And So It Begins

YESTERDAY'S SNOW IS GONE

Sun And Visitors Blossom

roads filled, rivers too

WALLPAPER:  GENTLE SPRING DAY - YELLOWSTONE

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.. This may be it! The tipping point is close. Our standard Spring Mix of weather is providing more sun and less snow as the days pass. The air is warming. The bluebirds have arrived. Robbins are on the ground. Bison calves are being eaten by grizzly bears.

Use Me

.. Neighbors are cleaning BBQ grills. Winter grime is being washed from vehicles. Shopkeepers in our village are stocking their shelves. Itinerant guides from near and far are bumbling into the pubs. It looks like Summer is in sight.
.. It looks like Spring has hit it's stride: that just means that there's another week of rain and snow in the forecast. HOWEVER the temperatures will be in the 40's, and then some.
.. Not to put too fine of a point on it - BUT - the west side rivers are in good condition. The Madison River is a tad above seasonal discharge but not too much color in the water. The Firehole River is dead on the numbers. The Gallatin River is at seasonal average, The Gibbon River is above average and running strong. All rivers seem healthy and the fish are making surface appearances to bits of flotsam and bugs as well.

AND ???

.. Most of the local feather merchants are in attendance and doing some business. The neighbors are haunting the shores of Hebgan Reservoir seeking those bits of open water where the trout seek the surface. There is even open water at the end of the Horse Butte peninsula and the gear flingers are taking 20" trout with regularity.
.. For the first time in several years the grizzly bears have begun their calf chomping out on the butte and fishers have to keep the bear spray handy and their backs covered.
.. The National Park Service made a brief appearance in town and provided some information about the progress of the long-term Native Fish Conservation Program, (Story #1,  Story #2,) and, for a change, the meeting was well attended by the neighbors.
.. The neighbors can be found at the outlet of Quake Lake, the Madison Arm of Hebgen Reservoir, the South Fork Estuary, and in the shadowed corners of pubs.
..  Mother's Day looms and fathers are feeling constrained by the thought of giving up a fine day of catching - ah, such is life.
.. There's even some stirring among the feather merchant blogs and websites: give 'em a click and see the Spring activity at your favorite bit of dust and fluff.

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WALLPAPER:  SPRING TRANSITION - YELLOWSTONE

Simple Variation

ONE MORE CADDIS

Very Simple Stuff

floats high, highly visible

WALLPAPER:    PARACHUTE ELK HAIR CADDIS

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.. So, the neighbor kids are at it again. Nothing fancy here, just a variation on the good ol' elk hair caddis. They pretend that they invented it for our aged peepers. We're pretty sure that was an afterthought. We can see it though.
.. The variations are simple: elk hair tail,  peacock herl body,  poly yarn wing,  furnace hackle parachute,  no head. Works fine.

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WALLPAPER:  ELK HAIR CADDIS

El Día de la Batalla de Puebla

NAPOLEON III MISCALCULATED 
Maximilian I Did Too

benito wins the day

WALLPAPER:  CINCO DE YELLOWSTONE

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MOTHER'S DAY CADDIS

.. This holiday is celebrated mostly in the United States and the state of Puebla, Mexico. It's both a celebration of freedom and of pride, it's a good time to eat carnitas, drink beer, and hope the snow goes away quickly.
.. The rivers and streams around here are doing nicely and runoff is orderly so far. It's raining and snowing right now - the cool is welcomed by fishers.

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WALLPAPER:     TIME FOR THE BICYCLES

 

A Different Sort Of Slab

LOW AND SLOW

Don't Insult The Pig

eat as is or finish otherwise

WALLPAPER:   PORK SPARE RIBS

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.. We're trapped in the neighborhood merry go round. We cook. You cook. They cook. We all eat. It's the celebration of a few days without snow in what passes for Spring in the high country.
.. The neighbors enjoy the taste of pork - not BBQ sauce per se. Sauce in our part of the neighborhood is served alongside the meat. It's not used to disguise poor cooking technique or shoddy cuts of meat. They have told us that meat drenched in oceans of sauce is an insult to the animal and the cook.
.. Recipe:
     RUB,
          - Hungarian Sweet Paprika.
          - Spanish Smoked Paprika,
          - Minced Garlic,
          - Kosher Salt.
          - Fresh Ground Black Pepper,
          - Fresh Prepared Dry Mustard,
          - Fresh Ground Cumin,
          - Dark Brown Sugar,
          - (combine in proportions to taste.)
     THE PIG,
          - Slab of spare ribs.
     THE PROCEDURE,
          - Remove membrane,
          - Pierce rib meat with fork, (many times - both sides,)
          - Apply rub to both sides of slab,
          - Place slab, bones down, on large sheet of aluminum foil,
          - Add 1/2 cup of beer - or Dr. Pepper, or  Coca Cola, (under slab,)
          - Wrap tightly in aluminum foil, (use lots of foil in layers,)
          - Park package in refrigerator for no less than  12 hours,
          - Place on foil lined baking sheet,
          - Pop in preheated 350° F oven, (bones down,)
          - After an hour reduce heat to 225°- 250° F,
          - Don't look for 5 or 6 hours,
          - Pluck a piece to test for tenderness,
          - Eat as is or finish on BBQ grill or with smoker.

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WALLPAPER:  WINTER'S LEAVINGS ON THE FIREHOLE

           

Simple Pleasure

SNOW ON GROUND ?

Snow Off Deck ?

try some fall apart ribs

WALLPAPER: REWARD FOR SNOW REMOVAL

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.. Although we use the barbee-q year round; our neighborhood deck cleaning party is a harbinger of days to come. It's what we do. Shovel and sweep the decks down to the planks. Then we celebrate with a traditional, (for the neighborhood,) meal
.. The reward is baby back ribs, baked white beans with pulled pork, grill-roasted Mexican bi-color corn, and cornbread, (We have neighbors with roots in South Carolina.)
.. There's nothing fancy at our house. We finish the celebration with chunks of Cran-Apple-Raisin pie that's been oven baked in cast iron. We do this at each opportunity that presents itself during our on again, off again, Spring weather.
.. It's snowing again right now and we'll have to sweep the deck this afternoon. Bring it on!

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WALLPAPER: CRAN-APPLE-RAISIN PIE

Weather Eye

MADISON LOOKING GOOD

That's For Now

just lovin' the warm

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.. The depth of snow is encouraging. The current few days of warmth is pleasant. The snow will melt. The water will rise. We will fret and the fish will swim. All is well with the world.

Hydrologic Outlook

...WARMER TEMPERATURES EARLY THIS WEEK TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE POTENTIAL FOR WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION AND RAIN ON SNOWPACK BY MID WEEK... WARMER TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED EARLY THIS WEEK BEFORE A PERIOD OF COOLER AND WETTER CONDITIONS BY THE MIDDLE TO LATER PART OF THE WEEK. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES THROUGH TUESDAY WILL CLIMB INTO THE 60S AT LOWER ELEVATIONS AND INTO THE 40S AND 50S IN THE MOUNTAINS. OVERNIGHT LOWS AT MID-ELEVATIONS WILL REMAIN ABOVE FREEZING EACH NIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE AN INCREASE IN MOUNTAIN SNOWMELT WITH RISING WATER LEVELS ANTICIPATED ON CREEKS...SMALL STREAMS AND RIVERS. A PERIOD OF WETTER CONDITIONS IS EXPECTED BY MID TO LATE WEEK. AT THE ONSET OF PRECIPITATION ON TUESDAY AFTERNOON...SNOW LEVELS BETWEEN 7500 AND 8500 FEET INDICATE THAT RAIN MAY FALL ON TOP OF MOUNTAIN SNOWPACK AND INCREASE THE RATE OF SNOWMELT. WITH COOLER AIR MOVING IN WEDNESDAY...PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW AND REMAIN SNOW THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. THE SITUATION WILL CONTINUE TO BE MONITORED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. RESIDENTS ALONG RIVERS...STREAMS...AND CREEKS SHOULD PREPARE FOR RISING WATER LEVELS...AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE ACTION IF WATERWAYS EXCEED BANKFULL.

LINK
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WALLPAPER:  CHERRY TART

Signs Of Spring