Thunderheads

Watched a great movie last night--McFarland USA--about a Central Valley town in California, mostly Mexican American crop pickers, and a  white coach (his name is White…the kids call him 'Blanco') who comes to town, starts a cross country runners' team and wins the State Championship. The take away message is that you can't change a culture without immersing yourself in it until you really understand it.Grandson Peter is on the cross country team at his high school next year…hope he sees it.

Big family party tonight…several birthdays being celebrated. OilMan and Rick have been overseeing the slow smoking of a pork shoulder for pulled pork with coleslaw. Rick and I have been tweaking a fruit tart recipe for apples, since we couldn't find the peaches we wanted at the local farm stand.

As OilMan and I were coming back from his second trip to the store today, I was struck by the towering cumulous clouds boiling up over Mt Palomar. It is hot again today so I hope these clouds don't develop into thunder and lightning with the tinder dry state of everything. I read again this morning that a very strong El Niño is developing and strengthening further off the coast of Baja California. The forecasters quite break down and predict torrential rain this winter, but that is what happened last time we had an El Niño.