Waiting for the Rain to Come

Many trees in southern California keep their leaves year-round, but others do change color and drop their leaves in the fall.  Meanwhile, some smaller shrubs lose their leaves in summer in order to conserve water, with the leaves returning in the fall once the rains return. 

The above photo was taken last fall in upper Sycamore Canyon, which is located in Point Mugu State Park.  You can see the leaves of the Sycamore tree getting ready to drop, while the grasses and shrubs eagerly await the return of winter rain.  (You can contrast the brown hills in this photo with the green hills in the header picture at the top of the page, which was taken in the winter after the rains arrived.  That top photo was taken in Topanga Canyon State Park, not too far from Point Mugu.)

Because of southern California's unique climate, the plants here have a unique relationship to water.  People do, too, something I'll probably discuss later this week on Blog Action Day.