Christmas in CA

When we moved from Michigan to California in 2000, I had a bit of trouble adjusting to the climate. It felt like a weather-free and season-free zone, with fluctuations only in temperature. I used to joke that I wouldn't know Christmas was coming if I wasn't paying close attention to the calendar.
After hearing Genna, my sister-in-law, describe sensing seasonal changes in the smell of the fields around her town, I realized that I was going to have to be more sensitive in order to detect the subtle changes around me.
Even though I missed Christmas with snow and cold, I found meaning in the seasonal changes we experienced in CA. After the long dry season, rain typically began to fall in November, with December being the rainiest time of the year. As the ground absorbed the moisture, the native grasses that had dried and turned golden over the summer bent down under the weight of the water and new, bright green growth began to appear. It felt symbolic of Christ, the Living Water, coming to bring new life to the world- as if His birth were being celebrated in the Spring.