Low Tides, Full Moon This Weekend
Very Low Tides this weekend, associated with the full moon, will open up opportunities for tidepool gazing. The four lowest tides of the coming days are: Thursday, February 25 at 1:10pm (-1.2 feet); Friday at 1:47pm (-1.5 feet); Saturday at …
Manzanitas & Hummingbirds
Manzanita Shrubs are starting to bloom this month in the foothill areas of the Cleveland National Forest. The various manzanitas, characterized by smooth, reddish bark and tough, leathery leaves, bear myriads of tiny, white to pinkish-white, urn-shaped blossoms. Large (decades-old) …
Ocean Temps on the Rise
Ocean Water Temperatures, of late in the high 50s Fahrenheit, are finally on the upswing this month as the daylight hours lengthen and the sun arcs higher overhead in the sky each day. It will take about five months of …
Ice Plant & Wild Lilac
Ice Plant is responsible for many of the carpet-like splashes of yellow, pink, red, and purple we're beginning to see around San Diego. Popular as a ground cover for concealing and stabilizing road cuts or any other easily eroded slope, …
Measure Trees with the Sun
Tree Heights can be easily measured this week if the sun shines at midday. On or near February 18, at or very near 12 noon, the sun as seen from San Diego County stands at an altitude of 45 degrees …
Evidence of Frost
The Frost-Nipped Legacies of the past winter's cold spells might not be hard to spot in February, 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 …
Venus As Evening Star
The Planet Venus makes its debut this month as an "evening star," visible in the west after sundown. At first (around mid-February) the elongation angle of Venus relative to the sun will be small, and Venus will barely be visible …
Pears and Lupine
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 …
Sun and Sand in February
The Sun Strides North in February, swinging higher across the sky each successive day. Already quite noticeable is the change in the time of sunset, currently almost a minute later per day, and sunrise, currently almost a minute earlier per …