Napa Valley in the Summer

Are you wondering what life is like over here in Napa Valley in the summer? Well, I gotta admit, it's not too shabby. Napa is loaded with gorgeous, colorful flowers, so after a quick stop at Archetype in St. Helena for some pretty tasty donut holes, we took a trip around town with a camera to capture some of the floral action. It's like bird-watching, but much easier. Flower-watching is definitely a hobby I could get behind.

Here you can see a bit more of the Napa Valley vineyard grapes going through veraison, where they ripen and turn green. I love the way they look as they ripen, with bright green grapes turning a luscious purple. This is one of my favorite times of year- fall is coming and, just like spring, everything gets SO colorful. The changing leaves on the grapevines cover the wavy fields as you drive through the valley - oranges, reds, golds, with bright purple grapes against the big blue sky. It's just too darn pretty to be real sometimes - I look forward to sharing some photos later! A short drive up to Calistoga for a few hours feels like a nice getaway and a walk through just about any vineyard in the area makes for some good flower watching...