Falling for fall in San Benito County
One of the dubious privileges that accompanies working at a
small community paper is the opportunity to work closely with
people from across the country who are just embarking on the
careers of their dreams.
Falling for fall in San Benito County
One of the dubious privileges that accompanies working at a small community paper is the opportunity to work closely with people from across the country who are just embarking on the careers of their dreams.
And one of the things that is certain to crop up as we brush up against the shoulders of a new season is that we don’t have seasons in Central California.
Bunk!
I would aver that we have more than the calendar’s allotted four seasons. In much of the country the seasons can be defined thus: cold enough to kill the unprepared; muddy with brief periods that might generously be defined as “nice;” hot and humid enough to monopolize all conversations; and kind of pleasant in a colored foliage nippy days kind of way.
The climate of Central California is defined mostly by our rain, and it can be divided into two seasons – dry and almost-dry. Hollister records an average of 13 inches of precipitation a year, almost all of which falls in the cooler months. It paints our landscape in a host of shades of green, fills our reservoirs and, occasionally, wreaks havoc when it begins to rain in earnest.
The rest of the year it’s dry. Given our rare situation between coastal valleys, the summer brings almost daily doses of fog early and late each day along with consistent northwesterly winds. The torrid temperatures of the Central Valley create rising air that sucks cool, damp coastal winds across our landscape.
But we enjoy more seasons, including the four that are a point of pride for people who live in climes unfit for habitation. Right now is the right time to enjoy autumn.
The long, hot summer bleeds into the fall months. But the last week brought the first night time temperatures in the 40s in many months. Leaves are starting to change. The gingko tree at Monterey and South streets is my own bellwether. Its change has been noted in photos and publications – including Sunset magazine – for years. The cat box stench of its fruit is a small price to pay for its glorious golden foliage. The Chinese pistachio trees lining Monterey Street nearby are blazing crimson at the same time, and the show would make any New Englander pale with envy.
Autumn also signals the annual peregrinations of tarantulas. The large, hairy spiders that are found creeping along rural roads are seldom seen at other times of the year. The retiring, fragile spiders spend most of the year tucked into burrows where they’re safe from predators. Although they look formidable to most, a fall of just a few feet causes their long legs to shatter.
The reason they’re out is because it’s breeding season, and the spiders encountered on rural roads are males looking for mates. Judging from the number of them seen crushed on the road, they are often looking for love in all the wrong places.
Fall merits a look at our native oaks. They don’t bear heavy crops of acorns every year, and the different species drop heavy loads of acorns depending on different conditions. The bonanza of calorie rich food is a banquet for wild turkeys and feral pigs, and the ground under oaks is turned and turned again as the pigs root for acorns.
Coming home along Hwy. 25 near Pinnacles Monday, a large boar hog strolled leisurely across the road in front of us, seeming to dare us to press him to move along as he switched his tail.
On the same drive, our daughter spotted a mouse darting across the road, not far from where a coyote waited at the road’s edge, probably also scanning for mice foolish enough to venture into the open.
Early rains fueled the first flush of grass, and beneath last year’s silvery gold stubble the first flush of green is nearing two inches.
Soon, the temperature will dip further. By month’s end, we can anticipate the year’s first frost and the subtle arrival of winter.
Fall does not feel subtle at all to me. It arrives with blazing color, the arrival of migrating birds and the quick shortening of days.
It is proof that, in addition to its wealth of other gifts, San Benito County has its seasons.
