Somehow I had hoped to blog more regularly again once my daughter had returned to Germany, but it wasn't to be. There was still so much to do that kept me busy much longer than I had thought. Last week a fight at one of our high schools ended with one of the boys who started the fight being fatally stabbed. This was a different high school than the one I used to work at, but still the same school district and I found myself at least emotionally drawn into it. While we still don't know what really happened, I have had enough experience with this school district and the school board to know that they haven't always worked in the interest of the kids even though they claim that over and over again. Too often have I seen that there were no consequences when there should have been some; there was no follow-up to problems that simply became worse by waiting them out and doing nothing; teachers' pleas and thoroughly considerate recommendations were ignored. Anyway, I didn't feel like writing at all, instead I felt anger and frustration mixed with a deep relief that I no longer have a kid in school and I am not working for the school district anymore. There is also shock that this happened here, but really, why did I even think it would NOT happen here? This is not an island of bliss where I am living.
Then I hurt my back and with it my energy level moved toward zero. But today, after a bad night, I found myself at the lake where I admired the American White Pelican at flight and enjoyed watching the Bufflehead diving. It gave me the necessary boost of energy and here I am!
The weather in California has been completely crazy this winter with a lot of rain for which I am very thankful. It has brought some relief to our drought, albeit no end. It takes more than one rainy winter for that. It has also been much colder than usual and I'm afraid I might have lost my pomegranate tree. I will know for sure in a few weeks. You have probably heard about the snowfall in Southern California. Yosemite is still closed because of too much snow and even we had some snow a couple weeks ago.
Last Sunday we had a short but fierce hailstorm.
Within just a few minutes the ground was white, covered in pea-sized hail. We had several hail "events" this winter, but none was like this one. It was quite the show.
Our street was all white and there was hail in the birdbath.
This might all be quite normal for you and many of you have had awful winter weather with freezing temperatures and lots of snow, but this is California. Our winters are usually mild with just a few freezing days, no snow (at least not here so close to the coast) and, if we're lucky, lots of rain. We're kind of spoiled when it comes to the weather (at least here in Northern California).
I have to admit I found this 15-minute storm quite exciting. No damage, by the way. The Geek even built a little hailman. (It didn't keep long.)
16 comments:
So sorry to hear of that fatal stabbing. We are having school violence here in Toronto too. The chicken looks delicious.
Those are really great hail photos! I don't think I had that much on the ground here. The hail man is dear. I'm glad our hail is not the size of golf balls or bigger, the way they get it in Texas and probably some other parts of the country, but I hope we don't get any more hail of any size until next winter. And I wouldn't mind at all a winter with no hail.
Ja, "ich mach dich Messer" hört man hier auch oft... woher kommt diese Aggression, und dann schon bei Kindern.
Oh, ist das ein alter BMW in dem zweiten Bild?
Wow, die Hagelkörner sind wirklich groß... Gut, wenn man da im Haus ist! Ein Hailman :-)
Das Essen sieht gut aus!
The stabbing in the school is exceptionally tragic, Carola, particularly in light of warning signs and concerns expressed by the teachers that were ignored. It's not hard to understand how this would put you in a funk. We have seen reports on the television here of the crazy weather in California. It must have been really treacherous driving in districts where there is very little in the way of equipment to deal with snow and ice. Here it is a way of life, of course. Stay well, stay safe. Hugs from Ontario - David
Carola,
That's so sad about the fatality nearby. It's a blessing to not have kids in the school system for sure. Sadly, this will only get worse. There's a lot of evil lurking waiting to take root in a dark heart. That's where the change needs to begin. The weather is crazy all over the place. In our neck of east Tennessee, we generally have mild temperatures in the winter. It's been colder than usual this year. Thankfully, we haven't had the snow to go with it. Seeing the daffodils and icy pellets in your yard reminds me of Easters as a kid in southern WV where we often had snow on the ground. It's pretty to see the cheery bright flowers poking through the fluffy white but it's also really strange. Things really don't settle into a good pattern until April 15th and even then we've gotten some cool breezy days in early May.
I think this is the first time that I've visited you from Rain's TAD and it was nice to meet you. Have a doodletastic day!
It has become common place now with this type of thing going on in schools and I don't know how it got this way. A teen boy was found dead blocks from our local high school the other day. I live in a small town so no one is untouched. Sorry to hear about your back. Ohhh that hail is the same crap I get here. I am truly sick of winter. Your meal looks very good though. Rest and be well my friend.
The violence in schools is awful, here, too. There have been lots of stabbings in trams and schools and in the town here, really awful. Your hail storm was astonishing, love the hailman! Hugs, Valerie
I have been teaching in public schools for 27 years in primary grade levels. The past couple of years we have had very violent young students. I don't know when this is all going to end. It isn't just with older students.
I can't believe how much hail you received. That is crazy.
a hailman! You gotta love it. Yes, I wouldn't have expected such weird weather for you in Calif. but things are weird all over! We had no snow this year. I'd better watch what I say... it may snow on us next week! Not likely but I might put a jinks on it if I say it aloud.
It does sound like a bit of a bad week, between missing your girl, the stabbing (I can relate to that -- HOW do these things happen? And they don't seem to stop...) and the storm. I love the hail pix and tell the Geek I admire his hail guy!
I'm glad you got to see the pelican and hope that helped. Meanwhile, do take care of your heart during the challenges.
That's awful about that student dying. It's not what any parents expects when their child goes to school. That hail storm was amazing. You photographed some great views of it. I especially like the photo with all the individual hail pieces. And I bet your garden is lovely when everything is in bloom. hugs-Erika
...hail is my least favorite form of precipitation, fortunately we rarely have it. Violence has become our newest pandemic! It's nice to see you back, take care and stay warm and well.
After reading about the school stabbing, your sore back and the wonky weather, Carola, it’s understandable that you were not in the mood to do any posting, but thank you for doing so. Senseless violence seems to have become the norm, sadly. It’s why my focus is less on the news most days. The hailstorm while unusual in CA produced some interesting images and the little hailman was cute, if short-lived.
It seems that violence everywhere is increasing, not just in schools, it is very concerning.
Many parts of the UK experienced snow this week.
I liked your hailman :)
Enjoy your weekend.
All the best Jan
How sad it is that one young person lost his life and a second young person has also lost any chance of a good life. My heart breaks and I feel our young people are victims of the the chaotic times we are living in and the lack of moral values that seem to go all the way to the top of society. I think we have lost our minds and are going to soon pay a price for it as these two young people already have. So sad ... I have to say I am glad my parents aren't here to see this, they would be heart broken.
AS for your hail storm ... it looks like your plants weathered it pretty well. We had a similar storm a few summers ago and it tore my flower garden to pieces. Love the little hail man ... the geek knows how to make lemonade out of lemons, right? Anyway, sorry about your back. I know how that can slow you down in so many ways. Hope you are feeling better ... and love the Teriyaki chicken and rice. Looks good enough to eat :) I have a Trader Joes near me, I will have to try it ... Be well, Carola ... Spring is near so maybe things will get better.
Andrea @ From the Sol
Thank you for the foodie contribution, even though you had a rough go of it Carola. It always shocks me to hear that children kill children. It's bad enough that adults are violent, geez. The hail is unbelievable! We rarely get hail here thank goodness, once in a while during very humid summer thunderstorms. Love the snowman though! I'm glad you went to the beach - nature therapy! ♥
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