Gullywasher

Today was another quiet day. It was a beautiful morning with sunshine and elaborate thunderheads. Then, in the afternoon, we had a couple of serious gullywashers that really came down. Now that the rain has stopped, the fog is at the edges of the city, and sunshine is predicted for the next four days. Then, more rain is forecasted for New Year's Day. We are at 108% of our normal for this time of year, so that is the great news. Hopefully, the rain keeps up, and we have another rainy year.

I just learned that 2025 is a significant mast year. Meaning the oaks and other nut-bearing trees are having a heavy year. This is followed by a population bump by all of the seed eaters and those that eat baby trees, such as squirrels, voles, jays, and deer. This also overwhelms the entire population of acorn predators, and it provides for a bumper crop of young trees, and more survive in significant mast years. The extra rain will also help all those baby trees! So incredibly cool!

Have a lovely day. The sun is back - embrace it while it's here.

Here is a poem for you.

Sending oodles of love,

Tawnia

Bird List - 18 species today

Rock Pigeon
Anna's Hummingbird
Western Gull
Red-tailed Hawk
Nuttall's Woodpecker
Black Phoebe
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler