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.

Sunny and cold

('though, come to think of it, we've really got to pull down that snowy sign logo)
At 8 am, it is 31.1 degrees and rising
63% humidity and steady
29.44 inches of mercury and steady
We have no rain, no wind, and sunny clear skies.
The brook is at 5.6 inches

A tree falls

And Worcester Wired was there!

And

afternoon melting update

We've got a bit less water around now, and what we have is back in where it should be. Most notably, the DPW came and cleared out the culvert above the house, so we no longer have water running down the driveway. The driveway is now passable by foot, if not by car.
There is no longer water running under the house.
There is LOTS of water running down the hill and down the stream. The Cascades are roaring (you can hear them in the house), and again, if you haven't seen them running, come by!
Over the course of today, we saw rain, sun, snow, and some freezing wind. Must be March!

Just one big stream today on Twitpic

Just one big stream today on Twitpic

Cascade Brook on Twitpic

Cascade Brook on Twitpic

SPRING MELT!

Spring melt is HERE!
The Cascades are ROARING, and there's so much water we can't get to the stream measurement. The three stream beds have merged, and there's water all over the place (including rapidly washing out the driveway, which we're working on, and the parking area, so don't park there with anything short!). We've also got a stream under the house.
If you've never seen the Cascades in full spate, today's the day! We'll try to get some photos up over the course of the day.
At 7:30, it is 48.6 degrees and steady.
98% humidity and steady: raining.
28.79 inches of mercury and falling

Warmer?

We've got sun and a breeze today, so that should keep those snow piles shrinking!
At 9:30 am, it is 39.2 degrees and rising.
Humidity is at 53% and steady.
The barometer is 29.29 inches of mercury and steady.
The stream is running steadily through the snowbanks, and you can catch glimpses of fast-moving water coming down the Cascades under the snow.

For those of you looking for a way to help out the Trust (but maybe not outside), know that the volunteers are mustering tomorrow at noon at the GWLT offices at 101 Water Street, 4th floor. We've got a mailing to put together. If you're coming, please RSVP (so there's enough lunch!).

We have WATER!

This is not the spring melt.
It has, however, been warm enough for several days to mean that WE HAVE A STREAM again! The Cascades are running under, through, and around the snow. As the next few days don't look to get cold enough to refreeze it all, expect more water to be coming down the hill soon.
In other good news, a skunk ran across the road in front of my car late last night. As skunks are winter sleepers, but wake up in early spring to find a mate, hang on: spring is coming!
At noon it is sunny and 39 degrees, with 39% humidity, and the barometer steady at 29.5 inches of mercury.

MELTING!

The flashing snowflake, signifying "freeze," is NOT on our display today. It is 43.3 degrees at 9 am, and it is RISING!
The barometer is falling (at 28.79 presently).
It's 52% humidity and steady.
If this keeps up (as it's supposed to), we'll keep an eye on the Cascades. A few days of this, and we'll be hearing from them!

Photo invasion

An adult class of photographers from the Worcester Art Museum went out on snowshoes today. They'd come for the Cascades, but as the Cascades are right now a snowy hill, they instead went over to Cook's Pond. They saw some islands, took some photos by the dam, and returned here for cocoa and cookies by the fire.
Should any of the class have photos to share, we'd welcome them here!

From 8 am this morning