As green as it gets in California

This is the real deal California country spring. Lush green grass, clover, and a carpet of spring flowers everywhere. It will soon be all brown, though, so I always like to grab a few photos each spring in order to remember how beautiful it can be. We had warm, balmy weather with no blasts of arctic wind at all off and on for a couple of weeks. It was heavenly! It's still too early for the tics and snakes to be out yet, so safe to walk around in the wonderful, cool grass.

Snake season will be happening any day now, since it's getting a lot warmer, and that's something I don't look forward to. We have rattlesnakes along with other less scary varieties, and some of the tics carry Lyme disease, so I'll be wearing high top black rubber boots around for awhile until the grass is cut.

One of our two pear trees was in full bloom, so it looks like there will be lots of pears in the fall. That small tree can put out a couple of bushels of huge, sweet Bartlett pears. We also have a big apple tree up near the road, a nectarine tree inside the greenhouse(!), and another pear, dwarf apricot, and apple in with the Bartlett pear tree. I also have a small strawberry patch outside the front door in a little fenced-in area. Plenty of fruit for a small family.

I took a couple of photos of the house, too, one showing a bit of my daughter and son-in-law's new cabin, which is still under construction. I'll take more when it's done, as none of us like the pale gray stucco looking finish of the fire proof siding. We're going to paint it dark brown to match the rest of the place, with maybe some blue and red trim. Looks like a busy summer ahead with all the projects we've got planned.

I may be moving into the old house in the fall, so there are all kinds of things needing done to make it survivable in the winter. Lots of roof work, caulking cracks in the floor and walls, grading the driveway down to the house - plus finishing the new cabin.

Hopefully we won't have another disastrous fire season like last year. We are definitely seeing problematic weather patterns due to global warming, including a persistent drought. We did get more spring rain this year, though, so that should help with the fire danger.