Fog

There is a mist hanging amongst the trees this morning. It isn't actively raining, but it is certainly wet.
There's green moving in everywhere you look, as a consequence: the skunk cabbage is well up and established, there are dandelions trying their luck here and there, and even the trees have the faintest mist of green on the end of the branches. And the moss is very, very happy!
At nine am, it is 53.2 degrees and rising
98% humidity and steady
The barometer is at 29.23 inches of mercury and steady.
The stream is at 5.5 inches.

Happy Easter Morn!

Yesterday evening was cool to cold and blustery with spitting rain.
Then last night a warm wind settled in.

Setting up this morning!

After having been well watered the world is bursting forth in green!
The carpet of blood root are dominating the forest floor, and the wet leaves are darkened with moisture setting off the colors vividly.

Ferns have popped up over night.

The grass has a sort of hyper chlorophyll green.

To add to all of that we ended up with a northern flicker (a type of woodpecker) with a lemon yellow belly, a bright red cap, and a black and white wing feather pattern that looks grey from a distance. The colors were so distinct that I dared not use the camera on my lap for fear of missing some of the chance to catch sight of the bird while it was nearby.

The weather is at 7:55 a.m.:
57.9 degrees F and rising;
98% humidity!! and steady;
29.23" of Hg pressure and rising;
bright sunshine;
no wind or breeze;
the USFS Fire Danger Class is NONE.

The Cascades are running with the recent rains and the sound of the running water is distinct.

In short, there probably could not be a more fantastic morning to be out in the woods in the spring.

UPDATE 2:00 PM
The Cascades Brook is flowing at 6.2"

Cloudy morning

This morning as of 9:10 am, the
Temperature is 48.7 F and steady.
Humidity is 73% and steady.
Pressure is 29.35 and steady.
Brook level is 6.2 and surging up to 6.4.
The sky is overcast and threatening showers.
The air is still.
The ground is covered with native Blood root which are the white flowers thaat are in bloom.

Cascades ROARING!

Last night we had approximately 2" of rain.
That is ALOT of rain for one night,
and that was on top of the spring time swollen wetlands up in the Cascades.
As a result the Cascades Brook is at 1'4"!
The Cascades are a white frothy swollen torrent,
and you can hear it throughout the woods.

Presently it is 9:18 am and the conditions are:

57.7 degrees F and rising;
79% humidity and falling;
28.82" of mercury and falling;
The air is still;
there is bright sunshine periodically broken by a passing cloud;
the USFS fire danger was MODERATE,
but at the moment I would say that it is LOW to NONE.

Get out there and enjoy the day!

The new steps on the switchback up the Cascades should help, and the parking area is open after the recent driveway reconstruction here at the lodge.

Repair underway! UPDATED with photos

And if you're local and have any construction-mad little people in your house, come hang out on the lower end of the Cascades trail this morning. We have a dump truck (and loads of gravel are NOISY!) and a backhoe working here.

 As of 4 pm, they were gone for the day, but they'll be back tomorrow to smooth things out a bit more.

Parking area CLOSED Monday

If you came by earlier today, you may have found cones up, blocking off the driveway. This afternoon, the backhoe was dropped off, and they'll be starting the work regrading the driveway tomorrow. Thus we ask that if you come by to hike tomorrow, please do not use the parking area at the Lodge: please park on Cataract, or down the street at the other end of the Cascades trail.
Many thanks! And enjoy tomorrow's fine weather!

Clark University is Here!

We have some Clark University students here this morning, doing some trail and sign work on the Cascades parkland. We're getting some new posts worked on, replacing some repainted signs, and putting up some new ones. Thanks to Clark University for their great volunteers!
It is a LOVELY day to be out and about; get outside!
At noon, it is 56.8 degrees and still rising.
35% humidity and steady
The barometer is at 29.47 inches of mercury and steady under blue, sunny skies.

If you do get out on the trails this weekend, we would always appreciate a report of anything you find!

(Apologies, as an earlier post misidentified the volunteers on account of the bright purple t-shirts they wore.)

Bright

Bright and sunny out this morning!
At nine-thirty, it is 43 degrees and rising (even as I watch!).
42% humidity and steady
29.62 inches of mercury and steady
We've got some college students coming in to do a work project tomorrow, so don't be surprised if you run into workers out on the Cascades trails this weekend!

Warmer!

We have daffodils working their way up through the leaves down by the sign, and a high of the mid-fifties is forecasted today!
If you've got a hankering to do some outside work, come by: we're out doing work on signs until 11:30 today.
At nine am, it is 38.7 degrees and rising under sunny skies.
52% humidity
The barometer is at 29.44 inches of mercury and steady.
The stream is 5.6 inches and burbling merrily along.