Last week we spent some time visiting with friends and family on a ranch in the lower Russian River valley. I guess ranch isn’t the right word, it’s vineyard land with several varieties of wine grapes. Anyway, this barn is on the ranch and is a moderately famous barn. I’ve seen photos of it at an art show in Emeryville and it’s been in calendars and postcards. It’s usually shot from farther away and from the opposite side, but when I was there the sun was setting and the light coming through the barn made the shot better from this side. This shot is on Zooomr here, there is an alternate shot here.
The barn isn’t really used for vineyard operations, other than for storage. It’s now home to some owls. The floor is littered with the bones of small animals eaten by owls. My kids (who studied owls in school) were quite eager to tell the adults about the dietary habits and digestive functions of owls. It’s very fascinating, but I’ll spare you the details. I’m sure Wikipedia has ample information on the subject. I don’t know much about rodent anatomy, but others in the group could point out various bones of various creatures. Later in the evening we saw an owl fly over, I assume it was eventually heading for the barn.
Other than getting out to take pictures, it was a great evening spent with family and friends. One of those evenings you wish you could have everyday.
Here are a few other shots from the same day:
