Watching the sunset today in Southern California, I realized that although we are supposed to be in the midst of an El Niño year, it has barely rained during the entire month of January.

That is interesting to me, since February is generally the wettest month around here and who knows what will happen in the weeks ahead, but for SoCal we had a relatively wet November and December, but once winter hit, the rain seemed to stop falling.

Granted, up north and in the Sierras there has been more moisture than normal, even more than when normal was more moisture than being in a prolonged drought. But down south, we thought we were going to get slammed, but that just hasn't happen . . . Yet.

On the East Coast, over the past few months all we have heard is how you were having a super warm fall, but just last week the entire East Coast seemed to shut down for the mother of all storms. So, is there really a calm before the storm? Is winter, once again, going to bury the East Coast as it did last year? Will El Niño become a February phenomenon? The truth is . . . No one knows.

Then we have the stock market kicking off 2016 with a nosedive, and the Dow down about 2,000 points since 1/1/16. I would have thought that business would be booming with oil prices falling, more profits for airlines, truckers, and especially landscapers with large fleets, not to mention the growing construction industry, rising real estate prices and ever so low mortgage rates continually adding to the construction rebound . . . But the truth is . . . Who really knows what's going to happen next?

Take the upcoming election . . . A year ago Hillary was a shoo-in, certainly not challenged by a crotchety old man who says he'd raise taxes until the socialistic government controls almost everything. And who would have thought Trump would bump Bush and Clinton off the front page of virtually every website in the country? Who knew?

The fact is, life is just plain unpredictable. There are stresses and strains every day and everywhere we look. But the one thing that is constant is landscape and its effect on the human condition. This year . . . 2016 . . . marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, a national system greatly influenced by our very own Frederick Law Olmsted, that was created because a few visionaries not only saw beauty in the wilderness, but understood man . . . Humans . . . need to have a respite from the craziness of business, politics and just plain living. There is something about rustling leaves, running water, and cool green grass that soothe the human spirit.

So while what lies ahead in 2016 is still up in the air, the one thing we know is that landscape will be a part of its success. That's why in the droughted West we don't just kill the landscape, we change the palette. That's why throughout the country we build landscapes that remind us of places we've been and why with every development there is a growing concern of what kind and how much land will be devoted to the landscape. That's why regardless of the weather, the stocks, or the politics, 2016 will be another great year for the landscape and those who make the landscape happen . . .

God Bless . . .

George Schmok, Publisher