One of the things a person comes to accept about living in California is that there is a level of unpredictability when dealing with the seasons. You just learn to go with the flow.
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You’ve likely heard that California, along with much of the western United States, has been experiencing extreme drought. We’re used to things being dry since we are in a Mediterranean climate. Rain is almost unheard of for several months each year during the summer in most areas of the state. But the drought is a different story, altogether.
Where I am, rain during the winter is not a frequent thing, either, but it’s still supposed to rain. We’re also supposed to get snow in our Sierra-Nevada mountain range, too. The last few years that snow has been pretty thin to non-existent. Each winter we take at least one day trip to the mountains to have a play day in the snow, and believe me, there hasn’t been much to play in lately.
So imagine how happy we were to see snow, and lots of it this year. As in, snow piled up on some of the roads, not just scooped to the side. Snow deep enough to get wet up to our thighs as we sank down into soft piles of icy joy. I get to say joy because we get to go home where snow doesn’t exist. This was the most snow I can remember seeing in a very, very, very long time.
We go to a lake about an hour-and-a-half drive away. We could get there faster but the youngest gets severely car-sick, and it’s not something I want to clean up when we’re supposed to be having fun. I’m sure you can understand. There’s usually not a lot of people there, and there’s a couple of places perfect for sledding down and going for short hikes where we won’t need snowshoes or skis. It’s a place where we can escape that hustle and bustle of daily life and experience the quiet of the forest. Oh yeah, and good snowball fights, too!
Sadly, the entire month of January is showing to be dry here. Like, no rain at all. Lots of fog, but that’s just not quite the same. This means no new snow for now. Fingers crossed that changes soon.
Mostly Greek 