It Never Rains In Southern California

It Never Rains In Southern California.

You've all heard that song right? A guy named Albert Hammond wrote it but I remember Barry Manilow singing it.  Ew.  That was a bad flashback. Anyhow-

For any of you who have been living under a rock lately, I’m here to tell you that it DOES rain in Southern California! Not always, not usually and maybe not often enough for some, but here where I live on the coast, we have had three inches of rain per day for the past few days. The rain is literally coming down sideways. Besides the rain, we are experiencing wind blowing up to 60 mph at times.  Branches are falling off trees, and in some cases such as Eucalyptus whose roots are shallow, the whole tree has toppled over. Trash cans and all sorts of debris are blowing around willy-nilly. Claps of thunder are deafening and flash lightening the likes of which you usually only encounter in places like Oklahoma is lightig up the sky!

A true California Girl never takes off her flip flops, unless it's to go barefootin'.  So these piggy's, they took quite a hit in the storms this week.  I had so much fun playing in the rain, since it's so novel here and all. But sometimes I curled up inside by the fireplace with a cuppa. Sometimes I drove around and took pics of my city in the rain. And there were other times I just paced back and forth in front of the cottage, watching the tarps blow in the wind, the mud sliding down the side yard in rivulets making it impassable, and contemplated the future.

If there's anyone still interested in what's happening over at the cottage, we finally got the go ahead needed to get up and go, and here's what happened.  Rain in Southern California.  And high winds.  They called them hurricane force winds!  My little cottage in the full blown stages of a complete remodel, was all naked and bare, no windows, doors or even walls.  Just a poor pathetic frame of a cottage.  So we boarded her up!  We battened her down. But you just wait.  In the next couple of weeks the tempo is going to pick up over there and that cottage is going to rise up again.  Just check on in over at my blog and you'll see. At least that's what the powers that be my husband tells me. I'll take pictures of everything for you of course.

Yikes, I guess I'll be showing you how we patch this hole too.  It'll be nothing short of miraculous what happens around here as soon as it dries out! Yada, yada, yada.

Oh, but the waves. The sea is churning up suds like a washing machine. It’s all frothy and white and in places beside the coast highway, it has blown in billowy bunches up on the rocks and it looks like snow. The ocean is beautiful when there is wind. The clouds touch the sea on the horizon with dramatic sizes and shapes. The sun brightens the tips with streaks of bright blue color usually reserved for only the most beautiful of paintings.

Here at the beach winter has its own kind of beauty. Visitors have mostly gone home and the beaches stand-alone. The tide is high and only a strip of sand may remain where we walk our dogs. The weather in the winter is mild and fair even so. Our average cools are about 60 degrees and our highs are 75 degrees on most days. It’s beautiful and everything you might want if you take a trip to the coast. But this week In California we have been lifted to the ranks of those who have real honest to goodness weather. We’ve had everything but actual snow this week and there is actually snow all the way down to the 3,000 Ft. level.

Here's a view from the safe nether regions inside my car.  But wait, you aren't going to believe this!

Oh yeah, I'm coming around for more.  Just wait,  Here it comes!

Oh Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.  Rain is fun! If you get bored when it rains, or you think life's no fun if it's not sunny, come play with me.  I have a blast in the rain!


Our sidewalks have been power washed by God himself! Our homes have been cleaned with fresh water, the leaves are glistening after a good bath and the reservoirs are filling up. There is the smell of newness in the air.

It doesn't bother this guy.  He may look a little weary, but he knows just like I do that this won't last forever.
Heck, over here in Southern California it won't even last a week.

 Weather forecasters speak in dramatic,  voices, panicked, with their umbrellas turned inside out during their live feeds. They throw around worried phrases like hurricane, gale force winds, and power outages. In some surf spots the waves were over 20 feet.  Long boarders were coming to shore with boards broken in half.  Only very seasoned surfers or crazy people even attempted to go out there.

But when I look around me, booming thunder, wind, rain and all.  I can only celebrate the power of Mother Nature. I yell at my kids, come on, let’s go outside. It’s raining! I grab my camera, remember it’s not waterproof, wrap a baggie around it and GO.
Who wants to miss this when it never rains in Southern California?

We who are blessed enough to call the coast our home, pay some of the highest taxes in the country. Our home prices soar way above the average in other states. People plea, "I could get a lot more for my money if I lived somewhere else." It is said often that that’s why we pay the big bucks to live here. So is it worth it you ask me? Hell yes, it’s worth it.

We have, within an hours drive, deserts, mountains, beaches, big cities, small towns, so many people crowded into one place it always feels like a party and places where you feel like you are the only person left on the planet.  It’s all right here and it’s wonderful.

There are those who say we don’t have seasons here. But if you look closely, if you are in tune to the environment, every season has something beautiful which signifies a change.  And while we are experiencing what for us is an extreme now, we can curl up with our cocoa by the fire, enjoy the cuddly feel of winter for a bit, and then in a couple days we get to throw our flip flops back on and head out to the sunshine.

It would not be the first time someone has accused me of working for the Chamber of Commerce; however people,  just look at this! 

 It’s raining in Southern California, and it’s marvelous, it’s fabulous, and as they say in another part of the world, which I am also quite fond. Tis a glorious day!

Is that a double rainbow? Tis!  And you know what that means?  That means it will be 70 and sunny tomorrow.

So tell me, what's the weather like in your neck-oh-the-woods today?

Rain or shine, wind or snow, there's something to be praised no matter where you are!

Blessings to all,

Tia