Late in the day for firsties. Nothing of note in the Central Valley ag report--enough fog on one area to require slowing down. Sunrise at about 0718. The dairy farm where the cattle are treated so nicely, fed on pasture, and where I see ibis each year, has planted at least somme of the pastures with some sort of crop that might be grain. As the sun was rising the cattle were congregated about a breakfast buffet of hay served up on wagons, surrounded by fog. I circled back to verify what I though I had seen, and my curiosity was reciprocated by at least one of the cattle. Some day I will probably see the rancher, and will chat with him or her a bit. I'd like to make a point of buying their milk or cheese.
Ah, Alan, you paint a compelling picture with words.
We had fog here today too. Our temp went above 50F, so it was snow-eating fog. What we need is ice-eating fog!! Hopefully this early January Thaw will remove the ice we have been plagued with. Meanwhile, we are under a serious flood watch. (My house is safe.)
Good luck with the ice, listener. I am reminded of an event in California I read about a couple of times. It was back in 1850-something as I recall; there was a very unusual warm spell in January that melted the entire Sierra Nevada snowpack (this before the days of flood control projects and big reservoirs). The entire valley flooded; one could travel from the Sierra Nevada to the Coast Range by boat.
--Alan
P.S.: Thanks for the compliment. I will admit to making a bit of effort at description (this being a safe place to do so).
There's a flood alert in the Chicago area as well, but only for one stretch of the Des Plaines River. As I've mentioned, my house is on what passes for high ground around here, so I wouldn't be worried even if the alert were more general.
And here, too, the combination of thaw and rain has created a layer of ice on top of what remains of the snow. Penny slipped and fell on her way to work this morning, but without real damage. I hope the ice melts before we get more snow, but I'm not terribly confident.
I drove from Sonoma County to Salt Lake City one February, over Donner's Pass--There's a rest spot near the top. The parking was cleared, as was the front of the rest stop. Walls of snow, close to twenty feet surrounded the lot and over the top of the building. Sort of like a parfait: you could see each snow fall of two or three feet. Snow clearly wasn't just shoved to the sides, but carried somewhere else.
In a normal year it's about the same in the Tioga Pass (going over the Sierra Nevada through Yosemite). I remember going with my folks to a Boy Scout camp where my brother spent some time (I was far too young) at Echo Lake, which isn't far from Donner Summit. I remember the ribbons in the tops of the pine trees, that had been put there as trail markers by people one snow shoes or skis during the winter.
Not that we are likely to have any "normal" winters again, but in a previously "normal" winter there were places in the Sierra Nevada that got more than a hundred feet of snow.
We've had years when we've had to have snow removed by backhoe and dump truck. It really is kind of wonderful to slice down through the snow and see the layers, each storm having its own character, moisture levels and aeration. I see it now even when just shoveling a foot or snow of wetness. Sometimes there's a layer of ice pellets that fell overnight. But this Winter, so far, what we will all remember, is the 1/2" to 3/4" of solid ice lying about 2" above the ground, topped by 5-6" of snow. It's all mushing down with the rain, but that ice is not only still strong, it may soon be added to, when the rain we are getting freezes over in a few days, when the temperature drops. How I wish all the ice would melt away before the snow flies again.
Whoop for Howard!
ReplyDeleteLate in the day for firsties. Nothing of note in the Central Valley ag report--enough fog on one area to require slowing down. Sunrise at about 0718. The dairy farm where the cattle are treated so nicely, fed on pasture, and where I see ibis each year, has planted at least somme of the pastures with some sort of crop that might be grain. As the sun was rising the cattle were congregated about a breakfast buffet of hay served up on wagons, surrounded by fog. I circled back to verify what I though I had seen, and my curiosity was reciprocated by at least one of the cattle. Some day I will probably see the rancher, and will chat with him or her a bit. I'd like to make a point of buying their milk or cheese.
--Alan
Spelling errors all mine--I can't blame them on Apple...
Delete--Alan
Ah, Alan, you paint a compelling picture with words.
ReplyDeleteWe had fog here today too. Our temp went above 50F, so it was snow-eating fog.
What we need is ice-eating fog!! Hopefully this early January Thaw will remove the ice we have been plagued with. Meanwhile, we are under a serious flood watch. (My house is safe.)
Good luck with the ice, listener. I am reminded of an event in California I read about a couple of times. It was back in 1850-something as I recall; there was a very unusual warm spell in January that melted the entire Sierra Nevada snowpack (this before the days of flood control projects and big reservoirs). The entire valley flooded; one could travel from the Sierra Nevada to the Coast Range by boat.
Delete--Alan
P.S.: Thanks for the compliment. I will admit to making a bit of effort at description (this being a safe place to do so).
There's a flood alert in the Chicago area as well, but only for one stretch of the Des Plaines River. As I've mentioned, my house is on what passes for high ground around here, so I wouldn't be worried even if the alert were more general.
DeleteAnd here, too, the combination of thaw and rain has created a layer of ice on top of what remains of the snow. Penny slipped and fell on her way to work this morning, but without real damage. I hope the ice melts before we get more snow, but I'm not terribly confident.
Yesterday we had snow; today, fog and rain with high of 55. Tomorrow's forecast says windy, high 50.
ReplyDeleteI drove from Sonoma County to Salt Lake City one February, over Donner's Pass--There's a rest spot near the top. The parking was cleared, as was the front of the rest stop. Walls of snow, close to twenty feet surrounded the lot and over the top of the building. Sort of like a parfait: you could see each snow fall of two or three feet. Snow clearly wasn't just shoved to the sides, but carried somewhere else.
ReplyDeletePuddle, that is an awe-inspiring and frightening picture!
DeleteIn a normal year it's about the same in the Tioga Pass (going over the Sierra Nevada through Yosemite). I remember going with my folks to a Boy Scout camp where my brother spent some time (I was far too young) at Echo Lake, which isn't far from Donner Summit. I remember the ribbons in the tops of the pine trees, that had been put there as trail markers by people one snow shoes or skis during the winter.
Delete--Alan
Not that we are likely to have any "normal" winters again, but in a previously "normal" winter there were places in the Sierra Nevada that got more than a hundred feet of snow.
Delete--Alan
We've had years when we've had to have snow removed by backhoe and dump truck. It really is kind of wonderful to slice down through the snow and see the layers, each storm having its own character, moisture levels and aeration. I see it now even when just shoveling a foot or snow of wetness. Sometimes there's a layer of ice pellets that fell overnight. But this Winter, so far, what we will all remember, is the 1/2" to 3/4" of solid ice lying about 2" above the ground, topped by 5-6" of snow. It's all mushing down with the rain, but that ice is not only still strong, it may soon be added to, when the rain we are getting freezes over in a few days, when the temperature drops. How I wish all the ice would melt away before the snow flies again.
ReplyDelete