Los Angeles is having its rainiest December ever, which has everyone on edge because wildfire-scarred land doesn’t absorb rain well and tends toward runoff. A good portion of this rainy munificence fell inconveniently on heavy travel days over the 24th, 25th, and today the 26th. Here at home in urban Long Beach the street drains are keeping the water moving so there’s no real cause for alarm.
I grabbed my usual celebratory rainy day seat this morning atop the laundry shed under the pergola, high and dry. (The pergola is an interconnected series of three roofs of varying sizes built against the south-facing back of the house, designed more for sun relief than the infrequent rain.)
I met this little guy taking refuge under the pergola too.
With the aloe flowers opening, the hummingbirds are queuing up for prime positions, and December rain is not going to stand in their way.
We traveled briefly for a long weekend and left Billie with a neighbor — I think she missed her garden more than us! Take care, more soon. AGO
This morning the weather forecaster mentioned that Long Beach was taking a pounding, and I thought of you, Denise. We had some heavy rain at intervals today too but it was heavier on the 24th for us. Yesterday we actually got a break with a little sun before the rain returned overnight. Assuming the system is done with us, our total is 2.61 inches. Weather Underground is currently showing a solid chance of yet another round starting Wednesday night, running into New Years Day and on into the weekend.
Best wishes for a happy 2026.
The amount of rain falling in some areas of Southern Califoria is staggering. We’ve had hardly any rain in the Sacramento Valley. Instead, we had 3 solid weeks of high fog, with relentlessly cold temperatures. I’m looking forward to “normal” winter weather.
BTW, your aloes are looking great!
We had heavy rain in Los Osos on the 24th, then, surprisingly, a fairly dry day on Christmas day. A few of my just-planted plants (including an aloe with open flowers) were a little beaten down, but otherwise the garden seemed to love the rain. I guess it’s all that sand!
Your aloes are glorious – so glad you named them for us. And what is the pale, gorgeous curving plant in pics 8 & 9? I feel I should know it, but….
‘Rain in the bank’ is indeed a good thing as long as it doesn’t cause flooding, erosion, etc. Your aloes are looking spectacular. Fun to watch the throngs of hummingbirds that will descend upon them. Best of the season!
@Kris, it is looking like more rain for New Year’s, but at least there’s a short interval to dry out a bit.
@Gerhard, I’ve been reading about your “radiation fog” — weather is just nonstop weird nowadays!
@Jane, how exciting to hear about your planting the new garden. I think that pale curvy number is Agave celsii var. albicans ‘UCB Form,’ at least the name I know it by.
@Elaine, we just pulled out an old vine/shrub tecomaria that heeled over from the rain, but that’s the extent of any damage so far…hope you’rre enjoying the holidays!
We’ve been up in Spokane for a few days over Christmas and I’ve been cut off from my normal news sources, but hearing of lots of California rain. Thanks for the update on how you are dealing with it. Your garden looks grand!
Wowza, those aloes look perfect. They look several weeks ahead of ours here. I hope the rain settles down, but it looks like your garden appreciated every single drop! Billie looks joyful to be back home 🙂