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The Frost-Nipped Legacies of the holiday season's cold spells should not be hard to spot, especially in the inland areas where overnight lows dipped to below-freezing. Look for brown lawns, half-dead-looking avocado trees, and wilted ornamental plants like poinsettias. One common frost-sensitive native plant, the laurel sumac, is responsive to the reach of cold air. Laurel sumac is often the largest and most conspicuous plant growing within the coastal sage-scrub type of vegetation native to San Diego's undisturbed canyon hillsides. Wherever freezing-cold air has sunk into low lying canyons and basins, laurel sumac bushes tell the story by appearing brown and withered a few weeks later.
Ornamental Pear Trees are bursting into bloom all over town. The thousands of white blossoms appear in sheets and clusters, rather like snow when viewed from a distance. Nice specimens can be seen along Lake Murray Boulevard, along Clairemont Mesa Boulevard between Highway 163 and Interstate 15, and in parts of downtown San Diego.
Very Low Tides this weekend and early next week coincide with optimum times of day for discovering marine life in the lowest intertidal zones: Friday, February 6 at 1:21 p.m. (-1.4 feet); Saturday at 2:01 p.m. (-1.7 feet); Sunday at 2:38 p.m. (-1.8 feet); Monday at 3:14 p.m. (-1.6 feet); and Tuesday at 3:48 p.m. (-1.3 feet). Very high tides will also occur within that string of days, most notably on Sunday, February 8 at 7:45 a.m., when the tide reaches a maximum height of 6.6 feet. Tide levels are quoted in reference to a technical specification called "mean lower low water," which is related to the average of the lowest daily tides.
February's Full Moon, on Monday the 9th, rises impressively from the deeply darkened east horizon at around 6:00 p.m., about 40 minutes after the time of sunset. Watch as its bubble-like, golden-hued disk launches itself over San Diego's mountainous eastern skyline. The following morning, you can watch the moon fade in dawn's glare while sinking into the Pacific. When seen near the horizon, the moon often seems to be larger than life. The effect, called the "moon illusion," is purely psychological.
The Frost-Nipped Legacies of the holiday season's cold spells should not be hard to spot, especially in the inland areas where overnight lows dipped to below-freezing. Look for brown lawns, half-dead-looking avocado trees, and wilted ornamental plants like poinsettias. One common frost-sensitive native plant, the laurel sumac, is responsive to the reach of cold air. Laurel sumac is often the largest and most conspicuous plant growing within the coastal sage-scrub type of vegetation native to San Diego's undisturbed canyon hillsides. Wherever freezing-cold air has sunk into low lying canyons and basins, laurel sumac bushes tell the story by appearing brown and withered a few weeks later.
Ornamental Pear Trees are bursting into bloom all over town. The thousands of white blossoms appear in sheets and clusters, rather like snow when viewed from a distance. Nice specimens can be seen along Lake Murray Boulevard, along Clairemont Mesa Boulevard between Highway 163 and Interstate 15, and in parts of downtown San Diego.
Very Low Tides this weekend and early next week coincide with optimum times of day for discovering marine life in the lowest intertidal zones: Friday, February 6 at 1:21 p.m. (-1.4 feet); Saturday at 2:01 p.m. (-1.7 feet); Sunday at 2:38 p.m. (-1.8 feet); Monday at 3:14 p.m. (-1.6 feet); and Tuesday at 3:48 p.m. (-1.3 feet). Very high tides will also occur within that string of days, most notably on Sunday, February 8 at 7:45 a.m., when the tide reaches a maximum height of 6.6 feet. Tide levels are quoted in reference to a technical specification called "mean lower low water," which is related to the average of the lowest daily tides.
February's Full Moon, on Monday the 9th, rises impressively from the deeply darkened east horizon at around 6:00 p.m., about 40 minutes after the time of sunset. Watch as its bubble-like, golden-hued disk launches itself over San Diego's mountainous eastern skyline. The following morning, you can watch the moon fade in dawn's glare while sinking into the Pacific. When seen near the horizon, the moon often seems to be larger than life. The effect, called the "moon illusion," is purely psychological.