Things Are Just Wacko

Where it’s usually hot it’s cold; where it’s usually dry it’s wet; where there is typically no snow it’s snowing.  Seems wacko to me (and yes we believe in global warming).   We have been to Anza Borrego several times in February in the past and have always needed to run to Julian to cool off.  And for pie (Julian is the town of pies).  This year if we ran to Julian for pie, we would need chains and we certainly don’t need to cool off.  It is snowing in Julian.  In Anza Borrego it is raining, and has been off and on for the past several weeks.  It is also cold, not getting above the 50’s today.  Through out the region roads are closed from snow and ice or flooding and slides.

Idyllwild, where we spent Christmas this year, is not accessible due to snow.  The Palm Desert Tram is out of business because the road to the tram is washed out.  The campground we enjoy near Palm Desert floods on these rainy days, as you can see from the photos above.  Our campground, here at Anza Borrego, was evacuated last week because of a flash flood in the nearby mountains.   Everywhere we go we see erosion, slides, road closures, puddles, or sometimes lakes, where for years there has been nothing but draught and hot.   We talked to folks yesterday who reported leaving Joshua Tree because it was so cold.  They came here to get warmth but soon realized they would need to travel to Mexico to find any warmth this year.

The beauty of it all is green describes the desert this year.  It is totally green from tip to toe.   Earlier the green looked like grass but now we can see it developing into small wildflower plants, filling all the bare land between the cactus.   The bloom this year will be amazing and it is slowly beginning with the yellows and whites popping first, then progressing to blues and pinks and finally to the hot reds and purples.     I fear we will depart before we get out of the yellow/white stage, which is beautiful but we’re looking for less subtle.   We head home at the end of next week and are planning to take our time visiting with friends and family along the way.   Will the flowers be out by then?  Who knows, things are just wacko. The fields of poppies we saw in the Julian area a few years ago, at exactly this time of the year, are under several inches of snow this year.

Today it rained pretty much non stop.  We grabbed about 30 minutes for a walk, but that was it.  We are presently in the campground that was evacuated last week, so let’s hope they don’t knock on our door in the middle of the night to move us out.  With roads closed and outdoor options slim we did all the rainy day things — reading, needlework, computing, games, napping.  I spent most of my time on needlepoint promising my family at Christmas that they each would receive a needlepoint pillow from me.  One is almost finished and unless we get sidetracked by the sun this weekend, will be completed by the end of the week.   Ed spent much of his time outlining his readings and taking quotes from favorite books.  

Our wet view:

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Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

John  Ruskin