Sunny day

Nice one right from the start today.

At 7:30 am, it is 53.8 degrees and rising.
57% humidity and rising
The barometer is 30.03 inches of mercury and steady under clear blue skies
There is no measurable wind.
The fire danger remains HIGH, with parts of Maine and coastly New Hampshire in VERY HIGH. This is early to be having such high fire warnings.
The NWS Boston forecasts Sunny, with a high near 82. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.

And speaking of fire danger: on this date in 1957, 12,500 acres of Miles Standish State Forest and surrounding communities were burned by wildfire. You can read a bit more about this fire by scrolling down here, and read about how they're preventing it from happening again here. And in one of the ironies of species management, you can read how scales, which are killing the red pines planted to replace the trees lost in 1957, may be doing us a favor in restoring habitat.  

Wetter today

Yesterday's red flag warning certainly bore out here in central Mass, with a brush fire over by Quinsigamond Community College that spread to a house, and several others around the county.
We're off the red flag warning today, though it continues in northern New England.

At 7:30, it is 61 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 66% and steady; it's been raining for the past half hour.
The barometer is 30.03 inches of mercury and steady under cloudy skies.
Despite the rain (which won't amount to much) today's fire danger remains HIGH.

We're lucky enough to have a pair of wrens that are building a nest here by the Lodge, so we're enjoying their songs each morning.

Today's National Weather Service forecast is Scattered showers, mainly before 9am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 77. West wind 7 to 9 mph becoming north in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

RED FLAG WARNING TODAY!

We have our first RED FLAG WARNING of the season today! 

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM
EDT THIS EVENING FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER POTENTIAL FOR WESTERN
AND CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS....

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TAUNTON HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG
WARNING FOR RELATIVELY HUMIDITY VALUES AS LOW AS 20 PERCENT AND
WIND GUSTS APPROACHING 25 MILES PER HOUR...WHICH IS IN EFFECT
FROM 2 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING. THE FIRE
WEATHER WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* AFFECTED AREA...WESTERN AND CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS...PARTICULARLY
  AREAS OF HIGHER TERRAIN.

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 10 TO 15 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH.

* TIMING...WINDS WILL BECOME MOST GUSTY BETWEEN 3 PM AND 7 PM
  MONDAY.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AS LOW AS 24 PERCENT.

* TEMPERATURES...HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S.

This means EXTREME caution around flames outdoors, even those as small as a cigarette. 

We also will see a high pollen count, so our condolences to those who are suffering. Good news for the plants, though!

Today's forecast is sunny with a high near 80!  If you're not an allergy sufferer, it's a GORGEOUS day outside.

At 7:30 am, it is 59.5 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 46% and falling (that's part of what feeds the fire warning).
The barometer is 30.03 and steady under clear blue skies
We currently are seeing no measurable wind at the Lodge.
Both stream channels are open and running. 

FIRE WATCH for Monday

It will be dry and breezy on Monday, so the National Weather Service is issuing a FIRE WATCH.

Sunshine!

We've got a bright, sunshine-y Monday!
At 8:30 AM, it is 33.8 degrees and rising.
The humidity is 78% and steady.
The barometer is reading 29.83 inches of mercury and steady under blue skies.
We have a light wind of up to 1.5 MPH
Fire danger this morning is NONE

Both stream channels are open and the Cascades are running.

Earth Day clean-up day!

It's Earth Day clean-up day here in the city of Worcester, and we hope you'll either come down to Cascades East (that's Olean Street, on the Holden line) or find a clean-up near you on the REC's map to pitch in on!

At nine am, it is 50.5 degrees and rising.
We have 53% humidity and falling.
The barometer is 29.62 is inches of mercury and steady.
We have clear blue skies here today.
The fire danger remains MODERATE.

Happy clean-ups!

The snow has ended

The clean up is starting.

The end of the Cascades Trail at Olean.

Cascading Waters sign on Olean Street

Yes, the fire danger DOES remain NONE.

Here's the same shot from yesterday from Olean up the Cascades Brook to the Lodge. Now with snowpiles of about three feet at the street.

Cooks' Pond at Cascades Brook

And the trail from Olean to Cataract is broken. After that, you're on your own! We have not YET gotten the parking area open, but we are working on it! If you're within walking distance, come by. We will post as soon as the parking area is open.

Blue skies?

We are seeing blue skies here at the Lodge on and off today, as things begin to dry out a bit. The first evidence of that: our fire danger is back up to LOW as of this morning!

Today the brook is running at 4.5 inches after .2 inches more of rain overnight.

At noon, the temperature is 54 degrees and steady

The humidity is down to 73%.

The barometer is back up to 29.41Hg.

Falling leaves

Fall is really here!

The rain has cleared out, 'though we still are seeing some cloudy skies here. The barometer is at 28.97 and steady.

We've got a brisk wind right now--the latest gust was up to 16 mph. The fire danger for this morning is NONE, but we're watching it closely, as that wind is going to dry things right out. We'll probably be back up to LOW by this afternoon.

At 9 am the temperature is 55 degrees and rising, 'though slowly.

The brook is running, as are the Cascades! 

Wet!

We've got the fire danger back down to NONE today, and expect to keep it there this weekend. The rain last night not only soaked us well enough for that: the falls are running again!
And not only the tops of the trees are reminding us that fall is well under way; we have the annual migration of the mice into the attic to contend with, as well.

Heading into fall

The fire danger remains low and the brook is still running, as it's starting to get chillier at night and stay cooler during the day. Currently, the brook is running at about 2 inches.
The squirrels and chipmunks have been busy here lately, as the shagbark hickory nuts are ripening. You can sit outside and hear what sounds like rain, as the squirrels high up in the trees shell the nuts.
At 9:30 am, it is 72 degrees and rising under clear blue skies.
The barometer is 29.21 and steady.

And I have a squirrel scolding me through the window as I post this!


______________________________________
Note that this weekend marks the start of our fall festival season: please look for us at Worcester's Canalfest, which you might have seen covered in yesterday's paper.
And be sure to check out the video!

Heading into fall

It's clear that we're heading into fall here, as the fire danger has been bouncing up and down this week, even without much rain. The dews are heavier overnight, and the days are not as dry. We've now put the fire danger for today back down to LOW.
The barometer is currently reading 29.35 inches of mercury and steady under somewhat overcast skies. We aren't expecting any rain.
The wood aster are in bloom now (those are the white small star flowers you'll see under trees). They are a native New Englander, so see them and be glad!
At 11:30, it has just hit 70 degrees here with a breeze of about 6 mph.

We're expecting a troop of Clark students through here today. As part of their Outing Club's annual fall start, they run shuttles full of students up to the Cascades Parkland to show them that Worcester is not just urban; it's also full of woodland and open space!

Baby hawks

We awoke this morning to the cries of hungry baby hawks, who apparently still have not been sufficiently fed, as we are still hearing from them. As best as we can tell, they are nesting by the brook (surprisingly close to the house), and their somewhat harried looking parent went so far as to perch for a time in the shagbark hickory not far from our back door in the search for food. The shrieks really sound like something in distress!
At 8 am, it is 72 degrees and steady
The barometer is at 29.23 inches and steady under clear, sunny skies.
The fire danger is rising to MODERATE today.
The brook continues to be dry.

At 8:30, we'll have sign and timber work happening here at the Lodge. Stop by if you have some time and want to do some work with adz and bow saw!

Fire danger back to NONE!

...but probably only for today!
Please forgive us if you went by earlier and we hadn't yet gotten the sign changed.The US Forest Service has put our fire danger for today back to NONE, due to last night's thunderstorms (which we hope you got a chance to enjoy!). Here at the Lodge, we got 0.31 inches of rain in total from the storm.
Not enough to get Cascades Brook running again, so it remains in its usual August rocky state.
At 11 am, it is 75 degrees and steady under clear blue skies.
The barometer is at 29.26 inches of mercury and steady

We made it!

We are finally back down to a more normal "LOW" fire danger level today!
At nine am, it is 44.2 degrees and steady.
61% humidity and steady.
The barometer is 28.67 and steady under overcast skies.
Light wind of 3 mph
There is a high pollen alert issued for today (though I suspect that will not be news to some of you!).

No, really: VERY HIGH

When we say the fire danger is VERY HIGH, it does mean even at the location below.
No burning in the woods, please.
Yeah, I'm sure you thought you put it out. Any of those embers given a breeze, or one of the burned sticks you left on the pine needles, could have gone up. Fifteen gallons of water later, it's out now.

And with thanks to the Rileys for reporting it.Please do if you see something similar!

RED FLAG WARNING: UPDATED

A red flag warning went into effect yesterday; it remains in effect until tonight. We continue to have strong winds and low relative humidity. ANY fire under these conditions will spread rapidly. Additionally, we are classifying today's fire danger as HIGH VERY HIGH.
There was a brush fire off of Grafton Street last night; a dead hydrant forced the closing of Grafton Street for some time. That property over there is a wetland (yes, swamps can burn) behind a neighborhood of homes. WFD and the Forestry department kept the fire away from the houses ('though I heard it got scarily close). Between three and five acres burned.
Please be particularly careful with fire today.
At 8 am, the temperature here is 43.5 degrees and steady.
Humidity is 59% and steady.
The barometer is 28.70 inches of mercury and steady under very overcast skies.  Doubtful that we will get any rain, though.
The stream is continuing to run.

Fire at Parson's Cider Mill

So far we're just getting this off the Twitter feeds of Ch. 3 and the T&G, but it sounds as though Parson's Cider Mill (owned by the city parks, conservation restriction by GWLT) is on fire. 
Fire danger is HIGH today.
And yes, Parson's Cider Mill is also pyrogenic, like Crow Hill.

Brisk

A bit chillier out there than the sunshine might suggest today: it's 39.2 degrees and rising with a wind at 9 am.
The humidity is 39%: really low for spring. Fire danger is MODERATE.
This morning, we were lucky enough to see a muskrat eating, swimming, and generally having a great time across the street at Cook's Pond.

RED FLAG WARNING

Note that the National Weather Service has issued a RED FLAG WARNING for Central Massachusetts. Due to high winds and very dry conditions, the danger of fire spreading is extreme.