Memorial Weekend Barbacue

You know I am basically a patient person.  I understand that there are a lot of things that happen that we humans have no control over.  During this past spring(? ) I have watched continual snow and cold develop into a record year for snow pack and have watched Bear Lake rise at an incredible rate.  During this time I have tried to get ready to open Cisco's Landing for summer business.  Tons of money has been spent, employees have worked diligently, boats are in the water and the grill is hot.  Sunday morning I get up to this.  Spike can't play with his "diggers" on the deck and sitting outside in the sun is out.  I have even taken the snow blower off and mowed the lawns once.  I am frustrated but still patient.  The snow will melt and when it does, the house will still be here.  We have it a lot better than those poor folks in "Tornado Alley".  Come to us warm weather.....

Web Cam

I have been so frustrated since the Parks and Recreation decided to take the Bear Lake Cam off their Internet connection.  I can understand it because as much as the camera is used it takes up a lot of bandwidth.  Cisco's Landing has been working with the company that owns the camera and we have come to an agreement that they would get an new Internet connection and Cisco's Landing would pay a monthly fee to operate it.  I am more than willing to do that because so many people use the camera to check on lake conditions, their boats and just to snoop on my employees and the people on the dock.  My relatives in Australia love to check on me from time to time.   Please let everyone know that without Cisco's Landing support the camera would not be live so make it worth my while since it is not cheap.  Enjoy it and come down and see us..Go to www.livelakeview.com/lakes/bearlake.

Rain, Rain, Rain

You know, I am glad that I own about fifteen watercraft.  If it keeps raining and the lake keeps coming up I may need them.  Seriously, it seems like this weather pattern will never end.  I know that lots of people think that the snow is gone and the flooding risk is over but I keep looking up at the mountains and know that there is literally "millions of gallons" of water in the snow.  The physical laws of our environment are never broken which means that eventually the snow will turn to liquid and gravity will drag it to lower elevations until it is level or meets the ocean.  What that means is anyone's guess.  One thing I know for sure is that this weather is not condusive to boat rental and lake recreation.  The only visitors to the marina are the pisciverous (fish eating) birds who spend all day trying to capture recently stocked cutthroat fingerling.  

Spring?

Finally we had aq few days of good? weather.  Boats were launched and people tried to act like it is summer.,  But it is not.  The seagulls circle the marina looking for a freshly stocked cutthroat, the western grebes and common loons patrol the outside and fish have to deal with real life.  Zack went out wake boarding yesterday and saiid it was great, but then he is young and strong.  More power to him.  We rented some boats this weekend and people really love the "Buggy' which is stable, easy to drive and good on gas. 

The lake continues to come up.  The beaches are gone and we are back to normal, like it or not.  The water is encroaching into Dasiy Bay.  The real runoff has not started so hold on.  Mother Earth will do as she desires,

Gray Skies

I have been waiting to post a picture of the Marina with sun and boats being put in.  It hasn't happened yet.  Maybe this weekend.  Keep your eyes peeled to the skies when you are there however.  Wildlife Resources recently stocked cutthroat trout there and the seagull are constantly overhead.  There are hundreds of Western grebes outside of the the marina with a few loons and pelicans.  Everyone always worries that the birds will eat all the fish.  Sure, they will get some, but it is the beginning of a fish's life of avoiding  predators until you get big enough to be a predator yourself. 

The carp are back and waiting for handouts which have been few and far between.  I guess we will try to open for a while this weekend.

Adaptable Birds

I have been on the road a lot lately trying to get ready for Cisco's and the summer (if there is such a thing anymore).  As I drive between Woodruff and Sage Creek Junction this time of year I always look for redtail hawk nests.  There are not many trees along the way but there must be plenty of food in the fields because there are at least four nesting sites along the way.  One nest that I have watched for years and always fledged birds finally succumbed to the elements last winter and fell to the ground.  Apparently the birds liked the area because the nested on the top of some grass bales nearby.  I appreciate the rancher who has consideration for the hawks and left the bales for them.  It is a far cry from my younger days when "chicken hawks" were shot on site.

I was talking to Loretta from Bridgerland yesterday about her birds and wildlife that she constantly feeds and she said two moose were still hanging around.  She made an interesting observation.  Apparently the magpies fly in and alight on the moose's back where they pull up old, winter hair to line their nests which they are working on now.  Sounds like we all have work to so, regardless of the weather.

Wildlife, lake levels and snow

I am beginning to sound like a broken record.  The weather is still terrible and the lake keeps coming up.  It is interesting for me, as a biologist, to see the lake begin to invade  the littoral zone which is choked with trees willows, upland plants and fragmities.  I know that nutrients and plant matter that have been unavailable to aquatic species for years is finally becoming part of the lake.  It will provide hiding areas for small fish, attachment points for invertebrates and as I saw today, food for moose.  Most of it will drown and turn into detritus and drift around the shorelines.  The black muck is not bad, it is just nature's way of making compost.

I keep looking at the mountains wondering when the snow will melt.  After talking to a couple of hydrologists, the physical dynamics were finally made simple enough for me to understand.  A snow pack will not melt until all of it is 0 degrees centigrade and then it all goes at once with no turning back.  A lot of factors effect this process.  Dust or debris on the snow will absorb radiation.  Wind will accelerate the process.  A warm rainstorm with high humidity will also have a significant impact.  Snow does melt a little at the bottom because the earth is warmer but the amount is negligible.  When the snow column begins to collapse, hydrologists measure the amount of water that the soil will absorb and the rest is runoff.  Our melting window is getting narrower.  I suspect lots of people think the flooding is over because the snow is gone around the lake.  We could be so lucky.  That is what makes it so interesting.  No one can predict it.