Tuesday 4 August 2015

Goodbye England, Hello America

England from above is truly a patchwork, and specifically a crazy patchwork, of fields.
English Weather
America, or at least the bit I flew over on my way back to San Francisco, is not so crazy.
American Fields from Above
You can imagine putting a quilt of that together with a jelly roll of pre-cut strips whereas the England one would definitely be a chance to use up scraps.

I have blogged several times about how much I love the view from aeroplanes. On this trip I saw a few startling and interesting things. It took me a while to realise these 'steaming' mountains weren't some sort of active volcanoes no one had mentioned to me.
California Wildfires from Above
Wildfires - I'd missed hearing about them on NP Radio but now I'm back I know that they are burning large parts of California at the moment.

One thing no one who has spent any time in California in the last year or two can have missed hearing about is the drought here. These pictures of a lake show how much it has shrunk by - see the whiteness of the exposed rock around the water.
Shrinking Reservoirs from Above
Pretty shocking.

Of course as well as the shocking, there is the breathtaking.
Blue Sky Over California
Isn't that beautiful? I never tire of looking at the sky. Even at work I can look up and see it through the skylights and get lost for ages before remembering my to do list is a mile long.

It was heartbreaking to leave Sian, Jasmine and the rest of the family behind. On Saturday my Dad and Brother came to visit and we had a great time taking Jasmine to a playground before heading to a cafe. "Grumps" rendition of Meg and Mog brought the house down.
Jasmine and Dad
While Jas and I got to exchange some final words of wisdom.
Jasmine and Me
Isn't she beautiful? And so clever. She talks in phrases and often in sentences now, although sometimes the latter are not so intelligible. You just have to listen and if you don't get it the second time say something like "Wow, really?" to which she responds with a highly affirmative "Yes".

The downside to getting to experience a different culture is leaving your family and friends behind.