Heading into winter like ...
bring on the hot chocolate, the cozy sweaters, and the rainy-day naps.
Winter has shown up a month early. Here in California, it arrived Monday morning in the form of a storm caused by an atomospheric river. The storm quickly strengthened into a “bomb cyclone”—according to the National Weather Service, a bomb cyclone is a fast-developing storm that occurs when atmospheric pressure drops rapidly.
Where I live on the Central Coast of California, what all this meant was a whole lot of rain. My friends who were visiting got completely drenched walking from a store to their car in a parking lot. I drove to Arroyo Grande Monday afternoon. It was a little scary—the roads were slippery and full of puddles. We got more than three inches Monday, but other parts of the state got much more. Whiskeytown got more than 12 inches, Honeydew got around 15 inches, and Laytonville got close to 18 inches. The higher elevations, like the Sierras, got several feet of snow.
Californians tend to freak out a little when it rains. This is interesting considering rain is relatively harmless compared to earthquakes. We tend to ignore earthquakes, even though they happen so frequently here that the Los Angeles Times has a complete section devoted to reporting on earthquakes. I guess it’s the more rare nature of heavy rain that catches us off guard.
It’s always funny to me that people think we don’t have seasons in California. They’re generally milder, but that depends on location, because California has such diverse geography—deserts, beaches, mountains, valleys. We pretty much have it all, which is one of the things I love about California. I especially enjoy looking at the changes that happen in Yosemite National Park over the course of a year—it has its own climate, and it looks much different in summer than it does in fall. In December, it begins to turn into a winter wonderland. I’m guessing that, after the bomb cyclone, that change is already underway.
I feel like the seasons serve a purpose, not only in nature, but for human beings too. Winter is a time to slow down. Although I don’t enjoy the cold and rainy weather, I do enjoy the coziness of the season, the winter holidays, more time with my family, and the feeling that I have permission to slow down a little and just live my life. I’ve been busily clearing things off my plate over the last couple of months so that I can take a break over the last couple of weeks of December. And maybe the first couple of weeks of January too. And I love revisiting my annual goals this time of year and setting my goals for the new year.
I hope you’ll give yourself permission to slow down too this winter. Nature says so.
If you’ve read this far, I have a confession to make. I haven’t visited Yosemite National Park in person yet. I’ve only seen it in pictures so far. The closest I’ve been a couple of weekends camping at nearby Bass Lake and a few meals at Erna’s Elderberry House, an award-winning gourmet restaurant in Oakhurst, just 13 miles from the south gate entrance to Yosemite National Park. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, the attorney I worked for used to take us there for a holiday lunch every year, and I went there for their famous Christmas Dinner once. If you like food, this restaurant is a treat I highly recommend—I’ve never gotten over their chocolate bread pudding.
Yosemite National Park is one of North America’s seven natural wonders. Visiting Yosemite National Park is on my bucket list, and I’m hoping 2025 will be the year. According to the National Park Service, spring is the best time to visit if you want to see and hear the waterfalls rushing, and yes please, I do want to hear waterfall music. And I think I’ve been away from Erna’s Elderberry House for far too long, so they can expect me to stop in for lunch on my way home. Fingers crossed chocolate bread pudding is still on the menu.