Down And Up

The last few warm days has certainly helped to dry the farm out a bit. The loggers have been chomping at the bit hoping to get the pole truck in for a load of long logs but it has just been too slippery on the slopes that lead in and out of the property, the landing where the logs are neatly decked and the edges of the river crossing.

With all the rain, the river had risen as the excess moisture flowed into the stream but has once again receded to acceptable levels for crossing. Of course I forgot to snap a pic while the river was high so here is a picture of what the river looked like before our 2-1/2 inches of rain in two days, the river doubled in size, and is now back to looking serene just like this photo! (You just have to use your imagination on this one).

We are still finding spots as we drive through the churned up dirt around the landings that pooled with muddy rainwater. Some areas are still rather bog-like and the cows are making huge, mud footy-prints wherever they tread but the dry earth is soaking in all that precipitation as quickly as it can.

This unexpected burst of moisture nearing the end of our water year has been good for the parched plants including the seedling trees on the top of the hill, those spots in the garden that always seem to get missed and the lawn that we refused to irrigate when water is so precious.

The downturn in the weather seems to be in a holding pattern over the Pacific Northwest and we may have a few more days of sprinkles over the next week. Although this is beginning to feel like fall, we are hopeful that we see another couple of weeks of summer before the seasons really change.