Water Bringing Life Back To The Desert

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Much Needed Rain

After many weeks of fires, extremely dry winds and miserable conditions, we've finally started to get some decent rain here in Southern California.

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We hadn't been able to take our daily walks for a while because it was so wet and nasty. Not to mention, the cliffs can get downright dangerous after a bit of rainfall with the landslides. Around here, whole sections of land can fall into the ocean at a moment's notice.

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When the rain relented for a bit, we took the opportunity to go down to the trails and stick to the safer ones. It is amazing how this place springs to life after just a bit of rain. If you've looked at my previous posts about our walks, you'll remember that most of the areas around here are quite dry and grey.

Mostly, you just see a lot of dry stuff and cactus plants, like these:

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Yesterday evening, however, it was a different story. Lots of little flowers have sprouted and the grass has gone from looking completely dead to a dark green color.

Also, the sky was an amazing sight to see, and Catalina Island looked as clear as ever.

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You can't tell much from the photo, but with the naked eye you can make our many details that are normally pretty much invisible from what I can only imagine is smog.

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I remember this happening last year after the fires as well. Everything gets to a point where it would seem that there is no possibility of return; then the rains come. Just like magic, everything comes to life!

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You can tell that these plants are simply built for droughts though. After a couple of weeks of heavy rain, it goes back to nothing at all - yet the plants remain colorful for quite a while. I suppose they are designed to suck up and store as much moisture as possible in these conditions.

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Not sure why, but I particularly like these cottony pods that cover the landscape. I think they just remind me of the dandelions that I used to pick and blow on when I was a kid back east. They do exist here, but nothing like the quantity that you see around Ohio or Kentucky.

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Sometimes it feels like the weather is abusing us in order to make us appreciate the good things. Well, whatever it is it's working! For one, my eyes are finally starting to go back to normal. They were so dry when the humidity was in the single digits that I actually went to the doctor at one point. It wasn't good!

For now the humidity is perfect and we have a nice cool breeze to appreciate. Not too hot, not too cold. Well, if I'm being fair my other half is not too fond of the cooler weather but I am definitely appreciating it!



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11 comments
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I now can't go places and enjoy the life outside, I can just see them behind the screen of my laptop Sir @nuthman

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Are you able to go out in a wheelchair at all? It would be good to get some sun on your skin at least.

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The east side of our house has been totally roofed already because of my sister's husband while if I were to go at the back it is inconvenient because of the clutter there. So I am just relying on Vit D supplementation which I hope would work @nuthman

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Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
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I experienced similar on the prairies in Canada, the long droughts and then after a good rain, everything revives again. But the prairie grass is green only after the snow melts in Spring. Then, the river coulees look for a short time like you were in Ireland.

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I would like to go to Canada one of these days. It's kind of crazy that I've been to Europe so many times, but never right next door. Ireland is also on my list! Hopefully we'll be going the next time we're in the UK.

Do you prefer it in Austria or Canada? I believe I remember you saying that you're currently in Austria.

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Remind me next Spring and I will ship you all the dandelions you could ever want. At my old house they practically took over the yard each year. It was crazy. These are some fantastic shots. Hopefully things get to normal soon and you can be done with the extremes. We have been dealing with a lot of erosion on the Lake Michigan side of the state from the winds and all the rain this Fall.

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Hehe, sounds good. I'll be expecting that dandelion shipment!

Since I wrote this post it has been raining non-stop... I do love it with all the bad droughts, but it means we can't get out and do much outdoors.

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I saw California had some crazy waves off the coast recently too.

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