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Where in Napa Valley Oct. 28
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CommentAn ant carved in a tree trunk, a hitching post for a Napa business pioneer’s horse and buggy and one big eucalyptus tree that is in the “Registry of Big Trees” is featured in this month’s “Where in Napa Valley Is ...?”
Several Napans rooted in the local scene had no problem picking out this month’s up close photo clues.
Several Napans rooted in the local scene had no problem picking out this month’s up close photo clues.
Eucalyptus on Highway 29
Napans motoring northbound on Highway 29, south of Yountville recognized the huge oval burl on the eucalyptus tree facing the northbound lanes.
Napans motoring northbound on Highway 29, south of Yountville recognized the huge oval burl on the eucalyptus tree facing the northbound lanes.
Typically around this time of year, pranksters decorate the burl as a pumpkin Jack-o-lantern.
Bill Pramuk, a registered consulting arborist here in the Napa Valley, said the burl is the result of an old wound.
Bill Pramuk, a registered consulting arborist here in the Napa Valley, said the burl is the result of an old wound.
“You can think of it as scar tissue,” said Pramuk. “Some people have carved a pumpkin face into it and it grows right back over it.” The last time was about five years ago.
Despite the oval appendage that makes the tree look pregnant, Pramuk said the tree is healthy. But that hasn’t always been the diagnosis. At one time, the eucalyptus suffered from an insect infestation commonly found in this particular species of trees. But it is healthy now, added the arborist.
Pramuk does not know how old the tree is, but guessed its age at 90 years or older.
The Highway 29 eucalyptus is head and shoulders above many of its own species.
Arborist Pramuk said the tree, a E. viminalis species — common name Manna Gum, with its drooping willow-like branches gracing the highway — is recognized in the California Registry of Big Trees. The tome is published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Napa Valley eucalyptus was nominated for its current status in 1994 by a forester named Ron Adams.
The tree measures 145 feet high, with a trunk circumference of 364 inches and has a crown spread of 110 feet.
In California there are about a half dozen varieties of eucalyptus and at least 150 varieties worldwide.
Hitching post
Celeste Carducci is owner of the McClellan-Priest bed and breakfast in Napa where the hitching post stands sentry.
Carducci said the hitching post, which is original to home turned B&B at the corner of Randolph and Division streets, originally belonged to Joseph McClelland.
In the late 1870s during the horse and buggy days, McClelland parked his mode of transportation at the hitching post.
The top of the hitching post is shaped like a globe and appears to be marked with the longitude and latitudes markings of the earth. McClelland moved to Napa from Pennsylvania in late 1800s.
The trunk he used to bring his personal belongings west with him sits on the front porch of the local historic landmark in Old Town Napa. It was passed along to Carducci by McClelland’s great-great niece. McClelland was in the mercantile business in Napa and lived next door to the corner property while it was being built.
Behind the bed and breakfast is McClelland’s carriage house where he kept his horses. Today it is where Carducci calls home. After he died, the McClelland house was sold to Drs. Carlton and Ethyl Priest. She was the first female physician in the Napa School system and he was an orthodontist, according to Carducci. Carducci is only the third owner of the house, purchasing it from the Priest estate in 1988.
Tree bug
Most homeowners would be upset if you told them there might be an ant problem in their tree, but not B. J. De Bartola. An ant is carved in the trunk of a black walnut tree at the corner of York and G streets, which was crafted in the early 1970s, according to De Bartola, owner of the house where the tree is located.
“You can tell it’s an ant by the two front feelers,” he said.
The ant was carved by De Bartola’s Hawaiian friend who at the time lived in Kauai. The Napan isn’t sure where his tree carving friend is today. Last he heard the carver was somewhere in the Midwest.
De Bartola said the city had just cut off the limb, which was discovered to be home to a colony of ants.
De Bartola, a retired carpenter, has lived in the corner house since the early 1970s.
De Bartola’s wood shingled house is adorned with stained glass — some of which he created. The majority of stained-glass windows were made by Vincent Taylor, a craftsman in Sonoma County.
Despite the oval appendage that makes the tree look pregnant, Pramuk said the tree is healthy. But that hasn’t always been the diagnosis. At one time, the eucalyptus suffered from an insect infestation commonly found in this particular species of trees. But it is healthy now, added the arborist.
Pramuk does not know how old the tree is, but guessed its age at 90 years or older.
The Highway 29 eucalyptus is head and shoulders above many of its own species.
Arborist Pramuk said the tree, a E. viminalis species — common name Manna Gum, with its drooping willow-like branches gracing the highway — is recognized in the California Registry of Big Trees. The tome is published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Napa Valley eucalyptus was nominated for its current status in 1994 by a forester named Ron Adams.
The tree measures 145 feet high, with a trunk circumference of 364 inches and has a crown spread of 110 feet.
In California there are about a half dozen varieties of eucalyptus and at least 150 varieties worldwide.
Hitching post
Celeste Carducci is owner of the McClellan-Priest bed and breakfast in Napa where the hitching post stands sentry.
Carducci said the hitching post, which is original to home turned B&B at the corner of Randolph and Division streets, originally belonged to Joseph McClelland.
In the late 1870s during the horse and buggy days, McClelland parked his mode of transportation at the hitching post.
The top of the hitching post is shaped like a globe and appears to be marked with the longitude and latitudes markings of the earth. McClelland moved to Napa from Pennsylvania in late 1800s.
The trunk he used to bring his personal belongings west with him sits on the front porch of the local historic landmark in Old Town Napa. It was passed along to Carducci by McClelland’s great-great niece. McClelland was in the mercantile business in Napa and lived next door to the corner property while it was being built.
Behind the bed and breakfast is McClelland’s carriage house where he kept his horses. Today it is where Carducci calls home. After he died, the McClelland house was sold to Drs. Carlton and Ethyl Priest. She was the first female physician in the Napa School system and he was an orthodontist, according to Carducci. Carducci is only the third owner of the house, purchasing it from the Priest estate in 1988.
Tree bug
Most homeowners would be upset if you told them there might be an ant problem in their tree, but not B. J. De Bartola. An ant is carved in the trunk of a black walnut tree at the corner of York and G streets, which was crafted in the early 1970s, according to De Bartola, owner of the house where the tree is located.
“You can tell it’s an ant by the two front feelers,” he said.
The ant was carved by De Bartola’s Hawaiian friend who at the time lived in Kauai. The Napan isn’t sure where his tree carving friend is today. Last he heard the carver was somewhere in the Midwest.
De Bartola said the city had just cut off the limb, which was discovered to be home to a colony of ants.
De Bartola, a retired carpenter, has lived in the corner house since the early 1970s.
De Bartola’s wood shingled house is adorned with stained glass — some of which he created. The majority of stained-glass windows were made by Vincent Taylor, a craftsman in Sonoma County.
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