Curlew and the Kettle River Valley has been unseasonably warm this February. Upper 40’s today, the 17th of the month. Those of us who’ve been here for awhile have seen this time of year when the daylight hours barely reach zero degrees and the nights fall to near -20° below.
As fellow firefighter Rob Slagle told me today, he’s not sure if he really likes this mild weather. “What will fire season be like?” He asked. Good question.
How warm has it been? Here’s today’s weather and part of the forecast:
Current Temperature 43° (1733:hours). Conditions ‘fair’. Wind N 05 mph. Humidity: 46%
Forecast - Tonight Lo 29°. Thursday, sunny with Hi 48° / Lo 29°. Friday, sunny with Hi 46° / Lo27°
Home from work I poured a glass of wine and sat comfortably on the river deck in a T-shirt and jeans. As the afternoon sun set the top of Drummer Mountain glowing, two bald eagles flew by, between them clucking an early mating song. But what caught my attention the most, here on this mid-February afternoon, was the ribitting (sp) of a frog. And it was this lone frog calling on a temperate winter afternoon which inspired this blog. The frog, like many of us, is an optimist in life.
The above image of the 'frog in ice' by Gary Nafis from this website: http://www.californiaherps.com/noncal/northwest/nwfrogs/pages/r.cascadae.html
The above photograph of the Kettle River taken Monday evening 02.15.10 shows how little ice there is on the river. It is not unusual for the river to be frozen bank to bank this time of year.
And I'll close this post with a stock photo of mine of a bald eagle perched in a cottonwood watching the winter river flow by.
Take care, and enjoy the weather...
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