May Gray has been the bane of my existence since I first discovered it on a business trip to LA in 2006, while I was still living in New York City and still thought that California was all sunshine and palm trees.
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It was hard adjusting to the gloomy months of late spring and early summer when I first moved to LA in 2011—but now, after more than 12 years, I'm not just getting used to it.
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Sometimes I need a break from sunglasses and sunscreen and sweat-left salt on my neck and forehead.
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The morning dew lingers longer in May, drops desperately clinging onto leaves so they don't drip to their death.
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Everything glistens for just a little while longer.
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And when the sun eventually comes out, which it doesn't always do on any given day...
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...it's glorious.
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But it's temporary—because when May is gray, and the gloom comes to June, the clouds and the fog are always ready to kick back into gear. ![](https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/l93/pandisoo/P1360090lo.jpg)
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The flowers wither either way—too little sunshine, or too much.
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You've just got to poke your head out and see what's happening right now.
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But you can't plan your day by what it looks like in the morning...
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...because you never really know how much time you've got.
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And if you wait too long, you might miss something—like a cactus flower that only blooms for a single day.
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I was reticent to go to the botanic garden at the University of California, Riverside back in May because I was certain that I wouldn't get any good photos.
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But I was producing a video for KCET—and I've found that videographers prefer the filtered light rather than the blast of a full-on sun ray.
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By the time we reached the South African section of the garden, we were both happy...
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...the birds of paradise living up to their name...
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...and the North American desert section living up to its reputation...
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...dry, prickly, and spiny...
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...yet still with a touch of spring.
Watch the video we shot at UCR Botanic Garden in the embedded player above.
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