no rain on the horizon

Wow, this is a pretty easy forecast for the next seven days for Chico: dry, sunny days and chilly, clear nights. Highs will range from the upper 50s to mid 60s, while lows will be in the mid 30s to around 40 degrees. This saves me from having to cut and paste the forecast from the National Weather Service! While most of the nation bears the brunt of nasty winter weather today and tomorrow, we here in Northern California are basking in the sunshine and spring-like temps. Yesterday's high temperature in Chico was 66 degrees! Today's high so far has been 63 degrees! I noticed when I was walking out of my gym today that some of the less mature ash trees were beginning to leaf out. It's only February 1st, and some of the trees in Chico already have young leaves on them! Usually the fruit-bearing trees are first to bloom, normally around the first full week of February. Ash trees (at least as far as I know) do not bear fruit (like the pear, apple, or plum), so I did a double take when I saw tiny little green leaves poking out from the branches of these ash trees. The more mature ash trees haven't begun leafing out yet. It was somewhat of a strange sight to see. I just hope these trees aren't damaged when we have our next inevitable frost or freeze. Oh, back to referring to the title of this blog. No rain is in the forecast for at least the next week, and perhaps even longer. It seems like we had a boat-load of rain and snow for December, and then Mother Nature turned off the spigot once 2011 was ushered in. I just wonder if we'll have a stormy spring. Only time will tell. For now, pray for more rain and enjoy the beautiful weather!