IT'S HOT!!!

The last few days have been record breaking heat with temperatures as high as 110 at my place.   By afternoons all I can do to survive is retreat in doors in hopes the air conditioner does not breakdown or the power goes out.    The power did go out Sunday night from 9  to 11pm.  Not knowing how long it would be out, I got my generator going to keep the refrigerator on.    Trying to catch any sleep with a generator running on the front porch is a challenge.   Just about the time I felt sleep taking hold to the hum of the generator the bed side lamp came on.  I got up to shut the generator off and returned to bed until the rising sun got me up with the overwhelming need for coffee to jump start the old body into action.   The first chore of the early morning when the outside temperature is in the sixties is to water plants.   One of the benefits of living in the hills with no nearby neighbors is no need to completely dress, so out the door with just my underwear on.    No fear of anybody turning me in for being indecent.   The only food that appeals to me is cold pasta salad, cold beams or just a bowel of cereal.   Just think on the positive side of life, I'm 18 degrees cooler than Death Valley, where they had a recent high of 128.  

SILENCE

Sometimes silence can be my best friend.   One of the first things I do in the morning is turn the radio on to get the latest news and weather report.   After about an hour of hearing all the negative things humanity is inflicting upon it's self it's time to turn it off.    Just the sound of the wind, rain, birds and the frogs at night can be enough for me.   A trip to the city with all the traffic, construction, and other noises makes me just want to get back home ASAP.   

I will never forget when Celia and I were in Costco years ago when she was getting a hearing test when an older man left his hearing aids off to have them cleaned.   As he walked off to do some shopping he said out loud--SILENCE AT LAST!

GARDENING 2024

With the recent warm weather and a break from all the rain the urge to dig in the dirt and plant a few seeds takes a hold of me.   Something in my DNA I guess that always kicks in this time of year.   In my younger years I always planned to have the perfect garden or at least better than what I had the year before--weed free, perfect rows and a bumper crop of veggies, which was usually zucchinis.    Not anymore as perfect is no longer in my vocabulary, now I just take a shovel, turn over the muddy ground, weeds and all, put seeds in the ground hoping for the best.   Peas are the first seeds I stick in the ground as the Stellar Jays sit in the nearby tree looking down on me.  I know what they saying to each other, "hay, look at the human down there sticking those seeds in the ground for us to go dig up for our dinner later when he is gone."    Even putting chicken wire over the newly planted seeds for protection is no deterrent as the next day I see it has been removed.    Maybe they get together with their rat friends during the night to help remove the wire and share in the bounty.   One year I noticed something was eating my climbing string beans.  I placed a motion camera out one night to see what varmint was guilty.   The next day it showed a mouse up the bean stock chewing on a green bean.   At the end of the day my back hurts, my hands are dirty, my boots muddy and best of all, I will have the opportunity to do it all again tomorrow if the weather permits.   

BLACKOUT

Last night I was sitting in my chair reading on a stormy night.   About 7:30pm the light flickered and a few seconds later the lights were out.   It was pitch black as I sat in the chair knowing the flash light was on the table by the bed in the next room.   I don't recall such blackness, not a glow of light anywhere.   It was like having my eyes closed.   I slowly made my way toward the bedroom with arms stretched out feeling for furniture and the walls.  I made it to the bedroom door, then to the bed feeling my way to the bed side table where I turned on the flashlight.   After lighting some candles my neighbors called to ask if my power was out as they had lost power also.    Later we learned most of the northern portion of Douglas County was without power due to storm damage to the BPA transmission line to the north somewhere.    After receiving some text messages about the situation I retired to bed thinking how unprepared I am for a long term power outage; dirty diches in the kitchen, have not started the generator in the last year, camp stove somewhere in the shop and way too dark to deal with any of it on a stormy dark night.   My biggest fear--how would I ever make coffee in the morning?   At 9:30 the lights came back on and I could rest easy knowing I would not have to boil water on the wood stove in the morning for that precious cup of coffee.   

FALL 2023

We are blessed with rain this week after a brutal hot dry summer.   It was last April when I received substantial rainfall for that month with 5.12 inches.   Since May 1 to date I have recorded only 2.19 inches.   Presently I'm 6.36 inches behind on annual rainfall of 42.31 inches.   

I always feel like a survivor after making it through the summer without getting burned out.   With the change in seasons comes the usual change in the daily chores and preparation for winter.   Yesterday I rolled up the many hoses around the house used to water plants and that provide water to the sprinklers on the roof  in case of a fire.   In the afternoon I cleaned out the chimney and today cleaned out the woodstove. The 500 gallon water tank that collects water from the shop roof was almost full so pumped that water up to the house tamk.   Only had to order two truck loads of water this summer.     

With El Nino in effect  there is a lower snowpack and lower rainfall predicted for the northwest.    Sometimes the opposite happens, like last year it was a La Nina and most the rain and snow went south into California when it was predicted to come to the northwest.    The Farmers Almanac predicts a hard winter.    I guess we will find out one way or the other.  

THE LAST DAY OF AUGUST 2023

Finally some rain on the last day of this dreaded month.   The only rainfall before today was during the thunderstorm on the night of the 24th with 0.15 of an inch.   This thunderstorm touched off many fires in  Douglas County, including the Tyee Ridge Complex of fires about 8 miles to the west of me.   The smoke from these fires has made the air quality unhealthy.  Even with the rain today there is still the smell of smoke.   I had the windows open this morning but had to close them as it seems the rain pushed the smoke into the house this afternoon.   Now the air purifier in running to clear out the smell from the house.   

What will September bring?  

FIRE SEASON 2023

The grass is starting to turn brown and my rainfall for May was only 0.84 of an inch when the average for May is 2.58 inches.   The NWS reports a little over an inch of rain in Roseburg for May.  That has to be a record low, while last May of 2022, I received 4.58 inches which must have been a record high.   This all leads up to the beginning of fire season starting June 9th.   Already there has been the smell of smoke at times either from the Canadian fires or a fire west of Eugene.   There is even a small fire in the Layng Creek drainage on the Cottage Grove Ranger District, which was considered the asbestos forest when I worked there from 1988 to 1995.   The last measurable rainfall I recorded was for May 11th and there is nothing in the seven day forecast.    What will this fire season be like and can we survive until the Fall rains? 

HOT DAYS IN MAY

Had a high of 95 at my place yesterday and I'm sure I will beat that on this Mothers Day.   Falling behind on rainfall for May with only 0.84 of an inch so far.   Average for May is 2.58 inches and last year for May I received 4.58 inches.   Even April of last year with 5.92 inches was more than this April with 5.12 inches.   The average for April is 3.11 inches.   I did beat last years rainfall for March with 5.88 inches compared to 4.02 inches last year.   Average for March is 4.24 inches.   Another indicator of low rainfall this month is shorter grass as I'm in the process of cutting it as the heat and my old body permits.

With a strong El Nino forming in the Pacific this could be the Mother of all summers.  

Note:  Rainfall measurements are taken at my CoCoRaHS station OR-DG-22

Happy Mothers Day!

RAINFALL DATA FOR CURRENT WATER YEAR

 At my CoCoRaHS station (OR-DG-22) I have received 22.76 inches of rain from the start of this water year on 10/1/2022 to 2/28/2023.     The average for this time period is 28.57 inches giving me a deficit of 5.81 inches.   

CABIN FEVER

It is now the first of March of 2023 and we all have had our fair share of winter weather and confinement to the house due to snow and icy roads, better known as cabin fever.   This got me thinking back on my younger days when I worked for the Forest Service in Orleans, California living in a small house that was half trailer comprising of the bedroom and kitchen all attached to a wooden structure that made up the bathroom and a small living room.  I guess you could call it a shack, all for $70 a month.   I was a full-time employee and I think the only single employee working on the Orleans Ranger District, except for most the seasonal employees that had 180 day appointments or about six months of work before being laid off.   The winter months of 1971 to 1974 could be lonely with no seasonal employees to hang out with after work, no woman in my life while most the other permanent employees were married and had families.   The days of winter were short, the weather could be dismal and Orleans did not offer much entertainment or social events, except sitting in one of the three taverns drinking beer with the local Indian population that were not too friendly when they had a belly full of beer.   This led me to drinking at home in the evenings and usually consuming poor quality cheap wine, the kind that had no cork in the bottle.  Having consumed a good portion of this stuff sleep was not a problem.  My reading material consisted of monthly subscriptions to Mother Earth News, The Alaska magazine and a few others.   On weekends outdoor activities such as fishing or hiking were limited due to the rain and snow at the higher elevations.  I did have a dog for company by the name of Herman, a black mutt male that I found as a puppy wandering lost along the highway one weekend.   Sometimes after heavy rain storms the highway out of town would be closed due to landslides up to a week or more.  This would prevent the delivery of the basic essentials to the local market, including beer and wine.  Sometimes panic would set in after going to the market and seeing very little available on the shelves, especially beer and that cheap wine.  

By spring time it was a relief to see some of the seasonal employees return, people to go to the tavern with or into Eureka or Arcata on the weekends.  In  January of 1975 a new receptionist was hired by the name of Christine, we were married in August of 1975 bringing an end to those lonely winters.

 

A COLD MORNING

So far this is the coldest morning this winter at 22 degrees.    The coldest I have recorded here is 9 degrees.   The coldest place I have ever been was at Fall River Mills in northern California in the winter of 1972 when it was minus 25.  A few of us went over there from Orleans to go duck hunting and stayed in an old ranch house with a gas heater.    When we went outside to hunt we could only stay outside for 20 minutes before our noses started to go numb.   By noon we called it a day and went in to Fall River Mills to get something to eat at a restaurant.  The high for the day was zero as we started the long drive back to Orleans with no ducks.     

RAINFALL UPDATE 10/1/22 to 11/30/22

Since the start of the 2023 water year on 10/1/22 to 11/30/22 I have received 7.31 inches of rain at my CoCoRaHS station (OR-DG-22).   The average for this time period is 9.56 inches leaving a deficit of 2.25 inches.  

2022 WATER YEAR (WY) SUMMARY

For the 2022 WY ending 9/30/22, there was 39.70 inches recorded at my CoCoRaHS station OR-DG-22 at an elevation of 915 feet.  The average is 42 inches.   The lowest rainfall recorded in the 16 years of living here was 32 inches in WY 2014 and the highest was 61 inches on WY 2017. 

THE END OF AUGUST 2022

We have finally come to the end of another forgetful August feeling neglected that the annual tradition of smoke filled skies would pass us by.   But, last night the haze and smoke moved into the valleys of the Umpqua making our summer complete.    How long it will last is anybody's guess depending on when the Fall rains return.     

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

So far this summer we have been spared any smoke, fire threats and record temperatures compared to the last few summers, but anything could still happen over the next two months before the Fall rains arrive.  108 is the highest temperature I have recorded here this summer.  Not as bad as 115 near the end of June last summer.   Last major rainfall was June 13th with 0.65 of inch at my place and only a few drops since then.  August is not my favorite month with hot afternoons preventing me from doing any outdoor work.  The sound of crickets at night is encouraging, a sign of change.   Fall can't get here fast enough for me.  

RAINFALL FOR MAY OF 2022

At my CoCoRaHS station (OR-DG-22) I recorded 4.58 inches of rain for May, normal is 2.58 inches.  Last May was 1.31 inches.   For this water year from 10/1/21 to 5/31/22 there is 35.33 inches recorded, normal for entire water year ending 9/30/22 is 42 inches.  Can we get 6.67 inches in the next four months?  

APRIL SNOW

 I can not recall this amount of snow in April.   Half inch measured this morning.  There were many spring days in years gone by mixed with rain, sleet, snow and hail but never any accumulation of snow like this.   Hope fruit tree blossoms make it.   Should move the fire season back a day or two.  

RAINFALL FOR MARCH 2022

 I recorded 4.02 inches of rain for March, the 30 year average here is 4.24 inches.   For the Water Year starting 10/1/21 I have recorded 24.83 inches, 30 average through March is 32.81 inches giving me a deficit of 7.98 inches.    Will we survive this summer?  

WEATHER CHANGE

This must be the return of winter from the overhead view this afternoon.   Only 0.18 of an inch of rain recorded here so far for February, average is 5 inches for the month.  Weather man says rain and snow this next week with temperatures down to 20 degrees.  Hope it not a repeat of what happened about this time in 2019.

Sure glad I planted peas this week, wonder how fast they will rot?  

DROUGHT

 Most of the western U.S. is entering another year of drought.   Many California reservoirs are below 50% capacity and water allocations are being limited to local irrigation districts, which means less water for irrigating crops.   The pumping of groundwater is causing some areas of California to sink as the aquifers are being depleted. Rangeland, dependent on winter rainfall for grazing livestock is not available and the need for supplemental feeding becomes necessary, such as hay and feed grains, which cost more.    The eastern part of the U.S. is at the mercy of extreme weather events, such as tornadoes, flooding, hail storms, and hurricanes causing damage to crops.  Each year more farms and ranches are going out of business due to weather events, crop failures, and expenses exceeding income.  This will only increase the price of food at the markets and some items will no longer be available.  

This is also a worldwide problem leading to mass migration, starvation, and civil unrest.  

Except for a few drops of rain, this morning the first week of April 2021 has been the driest I have seen since recording daily precipitation since 2008 at our place.   The long-range forecast is not good.