Last Year's View Across the Road
/We don't have very much acreage, but across the road is a much larger parcel. We appreciate living here and being able to walk, run the dogs, and just a enjoy the view across the road. In 2013 I planned to take photos from the same location, of the same view, and at the same time each week to document the changes through the year. You probably don't mind that it didn't work because who would want to see 52 photos of the same thing? This field has been planted to alfalfa for several years but in 2013 there were sunflowers. Here is the year Across the Road:
January 10
January 25
January 31
March 7
March 26
April 4
April 11
May 5
May 21
May 28
June 13
July 4
July 12
August 8
September 30
October 10
October 18
November 24
December 31
There you have it. I stood at the mailbox for each photo. But the photos are obviously now always the same view or even using the same camera.
The most striking thing in my mind is how dry it was last year. The Central Valley of CA enjoys a Mediterranean climate which means hot dry summers and cool wet winters. We rely on winter rainfall to replenish aquifers and reservoirs to provide the water that keeps the valley from being a desert in the summer. This link shows graphs of the average precipitation and temperature for our area. According to accuweather.com the average annual rainfall for Sacramento is 18.5". We have had only 30% of that (5" in all of 2013). The hills (and the field across the road) should be green right now with the growth of the annual grasses that germinate from fall rains. Grass started to grow with each of the two (only 2) rainy days that we had but has mostly dried up.
On the bright side, I'm not slogging through calf-deep mud when doing chores and we don't have to run the sump pump to keep the the water heater in the basement from flooding.
Hoping for a wet 2014!
