Mother Earth has awakened after a mild-winter snooze.
Welcome to springtime in Orange County.
The previously monochromatic brush is now green with pops of color. There is increasingly more daylight and therefore more time to play outdoors.
And daylight saving time will begin at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 8, when we move clocks ahead an hour, gaining more time in the sun at the end of our days.
A hiker stops to take a photo of the snow-covered San Gabriel Mountains while hiking along Old Weir Canyon Trail in Anaheim Hills, on Sunday afternoon, February 22, 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
Egyptian geese and their goslings cross a pathway just after sunrise at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Friday, February 27 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hikers use the stepping stones to cross Santiago Creek just after sunrise on Saturday, February 28, 2026, as they make their way to the trails for a morning hike in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
An egret catches a small fish in its bill as it stands in the waterfall between the ponds at Irvine Regional Park in Orange on Friday morning, February 27 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
Hikers walking along the Wilderness Trail in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange, pass by blooming California sunflowers on Saturday morning, February 28, 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
A group of hikers make their way along a trail in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange, on Saturday morning, February 28, 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)
Wildflowers bloom along the Wilderness Trail in Santiago Oaks Regional Park in Orange, on Saturday morning, February 28, 2026. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, For the Orange County Register/SCNG)