Sometimes it’s the water and sometimes it is water NOT…

Four weeks ago we experienced a thunderstorm in the Eldorado area that put an exclamation point on our Monsoonal moisture season. To put it in perspective, It’d been dry, very dry: I’d been telling folks here it was the driest I’d seen the “greenbelts” in Eldorado during my 24-year residence here. There was little fire danger because of a lack of one-hour fuels; grasses hadn’t grown – just dust (and it isn’t combustible).  We are used to NOT having moisture here: it is the historic norm. I noticed that over a year ago SF County Roads replaced a culvert-end in my neighborhood with an enlarged hole & pipe. When I pointed out to County Roads that the other end was still buried (and had been for decades), they came and placed a stake where they thought the end of the buried culvert pipe should be. I guess they’re not used to dealing with water either, the stake is still there…

The drought in the western US has been greatly noted, chronicled & discussed:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-parched-20130806-dto,0,5922502.htmlstory

With local commentary & history too   As noted by Heller in his op-ed (linked below), there have been wetter times locally. In fact, during the late 13^th & early 14^th centuries (common era) the Galisteo Basin supported the largest pueblos and densest populations in what is now the Southwestern U.S.A. Yep, with many having 1,000-2,000+ rooms they were larger than Chaco or Mesa Verde. This came about because of a wetter time period, much like recently experienced in this vicinity. When the more normal conditions of water scarcity returned, populations plummeted as inhabitants moved closer to water sources.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/my_view/article_6c9a4b95-06be-5444-b05a-b5d758d2c4c9.html

           

grapes of unwrath

When I think about water & weather impacts, I think of the trends over millennia, not decades. I could point to previous July thunder & hailstorms that stripped our grapevines of all green (ripening grapes & leaves), but the observations of a couple dozen years aren’t significant until placed into the larger-longer context.

The storm here 4-weeks ago was the largest-widespread over-the-area in quite a while. As the author Michael McGarrity  (lives nearby) mentioned to me: “it really changed the landscape.” Indeed, it moved a lot of earth, sand, brush & trees. Plus, brought out a cycle of chorus frogs. But it was nothing compared to the WATER experienced some places http://www.youtube.com/embed/_yCnQuILmsM - like Manitou Springs recently, or North Cascades National Park:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/northcascadesnationalpark/sets/72157635049191212/

BUT, I want to share a few images of our little micro-event:

doesn't look like much, but debris atop concrete is 10' 6" above channel

trail - used to be level 

Lucy checks arroyo erosion area - had been filled with cut cholla
(once again displaying the universality of studity)

Another trail washout