A rather dry but interesting month......

No discussion, let's get right to the images

Winter is gearing up.

"Long ago in the north

Lies the road of emergence!

Yonder our ancestors live,

Yonder we take our being.

Yet now we come southwards

For cloud flowers blossom here

Here the lightning flashes,

Rain water here is falling!"

—Tewa song

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi-Tewa

They lived in the desert SW, an area that has seen rain fall a 1000 years ago, and then wither to nothing.

I reference the much famed Chaco Canyon here.

Water is the shaping geologic force, not just here, but over the whole planet.

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Dark clouds blanket Bay Area but fail to drop rain due to phenomenon called 'virga'

http://www.sfgate.com/weather/article/Virga-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-rain-weather-forecast-12342122.php

Here's a shot i took in Nevada 9 years ago of virga - it's to the left of center, kind of like a lock of hair.

It falls from the cloud, never reaches the ground.

Of course there's always some nice cirrus, no matter the month.

And there's always something atmospheric struggling 

to get over a 2400+ ft mountain to my west, be it fog:

Or a full fledged storm system:

Impending is a nice description of some skies:

The first wave of the 'pineapple express' blew in last week. My, my, my!!

What a blast! "Jumpin jack flash, it's a gas, gas, gas".

This is the series of storms that hit the west coast last week,
sort of like a boxer landing a series of punches:

Yosemite is always beautiful, even if the view makes you chilly.

(Not my image below)

Needles to say, skiers are thrilled.

I am a transplant from the east coast and am quite glad to live in Ca.

where snow is optional - if you want some you can always go to the mountains.

Or live by the coast where a good raincoat is a necessity, but a snow shovel?

You'd never need it.

Stop back in next month, winter is just getting started, 

i got plenty of space on my camera chip a-waiting!