After my last post, I did go to the beach the next day. It was 85 but even stranger for Feb 28th was the beach itself. Maybe the early in the year storms deposited a ton of sand here, but whatever caused it, you could walk out for a long way and not even be up to your knees. This is probably why everyone said the water was warm; it was shallow. I can truthfully say I have never walked into the water up to my knees in February before. It is always too cold. This was a strange occurence. There were no waves at all, perfectly flat. And the water was so clear. From the shore, we watched little kids be able to walk out so far. So many people were in the water that day without a wetsuit in sight.
The weather continued into March. We are now halfway through March and the summer weather continues, with two days hitting over 90 degrees and the rest in the high 80’s. We have a brief respite this weekend where the weather cooled to 79, but Monday back up it goes to the high 80’s and 90’s again. All this begs the question, what will it be like this summer if it is already this warm.
We were poised for a super bloom but the high temperatures knocked down many of the flowers. Sure there is still a pretty good bloom, but for how long with these temps. It has been too warm to hike in the nearby Santa Monica Mountains. Usually that is a great spot to see flowers, but I already see signs of the hills drying out. There is a huge storm happening in Hawaii but a big high front is keeping the rains away from us. We are still hopeful for another storm this month.
With this weather, everyone seems to be out shopping for tomato plants. I am usually leary of planting tomatoes this early. A cold, foggy front can hit us in May and bring temperatures so cool they stunt the plants and cause early fungal infections. But even I am thinking of at least getting a cherry tomato planted in a pot which I could bring in at night if the temperatures drop. The seeds I planted sprouted quite quickly with this heat. I am making sure there are little pots of water for the bees and butterflies, and food for the hummingbirds.
The spring equinox arrives on March 20th. Let’s hope it keeps summer at bay for awhile.
Reflections Outside My Window 