Snow in Southern California

Hello Everyone~
You know, when I got up at 5:30 this morning to feed the fired in the woodstove, it was raining. I went back to bed, and when I go up shortly after 7:00 this morning it had snowed.
So I got bundled up warmly, and went out and took photos.
Here are some of mine. I hope that others will share their photos of the snow too. :-)
The following four were taken in my front yard. The last one I took in my backyard.
I ventured out on the farm, and have photos from my morning walk that I'll add in a bit.
WIB~
SW

I've been watching the news, and I'm so grateful that we have a woodstove. So many people have lost their power due to the snow. People were stranded overnight on the Ortega Hwy. Which is closed right now.
It's been really cold. So much so that we've declared tonight to be a movie night. We'll all hunker down and watch movies on DH's big screen.

I have a bunch more photos.
1. This is the view to the southeast. Overlooking the wood lot, and the Murrieta Hills.
2. This is the southerly view.
3. The rocks on the small hill across the creek from my house.
4. The creek crossing. The puddle had frozen on top, but my dogs had to run through it.
5. A close up of the partially frozen puddle.
I still have more photos. :-)
WIB~
SW

Gee, I was really hoping to see more photos. Ones I didn't take. Oh well.
I wasn't able to post all of them yesterday, but have a few spare minutes to finish up with some of the best ones.

1. This is of the small hill back between our place and my Mom's old place. Just a small dusting of snow.

2. One of my Lights, covered with snow. Hanging on a potato bush. I guess that it had snowed, then it started to rain, which it what cause the snow to have the consistency you can see there.

3. My front yard, where the ground is mulched and a lot of my H.bird and B.fly plants grow. My succulent fountain is okay, despite the snow on it.

4. My dogs were ready to go and were first out the gate.

5. I really love this view of the North side of the Murrieta Hills. Not to mention all that firewood and our Christmas trees in the mid ground. Things change so much when it snows.

Still have more photos, so come on back, and if you have 'em, share your photos of the snow here too.

WIB~
SW

The Santa Rosa Plateau, west of Murrieta, saw heavy damage, including hundreds of very old oak trees, pines and entire avocado groves. We're still clearing downed trees and limbs. The good news, once shady spots have opened up to sun-loving varieties and many flowerbeds now offer inviting blank canvasses. Thankfully, our gardens will forever remain works in progress.

Yup, there was a lot more snow over at the S. R. Plateau. I had friends in Murrieta that had a lot more snow than we did. I think that we were on the edge of the area that snow fell in.
The good news is that many of the plants that I was worried about are coming back from the freezing temps that stuck around a couple of days after it snowed.
I am glad that you posted photos of the snow. I am always amazed when it snows in Southern California. I know that it isn't anything special for most people, but I have spent most of my life in Southern California and it happens so rarely here.
I really enjoyed seeing the photos, an amazing change isn't it? That tree has beautiful bones. I hope your trees will recover from the damage.
I have some Milkweed plants started, if you are interested? They are the host plant for the Monarch butterfly. They would like to have a sunny place to grow. :-)
WIB~
SW

Thanks for the milkweed offer. Right now we're just trying to sort things out. Still much to do. Since into photography, I'm sure you know the SRP is a great venue.

Pros were called in to trim the older damaged oaks. Results look harsh, but those ancient sentinels are survivors.

This message was edited Feb 20, 2015 7:52 PM

I love the Live Oaks that live on the farm with us. Ours didn't have any damage from the snow, but the drought is weakening them. The pruning may seem drastic now but in a year or two it will be much stronger and still beautiful. I hate that it was necessary, but it looks like they did a nice job.
The offer for the MW still stands if you decide to go for butterfly gardening. :-)
Hope you keep us posted on what you decide to do out there.
WIB~
SW

And, we sit in sunshine, no rain what seems like forever. Our winter really wasn't a winter and I will say I've missed it. I guess we live under a large canopy that won't let rain or snow through.

Haven't given much though to doing much gardening. Finally got my son to mow the front lawn which is mostly weeds. At least it will look nice for a while.