June

Apparently I have been lax in updating so I shall make some small attempt so that those whom I love will stop hounding me...

May ended without much fanfare. We hoisted a new flag on Memorial Day. Our old one was two years old and it is now in Mammoth where it will be retired with all the dignity it deserves. I took pictures but I have yet to upload them from the camera. Next time I am in Cody I shall remember to post pictures.

June came and with it Spring decided to well... spring. The grass in the meadow has slowly turned from dead and wilted grass pressed down with the weight of winter snow to small, green shoots that are already growing quite fast. It is very easy to go about one's day thinking, I'll take a picture of this tomorrow until those tomorrows have come and gone and that which you wanted to capture is gone for yet another year. I carry my camera in my bag with me at all times so I really have no excuse.

With the snow melt and the rains the river beside us is high and swift. I have seen large tree trunks flowing down the river on more than one occasion. Ephemeral water falls are once more flowing. There is a small cascade, I suppose you can call it, between the two housing units. For most of the year it is dry but it is alive with rushing water now and just yesterday it was dark with muddy water from a small mudslide. That was interesting. It could have been much worse but thankfully it wasn't and the Lake Maintenance crew came and cleared it up and then shored it up. The area now smells of good, clean dirt and rushing water. It is not an unpleasant scent. And though I do have pictures of this cascade, I do not have any of it when it was muddy and the maintenance crew was too quick to get it cleaned up before I could take a picture of it. Ah well.

And for us Spring has mostly meant rain and lots of it. It has rained every day for nearly a week. We were even getting reports of possible flash flooding in lower elevations. Our river has gotten high but not high enough to threaten us. It would take a lot more rain and more snow melt to make it not only run its banks but rise high enough to come up to the housing units. But still, it is amazing how high and how fast the river is running. And yes, I did take pictures of the river.

And between the rain, the snow melt, our meadow has become a marshy area where the faint of heart dare not tread-and those who do not have water proof boots. We have two paths that lead from the entry station. One leads to the housing units and the second leads to the ranger station and the out buildings. The path that leads to the housing units is not only covered in an inch of water but it has a current! I keep expecting to see minnows. But it is nothing compared to the path that leads the other way. I have a pair of keens that I have borrowed (read: stolen) from my mother and I have used to them to go wading through the water covering the path. It came up to my calves. I am glad I have water proof boots and a pair of solid water shoes.

Cooper, the dog who hates being in water, has fallen in love with the marshy meadow. I was showing some co-workers how to do the afternoon fire weather and I let Coops run about the meadow. She got wet and she had fun. At one point I was walking through the water to go back to the entry station and she was on the other side of the meadow. I called to her and she came bounding (literally) to me. She choose to go through the wettest part of the meadow to get to me. She has figured out less watery paths but she chose to go through the marsh. She got wet and smelly. She also got a bath. She does not like baths but her mommy hates that wet dog smell even more. Coops got a bath and she got treats then she went for a pee walk, she likes her pee walks. She is not suffering.

And for those who know about my car yes, it too has flooded again. I am hoping that we'll have nice, warm weather so it will dry up. It was quite lovely yesterday. The sun was out, the clouds were a million miles away and it was warm without being hot and sunny without being bright. It was a beautiful spring day. It was a day to make me wish I had a porch where I could just curl up on a couch and read. I don't really have a porch, nor does it face the sun. Even if it was good for sitting out in the sun, I have no couch I could drag out there.

Much has happened and then not much has. We have started reporting our numbers for the afternoon fire weather. We collect and report the highs and low temperatures as well as the relative humidity from 1300-1300 to help the park determine the risk of fire throughout the park. It is really cool science that is used not only by the park but by universities and the weather service. We've had to close the pass, we've had to open it. And there is even talk of not only more rain on the horizon, not including the small amount we got this afternoon, but of snow this weekend. If we get snow then I am very glad I have a pair of winter trousers to wear. It is amazing how warm you can be with a pair of winter trousers and 4 layers of insulation.

But the day is done and with it the sun is heading ever more westward and soon it shall be dark and I do not really like walking in the dark here where all sorts of wildlife may come out of the mountains. And I think Coops smells a mouse and she is going crazy because she can't get to it.

Until later then-

EHM