Here in the Sierra foothills, we've had flowers since mid-January. Right now, there are flowers everywhere. We have lots of violets and daffodils, and a spectacular almond tree that's full of white flowers. No wildflowers yet, but they'll come soon. I suppose we'll have one or two snowstorms by April, but the snow rarely stays on the ground more than a day. The flowers survive it quite well.

Down in Sacramento, it's foggy most of the time. Twenty miles above us (at 6,000 feet), they have ten feet of snow. I think I'm living in a perfect place, 2,300 feet above sea lever.

-Joe Offer, Colfax, California-