50 Degrees

This morning when I woke up it was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Though generally speaking this is not an unusual temperature for this time of year on average it is important to note that we have not had any temperatures this low for over 6 months here on the Northern California Coast where I live.

Here the average daytime temperature year around is about 60 degrees or more and the average night time temperature would likely be in the 50s. So, it is a pleasant place to live where people generally don't have air conditioners because they don't need them usually at least along the coast. Inland you likely would need air conditioners because temperatures in the 90s or 100s often abound in the summers within 20 miles inland from where I live. Whereas here over 80 is unusual but there were a couple of days this year with temperatures into the 90s.

But, as of two days ago we were still in the 70s which WAS very unusual except in El Nino Years when it tends to stay warmer longer because of the warmth of the ocean in the Pacific. And this likely will be a real hum dinger of an El Nino because of all the signs so far. Right now, Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and the Southern part of the U.S. are getting really nailed by El Nino and Flooding.

We had a pretty big storm here yesterday but it is sunny this morning. And since there was no water in the water table much the ground could absorb most of the water and only a few streets I know of were flooded with three inches or more of rain running down the middle of the streets so cars if they were careful could drive through this without slipping off the road.

So, so far my plants in my front and back yard are really happy to get their first heavy rainfall of the season because many have died already because they needed ground water from a spring that usually runs through my property at least 6 months a year. However, in the drought this has not been happening. So, just watering them from the top with rationed water wasn't enough to keep many of them alive without ground water too. So, one of my Scottish Heather plants has died, many ferns have died but so far all my pine and oak trees seem to be okay but two Japanese maples have also died this year in our back yard from the drought.

12 million trees have died so far in California in the wilds and they are worried about 120 million more of them or somewhere between 7% to 20% of all the trees in California may die this year or the next because of the drought.