What You Love About Spring in California

Winter is over — finally.

After an unusually wet and prolonged rainy season, spring is here, rewarding us with warmer weather, bluer skies (the last few days notwithstanding) and stunning flowers blooming across California.

The shifts in our seasons may be subtle, but Californians can pick them out nonetheless. You’ve sent me dozens of notes about what you love most about spring in the state, including outdoor concerts, lush hillsides, fresh strawberries and, of course, wildflowers.

Here’s what you sent in, lightly edited for clarity.

“Several years ago I converted my front lawn into a native plants garden. My favorite part of spring is watching hundreds of honey bees busy at work on buckwheat, sages and native spring flowers. I like to sit quietly in my garden and listen to their hum.” — Christena Veach, Altadena

“My husband and I call late March through mid-May ‘bunny season’ because every time we walk the coastal bluff trail near our home this time of year, we see at least one or two little cottontail bunnies hopping about in the brush. I’m especially excited to get to share ‘bunny season’ with my 1-year-old son this year. He thinks bunnies say ‘meow,’ so it’ll be hilariously sweet to hear him mewing about as we stroll.” — Sarah Wilson, Playa del Rey

“Let’s not forget how amazing we all feel — at least I do — with our longer days. More sunlight. I know even my chickens are happier, laying more eggs as the days get longer.” — Kathryn Krogstad, Madera Ranchos

“My son and I just spent spring break traversing California from Riverside to Monterey to Chico, touring some of our state’s excellent colleges. From the snow-draped mountains in Los Angeles to the unending fields of wild mustard throughout the state, California is putting on quite a show right now. Even the Grapevine was beautiful, with its carpet of velvet green and the poppies just beginning to bloom. I think I fell in love with California all over again.” — Julie Corbett, Danville

“Warmer weather means we can leave the back door open all morning for our dogs and cats to wander in and out. They love it, and it’s fun to see how excited they are to greet the sun.” — Jan Elliott, Sacramento

“The blossoming trees are like a breath of fresh air: acacia, plum, dogwood and most of all cherry trees lift my spirits tremendously. This was especially true this year after the intense rains we had.” — Richard Solomon, Oakland

“Spring is here for me when fresh-picked, organic strawberries show up at our local farmers’ market. They smell amazing and we buy too many and eat them all. Then we start freezing them for smoothies, cook them down for jam, bake them into muffins and galettes, and eat them with ice cream. I’m sad when they are gone, but then peach-nectarine season is here.” — Marcie Keever, San Francisco

“My favorite thing about spring in Los Angeles is when the jasmine starts to bloom in people’s gardens. At night or in the early mornings, when the petals are opened the widest, I’ll be walking and suddenly encounter a delightful scent. Since I’m originally from New York, it was a comfort to see that Los Angeles really did have seasons — and that these fragrant flowers were a sign of spring’s arrival.” — Sophie Hessekiel, Los Angeles

Where we’re traveling

Today’s tip comes from David Diaz, who lives in Fairfield:

“One of my favorite places to visit in California is San Francisco City Hall. I’m a native of Southern California and moved to the Bay Area in 1998. Having worked in the city, my job required me to visit various buildings in San Francisco. It was the building that stuck with me the most, especially given all its grandeur and history.

I loved it so much that I asked my girlfriend to marry me in City Hall during Covid in November 2021. She’s a transplant from Ohio, and we wanted to have the quintessential California experience.”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

And before you go, some good news

What books best define Los Angeles? “The Day of the Locust”? “City of Quartz”? “Inherent Vice”?

The Los Angeles Times collected the opinions of 95 writers to understand the city’s literary identity, and sorted their recommendations into 110 titles across eight categories, including books from the 1880s through 2022.

Here is the Ultimate L.A. Bookshelf.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.