"Chilly" good morning to you all

[Cudedog]

No snow here. Current temps high-40's with light dusting of frost. Will be mid-60's or warmer by afternoon, forecast says rain is coming in - I'll believe it when I see it.

Dryest January on record in my neck of the woods. Little measurable snow pack in the Sierra mountains (where most of our water comes from).

End of "rainy" season in sight - usually done by late March/early April, with (if we are lucky) a few brief showers coming and going sometimes into May.

"Usual" January rainfall being 3 1/2" - 4". This year near to nothing, and this came at the beginning of the month - .3" (three-tenths inches).

It's dry-dry-dry out there, ladies, with "fire season" soon to come here in Northern California.

It is what it is, I guess. Not a lot that can be done to prevent wildfire on California's 30-million+ acres of flammable brush-and-flammable trees shrublands/wildlands when the rains don't come.

Interesting factoid: one of the primary species of that makes up the shrubland chaparral here in California is Manzanita:

There are 107 species and subspecies of manzanita, 95 of which are found in the Mediterranean climate and colder mountainous regions of California, ranging from ground-hugging coastal and mountain species to small trees up to 20 feet tall.

And this from the U. S. Forest Service:

"Common manzanita requires fire for adequate germination and seedling establishment."

Think about that one. There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of acres in California covered by Manzanita chaparral brushlands.

Manzanita has evolved over tens of thousands of years to be fire-dependent.

That says a lot about how long fires have been a fact of life in California.

Anne

[snowball]

we have a strong possibility of snow this weekend of course because my plans are to head back home.. I guess we will look and see on Sunday... DD isn't going to be able to pick me up here in Ogden will meet us 1/2 way... which is good if it actually happens we have the option of not going... where if dd is here then it's a problem as she will need to get to work... I know what you are saying we have so little snow compared to what we actually should have that it's down right scary.... keep hoping that the high elevations have gotten more than we have (elevation is 6,237 If I remembered that correctly)
I think it's the lodge pole pine that are the same way needs fire to open the pine cones so more can grow.... and yet we really don't want fire
thoughts and prayer are with CA Anne
sheila

[Cudedog]

we have a strong possibility of snow this weekend of course because my plans are to head back home.. I guess we will look and see on Sunday... DD isn't going to be able to pick me up here in Ogden will meet us 1/2 way... which is good if it actually happens we have the option of not going... where if dd is here then it's a problem as she will need to get to work... I know what you are saying we have so little snow compared to what we actually should have that it's down right scary.... keep hoping that the high elevations have gotten more than we have (elevation is 6,237 If I remembered that correctly)
I think it's the lodge pole pine that are the same way needs fire to open the pine cones so more can grow.... and yet we really don't want fire
thoughts and prayer are with CA Anne
sheila

Thank you, Sheila!

Anne

[Colliemom]

Here in Michigan, it’s Jack Pine that needs fire to regenerate. The county below me and couple off to my SE have a lot of Jack pine forest. Fortunately it has been a number of years since a large fire has occurred. Every spring there’s always elevated danger but they’ve been able to stop any that do start. Majority are human caused.

[JudyJB]

And the problem with jack pines in Michigan, is a bird called the Kirtland Warbler. It lays its eggs ONLY under jack pines that are less than something like 7-8 feet tall. It is also an endangered species and nests only in northern Michigan near where Sue lives and a few places in Wisconsin and Ontario. As a jack pine forest gets older, the birds leave or just stop nesting.

So, in order to get young jack pines that meet this birds fussy nesting requirements, you have to burn an area so new trees can grow from charred pine cones. And occasionally, one of the Forest Service's burns gets out of control and burns a lot more than planned!! That is one reason why there have not been many burns in the last couple of decades.