A good year
05/07/15 05:23
If I have counted accurately, yesterday was the ninth time I’ve mowed my lawn this year. That isn’t much, if you compare it to people who live in places with wetter climates and longer growing seasons. But it is a bit unusual for me to be cutting more than in inch off of the grass in July around here. The hills are green and lush and beautiful. I paddled up the stream that feeds Sheridan Lake early yesterday and noticed that it is down quite a bit from its highest point this year, but using the beaver lodges as a measurement, which is challenging because they’ve added to them this year, I’d guess that it is still at least a foot above normal and the current in the inlet, usually rather gentle, gives me a good workout as I paddle upstream.
It has been a record-setting year when it comes to rain in the hills. June produced 7.12 inches of rain. That followed May with 6.86 inches. That’s pretty impressive for a place with an average annual rainfall of 18 inches.
There are places in the country that are dry, however, In Wenatchee, Washington flames roared into town just last week, burning a dozen homes and forcing hundreds to flee. Wenatchee is on the eastern slope of the Cascades, right where the high plains desert meet the mountains. It is normally an arid place, but in years of normal snowpack, there is plenty of water in the rivers and streams that flow out of the mountains. It is a great place for growing grapes and other fruit. And through that high plains desert flows the mighty Columbia River. As it travels through the deep gorge it refreshes the aquifer and provides water for irrigation. The rich volcanic soil yields a a lot of grain and other crops with irrigation.
But with virtually no snow in the high country and temperatures ranging in the 100s, the rivers and streams are all running at record low levels. Governor Jay Inslee has issued an emergency proclamation that allows quick response to wildfires, but things look grim with so much of the summer and fall lying ahead before they can reasonably expect the rains and snow to begin again.
It isn’t just Washington. Alaska is experiencing record wildfires as well. Add in Western Canada, especially British Columbia, which has been suffering for years from a devastating outbreak of pine bark beetles killing huge swaths of forest and providing dry fuel for the fires, and the smoke cloud that covers this continent has been reaching as far as Tennessee. We’ve had our share of smoky days, though we are wise not to complain because it isn’t our hills that are on fire this year. We are fortunate.
Our plans for the summer include an August trip to Washington. Our son and his family live there and the pull of those grandchildren is incredibly strong. With the busyness of their family with two adults with professional careers, doesn’t give them the same flexibility that we have. Besides we love to load up our camper and hit the road. There is a beautiful town in the Cascades, Leavenworth, just 175 miles from where our son lives, where we love to camp. That allows us to reach their home by lunchtime the next day. We had planned to go that route because we have a friend whose company has just purchased a campground in Leavenworth. To get to Leavenworth, we like to take U.S. 2 from Spokane. We’re not much for interstate driving with our camper. We rarely go above 65 miles per hour and enjoy the slower roads. Taking that route, we’ll drive right through Wenatchee. Leavenworth is just 20 or so miles up in the hills from where the fire was raging last week. If things continue the way they have been, we know that we can count on unseasonably hot and dry conditions. Somehow, I don’t expect that camping next to the icicle river to be enough to keep us cool, especially with the river running so much lower than its usual flow.
The dry conditions, however, aren’t really affecting us. Although we have a personal story connecting us to the places where there have been fires, the route of our vacation trip can be adjusted. We’ve got lots of different ways that we might go as we travel to and from our son’s family. And our hills are enjoying such lovely weather so far this year.
We’ve lived here long enough, however, to know that the rains can stop suddenly and that the end of spring rains can bring hot temperatures and dry conditions. As moist as it is, as lush as the hills are now, it is possible that things could turn dry. If they do, the fire danger will go up quickly because there is so much fuel on the ground. The lush grass, growing tall, can turn dry quickly and will provide plenty of fuel should a fire get going. Add to that the reality that the west is a bit short of resources to fight fires which means that our firefighters and equipment may be battling blazes in other places.
All of that, however, is speculation. We don’t know what the weather will bring. Weather forecasts, while growing much more accurate in the short term, continue to be a challenge for long term predictions. We live in a world where there are plenty of forces that are beyond our control. Keeping aware of that simple reality can be a valuable life skill.
So we start another beautiful week in the black hills. With nearly 1500 out-of-town guests in a single encampment not far from our home and lots of other visitors, the hills are full of people enjoying our beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery. The cool mornings and evenings make it a pleasure to be outside and there is much to see and do.
Perhaps a few people from Alaska, Washington, and British Columbia might enjoy a week or so in the hills. It’s a good year to visit.
It has been a record-setting year when it comes to rain in the hills. June produced 7.12 inches of rain. That followed May with 6.86 inches. That’s pretty impressive for a place with an average annual rainfall of 18 inches.
There are places in the country that are dry, however, In Wenatchee, Washington flames roared into town just last week, burning a dozen homes and forcing hundreds to flee. Wenatchee is on the eastern slope of the Cascades, right where the high plains desert meet the mountains. It is normally an arid place, but in years of normal snowpack, there is plenty of water in the rivers and streams that flow out of the mountains. It is a great place for growing grapes and other fruit. And through that high plains desert flows the mighty Columbia River. As it travels through the deep gorge it refreshes the aquifer and provides water for irrigation. The rich volcanic soil yields a a lot of grain and other crops with irrigation.
But with virtually no snow in the high country and temperatures ranging in the 100s, the rivers and streams are all running at record low levels. Governor Jay Inslee has issued an emergency proclamation that allows quick response to wildfires, but things look grim with so much of the summer and fall lying ahead before they can reasonably expect the rains and snow to begin again.
It isn’t just Washington. Alaska is experiencing record wildfires as well. Add in Western Canada, especially British Columbia, which has been suffering for years from a devastating outbreak of pine bark beetles killing huge swaths of forest and providing dry fuel for the fires, and the smoke cloud that covers this continent has been reaching as far as Tennessee. We’ve had our share of smoky days, though we are wise not to complain because it isn’t our hills that are on fire this year. We are fortunate.
Our plans for the summer include an August trip to Washington. Our son and his family live there and the pull of those grandchildren is incredibly strong. With the busyness of their family with two adults with professional careers, doesn’t give them the same flexibility that we have. Besides we love to load up our camper and hit the road. There is a beautiful town in the Cascades, Leavenworth, just 175 miles from where our son lives, where we love to camp. That allows us to reach their home by lunchtime the next day. We had planned to go that route because we have a friend whose company has just purchased a campground in Leavenworth. To get to Leavenworth, we like to take U.S. 2 from Spokane. We’re not much for interstate driving with our camper. We rarely go above 65 miles per hour and enjoy the slower roads. Taking that route, we’ll drive right through Wenatchee. Leavenworth is just 20 or so miles up in the hills from where the fire was raging last week. If things continue the way they have been, we know that we can count on unseasonably hot and dry conditions. Somehow, I don’t expect that camping next to the icicle river to be enough to keep us cool, especially with the river running so much lower than its usual flow.
The dry conditions, however, aren’t really affecting us. Although we have a personal story connecting us to the places where there have been fires, the route of our vacation trip can be adjusted. We’ve got lots of different ways that we might go as we travel to and from our son’s family. And our hills are enjoying such lovely weather so far this year.
We’ve lived here long enough, however, to know that the rains can stop suddenly and that the end of spring rains can bring hot temperatures and dry conditions. As moist as it is, as lush as the hills are now, it is possible that things could turn dry. If they do, the fire danger will go up quickly because there is so much fuel on the ground. The lush grass, growing tall, can turn dry quickly and will provide plenty of fuel should a fire get going. Add to that the reality that the west is a bit short of resources to fight fires which means that our firefighters and equipment may be battling blazes in other places.
All of that, however, is speculation. We don’t know what the weather will bring. Weather forecasts, while growing much more accurate in the short term, continue to be a challenge for long term predictions. We live in a world where there are plenty of forces that are beyond our control. Keeping aware of that simple reality can be a valuable life skill.
So we start another beautiful week in the black hills. With nearly 1500 out-of-town guests in a single encampment not far from our home and lots of other visitors, the hills are full of people enjoying our beautiful weather and gorgeous scenery. The cool mornings and evenings make it a pleasure to be outside and there is much to see and do.
Perhaps a few people from Alaska, Washington, and British Columbia might enjoy a week or so in the hills. It’s a good year to visit.