Warm temperatures of mid 90s then dropping to 45 at night (6 C), as low as 3C has sent the flora and fauna into a tail spin. The areas has greened up and wild flowers are appearing.
Tazz is thinking the ALIENS have landed!
Have had two rainstorms lately and although the storms have been welcomed by locals it is not enough to end the three year drought or reverse it. 90% or more of California's 'water year' precipitation normally falls by late March. This has been the driest winter experienced in years.
On April 1st surveyors ski into the Sierra Nevada to gauge prospects for water runoff this spring. Fish populations have been threatened and communities have been forced to drill emergency wells and farms to fallow fields.
One day, I hope to see a desert tortoise. They live in the Sonoran Desert (more specifically Joshua Tree, just over an hour from here) and the Mojave Desert.
Sadly, they are being gravely affected by the drought. They can survive in areas where ground temperatures exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit, but are not as well-suited to the arid climate as many think. Due to lack of water (they can live up to a year without a water source as they store water in their bladder to use throughout dry seasons).
Happy kelpies - they get out and free somewhere in the Valley for at least an hour a day. Due to the fact that the shrubs and wild flowers haven't really materialized until now, they have been able to roam everywhere without me being concerned about snakes in the grass. The ground squirrels are another concern as there are holes everywhere.
Kylie is only concerned about finding a stick to play with or chew; Tazz knows the sounds of the squirrels and will get more exercise than a marathon runner. She's great - as soon as they disappear and knows where they went in the hole, she comes flying back to join us.
As things warm up a little, the little critters appear. Lots of extremely fast moving lizards - usually only about 1-2" long.
Rancho California Golf Club
Marc and friends from the Valley (B.C.) golfed this course in Murrieta. A championship layout and host to SCGA Championships. Course rating is 73.3 and a slope rating of 134 on Bermuda grass. 7,036 yards, 18-holes, gorgeous view of the Murrieta and Temecula Valleys.
Marc donned his new trail running shoes and jogged the North Trail by the dam (6.5 miles) with incredible views.
Above, a view of the bike path the surrounds the dam (22 miles around).
DIAMOND VALLEY GOLF COURSE, HEMET
Pest control is a lucrative business with infestations of ants and termites, bee control, mothproofing, rats, mice, birds etc.
This park model is completely encased (not uncommon to see in Arizona - entire houses covered and fumigated) and fumigated to kill whatever has invested this home.
Assuming it is termites as they will chew through everything. They are in plague proportions in parts of California, particularly urban areas of Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, Riverside (this area), San Diego ... coastal regions.
The termites rapidly eat out internal sections of structural timbers and leave a thin shell with honey-combed hollow sections packed with moist soil.
Various types of termites exist, depending on the area and this area seems to be host to the Desert subterranean termite.
A final run on the North Trail with Mary. They went up and over, completing the 6.5 miles in just over an hour.
At the top . . . . . . . . . . without a vehicle!
We leave Hemet on Saturday morning, arriving in Comox on Tuesday. Lots to look forward to, lots of forever memories.
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