Chinese flame trees in bloom under a fully lit moon

Chinese Flame Trees all over the San Diego region are displaying colorful dusters of orange, reddish, or salmon-pink seed pods. Good specimens line the south end of Balboa Drive in Balboa Park, and Lake Murray Boulevard through San Diego's San Carlos district. Most of the remainder of San Diego's ornamental trees will continue to remain drab until November, the onset of "autumn" botanically.

A Fully Lit Moon rises in the east at around 9 p.m. on Saturday, October 15, and reaches its highest around midnight — a perfect opportunity for a late afternoon's walk under the majestically lit moon.

October's Lowest Tides, coinciding with afternoon hours several days in a row usher in several months of excellent tidepooling opportunities. A -0.7 foot tide occurs at 4:08 p.m. on Sunday, October 16. A -0.8 foot tide occurs at 4:56 p.m. on Monday, and a -0.6 foot tide occurs at 5:49 p.m. on Tuesday. The region's best-known places to view intertidal life include Cabrillo National Monument and various rocky stretches of coastline near La Jolla.