great view from the deck railing overlooking the San Gabriel Mountains

…(which I have been training around the house for the past 11 years) are a sign that we have entered the back side of winter, the surprising reminder that Southern Californian spring is here, or close, with things in the garden getting greener by the day – like the leafed-out California Oak and the orangey leaf and blossom buds of the Pomegranate – which is all a bit bitter-sweet after three mostly settled tranquil months at home and tomorrow beginning a more steady rhythm of travel through the spring and summer…sorry to miss the daily details in the garden.