Hard rain
The other day Kitty Felde on KPCC was interviewing Bill Patzert, everyone's favorite JPL meteorologist, about the La Nina condition our science reporter Elise Kleeman had previously reported on -- the Pacific weather pattern that's set to keep us in another droughty winter.
Bill told Kitty that it's all true -- we're not going to see much rain, yet again. And speaking of which, can you believe how the weekend storm hit the Bay Area like crazy -- watching the Cal game, it was mighty slippery for my stumbling Golden Bears Saturday night up in Strawberry Canyon -- and then San Diego on Sunday, and skipped us entirely? I'd already turned my sprinklers to "Rain/Off," to no avail.
Then Bill said something that really caught my ear. He referred to the old California Indian legend that says a big acorn drop in the fall -- there's a season for it, too, essentially mid-September to mid-November -- means a big rainy season is ahead. And he noted that from the proliferation of acorns raining down on his redwood deck in La Canada this year, you'd think we were in a classic El Nino instead of a Nina.
The two massive California live oaks that shade our yard have been pelting our shed and patio with so many acorns this year that it sounds like light-mortar fire all night long. It's by far the biggest drop in the almost 20 years we've lived in the house. It's dangerous to walk across the yard with the thousands of 'corns down there. I'd been freaking out, thinking that the trees were dying, ready to call the tree man. This morning when I let the orange cat out the front door once it got light enough to scare the coyotes away, he had to do a little dance to evade the downpour from above.
But Bill ended his interview with Kitty by saying that, sadly, he has to go with his data rather than with the legend. Crazy acorn fall or not, we're in for a non-soaking.
(NB: No, comments have not been cut off -- on purpose, at least. Tech types are trying to fix ithe function and it should be back up within a few days. In fact, as soon as comments is up, I'd be interested in hearing from others about the acorn rain in their neighborhoods, and from anyone with more knowledge of the Native American legend.)