Winter in the Desert

 There are not many places in our world where a backdrop of snow-capped mountains will be fronted by towering palm trees and golf courses, but here in Palm Springs, California, that is exactly what you get when the valley gets a lot of rain and the mountains get a lot of snow. 

It is staggeringly beautiful here once again due to the snow-capped peaks that surround this desert paradise. 
This is one of many reasons that I love it out here: the beauty is dazzling, different, surprising, and lovely.  When it rains a lot, the hills and the lawns turn emerald green.  The blooming flowers dot the landscape with bright colors and the sapphire blue sky lights up the day.
On our morning walks, we wander around the neighborhood, checking out our dream houses and thinking about the day when we will live here.
 
It is uncharacteristically chilly for this late in February.  We're hitting the rare winter jet stream that blows through the desert on occasion.  Of course, the high 60's F is a welcome treat when my dear friends in Stockholm and in the midwest are still fighting blizzards and sub-freezing temperatures.  I must admit, I'm still wearing shorts, enjoying time by the poolside and working on my tan every day.  By early next week the 70's come into view and shortly after I return to Stockholm, the high temperatures look like they arrive to stay.  At least the light is coming back in Sweden.