Cascading Waters can be found at 135 Olean Street on the eastern edge of Worcester's northwest parklands, the Cascades. The Cascades are 350 acres of park and conservation lands along the borders of Worcester, Paxton, and Holden, Massachusetts. Home to countless species of plants and animals, the Cascades are open to passive recreation year-round.

Monday, August 31, 2009

Brisk

Did we have a summer in there? If it's like this all week, it will feel just right for yellow school buses on Wednesday!
At 9 am, it is 61 degrees and rising
80% humidity and steady
29.29 inches and steady
The brook had subsided down to two inches again, but with the rain from Hurricane Danny on Saturday (1.22 inches Saturday, .083 inches Friday), it's back up again, this morning to 3.8 inches.

Sorry for the long gap in posts: we were away for a week, admiring buffalo in Minnesota, and then took a week to re-adjust. We should be back on schedule now!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

The numbers at noon

At noon today it is overcast, 'though not actively raining.
68.4 degrees and steady
94% humidity and steady
29.29 inches of mercury and rising
No rain to measure since midnight; 0.12 inches before (and did you see it? Some of it was going sideways!)
We've got walkers crossing paths right now, one with two little dogs.

Monday, August 10, 2009

A hot(ter) one

Early forecasts said it could get up to 90 today, but it's backed off quite a bit and we're topping out the day in the low 80's. It does feel much more like summer today, though!

At 9 am, it is 70.2 degrees and rising
98% humidity and steady
29.15 inches of mercury and steady
We had 0.16 inches of rain since midnight (none before).
The stream is quite a bit down, to 3.8 inches as of today. Without rain, it will go down pretty fast!

Friday, August 07, 2009

Lovely Friday

What a nice week!
At 9 am, it is 65.8 degrees and rising
72% humidity and falling
29.23 inches of mercury and steady
no rain and clear skies

Yesterday's numbers


At 9 am on Thursday it was 66.9 degrees and rising
77% humidity and falling
29.21 inches of mercury and steady

We had an ALB hunt over on Dawson Road at noon on Thursday, which got some nice coverage in Friday's Telegram and Gazette:

The Greater Worcester Land Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization, is fielding a “Beetle Brigade” of trained volunteers who meet regularly to scour conservation land for signs of the invasive insect, and the trust has launched a new round of training sessions to teach ordinary citizens how to recognize the beetle’s telltale destruction.

The idea, said trust Executive Director Colin M.J. Novick, is to supplement professional tree surveyors, go where surveyors have not gone and find problem areas the pros have not yet seen.

“We have not falsely identified a (infested) tree ever,” Mr. Novick told seven people who attended a training session yesterday on trust property off Dawson Road near the Holden line. “You guys are good. Volunteers are good.”

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Clear until it wasn't

The thunder and rain just came rolling in at 2:30 pm!
At 10 am, we had 76.1 degrees and rising (we're back to falling now that the rain is here).
85% humidity and falling
29.15 inches on the barometer and steady (it's still the same)
The fire danger is NONE

The light breeze continues. Up until yesterday, we hadn't experienced one of the nicer things about living in the Lodge in the summer, which is the changing breeze direction. Due to temperature differences, in the morning, we get a breeze coming up from Cook's Pond towards the front of the Lodge. In the evening, we get a breeze coming down the hill (from the Cascades) towards the back. It has to be warm enough in the valley to make the air move, 'though, and it hasn't been until yesterday!

What lives in the woods?



From last week's outpost breakdown

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

A beautiful rain free day

Here we are closing out the day, and wasn't it wonderful?

The brook is babbling, the sun was in effect, the world was not damp at all, hikers were out. Generally good all around.

Presently it is 8:33 p.m. and we will do a rare evening observations for your pleasure.
72.0 degrees F and steady;
85% humidity and steady;
29.15" of mercury and steady;
the USFS fire danger class is LOW;
there is a slight breeze that is cool passing through;
and if you have a clear spot you can catch a glimpse of the Presides meteor shower's tailing end.

Monday, August 03, 2009

Nice one

And, even better news, no clouds on the way for a bit!
At 9:08 am, it is 70.2 degrees and rising
91% humidity and steady
29.23 inches of mercury and steady
Fire danger is LOW
We've had no rain in the past 48 hours ('though Friday's total was a huge 1.85 inches, which is why we still have a rapidly running Cascades Brook!)

Saturday, August 01, 2009

Enjoy the Sun!

We have sun!
Tomorrow we will have some sun and some rain, so enjoy the moment!
Due to the full sun after the rain you should see some really vivid greens out there today.

The weather as of 10:00 a.m.:
68.9 degrees F and rising;
93% humidity and falling;
29.32" of mercury and rising;
USFS Fire Danger Class is LOW;
Yesterday's rain here at the Lodge was 1.85", which is more than they received up at the airport.

It is not just this year that is overly wet.
Looking back, last year was even wetter, though this July was exceptional!

A big thanks to the crew from the United Way who broke down the 2009 Cascades Conservation Observation Outpost this past Thursday. They broke down the massive 18' x 36' tent, and hauled all of the poles and the massive canvas out of the woods.

You may also notice the three new cross braces on the sign posts up in Boynton Park's picnic area. They assembled those as well as we are planning for the return of the 4'x8' trail and open space map.