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Not California Dates, Clear Air for Hiking, December’s Cold Moon

Date Palm's can be found in Anza Borrego

A close-up of a cluster of Fan Palm fruit
A close-up of a cluster of Fan Palm fruit

Ripening Palm Fruit, hanging in great clusters on California's native fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), can be seen this month. Native Americans of centuries past utilized the black, pea-sized fruit, which consists of a deliciously sweet but almost paperthin skin surrounding a hard seed. These are not "California dates" -- the fruit of cultivated palms introduced into California's deserts from northern Africa. Our native fan palms can be seen in their natural habitat in about two dozen canyons within Anza Borrego Desert State Park. They have also been planted widely elsewhere in California, including along the main streets of Palm Springs.

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A view from Palomar Mountain!

Hike to San Diego County’s High Places to take advantage of December’s characteristically clear air. From spots such as Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Wooded Hill in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, and Boucher Hill at Palomar Mountain State Park, vistas stretching a hundred miles across the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon at this time of year. Look for the dark profiles of Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands, lying northwest and west of San Diego, respectively. For great hiking tales, check out the Reader's new hiking column, “Roam.” This week Ryan Brothers’ hikes to Garnet Peak in Mount Laguna.

December full moon

December’s Full Moon, named the “cold moon,” “oak moon,” “wolf moon,” and “moon of long nights” according to the traditions of certain past cultures, rises spectacularly over the eastern horizon at around 4:30 pm, just before the time of sunset, on the evening of Wednesday, December 7. The moon’s nightlong (14-hour) journey will take it nearly to the zenith of the sky by midnight, and then down to a setting position over the ocean by dawn on Thursday morning.

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A close-up of a cluster of Fan Palm fruit
A close-up of a cluster of Fan Palm fruit

Ripening Palm Fruit, hanging in great clusters on California's native fan palms (Washingtonia filifera), can be seen this month. Native Americans of centuries past utilized the black, pea-sized fruit, which consists of a deliciously sweet but almost paperthin skin surrounding a hard seed. These are not "California dates" -- the fruit of cultivated palms introduced into California's deserts from northern Africa. Our native fan palms can be seen in their natural habitat in about two dozen canyons within Anza Borrego Desert State Park. They have also been planted widely elsewhere in California, including along the main streets of Palm Springs.

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A view from Palomar Mountain!

Hike to San Diego County’s High Places to take advantage of December’s characteristically clear air. From spots such as Cuyamaca Peak in Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, Wooded Hill in the Laguna Mountain Recreation Area, and Boucher Hill at Palomar Mountain State Park, vistas stretching a hundred miles across the Pacific Ocean are not uncommon at this time of year. Look for the dark profiles of Santa Catalina and San Clemente islands, lying northwest and west of San Diego, respectively. For great hiking tales, check out the Reader's new hiking column, “Roam.” This week Ryan Brothers’ hikes to Garnet Peak in Mount Laguna.

December full moon

December’s Full Moon, named the “cold moon,” “oak moon,” “wolf moon,” and “moon of long nights” according to the traditions of certain past cultures, rises spectacularly over the eastern horizon at around 4:30 pm, just before the time of sunset, on the evening of Wednesday, December 7. The moon’s nightlong (14-hour) journey will take it nearly to the zenith of the sky by midnight, and then down to a setting position over the ocean by dawn on Thursday morning.

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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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