The Cascades are RUNNING!

The Cascades are running today!
The brook height is at about 7 inches (jumping to 8 occasionally) as 400 acres worth of water comes over the falls! Worth a visit!
Since noon yesterday, we've had 2.32 inches of rain; on top of the .55 inches we got the previous 24 hours, that's a lot of water!
At 10:30, it is 70.7 degrees and steady.
The barometer is 29.12 inches of mercury and steady. We now have blue skies, 'though it was raining hard as recently as 9 am.
Damp and dripping in the woods today!

More normal

The Cascades Brook is running again after all of the rain of the past half week. Our last envoy to the stream gauge said it was hovering around 2".

The fire danger had been suppressed by all of the rain and is LOW.

The soil is less dust and more dirt and the chirping insects are vociferous at night.

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

Very early morning

...just awoken by an owl.

Lovely

We a lovely Saturday here at the Lodge, though it seems they are moving rocks next door again. The group on the hike up to Southwick Pond just came through, having started on the far side of the pond.
At 9:30, it is 72.1 degrees and rising.
The barometer is at 29.23 inches of mercury and rising.
Clear blue skies

Join us at Muir Meadows at 11!

Muir Meadows is quite lovely this morning. Hope you will join us here (just over the Paxton line) for a celebration of the state grant that has allowed for its preservation!

Damp

The thunderstorms came through for us last night, and we are consequently soggy this morning ('though if you're caring for a garden, I give you no less of an authority than Paul Rogers in telling you that you probably still need to water). It was not enough rain to get the Cascades going again; here at the Lodge, we recorded 0.04 inches after midnight, which is when much of the rain came through.

At ten am, it is 77 degrees and steady.
The barometer stands at 28.88 inches of mercury and falling under cloudy skies.
Periodic gusts of wind of up to 4 mph largely coming from the east.
We are bumping the fire danger back down to MODERATE today.

Muir Meadows celebrations!

This Thursday at 11 am, join Lieutenant Governor Murray, Secretary of the Environment Sullivan, and many others for a brief ceremony celebrating the preservation of Muir Meadows! You can find it at 205 Pleasant Street, which is just over the Paxton line. Plenty of parking at Howe's Farm Stand, should you need it.

For those wishing a rather more strenuous celebration, join GWLT staff on Saturday morning at 8:30 on a hike from Cook's Pond all the way to Southwick Pond in Leicester (which, thanks to Muir Meadows, is now that much more on preserved land!). This will take you through Holden and Paxton along with way; it is almost entirely UPHILL! Not for the weak of heart (or knees!). Call or email Mary (mary at gwlt.org) for more details.

Rainy

When we checked last night, we had only a 30% chance of showers, but this morning it appears that the 30 is what we got. We're at what the radar map is showing as the tail end of a band of showers here this morning.
At eleven am, it is 73.9 degrees and steady.
90% humidity, raining on and off
29.29 inches of mercury under cloudy skies
We've got wind of 4.5 mph

We put the fire danger up to HIGH over the weekend; we'll reassess that once the rain moves out. We really haven't (for the high humidity) gotten that much water falling from the skies!

The stream is rapidly drying up, as a result.

They aren't just weeds

If you come by during the day, you might wonder why we don't cut back all those "weeds" down by the sign.
If you're by a bit earlier, as the photo shows, you may have seen why.

Hazy, lazy

We're expecting heat moving in over the next couple of days, so we hope you enjoyed the cooling off last night. The rain wasn't enough to get the Cascades really started back up again, but it did at least give the trees a drink!

At 9:30 am, it is 76 degrees and steady, with a light breeze ('though not measurable) here at the Lodge.
The barometer is at 29.12 inches of mercury and steady under clear blues.

Remember: it's always cooler under the trees!

Warm and dry

We're into week two without rain here, so the stream is drying up. It's still much cooler under the trees than it is elsewhere in the city, though. At ten am, it is just now getting to 75 degrees and steady.
We've got a bit of a breeze here, as well.
The barometer is at 29.47 inches of mercury and steady under clear blue skies.

We had a large group of people here yesterday for the every-other-Thursday work project, including a group from the Worcester Public Schools. Much sign routing, painting, staining, and log shaping going on well into the afternoon. You'll be seeing the fruits of that labor going up at various properties as we head into the fall!

The logging work at Cascades West is now completed (and if you didn't see the T&G report on this, check it out), and the new route of the Meadow Ridge trail is open for hiking. We've gotten some good reports on it already! We'll be watching the newly cleared space this summer as it starts to come back with grasses and bushes, much better and more mixed habitat for all that lives here.

It's cooler here!

Up here in the woods by the brook, we've got a nice breeze and we just hit 77 degrees at 1 pm!

The barometer is at 29.15 inches of mercury and steady.

Bright and sunny, but not too hot, especially in the shade by the brook!
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Note that RIGHT NOW we have signage going up on the Meadow Ridge Trail due to incoming logging work. The trail is being relocated. PLEASE FOLLOW THE NEW TRAIL, as we will have equipment coming in to get our open meadow back for the birds and critters very, very soon. Thank you!

Mailbox being reclaimed by the forest

We have an enthusiastic grapevine trying to take over the mailbox.

I also realized today that we have chipmunks living under the front steps. Periodically, one stops on the porch and squeaks at us.

Effects of Rain...

Saturday saw over 2" of rainfall, a large amount by any standard.

But it is what happens because of the rain that is most interesting!

The Cascades Brook was up to 7.2" of flow with both channels open and a lot of noise. Less than 48 hours later the brook is down to 3.6" and while both channels have water things are sedate.

In the glen in front of the Lodge the Hawthorne trees are leaning over as they are thin and young and all of the leaves are weighted with rain drops.

At Nick's Woods a big old tree, encouraged by the wet soils loosening their grip on the roots, began a long slow arc towards the ground that continues to proceed with each day. (The area around it was dutifully marked off with flagging CAUTION tape by a volunteer. Thanks!)

And the plants are all green and growing with enthusiasm! It may be a confused time for outdoor recreation with the ever present chance of passing showers but the woods are soaking it up and thriving.

And more rain is predicted...

Speaking of new families

...we have a growing number of these little guys (can you see him? In the center on the rock?) right around the Lodge lately. They seem to be living in the rock pile, though they frequently chase each other around and right under the house.

Springtime!

I found a red eft on our porch this morning, 'though he was gone when I went back out to take his picture.
On Monday, traffic stopped in both directions for a gigantic snapping turtle going back across Olean, having laid her eggs on the Cascading Waters property.
We also have a pair of robins frantically flying back and forth from one of the big evergreens by the Lodge, keeping their brand new hungry chicks fed.
Springtime is here!
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At 8:45, it is 67.3 degrees and steady
95% humidity (though not currently raining)
29 inches of mercury and steady under cloudy skies
We've gotten half an inch of rain since last night.

7:00 AM conditions at the Lodge:

35.6 degrees F and rising;
29.50" of pressure and steady;
49% humidity and steady;
0" of precipitation recorded;
3.00" of flow in the Cascades Brook;
HIGH is the USFS Fire Danger Class;
0-3.0mph occasional breeze;

The sun through the leaves creates a dappled lighting, which is all the more wondrous when you look east through the forest and see the sparkling reflections of light bouncing off of Cook's pond agitated by the wind. The whole effect is worth stopping for and taking it in.

Yesterday we had an adventurer, intent on scrambling on Wunneompset, stop into the Lodge before heading out solo to check in and leave contact information. Smart dude.

You will begin to find that even in a drought there is a touch more moisture in the woods now. The leaves shield the forest floor form the sun while trapping the moisture from evaporating away. There is some moisture in the air that cycles in and out with the changes of humidity and temperature. On top of all of that the brooks are still running and the vernal pools have not yet dried up. It IS dry out there, but a bit less so.

Sun and Warmth

9:45 am conditions 4/29 at the Lodge:
The Cascades Brook is flowing at 3.12";
The temperature is 50.4° F and rising;
The humidity is 37% and steady;
The pressure is 29.35" of Hg and steady;
There was no precipitation recorded;
There is an occasional breeze;
The USFS Fire Danger Class is HIGH;
Blue skies with sun.
Simply a gorgeous day!