Oldies but Goodies!

James wrote this a few months ago, and I just realized we never put it on the blog. So, enjoy a few observations made by James when our friend James was visiting...in early February!

A few weeks ago we were enjoying a rare rainy day in Balboa Park with our friend Tall James who had come to visit when he kept commenting on the cherry blossoms blooming in early February and how odd that was (he lives in Washington DC). Upon closer inspection, the flowers were in fact dogwoods, the VA state tree and flower. They usually bloom out east sometime in late March/April timeframe, basically around Easter most years. This brings up an interesting point. San Diego, with slight temperature variations, does in fact have seasons. These are not the typical four seasons we learn of through pictures in grade school, but subtle differences that you have to pay attention to.

With most days being sunny, 60-80 degrees, you quickly stop paying attention to the weather. Angela had a conversation with a student who is from a few hours south of here in Baja California, where they get more typical seasons. He has observed that the seasons here are more names, like the dry season with Santa Anna winds, or the rainy season. I would not characterize these periods as "summer" or "winter", as the Santa Anna’s seem to mostly be in the fall. Recently we have had a few weeks of scattered rain showers. Nothing really special for those from other areas of the country, but people around here were quite excited. Particularly on the roads, where I don't believe people know how to turn their wind shield wipers on. I actually saw snow, on a recent clear day at work. I could see snow covered peaks in the east, as the coast gets rain, and at 4000+ feet, they get plenty of snow. Hopefully the area will get more needed rain as we are still in a 3 year drought, but I thought the subtle seasons are worthy of note when we live in an area famous for its pristine weather... though we realize that we miss regular seasons. I am having a hard time realizing how time is passing, as Valentine's Day is generally much cooler for us...