03/11/2017

Being a year-long hiker, I have witnessed the darkest morning in the winter when only the city lights glowed at the foot of the mountains. I have seen the most glorious sunrise when the sun bursted out of heavy clouds and brightened the sky in seconds. I remember I stood there watching its light spread out to the sky, touch the mountain tops, slide down the slopes and illuminate the valley.  Of course, more often than not, particulaly in the summer, we experience a morning like today, when we started at 6:30am, it was already in a broad daylight, with heat lurking in the corner. We know it will be a sunny day, and soon we will sweat under the scorching sun.

 

It is almost mid-March, the most beautiful season in the southern CA. Spring is in its full splendor. The grass, after enough rainfall in the winter and early spring, is now in verdant green. All kinds of wild flowers are blooming vibrantly. Some, like the golden poppies (also known as "California Sunlight"), are in blazingly orange color. Some, like lupine, are in dazzling purple. Known or unknown, scattered or in patches, the flowers add the picturesque views to the rolling mountains that are now carpeted with green grass.

 

However the wild wheat grass surprisingly starts to show its yellow tips. It must be the last week's heat wave that rushed them to maturity. Although it is only a week apart, by looking afar, we can tell that the mountains are no longer as green as the last week's. Spring is always short here.  Soon the mountains will return to its greyish color for the reminder of the year, till the next February or March. Luckily, seasons alternate. Short the spring is, it will come back. Not like our human life. Once the youth is gone, it fleets forever and will never return. As our Chinese saying goes, 四季可以轮回，人生只走一回。大自然可以春去春又回，人生的春天一去不复回。That said, let's cherish every moment in our life.

 

P. S.: The clock hand will be reset one hour early tomorrow to save the daylight.