SNOW IN THE SHADOWS
GREEN IN THE MEADOWS
Early Gentility Abounds
snow soon ?
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Three days IN - A - ROW above 50 degrees in mid April is a gift not to be ignored... The meadows are greening up early, the snow is lingering in the shadows. Yellowstone National Park is resplendent in it's early spring raiment.
.. The fur and feather crowd is basking in the sun. The noses are rising. AND - itty-bitty-tiny, (very dark,) mayflies are hatching.
.. The rapid changes in our spring temperatures have the USGS river gauges exercising their full range.
.. Despite the rapid fluctuations in water levels and discharge rates the water is just a bit tea colored and would be very fishable.
.. It was a serene weekend and visitors and neighbors were behaving like it was mid summer... Bicyclists were riding three abreast, "U-Turns" at 30 mph were common. Stopping for views of ground squirrels inhibited travel.
.. Mobile condominiums were practicing creative parking, and there was not a single ranger in sight... Children ran, unattended, into the traffic stream and the geriatric set brought lawn chairs to watch the Madison River and Firehole River spin rows of foamy bubbles down the distinguishing currents.
.. Maternity herds of bison are awaiting contractions. Herd bulls, (elk and bison,) are avoiding the chaos of birthing and already moving to their lonely haunts... Geese have paired up and staked out nesting territories. Eagles are currently warming eggs.
.. Swans are guarding the nearly completed nests. Robins and sandhill cranes are a couple of weeks early.
Bluebirds, nutcrackers, gray jays, and others will soon fill out the inventory... Ravens are pestering eagles for scraps of fish and carrion. Slicing and squawking can be seen and heard at every turn.
.. The wolves, bears, coyotes, and other predators are walking, not running. They can be seen sleeping in snowbanks to keep cool. 'Tis a rare opening weekend indeed!
.. Friday was it's normal gentle opening day self. Saturday morning saw lines of cars around 10:00 AM at the west entrance. Sunday provided a steady stream of visitors from dawn to dusk... License plates from California, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho were the dominant banners of visitation.
.. This sort of opening weekend is an unusual and wonderful happenstance. We looked less at the rivers and more at the critters and scenery of the park. The runoff is a week or two away, (depending on temperature and precipitation.) We found ourselves wishing for an early opening to the fishing season - oh well!
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