Snow Tomorrow ??

SUMMER THAT NEVER WAS

Autumn Is In The Air

it really is different up here

WALLPAPER:  THE GLORIES OF WINTER IN WEST

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.. We've waited a full three months for Summer to arrive in the neighborhood. We were teased with a few sporadic days of 80 degree temperatures.
.. This has been a season of whining visitors. Too many clouds were in the sky. Too many days brought rain. Too many nights required heat that was not planned for. Too many roads were clogged with mobile condominiums creeping through the fog and rain and construction zones. Too many grumpy rangers and seasonal employees disappointed in the weather, the facilities, the animals, the erattic eruptions, and so forth.

A FLY FOR HEAD HUNTERS

..The last few days have been as close to  a real Summer as we've received this year. The neighbors are used to these kinds of years. They don't come very often but they are not unheard of either. Most of them rejoice. The trees get a good growth spurt. The rivers and streams get a good scouring and are rejuvenated. The critters have plenty to eat and get fat for the winter. Cars get washed without spending any time or money. Storm drains are flushed and need very little attention. It's a good thing for our neighborhood.
.. Of course fishing is unusually good during these sorts of years. The bounty of the landscape is reflected in the bounty of the waterscape. Fry have more places to hide and more bits of flotsam to eat. juveniles have the same advantages and adult fish are stressed far less than in a "NORMAL YEAR," (whatever that is.)
.. Snow will bring welcome water for next year. The nitrogen content of the snows is higher than the rains. The trees and other vegetation thrive on early snows that partially melt and invigorate them. Sap with sugars flows rapidly and is distributed throughout the conifers systems. The deciduous trees have their leaves crammed with sugars and a quick freeze will precipitate the colors of Fall that so many folks cherish.
.. This anticipated snowwfall is just what the doctor ordered. It signals a new daily regimen for merchants, neighbors, visitors, critters and, in fact, the village as a whole.. The elk will whistle and bugle, the bears will range for the last forage, the photographers will grab cameras, the fishers will change fly boxes, and preparations for the winter ahead wil move into high gear.

LOAD 'EM UP

.. We anticipate a bright clear weekend with crisp mornings, 60 degree days and superlative fishing on the neighborhood streams. The snow should be completely melted by Thursday and neighborhood activity will pick up. Hunters will begin to stream into town. The grouse will become scarce. Scouting for elk herds will become frenzied for the early season. Fishers will rejoice at the cool weather that makes their waders more of a blessing than a curse.
.. We've got to wax the car for the winter protection. We've got to check the coolant  and be sure it's good to 40 below. We need to increase the air pressure in the tires for the anticipated cold that deflates the tires. We need to sharpen the snow shovels and rakes. Cover bushes and drain external water pipes and all the other preparations that are needed. Wood for fires is being gathered at a more raapid pace than the last few weeks.
.. Of course if the weekend pans out as anticipated we may visit the lowland Madison River for one last goodbye.

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WALLPAPER:  FROZEN BUFFALO