Post by davesenesac on Sept 23, 2015 9:26:34 GMT -8
Today is the first day of fall 2015. We loose more minutes of sunlight day to day than at any other time of year as our axis tilted orbiting planet moves around our star passing the steep mid point curve of the sine wave plot of daylight versus night. Here along near coastal Northern California, with those longer night hours, our early mornings are noticeably cooler even on warmer days.
Last weekend I drove over the 2000 foot mountains between our valley and the Pacific Ocean getting a pulse on how our local environment looks on this record droughty year. And indeed the shady oak and redwood forested woodlands appeared unusually dry with some trees like bigleaf maples having large numbers of leaves going directly from green to brown instead of autumn yellows. Permanent streams in shady canyons show decades low meager trickles and quiet shallow pools yet enough to sustain wildlife thankfully. With all the horrible fires this year we all hope for some early cold front rain storms so the unthinkable doesn't strike again. As I neared the coast, small farm fields with hundreds of smallish orange pumpkins reminded this person we are entering yet another year's season for celebration and thankfulness.
Our grand ocean changes little during the year season to season. On this warm sunny day with light breezes, many people were escaping their urban streets to the natural air conditioning cool 60F degree waters provide. Walked down onto a less visited shore with sand and piles of water smooth stones and pebbles. The sound of waves crashing, thousands of stones tumbling, rolling against each other, smell of the salt air, pleasant music for the human spirit. A couple was fishing with long surf rods off a high rock. Another couple laid side by side hand in hand on the sand. A white seagull squawked flying by. My digital camera had just returned from several weeks up in Seattle for a scratched low pass filter glass replacement so I needed to check operations with some real use spent mostly leisurely on my knees in the warm grainy sands. What a wonderful precious world we humans have.
David
Last weekend I drove over the 2000 foot mountains between our valley and the Pacific Ocean getting a pulse on how our local environment looks on this record droughty year. And indeed the shady oak and redwood forested woodlands appeared unusually dry with some trees like bigleaf maples having large numbers of leaves going directly from green to brown instead of autumn yellows. Permanent streams in shady canyons show decades low meager trickles and quiet shallow pools yet enough to sustain wildlife thankfully. With all the horrible fires this year we all hope for some early cold front rain storms so the unthinkable doesn't strike again. As I neared the coast, small farm fields with hundreds of smallish orange pumpkins reminded this person we are entering yet another year's season for celebration and thankfulness.
Our grand ocean changes little during the year season to season. On this warm sunny day with light breezes, many people were escaping their urban streets to the natural air conditioning cool 60F degree waters provide. Walked down onto a less visited shore with sand and piles of water smooth stones and pebbles. The sound of waves crashing, thousands of stones tumbling, rolling against each other, smell of the salt air, pleasant music for the human spirit. A couple was fishing with long surf rods off a high rock. Another couple laid side by side hand in hand on the sand. A white seagull squawked flying by. My digital camera had just returned from several weeks up in Seattle for a scratched low pass filter glass replacement so I needed to check operations with some real use spent mostly leisurely on my knees in the warm grainy sands. What a wonderful precious world we humans have.
David