Winter Vista

Look what we found yesterday morning! Altadena Hiker has some great shots here, too. I have a feeling today is going to be a kind of snow theme day for San Gabriel Valley bloggers. I'll update with links to more pictures as I find them.

Update: Check out Mister Earl's snow pictures here!

Ben over at the sky is big in Pasadena posted a shot taken by a guest photographer right here.

Peacock on the Roof

Just another day in South Pas.

Freckling the Windowpane

Remember how I mentioned that I like poetry on rainy days? How about this one, by Eve Merriam:

Weather

Dot a dot dot dot a dot dot
Spotting the windowpane.

Spack a spack speck flick a flack fleck
Freckling the windowpane.

A spatter a scatter a wet cat a clatter
A splatter a rumble outside.

Umbrella umbrella umbrella umbrella
Bumbershoot barrel of rain.

Slosh a galosh slosh a galosh
Slither and slather a glide

A puddle a jump a puddle a jump
A puddle a jump puddle splosh

A juddle a pump a luddle a dump
A pudmuddle jump in and slide!

Too Close for Comfort

The rest of the world loves to say that Californians don't know anything about weather. Sure, we have a lot of days that are mild and sunny. And I'll grant you that we don't know much about blizzards. We enjoy an inordinate amount of beautiful days, but like most pretty creatures, California is temperamental. And when she throws a fit, it's usually a doozy. There is nothing mild and breezy about earthquakes, floods, mudslides...

...or fires.

100+ degree days and gusty winds have given local firefighters a challenge. The Station Fire has grown into an out-of-control blaze, consuming 5100 acres above nearby La Canada/Flintridge. And when I say nearby, I really do mean nearby. The above picture was taken from Via Del Rey at noon yesterday. The giant plumes of lavender smoke billowed throughout the day as most of San Gabriel Valley rubbed red eyes. By nightfall, the hills burned a crackling, surreal orange.

Check out my overflow blog for my dramatic night wildfire images from Pasadena and South Pas. You'll find links for fire coverage from other local bloggers too.

UPDATE: 10:45AM The fire has spread to 5500 acres and is only 5% contained. Be sure to click the links off my overflow blog post for even more photos and information from other local bloggers.

UPDATE: 12:20PM Evacuations begin in Altadena. 7500 acres are burning. Partial closure of Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More info here.

UPDATE: 3:15PM Huge smoke plumes blanket the skies north of South Pas. The view from Raymond Hill is staggering -- flames leaping across most of the mountainside. La Canada residents flee, fire closing in on more of Altadena. Check out Altadenahiker's latest post, especially if you can help a family that needs to move animals right away.

UPDATE: 6:45PM Station Fire now burning 20,000 acres and moving in every direction. Structures in Big Tujunga burned. Fire came close to communications stations for LA Basin located at Mount Wilson. Evacuation area expands. Details here. As the sun sets, Los Angeles has a very uneasy feeling.

Sleigh bells ring?

The season between December and February is my favorite time in Southern California. Mild, blustery days under intense golden light, red bougainvillea mixed with evergreens, silhouetted palms against a blue sky that verges on indigo during cooler months. And when it rains in South Pas in the wintertime, that usually means it snows in the mountains. This is my idea of a white Christmas!

(For a few more recent snowy mountain images from around the San Gabriel Valley, check out my overflow blog Glancing About. )

Mountian View

Climb up out of the heart of South Pas and into the winding hills above. Of course, you'll need to slow down when you drive back down Via Del Rey... how else will you savor the spectacular view? Click to enlarge the photo and look into the middle distance -- above the trees and just below the mountains you'll see neighboring Pasadena's famous Colorado Street Bridge, with the iconic Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals Building building to the right of it.