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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego desert and mountain thunderheads pop up in afternoon

Orioles moved from sycamores to palm trees

Cumulonimbus clouds viewed over mountains from National Weather Service, San Diego
Cumulonimbus clouds viewed over mountains from National Weather Service, San Diego

Cumulonimbus Clouds, or thunderheads, are most likely to form over San Diego County’s deserts and mountains during the latter part of the summer season, beginning about late July. The clouds appear by midafternoon — often the result of moist, tropical air entering the county from the south or southeast. If intense, these cloud buildups are accompanied by enough rain to flood the desert washes and mountain drainages. When the weather pattern allows the movement of moist air beyond the mountain barriers, even coastal San Diego County can experience the cool spatter of raindrops and spectacular evening lightning displays.

Elderberry blossoms can be seen in Tecolote Canyon and Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

Elderberry, a common bush or small tree found from San Diego County’s coastal canyons to the mountain slopes around Julian and Palomar, is in fruit this month. The branches carry myriads of tiny bluish fruits covered with a white powder. The fruits have traditionally been used for various drinks and preserves.

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Hooded oriole. Used to nest in sycamore trees, now in planted palms.

Orioles, the bright yellow or yellow-orange-and-black birds seen flitting among the palm trees, are summer residents of San Diego County’s coastal areas. A century ago, the orioles preferred to nest in sycamore trees, which were then more common in our area’s river bottoms. Today these birds are most likely to take up residence in the planted or volunteer palm trees, where they obtain fiber to build their nests from the easily shredded fronds.

The Full Moon rises impressively from the east horizon at around 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, very close to the time of sunset. Some folk names for the July full moon include “hay moon,” “wort moon,” “moon of blood” (in reference to mosquitoes), “fallow moon,” and “thunder moon.”

The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.

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Cumulonimbus clouds viewed over mountains from National Weather Service, San Diego
Cumulonimbus clouds viewed over mountains from National Weather Service, San Diego

Cumulonimbus Clouds, or thunderheads, are most likely to form over San Diego County’s deserts and mountains during the latter part of the summer season, beginning about late July. The clouds appear by midafternoon — often the result of moist, tropical air entering the county from the south or southeast. If intense, these cloud buildups are accompanied by enough rain to flood the desert washes and mountain drainages. When the weather pattern allows the movement of moist air beyond the mountain barriers, even coastal San Diego County can experience the cool spatter of raindrops and spectacular evening lightning displays.

Elderberry blossoms can be seen in Tecolote Canyon and Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

Elderberry, a common bush or small tree found from San Diego County’s coastal canyons to the mountain slopes around Julian and Palomar, is in fruit this month. The branches carry myriads of tiny bluish fruits covered with a white powder. The fruits have traditionally been used for various drinks and preserves.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Hooded oriole. Used to nest in sycamore trees, now in planted palms.

Orioles, the bright yellow or yellow-orange-and-black birds seen flitting among the palm trees, are summer residents of San Diego County’s coastal areas. A century ago, the orioles preferred to nest in sycamore trees, which were then more common in our area’s river bottoms. Today these birds are most likely to take up residence in the planted or volunteer palm trees, where they obtain fiber to build their nests from the easily shredded fronds.

The Full Moon rises impressively from the east horizon at around 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, very close to the time of sunset. Some folk names for the July full moon include “hay moon,” “wort moon,” “moon of blood” (in reference to mosquitoes), “fallow moon,” and “thunder moon.”

The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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