CHAPARRAL

In the waning hours of a hot summer day, golden light spills across the arid hills of the Ojai valley. During this golden hour, the sunbaked chaparral is bathed in a soft, warm light, blanketing the region in an otherworldly glow. The dusty, parched aroma ancient soil and sunbaked earth mingles with the subtly sweet, hay-like aroma of the desiccated flora. As the sun passes behind the hills and the heat of the day slowly dissipates, the landscape springs to life, invigorated by the cool air of the early evening. The delicately herbal fragrance of California sagebrush mingles with the honeyed aroma of pearly everlasting, perfuming the warm air with faint notes of chamomile tea and hay. Bay laurel, bracing, camphoraceous, punctuates the gentle aroma with a staccato-like vigor. The leaves of an ancient oak tree rustle in the gentle breeze, the heady aroma of citrus blossom hangs in the air, ferried inland from coastal groves