As of today, July 5, according to the Fire Incident Information System website, there are four major, active fires in Wyoming. Here in Casper, we were greeted this morning with a nice little rain. Apparently the firefighters down in Fox Park and Sheep Mountain west of Laramie also experienced some light rain and cooler temperatures…
Tag: rural life
Colorado Wildfire Smoke Finds Us
Today was the first day of breathing smoke from the Colorado fires. My guess -the source is the High Park fire about 220 miles from here (Casper, Wyoming), now estimated at over 87,000 acres. The smoke gives the sky an eerie yellow cast. I remember 1988, my first year in Wyoming, standing on a high-ish…
Wyoming. Land of Extremes
Last year the Wyoming headlines read: “North Platte River reaches record high at Saratoga” “Platte River floods still threaten; half of record snow pack has yet to melt” “North Platte River Flooding 2011” “Planning, weather help Casper avoid flooding” “River keeps rising” “Casper preparing for high water levels” And this year, in the recent headlines…
Ready for Take Off
These seeds are ready for take off. As kids we all enjoyed the Dandelions in the yard. How magical it was to blow on the seed heads and watch the little parachutes take flight. As an adult I am amazed at the perfection of design of this family of flowers commonly called Composites, of the…
April Showers in Wyoming
At 5000 plus feet, April showers often come in heavy white crystalline form. This may be our last snow of the season, so I took a quick dash out to get a shot of the mountain as the clouds were lifting. Spring snows are very important to the ecology of Wyoming. The snows of Feb-April…
Troubadour of Spring
It’s usually around the 15th of March that I hear my first Western Meadowlark of the year. The bright yellow male bird is often seen sitting on a fence post singing his song of spring. It’s a lovely sound, described as watery, warbly, flute-like. Some say the Meadowlark is crying, “Please pass the salt and…
A Milder Wyoming Winter?
Perspective is an interesting thing. If you talk to almost anyone around Casper, the general perspective is that we are having a very mild winter. I spoke with a man in his 60’s who has lived here all his life and he was commenting on how warm this winter has been. Ditto with a man…
Save Research Dollars, Ask Moms
I had to chuckle a little when I saw this ‘new study’ that says preschoolers and kindergarteners need lots of time…. wait for it… playing outside! “Play Time for Preschoolers Essential, Study Says” I cringe to think what this ground breaking research cost when they could have come to the same conclusion by asking any…
Climate Challenges and Vegetable Gardening
I moved to Wyoming from the Midwest over 20 years ago. I thought I understood what ‘arid’ meant, but it took two failed vegetable gardens to really get through to me. Sunset’s Western Gardens does a pretty good job of describing our climate: “…this zone sees January temperatures from 0-12 degrees F with extremes between…
UW Hydroponic Greenhouse
University of Wyoming Grad student, Nate Storey, has designed and developed a hydroponic tower system for this greenhouse where fish, herbs, and vegetables are grown. The water circulates from fish tanks through media filled ‘towers’ made of PVC or poly pipe. The water has not been changed for years. “The biology just works,” says Storey….
First Snow
Yesterday we awoke to the first dusting of snow on Casper Mountain. It’s right on time. We usually see our first higher elevation snow by October 15. It heralds the coming of winter, but it won’t be a slow, steady, predictable arrival. In Wyoming the changing of seasons usually happens in fits and starts. I…
Busy as a Bee
Late summer brought on that old familiar feeling. Bittersweet. Summer is almost over, and fall is on its way. Autumn may very well be the most beautiful season in Wyoming. The wind quiets down. The nights cool. The skies are brilliantly, painfully, blue. Every sunny day (which is most of our autumn) is one more…
Wyoming Life 