More rain and snow and wildflowers

This was a strange weekend. A storm was moving in (again) and I wanted to get up to the horse ranch early Saturday morning. But, alas, lately I've been waking up about 2:00 a.m. and updating my blogs at that hour (since hubby and I now have to share a laptop). So, about 3 am I went back to sleep and slept in until 6:30 a.m. Now, I'm a morning person. It is very unusual for me to sleep in until that hour. I usually get up at 4:30 or 5:00. Hubby didn't really get going until about 10:30 a.m. So, most of the morning was shot and a storm front was moving in. A BIG ONE. WITH SNOW. So, up the hill we went, hoping to beat the incoming storm. I did spy one spot of lupine in bloom, so over the next week, when hotter and dryer days move in, more should start blooming! The Santa Rosa Visitor Center had their "Wildflower Festival" and it seemed to me to be a couple of weeks early. In my experience (35 years in the desert), the wildflowers don't really bloom until we begin to have warm, clear days. So, by next weekend, the wildflowers should start coming out and blooming! We are hoping for a really spectacular season because of all the rain we've had. However, all that rain doesn't make for doing much with the horses. By the time we got up the hill, it was cold and raining. AGAIN! Even Cathy, the ranch owner, commented on the amount of rain on the weekends. She is happy that the water table will be improving this year, but, she hasn't been able to work her horses either. And, mine are in need of another trim already! It's a good thing spring break is coming up shortly (April 2nd) and I can get some "horse time" in. And, Sunday was another drizzly, dreary day. We did notice the snow on the mountains around the valley yesterday afternoon. Of course, we both left our cameras at home to go to our daughter's house for dinner. We missed an absolutely incredible view of low clouds hanging on the hills and mountains and even the valley floor! And, fog is forecast for this morning, so I'll grab my camera and stop and take some photos. I found this one in my archives, from March 2009 showing lupine and a desert shrub in bloom.