Dear WeatherCat observers of the seasons turning,
Yes I know it is even earlier than Memorial day which is the unofficial start of Summer in the United States, but the dry season starts very early in California. I brought my DSLR today to capture another photo of the brave California poppy growing in a crack between two slabs of concrete:
As you can see, the plant has already started to dry up on one side and the blossoms are smaller than they were on May 2nd:
http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=2403.msg24003#msg24003Nonetheless the water that is flowing in the gutter is still rainwater draining from the nearby hills. However, we haven't had any rain since April and aren't expecting any more this month, that won't last much longer.
Here is a view of distant hillside where the grass has turned
"Summer brown:"Here is a more close-up view of grasses that have turned to seed and dried up:
Finally, here is one last view of a
"burnt" hillside:
In retrospect, I probably should have turned the polarizer filter to avoid turning the sky such a dark blue. Steve's criticism of such extremes does seem appropriate. On the other hand, the effect is certainly surreal.
Even with all the rains we've had in California, the wild vegetation will nonetheless look like this until the rains return as late as November or December. We had our first day over 90˚ - peaking out at 90.2˚ F (32.3˚ C.) It has been a hot May and the solstice is still a month away.
Those who insist California is a paradise obviously are only paying attention to human created landscapes.
Edouard