A Day of Surprises ~

It's winter and it's cold, but nature always manages to entertain and surprise me. Here in Southern California we expect annual howling Santa Ana winds, which can blow up to 70 miles per hour, along with some liquid sunshine every February. However, yesterday I enjoyed a temporary break from the winds which were replaced by a surprising downpour of hail! Yes, because I reside in the land of almost perpetual sunshine, I like love rain~

 

A local school posted this photo of their football field, along with some hail-angels!

 

 I've never seen that much hail in Orange County all at once. It reminded me of a deluge of hail we experienced once in New Mexico.
 I was driving when the hail began. Hail *pinged* off the hood of the car, turned sidewalks white, and had people running for cover. It was funny to see bare spots without hail under large canopied trees!

 Roofs were covered in hail and so were parked cars. Alas, the hail melted quickly and by the time I stopped the car and retrieved my cell phone camera (note to self, always keep a camera in the car!) most of the magical-looking white mantle had disappeared.

 

 Once I was home, I discovered Mother Nature wasn't finished with my day. Look what we spotted in the backyard at the feeder...

http://d2zntewxcgdtk7.cloudfront.net/Black-headed_Grosbeak_b57-13-046_l.jpg

After a bit of online research I found that this handsome fellow is a Black Headed Grosbeak. He enjoyed some sunflower seeds, investigated the birdbath, cast a disinterested glance at the wild cottontail rabbits nibbling grass nearby, then flew off.

We were so excited! We've never seen this particular species in our yard before. 

I receive so much joy from simple pleasures! With Spring ahead I know there will be more little things to smile about, and additional surprises from Mother Nature.  I'll keep you updated.

Sharing this post with:
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Sunny Simple Sunday 
You're Going To Love It