Winter Continues to Unfold!

This past weekend's 11" of snow brings February's snowfall to 17" and the winter total to 79" - so far. Last winter's total was only 4.5" more for the entire winter (83.5") than where we are at right now, and we still have our statistically snowiest month of March ahead. It's looking better that we'll get closer to an average 115", but, as we all know, anything is possible when it comes to the weather. Here's what the landscape looked like on my walk to the office this morning!

A Frosty Day at the Mountain Park!

A foggy, frosty day greeted last evening's 3" of new snow that fell on Pueblo Mountain Park. I was fascinated by how the temps in the twenties and fog combined to dress everything in icy crystals that looked like white spiky thorns. Here are a few of the photos I took on a delightful afternoon hike along the Mace Trail.

A Bit More Snow!

We were hoping for more, but we'll take whatever we get. This last storm brought only 4.3" of snow. Added to January's meager 3.8", December's 16.3", November's 11.8" and October's generous 30. 3", we are up to 66.8" for the season. Another 50" will bring us to an average winter's snowfall. Here are a few photos I took this morning of the lovely winter wonderland that Pueblo Mountain Park is right now. Lots of fox tracks, with a set walking across the very frozen pond - and people tracks along a trail. By the way, a blooming spring beauty was found on Feb 2, so the tug of war between winter and spring is officially underway.

MPEC's Winter Wonderland

Winter has arrived with gusto to Pueblo Mountain Park (and lots of other places, so I've heard). The last few days' snow, not to mention the 14 below temps the other night, say that autumn is now just a memory. Snow total for this season is 55" so far, the snowiest start to winter the park has seen in several years. I took this photo this morning: sun not yet shining on the landscape, temp at 2 below, looking out over the park and mountainous backdrop from my property just east and up the hill from the park.

Happy winter, Ranger Dave

Wildflowers already!

Today's warm afternoon sun beckoned me to head up the Tower Trail, with a particular destination in mind. About this time every year, a few Claytonia rosea (spring beauty) plants decide that spring is too far away to wait, so they decide to bloom right in the middle of winter. I checked a week ago, and found some C. rosea leaves, nothing more. The last few days of very warm weather had me thinking the time may have arrived, and sure enough, there were 2 little flowers, smiling like it's the middle of May. We certainly need lots more winter (snow) so the spring offers a wide variety of flowery blooms, but seeing these little plants in bloom serve as a reminder that the planet is steadily marching towards the spring equinox and beyond.

Come on, snow!!!

Some parts of Colorado sound like they are getting some decent snow, but, sad to say, Pueblo Mountain Park and vicinity have seen a pretty dry winter so far. The reports say that tomorrow, January's last day, will be a warm, dry day, which means that January's snow total will be 19.8". Add that to December's 17.6", November's and October's combined (and measly) 5.5", and Winter 2009 through January is only 42.9" of snow. For comparison, through January of last winter (which ultimately ended up at 130" for the entire winter, a bit above the park's average winter snowfall of 115"), we had received 63" of snow. Of course, this can all be turned around by a big snow or two, or a snowy March (often our snowiest), so it's way too early to say just what Winter 2009 will go into the record books as. But, we'd like to snowshoe and x-country ski a lot more this winter, and have less worries about water and fire this summer, so, come on snow! (Pictured is the park's official NOAA precipitation measuring station, showing a quickly diminishing snow cover.)

Come on in, the snow is fine!!!

The first weekend of 2009 brought 9 inches of powdery white, making for a lovely landscape and some wonderful snowshoeing and x-country skiing. Here are some photos of Sunday January 4 in the winter wonderland of Pueblo Mountain Park.

MPEC's Biomass Boiler Project!

A break in the weather allowed for the pouring of the foundation of our Biomass Boiler Building on this Christmas Eve. We project that before winter is over, we will be heating Horseshoe Lodge utilizing our new Biomass Heating System. We already have a hot water system installed in the Lodge, currently buring propane as fuel. The biomass system will utilize 2 GARN 2000 boilers that burn wood (which will initially come from fire mitigation and other forest cleanup efforts in the park) to heat the water that heats the lodge (as well as domestic hot water needs). We calculate that this will save us nearly 70% of the cost of burning propane for our heat. And, it is much more environmentally friendly, burning a renewal fuel instead of a fossil fuel. According to the forestry and energy scientists, "utilization of woody biomass for bioenergy can help mitigate greenhouse gases, contribute to the development of healthier forests, bolster rural economies, and reduce our nation’s dependency on foreign oil." A win-win for all of us!

Winter at MPEC!

MPEC held its first Winter Festivity Day on Saturday, Dec 21, a very cold Winter Solstice Day. Santa, some fun games, and s'mores around the fire were a part of this next to last MPEC program of 2008 (we had a Solstice Drum Circle later that same afternoon). What a year it has been for MPEC - we started and completed Phase 1 of the Horseshoe Lodge Project while facilitating a record 322 program sessions for 7971 participants. Happy Holidays from all of us at MPEC!

Out in the Snow!!!

With the recent snows, MPEC's Earth Studies students have been experiencing our outdoor classroom decorated in its winter garb. This month we've been working on using a compass, so students got to find their way around with snowshoes strapped to their feet (a first for essentially every one of them). Winter has finally arrived, and one thing MPEC does with it is teach that it is perfectly OK to be outside when it is cold or snowy (a real eye-opener for many more of our students than you'd think). We teach them that as long as they are properly prepared with the right gear (we're using lots of our donated hats and gloves lately), being outside in winter can be wonderful! Here are a few photos tken over the past few days here at MPEC!

First Real Snow of the Season!!!

Dec 8 & 9 brought 14" (with nearly 1.5" of moisture) to Pueblo Mountain Park. Come on up, it's a winter wonderland!

Colder nights evident with pond ice!

As a closet phenologist, I like to keep track of when certain natural events take place, especially as they relate to the changing seasons. In spite of a mild fall, the shortening of the days and the chilly and longer nights are making their mark on the landscape. This morning, I took a "scenic" route to the office, and noticed ice on the pond. It certainly isn't solid, and the ice will probably disappear during this relatively warm day. But the earth is definitely tilting our little part of it further away from the sun, and the ice on the pond will eventually become solid. Last year, the pond was "officially" in its winter ice garb on November 24 (and became officially ice- free on March 29 of this year).

Birdwatching in Beulah on New Year's Day 2008

2007 ended with a wintry December in Beulah, with many cold days and several very cold nights, plus about 28" of snow. 2008, and the beginning of MPEC's ninth year, began with a chilly and sunny day. The birds knew not that us humans were acknowledging the turn of the year, but they were busy at the bird feeders. My son-in-law Erik took plenty of good photos of some of them, including a very hungry male hairy woodpecker, a loud but camera-shy Stellar's jay, a busy mountain chickadee, and a red breasted nuthatch that just wouldn't stay very still.