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.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Life in the Temperate Rainforest

Dang is it damp!

98% humidity,
and that only sort of covers the craziness!

It has been so damp and so rainy for so long that objects aren't wet, they aren't damp, they are absolutely saturated!
If you didn't have firewood under cover, forgetaboutit.

Last night we had a fire, more for cutting through the dampness than heat.
This is especially key as we needed to dry some laundry.

But more cool is what this does out there in the forest!
It is vivid green!
The growth over the last 36 hours of everything from leaves to grass is nothing short of phenomenal!
It is WILD out there!
The plants are soaking it up and running rampant!

Conditions as of 7:55 a.m.:
98% humidity and steady;
47.8 degrees F and steady;
29.29" of humidity and steady;
no wind;
6.4" of flow in the Cascades Brook;
the Cascades are gently running and the second stream channel is open;
USFS Fire Danger Class is "LOW" (Perhaps with a blow torch, a bellows, and nuclear fuel).

As for the stream,
Yesterday was also 6.4" of flow,
But bear in mind that in order to have consistent flow in a dominantly rain fed system you need steady rainfall as an input.
We have had that!

The rain gauge is still giving me weird readings like 0.67" of rain in 36 hours and I just don't buy it.
I have not, however, gotten the graduated cylinder out there yet either.
So lets say plenty and assume that the 0.767" is a minimum value.

No comments: