Chipmunk Eating a Mushroom

We get these golden-colored mushrooms and they make a nice snack for the chipmunks.

My Aunt Eleanor Bein and Ruth Wilson, Berthoud, Colorado 1917.

Spring Runoff - Big Thompson River

We're still waiting for the shoe to drop with regard to the high runoff expected over the next few weeks. Our weather has stayed on the cool side, and today was overcast and didn't reach 60 degrees. This delay in getting warm weather is not good because next thing we know it's June, not a cloud in the sky, and 70 to 80 degrees.

Here is last year's high water around this time, this year is expected to be higher.

Bobcat

In 2006 I had a renter in the Brown Palace who owned a couple of cats who were allowed in and out of the house all day. This attracted a bobcat, which we saw on the woodpile watching them. It left as soon as it saw us watching it. I'm sure it's still around, we just don't have anything of interest for it down here around the houses.

Snow is a Memory

Thursday's snow has mostly disappeared, but this late spring storm was welcome for the moisture. The Big Thompson River was about 200 cfs.

Waiting for the Garden

I've got some short season tomatoes coming in the mail soon, and I'm counting the days until we stop having overnight frost so I can put out my bedding plants and zucchini plants. They are all getting a little leggy languishing in the house here. Today it's 43 degrees out and expected to snow overnight.

Here is my last year 'garden' right after I put out the plants. I always have big hopes for bountiful harvests, but the reality falls short. That's okay, it's fun to plant and hope.

Waiting for Spring

Well, almost the middle of May. We had a big, upslope storm earlier this week. Upslope means the moisture and energy came up the front range of the mountains from the Gulf of Mexico, rather than west over the continental divide. We actually got less rain here in on the edge of the mountains than the cities like Denver and Fort Collins and Loveland that are out on flatter ground.

This colder weather slowed the snow melt so the spring runoff is held in check. It's much better to keep the cool nights as long as we can.

I put out some bread for the fox and the squirrel helped himself.

Warm Days

Every day lately has been warm, but a little breezy at times. There are maybe five hummingbirds now, at least two males. They are enjoying the feeder I put out, and probably bugs hatching out on the river. There have been lots of fishermen lately.

Here's a rainbow caught at my place last weekend.

First Hummingbird of the Year

This morning I saw the first hummingbird outside my window, and hurried to make some juice and get the feeder out there. By this evening, there were two birds, looking very pleased with themselves after their long migration from Mexico.

They are a couple of weeks later this year than last year.

Getting Ready for Spring

Although Colorado's Front Range and foothills did not receive much snow over the winter, the high mountains on the other side of the Continental Divide are showing record snow depths, in some places 130% and more above normal.

When the weather warms up over the next 6 to 8 weeks, this is going to result in record high runoff in the rivers heading eventually to the Gulf of Mexico on the east slope, and the Gulf of Cortez on the west slope.

The Colorado Big Thompson Project was built between 1938 and 1957. Its network of rivers, tunnels, reservoirs and ditches provides supplemental water to 30 cities and towns, and helps irrigate approximately 693,000 acres of northeastern Colorado farmland.

The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is the largest transmountain water diversion project in Colorado.

Built between 1938 and 1957, the C-BT Project provides supplemental water to 30 cities and towns. The water is used to help irrigate approximately 693,000 acres of northeastern Colorado farmland.

Here is a picture of last year's high water in the spring of 2010 about 4 feet deep.

This is the normal level in the fall, the same place in the river, less than 1 foot deep.

More Foxes

Last evening near dusk I saw a different fox out back, to be joined a little later by our regular fox visitor. Maybe it is my regular fox's girlfriend. She's very skittish - takes off when she even glimpses any movement inside the house. It underlines how unusually tame he is.

I'm glad to know he has someone to keep him company. They will probably have babies, and the ground squirrels will have a rough summer of it around here.