The Snow is Still on Our Mountains

Rain, warm rain, is predicted for tonight and tomorrow so this may be the last time we'll get to see all this snow as we travel around the county. It was cool but sunny again today - a really beautiful winter day! (And a beautiful "pink moment" as the sun was setting!)

Addendum: I just realized today's significance (besides it being Jane's birthday!) and end with this quote my friend, Judy V, emailed me:

This year Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address fell on the same day.

It's an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of limited intelligence for meaningless prognostication on subjects he doesn't understand.
The other involved a groundhog.
(Click on the photo of Punxsutawney Phil to read about this year's prognostication.)

February 1st - Flowers and Snow

The last of the big rain left Monday morning and we've had sunny skies ever since. We always have narcissus (the smaller, paperwhite-type daffodils) blooming since November, but now the real bulbs are starting to poke their leaves out of the ground and just a few are beginning to bloom! (Click on this posting's title to see a few more new flowers.)Although it has been sunny, it has continued to be cool and I've been taking pictures of the snow every day - it is so awesome to see it not disappearing like usual! (It's not unusual to see snow on Topa Topa - just look at last January's postings or even April 2006. What is unusual is that it hasn't melted away yet.) I took this shot as the clouds were beginning to return today. Highway 33 is still closed at Wheeler Campground, so there still must be tons of snow up in Rose Valley and on Mt. Pinos.Click here for more snow views.

Clear But Cold and the Snow Hasn't Melted

The snow is still there - yippee! Click on the posting link to see today's view from Oxnard's Mandalay Bay.

Wheeler Gorge

Last Friday, Alan and I tried to drive up to Rose Valley to see the snow, but Highway 33 was closed all the way down at Wheeler Campground. So instead of seeing a bunch of snow (even the Grapevine was closed for a day and a half) we got to see the North Fork of Matilija Creek looking more like a raging (SoCal) river!

Here's one of the pictures I took near the creek. Click on this posting's title to see more. In the meantime,here are a couple of videos from that morning:

More Snowy Panoramas

Monday dawned with new weather - the rain was moving out and the sky was clearing. We were even treated to a few little rainbows. (Alan headed north . . . might he have been taking the wet weather with him?) Today will be a second day of clear skies after the rain and it is still cold enough that all that snow is still there!
I'm so stoked the snow isn't melting I've taken pictures every day. Click on these links to see more:

January 29                     January 30

More Snow, More Rain

Saturday morning dawned with clouds beginning to clear away from the mountains - what fabulous views of the snow we got! I had to get to work so only pulled off Victoria for a quick shot of the snow,but Alan and Tom drove to the Harbor and climbed the tower at the Channel Islands National Park HQ and got some great shots.(Here are some of Tom's) -
















They met me for lunch and we got a brief walk on Ormond wetlands - with another view of the mountains. (Click on the posting title to see more views.)