Boulder Wildfire in Sunshine Canyon

Boulder has been extremely dry - no rain, no snow.  The drought caught up with us this morning.  A man who had to visit the bathroom at 1:40 this morning, glanced out his window and saw flames on the wall of Sunshine Canyon, to the west of town.  He called 911, the emergency number, and reported it.  Thanks to his call, reverse 911 calls started going out, and over 1,000 house were evacuated.  People and small pets can go to the East Boulder Community Center, and large animals have been evacuated to the County Fairgrounds.
   Beatrice and I awoke to heavy smoke and the smell of burning this morning.  We thought that someone had set a trash dumpster on fire - but could look out the window and see smoke billowing up directly to the west of our building.  So we immediately turned on the local news and found out about the Sunshine Canyon fire.  It's a block to the south, and then 1.5 miles to the west of us.  At this time, 12 hours after the original call, the fire is 20 % contained, and has burned 70 acres...  Luckily, no homes or buildings have caught fire.  Besides fire fighters on the ground, both helicopters and planes have been dropping water and slurry to deter the spread of the flames.  I hope it gets contained completely soon...
   Usually March is one of the snowiest months of the year in, and around, Boulder.  So far this month, we have had 1/8 inch of precipitation - a 6-hour drizzle.  Our usual high temperatures in March are in the upper 40s and low 50s; yesterday we reached 82 degrees, and the regular high temperatures have been in the 60s and 70s.  Today we have a high wind watch, typical of March.
   I picked up a client from the Denver Airport last night at 8:30, and he asked me if I thought it would snow again this year, because he was thinking about taking his snow tires off his car.  I laughed.  I told it was going to snow at the end of this month, in April, and probably the last snowfall would be the second week of May.  He was aghast - and wanted to know if I'd read that in the Farmer's Almanac.  I told him, "Nope.  I feel it in my bones."

Photos of the Sunshine Canyon fire:

 

Moisture!

Wednesday, the high temperature in Boulder was 64 degrees (F); Tuesday, the high was 75 degrees.  It's now 30 degrees and snowing, and today's and tomorrow's high temperatures might be 34 degrees.  The most important thing, however, is the falling snow.  The forecasters have said that we might end up with two inches of snow on the ground.  We need much, much more.  Since the temperatures have been so warm, the snow melted when it first started to fall around 5 o'clock this morning.  The parking lot for my apartment complex is just beginning to show an accumulation of snow, and it has already blanketed roofs and grassy areas.  My morning walk with Rosie has been cancelled, but I'll probably be over at her house for a couple of hours this afternoon.  (The afternoon schedule is a wait-and-see item from her owners.)
   The last few weeks, when I have walked from Rosie care to the bus stop, I've crossed the Peace Lutheran Church's field that is also a playground.  It's been strange to watch the ground shrink and dry up, leaving little plaques of dirt among the dried grasses, and to notice the cracked areas around the plaques getting wider and wider, for lack of moisture.  Then, too, I can see my previous footprints, and watch them settle more deeply into the parched ground.  With the area this dry, I am glad that we have snow coming down.  If it had been rain (which I prefer, being from the South), the ground would have been too dry to be able to absorb the water, and there would have been an over-abundance of run-off, taking the top layer of soil with it.  I know very well that it's silly, but, in a way, I'd love a huge snow storm that would keep everyone at home for a week so that we could replenish the earth's moisture.
    Nedi ran out into the early snow, decided that it was better under the coffee table, and then, when a swirl of snow covered him (even there), he decided to come back in.  I haven't seen our local squirrels, but the smaller birds have been visiting our bird feeder, and the local raven family has just appeared to visit the Vietnamese dumpster.  I think I'll work on family genealogy today....

300 Acre Wildfire

I must admit that I read a book all afternoon, turned on the television to watch Jeopardy! and then checked my e-mails and news headlines.  It wasn't until half-way through tonight's episode of Gotham that any notice of the wildfire appeared.  When the news crawl at the bottom of the screen said it was on Green Mountain, I went out onto the balcony and looked at Green - no sign of fire, so I guessed it was on the southwest side.  Ten minutes later, the news crawl said the fire was on Green Mountain in Lakewood - not Boulder.  
   It's a brush fire and has burnt over 300 acres so far.  Evacuations are in effect, and evacuees are to report to the Creighton Middle School.  It's been windy all day, and is still quite breezy tonight...
   Even though we had snow on the 17th of November, and have had a few rain showers since, we are still in the midst of a drought.  We've been dry, and much warmer than normal, for several months.  It looks like the drought is making us pay attention to it, again....

Dry Colorado

We did some odds-n-ends shopping yesterday - got a small Gorilla step-ladder (since I'm vertically challenged), and a stud finder, plus batteries.  I purchased a small niger seed feeder for our frequent visitors, the gold, house and purple finches, and I also bought a suet feeder and a couple of suet blocks for colder days.  I also need to refill our hulled sunflower seeds bucket, even though the birds have slowed down their feeding rat, at the moment.
    We had the second driest October on record, and we've had no measurable precipitation so far in November.  Grass fires are becoming common because of the drought.  Yesterday, Rosie and I surprised an 8-point buck and a doe drinking in the back yard irrigation ditch.  The birds aren't consuming as much seed from the feeders as they did last year...  but the grasshoppers are plentiful.  Snow has fallen in the high mountain areas, and you can see snow on top of Long's Peak - but the snow is staying above the 10,000 foot mark.  Boulder is 1,000 feet higher than Denver, but, even though we had a couple of frosty mornings, we've had no rain or snow.
    We've had several high school protests regarding Trumps' election, as well as protests on the University of Colorado campus, and several nightly, peaceful protests by the public at large.  It's worrisome.

Drought; Cats and Dogs

We almost reached 60 degrees yesterday, but the wind made it feel much cooler - just like today. Partly sunny skies, nice in the sun, but when the wind picks up, you feel as if your ears will freeze and fall off.It's supposed to slowly get cooler over the next two days, with snow arriving for the weekend, and below freezing temperatures through Monday. Just give me rain or snow or sleet, please! I live in the Lower Platte River water area, and at this moment we are at 68% of the usual snow norm - and already having wild fires in March. We really need another 8 to 10 feet of snow up in the mountains, and a good 3 feet of snow to cover the east side of the Continental Divide. We began the fire season like this in 2002 - and we had the worst wildfire season on record that year. I want rain, snow, or sleet! I don't care if it slows traffic or closes businesses for a day or two. Our drought is continuing just too long to be comfortable!

   Poor Remy - he wants to walk with Rosie and I so badly, but his body just can't do it. Today, he walked to the Snow yard with no problem, and then spent most of the time there wandering around, instead of sitting or lying in the sun. Now, please don't misunderstand me - I'm very happy that Remy felt like wandering and that he did so - but that made it very difficult on the way home, because he could only take 20 steps or so before his hind legs would just give out and spill him onto the ground. The vets that see him say that he feels no pain, and he doesn't pant or breathe any harder - the nerves in his hind legs just no longer connect well with his brain. He knows something is not right, and he looks you in the eyes with an apologetic, wrinkled brow... It is just so worrisome.

   Lovey and Nedi are doing well. I think I upset Nedi just a bit last night - he had wanted out very badly, so I opened the patio door. I hadn't seen him for about an hour, so I stuck my head out onto the patio and called him. He replied right next to my ear - he was curled up, sound asleep on the top of the cat tree, and I hadn't even seen him. Once I had woken him up, however, he had to make a last trip out before being shut in for the night. Lovey didn't care - she was already curled up in the afghan on my bed.

Tidbits & Frozen Dead Guy Days

Finally, after being held hostage for six days, little Ethan is back at home with his family. FBI agents said the situation was deteriorating, and the Hostage taker was seen with a handgun in close proximity to the young boy. A raid was made, the boy escaped unharmed, and the hostage taker is dead. At least that is now under control, and Ethan can be with loved ones again!
  I spent 90 minutes under a hot shower this morning - I feel as if I got rid of about two pounds of snot from my sinuses. I am still coughing, but, right now, I can breathe easier. (And you have no idea how happy that makes me!) Lovey is continuing to sleep on my shoulder, or snuggled next to my neck, and I feel the need to apologize to her every time I have to cough or gasp during the night. Nedi has decided it's safer to sleep next to my head, on one side of the pillow or the other - and if I cough for more than 60 seconds, he leaves (I really can't blame him!). The weather folks are saying that we'll continue to have highs in the mid-50s through Friday, then have snow over the weekend. That's fine with me - give me rain or snow, I don't care which.
  The drought is not lessening, and hay prices here in Colorado are going through the roof - the cost is triple what it normally is, and good hay is scarce. This is really impacting folks who have horses, cattle, goats and sheep - whether for fun, work, or profit. Usually we can get extra hay from neighboring states, but they are all in the same boat as Colorado this year.
  I am still excited by the DNA identification of King Richard III, who died 528 years ago. Today, the University of Leicester unveiled their facial reconstruction of Richard III - using a three dimensional image of the King's skull, a computer program added flesh, muscles, and skin. The face is amazingly like that of the earliest portrait of the King that exists, from 1520 - supposedly the copy of an original:

  I always forget about Frozen Dead Guy Days up in Nederland, until those days have arrived. Frozen Dead Guy Days will occur on March 8, 9, and 10 this year, in and around Nederland. Grandpa Bredo is kept on dry ice in a Tuff Shed in town, and we celebrate his life each year. For further information, please visit http://frozendeadguydays.org/

Drought and Prices

I've already exercised Rosie and Remy and Boo and Mona today - and I am pooped.  At 10:20 in the morning, it's 81 degrees with 34% humidity - and that's wet for Colorado air.   Nedi is asleep under my bed, while Lovey has been on the patio watching the maintenance man mow the grass.  More than 61% of the nation's agricultural areas are experiencing drought - and it's the most area, and worst drought conditions, since the year I was born - 1956.  That's not good.  The heat and drought are affecting the costs of everything....
   Here in Colorado, farmers are currently paying 3 times the usual price for hay and grain to supplement their livestock.  A lot of cattle and pigs are going to market early, which means that in the next couple of months, beef and pork will be cheaper than normal and there will be a good supply.  But, come fall, there will be a shortage of those same products ...  not to mention all the corns and other grains and leafy green vegetables that are drying and dying in our fields.  I have read that the cost of what one normally buys will cost at least 15% more within the next 3 months.
   And that doesn't apply only to human food - it will cause the cost of almost all cat and dog foods to rise; horse, goat, beef (which means increased dairy prices, too), chicken, and pig/hog food will also cost more.  This increase in the cost of food for friends, pets, whatever you wish to call them, will probably hurt most those folks on a fixed income - the elderly, who live better lives with a companion animal.  As prices rise, please remember our older friends, human and otherwise, who will need donations to be able to feed themselves and their companions well.  If you can contribute, please give to your local animal shelters and humane societies, as more folks will be unable to pay for the food their pet needs, and will end up "dumping" the animal, or giving it into the care of a shelter...
   The troubles that affect the earth and farmers have an effect on all of us.