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Thunderstorms have visited the Imperial Valley and parts of eastern San Diego County over the past several weeks. The seasonal arrival of moisture from the east and south, more or less typical for late summer, contributes to the greening of certain kinds of vegetation. On the desert floor, for example, the spidery ocotillo can grow an instant crop of green leaves after a storm, only to drop them two to three weeks later if no further rain arrives. The distribution of green-leaved ocotillos tells not only where rain has recently fallen; it also indicates where the runoff has collected and remained for enough time to be absorbed by the ocotillo's root system.
Shore birds migrating southward are beginning to arrive in San Diego County. Through fall and winter various ducks, sandpipers, and plovers will be spotted in increased numbers in the county's remaining coastal wetlands. Best bird-watching spots include the Tijuana River estuary, south San Diego Bay, the San Diego River flood channel, Penasquitos Lagoon, San Elijo Lagoon, Batiquitos Lagoon, and Buena Vista Lagoon.
Jasmine's thick, sweet odor wafts on the night breezes this time of year, especially throughout the older, well-landscaped neighborhoods of San Diego. The exotic odor is produced by the flowers of true jasmines (genus Jasminum), as opposed to the so-called "star jasmine" (genus Trachelospermum) which blooms in the late spring and early summer.
The Milky Way appears at it most glorious during August summer evenings free of moonlight. This year, these favorable evenings occur from August 22 through early September. You'll need to be in the mountains or the desert to see the Milky Way clearly; too much artificial light in or near the urbanized parts of San Diego County renders it all but invisible. The Milky Way seems to broaden and become generally brighter over the south horizon, specifically near the constellation Sagittarius. When we gaze in this direction, we look toward the crowded heart of our galaxy, where millions of dim stars are so closely spaced in the sky that taken together they resemble puffs of steam.
Thunderstorms have visited the Imperial Valley and parts of eastern San Diego County over the past several weeks. The seasonal arrival of moisture from the east and south, more or less typical for late summer, contributes to the greening of certain kinds of vegetation. On the desert floor, for example, the spidery ocotillo can grow an instant crop of green leaves after a storm, only to drop them two to three weeks later if no further rain arrives. The distribution of green-leaved ocotillos tells not only where rain has recently fallen; it also indicates where the runoff has collected and remained for enough time to be absorbed by the ocotillo's root system.
Shore birds migrating southward are beginning to arrive in San Diego County. Through fall and winter various ducks, sandpipers, and plovers will be spotted in increased numbers in the county's remaining coastal wetlands. Best bird-watching spots include the Tijuana River estuary, south San Diego Bay, the San Diego River flood channel, Penasquitos Lagoon, San Elijo Lagoon, Batiquitos Lagoon, and Buena Vista Lagoon.
Jasmine's thick, sweet odor wafts on the night breezes this time of year, especially throughout the older, well-landscaped neighborhoods of San Diego. The exotic odor is produced by the flowers of true jasmines (genus Jasminum), as opposed to the so-called "star jasmine" (genus Trachelospermum) which blooms in the late spring and early summer.
The Milky Way appears at it most glorious during August summer evenings free of moonlight. This year, these favorable evenings occur from August 22 through early September. You'll need to be in the mountains or the desert to see the Milky Way clearly; too much artificial light in or near the urbanized parts of San Diego County renders it all but invisible. The Milky Way seems to broaden and become generally brighter over the south horizon, specifically near the constellation Sagittarius. When we gaze in this direction, we look toward the crowded heart of our galaxy, where millions of dim stars are so closely spaced in the sky that taken together they resemble puffs of steam.