Even a cell phone picture looks clear on a day like this.
I admit to being one of those water worriers. November and early December was certainly clear and beautiful, but left me with dissonance while venturing out for hikes and bike rides.
It was hard to shake the images of those old bridges and tunnels being exposed by the dreadfully low water level at Lake Shasta. Then came some discussion about electric rates rising because there’s not as much water to power the turbines. (I guess come water-table health or high water those rates are going to rise.)
Mt. Shasta was nearly bare, all the seasonal creeks were dry, and the ground was still dusty. Thus, I was in full worry mode.
So what a relief it was to drive up to Lassen Park on Christmas Day and be greeted by such a huge blanket of snow. They hadn’t even plowed the road from Highway 44 to the park’s entrance, so our snowshoe hike would be a jaunt from the highway to Manzanita Lake.
The powder was dry and deep. The temperature was about 25. Pines were weighed down by suitcases of snow on every branch. Every direction was a clear postcard.
I looked up at Lassen Peak, and a small cloud was whipping over its summit. To my right a big bank of clouds was building.
Finally … winter.
Driving back to Redding in the late afternoon, the surrounding valley mountains and ridges all appeared to have snow on their lower reaches. I thought about that snow melting and soaking into the earth.
We’ve spent so many months being parched and scorched, the snow and rain seem like one big healing patch.
Today it’s gorgeous again. The weather is calling me out of my home. I realize we need more wet stuff to fall in the coming months. But thank the stars for that cold Christmas Eve storm. We needed that one.
