In the midst of a 4-year severe drought, Southern Californians little remember the four recent times (since 1950) when the area was drenched by rain for prolonged periods. Past El Niños have brought in excess of a dozen inches of rain to downtown L.A.: more than 20 inches in 1957-58 and 1972-73, more than 15 inches in 1965-66, and more than 25 inches in 1997-98. No one can predict with 100% certainty that the drought will end soon due to the current El Niño condition reported in the news accounts and the 'social current see' that follows, but the chances are greater than most believe due to the historical record of these events. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES © Now with 1,200+ followers on http://socialcurrent see.com [ View the story "Sky watching on the left coast" on Storify ] "Turn your wounds into wisdom." ~Oprah Winfrey #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) June 22, 2015 ...

As California’s drought stretches into a fourth year, the common finger-pointing has taken some ridiculous turns. But strident politics and incriminations offer no solutions to this Golden State mega-problem without a silver lining.  One of the most intriguing options takes into account the largest body of water in proximity, the massive Pacific Ocean. Despite the sea salt within, many believe that desalination on a major scale is a viable solution. Flip②▶ STORIFY  ♥  FLIPBOARD  ★  BLOGGER  ▲ ALTACITIES  ® 1000+ followers on  FLIPBOARD [ View the story "CA 'waterless world' ... except off left coast" on Storify ] "Just keep going. Everybody gets better if they keep at it." ~Ted Williams #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) June 24, 2015

Generally speaking, homeowner associations (HOA) are particular about landscaping and architectural amenities.  For that reason, many of the homeowners in our HOA are more than a little peeved about the state of despair that is displayed by one of the primary lakes in the center of our community.  While the well-publicized California drought might seem to be the cause of this dry lake bed, that is really not the problem at all.  It has to do with a legal conflict over the CC&Rs for the lake curator, the golf course that resides within our community. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES ® 1000+ followers on FLIPBOARD [ View the story "Life in drought: Sustenance with little H2O" on Storify ] "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realit... #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) June 23, 2015

Xeriscaping is landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water from irrigation. It is promoted in regions that do not have easily accessible, plentiful, or reliable supplies of fresh water, and is gaining acceptance in other areas as access to water becomes more limited. Xeriscaping may be an alternative to various types of traditional gardening. Given the severity of the prolonged California drought, the Golden State may well become the test tube for widespread xeriscaping and common interest developments or HOAs may do well to embrace the concept now rather than later.  But the prospect of enlightened minds on the topic do not bode well when you read the following story:  HOA  forces homeowner to rip out xeriscaping Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES © [ View the story "Drought documents despair about water" on Storify ] "Without courage, wisdom bears no fruit." ~Baltasar Gracian #dailyqotd #q...

As a rule, the world is not in favor of fake. We all prefer what's natural and original. But until someone comes up with a plan to create artificial rain, fake grass for our lawns may become the partial answer for the long California drought. At least, that's what our California Legislature would have us believe. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ [ View the story "Grass is greener (if it's fake)" on Storify ] "Don't let life discourage you; everyone who got where he is had to begin whe... #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) May 18, 2015