California's nickname is "the Golden State" and this piece celebrates the beauty of the California summer landscape. First-time visitors from the East are convinced that some natural catastrophe is happening when they see the hills "golden" from the lack of rain.

The hills are green when the winter and spring rains come, but then as those stop, the hills become golden from the dried grasses.

I find these rolling golden hills beautiful, especially as they are dotted periodically with live oak trees, stones, and an occasional glimpse of the ocean.