April 16, 2007  
    A big nor'easter!  It began on Sunday as snow and accumulated to about 5 inches before it changed to rain.  Now it's no longer beautiful— just wet, wet, wet.  Rand Brook (behind our house and a little lower, thank goodness) is now Raging Rand River! (Click on first video below)  It is 5 or 6 times as wide as normal and has washed out the bridge that was at the corner of our property.  It had been condemned, so it had saw horses and Jersey barriers on it.  They have all—the dirt road, horses and barriers—washed downstream!  All that is left is the metal culvert.  Dodge Road in the other (uphill) direction is also washed out and impassible, as are other roads beyond Dodge.  The Highway Department says we'll probably be stranded for three days.  We're fine; we have food, water, wood stoves, lots of wood and a generator if we need it.  

April 17, 2007
    Rand Brook quieted down as soon as the rains stopped. (See second video below.)  So 24 hours after its cresting the brook has returned to its banks.  As I walked up Dodge Rd. at 2:00 p.m. I took this picture of a washout crossing the road.  By 2:30 the road crew had arrived and was repairing the washout.  So we're connected to civilization again!  But it was exciting to be stranded for one day.

April 20, 2007
    The washed-out roads around us make our trip into the center of Greenfield (to pick up our mail) take 25 minutes rather than the normal five.  The red Xs on this map show the wash-outs, and the blue line shows our path to town.  It's almost "you can't get they-uh from he-uh."
    Throughout the winter, snow slides off the metal roof and piles up in the shade on the north side of the house.  To release the gardens underneath, Lynn and I are shoveling and carrying the snow out into the sunshine to melt.  It's strange to be handling snow when it's in the mid-60s.
    With the warm weather, we're able to have breakfast down by the brook again.  You can see where debris marks the high-water mark.

Feature - There is a rare variety of the black bear that is white (but not albino).  It's called the "Spirit Bear," and it's revered by Pacific Northwest First Nations community.

Factoid for the Day - It's Standard Time for only 4.5 out of 12 months.  It kind of makes you wonder what "standard" means.