Cavedale Road has a new species – “The Uncommon Manzanita.” Ninety-eight percent of the 80-acre property owned by Allison Ash and her husband Marc Schwager burned to the ground in the October 2017 fires, leaving the manzanitas completely charred black. (Their house and vineyard were spared.) The fire burned so hot that all the organics vaporized out of the soil. “This magnificent manzanita represents so much loss,” said Ash. “And it is so beautiful, even dead and black. It just seemed like such a great thing to expose it, celebrate it, memorialize it. Part of the allure is that this ‘art’ is transient. The painted manzanita will crumble and disappear over time… making it all the more special to see it painted.” Ash wanted a vibrant color, settling on high gloss yellow. She painstakingly sanded the soot off of every twig on a branch of a manzanita, which created a fine dust, requiring her to wear a full gas mask. Ash started the project the first week of October and worked on it for three months before the serious rains started. The Uncommon Manzanita (it’s actual species name is common manzanita) is a work in progress as Ash continues to work on the other branches – a beautiful piece of art in a barren landscape. Photo by Allison Ash