Little Antelope

I was out in Little Antelope Valley yesterday.  It is up on the plateau at about 5,200 feet.  We've had 33 dry days in a row, and there is currently no snow.  The little ephemeral forbs think that it is time for spring.

A Different Winter

Last year, I called this "Black" Mountain.  I was wrong.  It is actually called "Bald" Mountain.  But that isn't the main difference between 2019 and 2020.  In 2019, we had snow, snow, snow.  And rain.  It was a wet winter.  Not now:  We have had neither snow nor rain for four weeks.  Today, it was 60F and dusty.  A good day to ride the bike.

Never Had it So Good

The "new" green Chevy has 215,00 miles on it.  And it usually looks tired and battered.  In fact, the last time it was sighted, it had three broken headlights.  But, after the body shop fixed the lights, they took the time to wash and wax it.  I didn't know it could look so good.  Finally, VSO took it to the glass shop to get a new windshield.  It looks like it's come straight from the show room.

Good Drinker; Bad Singer

The band has good singers and bad singers.  Mostly we write songs for the good singers.  But, this one is by a bad singer.  Listen here.  Oh, and it is about drinking.

The Downs and the Ups

In 2013, I noted in the almanac that we were having a bad snow storm.  In 2015, I recorded a temperature of 69F.  In 2017, I wrote that the daytime was 50F and there was no frost at night.  Last year, the almanac says that this entire week was "wintery."  Yesterday, I was out on the plateau calculating basal area for a pine stand (pictured, 78 square feet per acre) in a t-shirt.  If there is a pattern, I'm not sure that I can tell what it is.