I fully expected October to come to a close without any measurable rainfall. That would make it the driest October in recent memory. Imagine my surprise when I looked outside this morning and saw that the street was wet! It wasn’t much, not even a tenth of an inch, but it was thrilling nonetheless.
I had somewhere to be first thing this morning, but when I got back, I snapped the photos below. I’m also including a couple of photos from my friend Kyle, who lives about 25 minutes east of here.
Raindrops on plants – a sight I hadn’t seen in many months.
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| Aloe lukeana |
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| ×Mangave ‘Pineapple Punch’ |
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| ×Mangave ‘Queen for a Day’ |
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| ×Mangave ‘Lavender Lady’ |
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| Graptopetalum paraguayense |
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| Graptopetalum superbum |
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| Echeveria cante (photo by Kyle Johnson) |
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| Myrtillocactus geometrizans (photo by Kyle Johnson) |
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| Echeveria agavoides ‘Christmas’ |
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| Notocactus herteri ssp. roseoluteus |
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| Notocactus mammulosus |
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| No sign of rain here, but don’t the prickles on this Aloe marlothii hybrid look like spiky rain drops? |
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| The rain wasn’t enough to wash the grime off this Agave ‘Cornelius’ |
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| This photo of a parched aeonium shows you how badly we need rain...a lot more rain |
My excitement over what in the grand scheme of thing was just a drop in the bucket may be hard to understand for people who live in a climate with regular rain. But in California, where it typically doesn’t rain from May to October, we celebrate every sprinkle we get, especially at the beginning of the rainy season.
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If the half to 3/4 inch predicted shows up overnight on Fri I declare that fire season is over. Along with hose dragging season. Always a relief !
ReplyDeleteI, of course, totally understand! I had .03 inch and I was so happy! LOL! And I love KS 's "hose dragging season". I just dragged the hose around my entire back garden I hope for the last time this year.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful sight! Although the local TV forecasters are holding out hope for a chance of light rain in LA this weekend, the weather stations in my immediate area have lowered our chances to nearly nil. It's been almost 6 months since we've had any real rain. The marine layer has delivered just 0.03/inch since October 1st :(
ReplyDeleteIsn't it glorious? Our rains have returned none too soon and I love it. It just dumped 2.4" on our handyman this week, and although I felt bad for them, it felt good to see the garden get refreshed.
ReplyDeleteThat mangave Queen for a Day photo is spectacular! Absolutely love it.
ReplyDeleteWe got a tiny bit of drizzle Sunday i think it was. You are right even a tiny bit is lovely. Santa Anas will blow starting tomorrow morning, sigh.
ReplyDeleteThe first rain is magical! The raindrops on the mangaves and echeveria are especially gorgeous.
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