What can you expect, weatherwise, for Los Gatos in the fall?  It varies but generally is dry and fairly warm during the days.  Mornings can be chilly but it heats up fairly quickly.  This last week was perhaps a bit unusual, but I'll share with you a bit about the weather here over the last seven days.

This last week, though, we caught the tail end of an Asian hurricane and we got drenched and pelted with strong winds.  After three drought years, no one is complaining: we needed the rain.

The storm caused damage to trees all over and created power outages for many.  Our block in Belwood was mixed - half the homes were out of power for about 48 hours. We were lucky and had power. As usual, though, after a very heavy rain, we had Comcast problems.  Our internet flickered off and on for a couple of days (a challenge for Jim and me since we both work from home and rely heavily on the web).

The temps rose in the days following the storm.  It's not completely abnormal to have an 80 degree day in October, but it is unusual to have a summer like temp with east-coast like humidity. The ground was saturated and as it evaporated, we had several muggy days. 

We got back to the daily walk with Bella through the neighborhood and to Belgatos Park and that's when we learned that so many neighbors were without electricity.  We saw a few trees that were getting extra supports (or should have, as they were now listing badly) but others which seemed just fine.

Many of the smaller plants and bushes fared much better than the larger trees had. To see the blooms along Westhill Drive, you'd never know that a massive storm had passed just 48 hours earlier.

Mike's prickley pear looked just great.

Everyone's got power again and aside from a few downed limbs, the neighborhood is looking back to normal. As usual for fall, Los Gatos is full of people who are jogging, riding bikes, pushing strollers, walking dogs, or just getting out.  Today was into the 70s - a very normal fall temp - and except for a few clouds that have been coming and going, it's again looking like autumn as usual.

Westhill Drive was cordoned off for a block party, too.

This is not surprising: our mild weather makes doing things outdoors be the norm throughout most of the fall.   We enjoy an average of 300 sunny days per year in Silicon Valley, with mild weather being the hallmark.  Rain normally comes from about December until March or April, but even then it's not usually so bad unless we have a once-in-a-decade El Nino year.   Word has it that we might be in for that this year, which would certain end, officially, the drought.  It's supposed to rain again tomorrow.  No one likes water rationing, so we will view it as a gift!

Belwood of Los Gatos, Belgatos and Surmont areas of Los Gatos

On the far eastern end of Los Gatos lies a friendly and active neighborhood of about 500 homes: Belwood of Los Gatos, and also the Belgatos and Surmont neighborhoods - all of whom now share a cabaña and the town's huge neighborhood park.  At the heart of the community is Belgatos Park, an expanse of open space with places for barbequing, swinging, tossing a frisbee, hiking, walking, running, and riding horses.  A second anchor for Belwood is the cabaña, with a pool, basketball courts, lawn area and indoor party space.



The homes in the Belwood, Belgatos and Surmont neighborhoods are generally unpretentious. Mostly ranch style homes, some two-story, they vary from 1800 - 3000 sf (mostly - some are larger), they sit on 8000 - 10,000 sf lots and range from about 25 - 40 years old. They are not
McMansions and they don't scream "I am made of money", though they cost about $1.1 million to $1,600,000 in an interior location - so they aren't cheap.  Most of the streets meander and are tree-lined. People of all ages are seen walking, pushing strollers, running - anything just to be out and about in the neighborhood.

This is where my family and I live and make our home and we love it. Turnover here is low, because people who move here decide to stay here.

If you would like more information on the Belgatos and Belwood and Surmont neighborhoods of east Los Gatos, please see my website dedicated to this very pretty corner of town:

www.BelwoodOfLosGatos.com
or
www.Belwood-Belgatos.com The site includes information on homes for sale in these Los Gatos neighborhoods, some sales history for the area, information on the park and cabaña, photos and slideshows of the 3 east Los Gatos communities and more.

If you want to live in Los Gatos, this is a great place to make your home!

Happy Trails!

 Mary Pope-Handy, Realtor, CRS, ABR, e-PRO, SRES, ASP, RECS, CNHS
Helping Nice Folks to Buy & Sell Homes Since 1993
Co-Author: "Get The Best Deal When Selling Your Home In Silicon Valley"
 408 204-7673 (Cell)
www.PopeHandy.com  www.ValleyOfHeartsDelight.com  
www.BelwoodOfLosGatos.com