Autumn and Fires

 Not a lot of fall color here yet, it’s been horribly hot and we haven’t had any rain in 6 months.  The fires have, so far, left me alone, thank goodness. 

The nearest fire was only a half mile from my house, way too close, but our fire fighters are amazing.  They immediately put several water dropping helicopters and fixed wing fire retardant bombers on it and it was contained and out within a few hours!  The two biggest fires near me, the El Dorado and the Bobcat fires are 15 to 25 miles away but still burning.  The El Dorado fire was arson and, horrifically and tragically, one firefighter has been killed fighting this fire.  

This is a photo of the El Dorado fire when it started.  

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, and having a great autumn.

Summer

Lake Gregory dreaming under the summer sun is a pretty sight to see even though it’s missing so many of the towering pine trees that used to be so thick around the shoreline.  

This is a Watercolor shrub rose.  I love it because its blooms start out looking like this, but end up...

...looking like this!

The hydrangea blossoms are starting to fade, but they’re still beautiful.

Max has a strategy to get through summer; sleep through the hot days and play all night!  

Spring

I know Spring is here to stay when I see the first Grosbeak back from their Winter stay in Mexico!  

Pansies and Violas are ready to be transplanted into my garden.  

The cherry trees are full of blossoms and soon, hopefully, there will be 🍒.  I might even get to eat a few before the birds get them all.  

The water level in little Lake Gregory is the highest I’ve seen in years, now that the new dam is finished and everything is back in its proper place.  I just hope we don’t get an algae bloom like we did last spring and summer.  

Now I’m off to make a cup of tea.  I hope everyone is staying well, staying in and wearing your masks when you go out.  Hopefully these trying times will pass soon.

Strange, Scary Times

How different the world has become since the last time I posted.  I hope everyone is well, and able to stay well.  Spring has been teasing us up here in the mountains, dancing in for a day or so of warmth then quickly leaving.  This kind of off then on warmth makes for some magical scenes though, like the one above of trees and bushes touched with hoar frost.

Last night’s pretty sunset as seen from my front porch.  I only go out for groceries, although supplies are getting harder and harder to come by up here, or for solitary walks in places where I know no one else will be walking.  

Although these are scary times, I’m trying to stay positive by counting my blessings, focusing on the small things that bring joy, and having faith that “all shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of things shall be exceeding well” to quote Julian of Norwich.  And I hope that all shall be, and is, well with you and those you love.  

Rain

Last week had some really beautiful days.  However, today is the most beautiful of all because the skies are pouring rain, wonderful rain, down on us!  I think you have to be a Californian who has gone through long droughts and wildfires to truly appreciate how life-giving rain can be.  The hills turn green, almost overnight it seems, and it doesn’t seem so foolish to wish for a Spring filled with wildflowers.

There aren’t any wildflowers blooming up here in these mountains yet, but some of the cherry trees have been looking incredibly pretty.

The lake is cold, but I never tire of walking along the shore.

I can hear the rain pattering down on the roof as I sit by the fire and write this post.  I’m hoping this will be a very rainy Spring that will make up for a mostly dry winter.

Dry

We’ve had some pretty sunsets lately.

But the clouds haven’t had any rain in them, and now Southern California is officially in a drought again.  

Rita Mae loves the sunshine, so she’s not complaining!  

But, I sure wish we’d get some (a lot) of rain!

This ‘n That

A Valentine’s Day bouquet.

There have been some pretty sunsets at Lake Gregory.  

And some very windy ones.  The birds seem to love “surfing” the little wavelets though.  

And, as always, spectacular views of mountains in every direction.

Views

The weather has been amazingly clear here, but of course we need rain.  Lake Silverwood is in the upper right of this photo and Lake Gregory is on the left.

There are tiny patches of snow left here and there in the colder, shadier spots.

The crystal clear air makes for great views, though.  One can see for a hundred miles into the distance.  (Sorry about the light streak in this photo, it was an errant sun ray).

That’s Mt. San Gorgonio on the left capped with snow in San Bernardino County and in the far distance is Mt. San Jacinto way over by Palm Springs in Riverside County.

Paintings and Cards

A painting of a cardinal that I did last year.  He’s living in the home of a friend now.  The following are some of the paintings and cards that I made last year.

Moon, Clouds and Water

This month’s almost full moon rising over the eastern hills.  I love to see Herself in the daytime.

There were some interesting mid-level clouds hanging around last week.  Our poor, parched hills are starting to green up, but they won’t stay that way unless we get lots more rain this winter.  So far, our rain total amount is only 15 inches.  

Took a drive down the desert side of the San Bernardino mountains to Cleghorn Canyon.  Not much water in Cleghorn Creek, but the sky was a beautiful blue.  

Beautiful Nature

Two pretty sunsets from last week, one taken by Lake Gregory and one taken from Highway 18, also called Rim of the World Highway.  I love sunsets, even though I find them a little melancholy.  

But I find fallen acorns very hopeful and life affirming...each one might become a beautiful oak tree, or feed a hungry squirrel!  

Winter Woes and Blessings

This has been a hard winter so far...and there’s still three months to go!  Thanksgiving was pretty much canceled up here by a huge storm that dumped nearly four feet of snow and knocked out the power for five days.  This was the first time the power had ever been out for this long. I didn’t move anything out of the refrigerator, because I was thinking the power would be back on any minute, so lost everything.  This storm also killed my trusty, dependable 2003 Ford Eddie Bauer Expedition by knocking a tree down on her.  Killed her DEAD.  Thankfully, no one was in the car when the tree came down and it missed my little cottage.

Things were just getting back to normal by Christmas when another huge storm swept in on Christmas Day dumping two feet of snow.  The kitties and I had our Christmas dinner however, because I roasted our turkey on Christmas Eve.  Ha!  Take that, crummy weather!  And this time I lost nothing from my refrigerator because I had a large ice chest ready in case the power went out, which it did for three days.  Happily my Christmas present to myself made it through this storm unscathed.

Her name is Ruby Subee, and I love her.  She’s a 2020 Subaru Ascent Limited and she has so many gadgets she practically drives herself!  I was a little apprehensive because she only has all wheel drive, not four wheel drive, but she did very well in the Christmas storm.  

I’m hoping the rest of the winter isn’t as bad as November and December, but we still need all the precipitation we can get, so I’m not hoping too hard.  I’m just hoping it comes as rain instead of snow!

Cold and Snowy

This is the photo that goes with yesterday’s post.  

Happy New Year

This year is starting off cold and snowy-well, really it’s been that way since Thanksgiving.  I hope 2020 is a good one for you!

(No photo, I'm trying to do this from my iPad - apparently the Blogger app doesn't work as well as I had hoped it would).