Early Spring scheduled to end

74F (23C) degrees today! UNBELIEVABLE!

Storm coming our way from you folks on the coast, thank-you-very-much!

Rain, snow to 5,000 feet, thunder and lightning!! WOW!

Hang on, folks! It'll be a hoot.

Linda

Was pretty warm here too. I'm looking forward to rain. Should reach us tomorrow night, I hope! I have my fingers crossed!
Sounds like you'll be getting more rain than we will. Last I heard they expected snow at 7,000 feet for Thursday, and down to 4,500 feet for Friday's storm.
Don't care as long as it's wet! We need the rain or snow! ^_^
WIB,
SW

It rained a bit here last night, and it just started again---WOOHOOO!!!

It's headed my way, the morning was scattered clouds, but now the wind has kicked up, and the clouds are coming in and I felt one drop of rain hit me while out taking care of chores.
I'm all done with my errands and snugged in for the day! Hope it gets here soon!
WIB,
SW

Whoopee, it started raining here about 15 minutes ago! Glad I got this photo first! My first wildflower, Pretty Pink Maids.
WIB,
SW

With the warm days and now rain, my new daff leaves are about an inch taller than yesterday. First daff opened today in the raised bed around the back pond, and I have an iris about to bloom, too. Hope they don't all get "friz"! My almond tree looks like it's about to flower as well---it's usually the first to bloom; it seems a little cautious this year...LOL!

The almond growers have asked DH not to bring in the bees for pollination for another week. One down the road is in full bloom. None of my Daffies have bloomed yet. Just my Jade plants and Jonquils. Oh and my rosemary plant is starting to bloom too.
More rain please!
WIB,
SW

Here is a photo of my Rosemary starting to bloom.
WIB,
SW

We're getting a good shower at the moment. It's actually kinda nice !

Good strong rain since late this afternoon here in Pasadena. My allergies have almost completely subsided! YAY!

The rainfall we have received this winter has been just about right for my garden. The soil remains slightly damp below the surface, but not wet or mucky. I only had to water once since our first storm in December. Woo-hoo!

Same here. Just moist enough w/o it becoming sodden. Regardless, people still don't know how to drive in the rain here !

Honestly, California drivers don't know enough to slow down when it rains! My allergies are better now too. We started getting rain about 3:30, and our power went out for about 45 minutes right when I got into the shower. It was a very short shower. The kids were going into withdrawal already, having to go without the internet for soooo long! LOL!
My dirt was drying out in a bad way, only was damp in shady places. This will help.
Squish in Beauty!
SW

Our streets are flooded...but that's nothing new. God forbid they come around once in a while and clean out the storm drains.
You wouldn't believe the junk that flows into Long Beach from the L.A. River. It all ends up down here.

Quiet rain hereabouts. I missed most of it, but there was no dampness beneath eaves typically moist with "normal" rain.

Quiet little rain. Very nice. But . . .

We're expecting thunder and lightning tomorrow afternoon, compliments of my coastal friends, thank-you-very-much.

It is wonderful watching it all move about and cover our gr8 state. Having lived all but the first five years of my life in California, I often bemoan the fact that I don't have any experience living in the "seasonal" neighbor states, ie. Maine, Mass, Penn, etc. etc. etc. But, hey, look at the weather back there this year. Ummmm, living in California has its benefits, eh?

Linda [waving at all her neighbors]

I'm a So. Cal. native and our winters are as "severe" as I care to deal with !

Me, too, JD. Born and bred here and I wilt if I'm away for too long. Told DH if we ever moved to England I would have to have artificial sunlight throughout the house and at least 3 weeks a year in the Med. Of course, he would never go back now, either, so it's a moot point.

Having come from one of those places with the supposedly wonderful seasons, I can say they're not all they're cracked up to be! I lived in Ohio (with a 2 yr detour to Indiana) up until 7 yrs ago and I have no intention of ever going back! For me I think it's perfect here--if I want to see snow I can drive up to the mountains and see it, but I don't have to shovel it out of my driveway to get to work, or drive on a highway that's a solid sheet of ice, etc.

I spent one year away from here, Liz, and thought I'd die.

I've always felt like the valleys here, (San Fernando, Simi, San Gabriel, etc) were like a different state altogether because they get so hot in the summer.

Having always lived within 10 minutes of the ocean, I don't really know about life in any other climate because this is all I know.

I have a nephew who grew up here and always hated the climate. He's now a park ranger in Montana and loves it. The colder it is, the more he likes it. You couldn't pay me to live where it gets that cold for so long !

I was transplanted out here two weeks after I was born, and except for a year in Nevada, and a year with my Dad in Oklahoma (it was the winter and tornadoes that convinced me to come back to CA). I've lived here all of my life and couldn't conceive of living anywhere else, except maybe Hawaii. ^_^
I do feel for those back east without power, and having to cope with their weather, but some of them really like it there. I guess it all depends on what you like.
My kids are like your nephew, JasperDale, they like it colder than I can stand. Go figure, on their Dad's side they are 4th generation Californians. Don't get me started on trashy people. I picked up over a six pack of beer bottles from the creek this morning when I went for a walk. Why do people have so little respect for this beautiful planet?
I like living where I do. A couple hours drive from the snow in the mtns, and 45 minute drive to the beach I love best!
More rain please!
WIB,
SW
SW

I grew up in Colorado, and I do miss some things about the seasons---fall is my favorite, and it's just waay subtler here than there. But I do NOT miss shoveling snow, or pruning damaged trees after snow or ice storms.

We lived in the Caribbean for 15 months (courtesy of the Navy) and I got so sick of sunshine and blue skies I thought I'd die...I'll take a bit of fog and rain, thank you very much! Then we were transferred to the Aleutians, and I got more of THAT than I wanted. Was very VERY glad to get back to CA.....

It just stopped raining, but expect more today and tomorrow. We sure need the water, so I'm glad ;) I love it here in the Bay Area. I agree with ecrane, we can go to the snow and be home for dinner. Great weather...

Yes, non-stop sunshine can get old, too. I'm always glad for summer to end here, especially when we get 90+ temps.However, there is sunshine and then there is sunshine: I spent one summer in MI/OH and kept asking when the sun would come out! Except for the allergies, love spring, fall, and early summer here. How much can you ask for? :-)

you're right KC...but it's the humidity in summer that gets old really fast.

You have humidity in the summer? Must be because you live so near the beach. We are so dry, here with temps usually around 100 degrees but sometimes up to 115. I hate to have dry eyes.
About allergies, I found some flowering wild Olive trees this morning on the way back from the vet's office. They are blooming. They were planted by the original settlers in this area over 100 years ago. Most are gone, but some remain, and the birds scatter the seeds. I look forward to the July-August thunder storms. We haven't really gotten them the last few years, but I look forward to them anyway.
More rain due today. Wet outside but not currently raining. YIPPEE!
WIB,
SW

Been raining here off and on all morning---I'm taking the afternoon off. YIPPEE, TOO!

Well YIPPEEEE here too. lol, even tho I'm new to CA, the weather just can't be beat, I love it so.

Nice day to cuddle with the laptop. The rain is nice when it doesn't happen very often. - altho this is the weekend my in-laws are coming from Oregon : D they've had rain and gray skies for months now. yuck, I so don't miss that.

Did you see the photos on the other thread that weegy took of the rainbows? Beautiful! We've been having rain off and on all day. Always good to stay warm indoors on rainy days. The roads are dangerous, because Californians don't know how to drive in the rain! I do love to watch the clouds racing by! I'd like it if they'd slow down and give us some more rain though.
Weather will clear up if your folks are going to be here for more than a couple of days and then they'll see why we love it here. Hope they have a great visit with you, Redtootsiepop!
Personally, I've got to have my vitamin D. I need sunshine as much as I need air to breathe! ^_^
WIB,
SW

We have had a small amount of rain up here in N.CA for the last 2 days. Its amazing you can almost see the grass grow. The hills around here went for brown to green in 2 days. The hills are so beautiful this time of year. I sure hope it rains for a few more days as much as I will miss the sun, we sure need the rain. Back to the treadmill for me. To muddy to walk in the open space behind my house. lol
Come on rain and get it over with.
Linda

PS. the rainbow is beautiful. Great pictures

I hope you told weegy! I'm very proud of her! ^_^
WIB,
SW

The problem with California is that it ruins you for everywhere else! I am living my lifelong dream - my mom says I used to talk about growing up and living in California when I was about 5 years old. Those of you who know me here, know that I grew up on the Puget Sound. Beautiful? Yes. Rainy? Unbelievably so. My mom still loves it up there, and really only likes to visit here in the winter (which is about the temp and weather of their summer!). I love it here year 'round, save for that week or two of 100 degree temps! I'm usually up in the PNW when that hits, swimming in Lake Washington! Brrr!

My friends up in the PNW, would love to have our weather but can't afford to live in CA. I got to have sunshine, I guess I'll always be a desert rat in some ways.
I don't want to go swimming in Lake Washington unless I'm in a dry suit! LOL!
WIB,
SW

For me, it's my equivalent of a 'Polar Bear Swim'! Once a year!

ROTFLOL!
WIB,
SW

59F (15C) degrees this afternoon, 48F (7C) degrees overnight . . . thunder and lightning this afternoon with NE coast-like hurricane rain to gentle showers off and on all afternoon. Sun to black overcast skies, clouds of all shapes and sizes. Wandering about outside in shirt sleeves with umbrellas overhead. IN FEBRUARY!!! Awesome!

There were weekends 20-or-so years ago when I used to visit a friend on the coast, Monterey, returning before bedtime on Sat night; then drive up to Yosemite Valley to ride my bicycle around for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon, returning home in time for dinner and 60 Minutes. I also used to drive up to San Francisco every other week for music lessons . . . 3-4 years of that. Drive up in the a.m. return home in the p.m. We have some wonderful sailing lakes nearby, regional competitions, relaxed day sailing. I meet people about town who complain about how "uncivilized" or "uncultured" Fresno is and share those experiences, often to deaf ears, sadly. No, we don't have the big art and cultural museums and orchestras of my more metropolitan brothers and sisters, but Fresno has a lot to offer and I can afford to own a home with land to garden on.

An amazing day of California weather. It don't get no better than this. ^_^

Linda and The MopTops

Corrected celsius conversions after posting -- eeeek!

This message was edited Feb 6, 2009 9:13 PM

@Twincol - I think every American has their way of being patriotic, but mine has always been about the land. No matter where I am in this crazy country, from the burning deserts, to the bleakest flats of Ohio in winter, I have found that my patriotism comes from loving this land. I'm not trying to open up a can of worms here, it's just something you evoked in your love of home.

Have another great day storm watching!
Jeff

well I'm glad the sun is peaking through for my in-laws... we took them to Mission San Jose this morning. This afternoon we'll meet up again and take a visit at Wente Vineyards .. wine tasting.

So glad that you have some sun shining for your folks visit, Redtootsiepop! Wine tasting too! ^_^
We still are having rain here, but we need it. If my Eldest son ever emails me the photo we took with his phone I will have a treat to share!
I'm with you J.man, every place has it's own unique beauty. If I could handle cold weather better, I'd appreciate it more. I love looking at the photos, but couldn't stand to have to live in it.
WIB,
SW

Back @'cha, Junglman . . . yes, I think that is what I was trying to say. And we can love this gr8 land no matter where we live. I think, for me, and what I was also tryinig to say and likely did not say very well, is that Fresno, with it's desert-like summers and limited local cultural assets, offers tremendous access to what is missing within 2-3 hours drive. From climbing cliffs to sunbathing on coastal beaches, to San Francisco Symphony Orchestra concerts and Los Angeles museums. It's all here!

I may have said this before, but I used to see the weather newscasts and assume that our storms simply flew through the Carquinez Straits heading our way. Someone finally made me pay attention to the entire weathercast and then the clouds which moved across town. I learned that many if not most of our storms come up from my southern brothers and sisters . . . that circle of clouds you see moving over the ocean on news photos . . . moves the weather down to Los Angeles and then back up the San Joaquin Valley. I enjoy watching the clouds moving across town now, understanding better what's happening with our state-wide weather.

58F (14C) degrees this afternoon, 43F (6C) tonight; 10F (-12C) drop day/night on Monday, with rain throughout much of tomorrow, thankfully, as I just had a teen spend much of today planting Star Jasmine on my new architectural feature 4ft high metal fabric fence in the front yard today. Also planted some hostas as an underplanting to my azaleas in deep shade. Gotta welcome those little plants with lots of natural moisture. Want them happy here! Want 'em to stay happy!

It's been a hoot to track this storm through the state this week. You folks are GR8 fun!

Linda

Oh, YAY Linda---glad to hear you got your star jasmines in the ground! I hope they'll do really well!

This message was edited Feb 8, 2009 11:28 AM