The Sticky-Sweet Odor of citrus blossoms is wafting on the spring breezes this year, as it has in every year since the 1870s, when the county’s first commercially planted orange and lemon groves began to produce fruit. From early plantings in areas like National City and Lemon Grove, citrus groves spread east and north as urbanization encroached. Today, a car or bicycle trip through Rancho Santa Fe, Pauma Valley, and the outskirts of Escondido, Vista, and Fallbrook induces a pleasant reminiscence of San Diego County’s agricultural past.
Monkey-Flowers of various species are putting on an excellent display this month around San Diego. Look for these low, shrublike plants with their tubular yellow, orange, or red flowers wherever native vegetation clothes the landscape — from the coastal bluffs to the lower slopes of the mountains. As you drive Interstates 8 or 805 near Mission Valley, look for the rusty tint these flowers give to the steep hillsides. On the terraces just above San Onofre State Beach, you can usually see springtime monkey-flower blossoms of every intermediate shade from yellow to red.
The Paschal Full Moon is on April 5.The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon immediately following the Spring Equinox. It usually occurs in March, but sometimes in April. Easter is celebrated on April 9, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (the word Paschal means “Passover” in Greek). April’s full Moon is commonly called the “Pink Moon.” It corresponds with the early springtime blooms of a pink wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata or creeping phlox or moss phlox.
The Sticky-Sweet Odor of citrus blossoms is wafting on the spring breezes this year, as it has in every year since the 1870s, when the county’s first commercially planted orange and lemon groves began to produce fruit. From early plantings in areas like National City and Lemon Grove, citrus groves spread east and north as urbanization encroached. Today, a car or bicycle trip through Rancho Santa Fe, Pauma Valley, and the outskirts of Escondido, Vista, and Fallbrook induces a pleasant reminiscence of San Diego County’s agricultural past.
Monkey-Flowers of various species are putting on an excellent display this month around San Diego. Look for these low, shrublike plants with their tubular yellow, orange, or red flowers wherever native vegetation clothes the landscape — from the coastal bluffs to the lower slopes of the mountains. As you drive Interstates 8 or 805 near Mission Valley, look for the rusty tint these flowers give to the steep hillsides. On the terraces just above San Onofre State Beach, you can usually see springtime monkey-flower blossoms of every intermediate shade from yellow to red.
The Paschal Full Moon is on April 5.The Paschal Full Moon is the first full moon immediately following the Spring Equinox. It usually occurs in March, but sometimes in April. Easter is celebrated on April 9, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (the word Paschal means “Passover” in Greek). April’s full Moon is commonly called the “Pink Moon.” It corresponds with the early springtime blooms of a pink wildflower native to eastern North America: Phlox subulata or creeping phlox or moss phlox.
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