Irish Spring

74 degrees in Livermore today. Definitely doesn't feel like February, even for here in sunny California! A typical winter includes a lot of rain. Sadly we haven't had nearly as much rain as we typically do during the winter months. I remember times when it has rained for a week straight, but we have hardly had any rain since the new year. Too bad, because the hills are so pretty in the winter and spring. I was talking to a friend recently who went to the San Jose Mission (17th century Spanish Missionary settlement) recently and they said that California used to be green all year around until the Spanish came. Apparently the wild grass here wasn't suitable for the Spanish cattle, so they seeded a ton of Spanish wild grass which was a lot heartier and dried out in the summer. Anyone that's been to California in the summer knows that the hills aren't green anymore. The Spanish wild grass has flourished here and has pretty much wiped out the original California grass. Point I'm trying to make is it would have been nice to have it green all year long!

The orange, Madies current favorite food. She could probably eat a whole box of clementines if you let her. First thing she does when I pull her out of bed is ask for an orange.

Lake Del Valle

As you can see, Madie really liked sitting on Mal's shoulders. On the way back we saw a man with a bloodhound. He was tossing a stick into a creek for the dog to fetch when we walked up to them. This dog was so fun to watch, it really made me want one! I had to keep telling myself, "Someday, someday."

What a day for a hike though. Madie absolutely loves being outside.