Thursday, February 24, 2011

Spring ?

I know here in California, we don't experience the real cold many of you regularly have each winter.  But, our winters can get long, because they are our rainy season. Yes, it really only rains here in California in the winter - but when it rains, it can rain for weeks on end. We start to see moss growing everywhere.
California Maple against a rare winter blue sky


Whenever we get a clear day, with blue sky, I always start wishing for spring to be here. But,  when the rain stops, that's when the weather gets cold (for us). Even so, I crave the sun so much, I go outside for some sun therapy!


California Buckeye
This time, I decided to go out and look to see if I could find any signs of spring. Our first sign is usually the California Buckeye. This tree is uniquely Californian; during the rainy season it waits for the first rays of the sun and then it starts budding like crazy. It has started its race to propagate. So, here it was - my first sign of spring! I was so pleased.

Once I saw that, I started hoping that I might see some early flowers, and yes, here is an azalea bush bravely budding. There is danger here, since it is still February and we may get a freeze or two if the weather remains clear. But, this azalea has started, and if its lucky, it will bloom. If not, the freeze will kill all those flowers.


 Now, I feel a little better, I have had some sun and have seen my first signs of spring. I know we will probably get more rain; we need it, since winter rains are what keeps California in water for the rest of the year. But, having seen some sun, blue sky, flower and tree buds, I can deal with rain again for a while.

How do you handle your winter blues? Share your coping mechanisms here.

4 comments:

  1. Nice pics!
    And Thank you for the inspiration of Spring coming.
    Could you believe there may be snow on the way this weekend!
    Its expected to snow here at Sea Level, which is S.F. :)
    I am soooo excited!

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  2. I know, it hasn't snowed in the SF Bay Area since 1976! If there is snow here, I will definitely get pictures of that.

    I, too, am excited about getting snow. We are at 800'
    so we might.

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  3. Great pictures and great description of our California winters.
    Snow will be exciting if we get it.

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  4. Can I come visit? Maybe I'll wait til August when my weather blues are in full swing... summers here can be brutal and I can relate to wanting the rains, but it seems like our summer rainy season is simply hot these days. Luckily our winter rainy season has been a little more cooperative this year! Great signs of spring though - thanks for sharing!

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