Golden Grass

Golden Grass, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The unusual thing about California is that the state turns green in the winter and become golden in the summer. Well, it would seem unusual to anyone from out of state, but we don't have summer rain that the rest of the nation enjoys. There's been no heavy rain since early April, and there won't be any storms on the horizon again until October.

Most of the grasses that become golden in the summer are actually not from California, but instead originated in Europe. Seeds of these grasses were transported to the state with early Spanish colonists. The result is the popular conception of "the golden hills of California".