|
|
As you know, I’ve been paying attention the the river outside my front window. This morning a log caught on the bridge support downstream. Knowing this could rather rapidly escalate into a major dam, backup and flood for us lowlanders, I called the highway department. They were out within hours. I expected response, but was quite pleasantly surprised by its rapidity. Chatting with the crew chief, we discover the essence to them: A dam on the support exerts tremendous pressure and could take the bridge down. Replacement cost could be $1.500,000… a bit of a budget breaker for the county. Improving their motivation, a half-mile west was a similar problem on the bridge over the West Fork. One tractor trip […]
A year ago I overdid it with proper lifting techniques. I taught lifting classes at Hewlett Packard so my staff wouldn’t hurt themselves tossing 40-pound paper boxes. I had some great models and training. I know how to do it right. But I’m too dang stupid to only do the right amount. I am, however, smart enough to learn from others’ experiences. I listened to my body and responded accordingly. Regular massage when it was dictated and chiropractic as appropriate. Mostly I listened to the pain signals and did or didn’t do as ordered. I’m not done yet, but am tons better than I was a year ago… and on the road to as good as a guy my age […]
I merely copied Missy’s post at FreeMissy.com …
I have never lived within reach of a river before now. It is great. But prudence dictates I pay attention to it. I didn’t move here unaware of the potential, but noticing our home is about two feet higher than the neighbors homes was reassuring. Their description of floods, or the closest thing they have seen to one helps as well. With Bitterroot snowpack at 180% – 300% of normal, this is definitely a year for close watching of the river. However, it seems to be working out okay – particularly for those of us upstream from Darby. The top picture, taken this morning, is of the Conner Cuttoff Road bridge crossing the Bitterroot East Fork… and the first iteration […]
The article below recently appeared in the Ravalli Republic. While that newspaper slanted the piece towards a view supporting the Sheriff’s quest for more taxes on the people of Ravalli County, or cuts in other services, my take is different. First I give you theirs. Ravalli County sheriff frustrated by commissioners, lack of budget support May 18, 2014 11:00 am • By Perry Backus Ravalli County Sheriff Chris Hoffman made his annual plea for help to the county commissioners Thursday. For years now, Hoffman has asked the commission for additional manpower in the form of new deputy sheriff positions to patrol the county. In the last decade, they have given him one. On Thursday morning, Hoffman told commissioners that his […]
Here is the text of this afternoon’s warning bulletin. I separated it into paragraphs to facilitate reading, but didn’t bother translating the all caps “shouting”. Event: Hydrologic Outlook Alert: …RIVERS AND STREAMS ON THE RISE LATER THIS WEEK AND WEEKEND… TEMPERATURES WILL BE WARM THE REST OF THE WEEK WITH READINGS ON THURSDAY IN THE UPPER 70S TO LOWER 80S. THESE WARM TEMPERATURES WILL START TO ACCELERATE SNOWMELT FROM THE MUCH ABOVE NORMAL SNOWPACK IN THE MOUNTAINS. THIS SNOW MELT WILL CAUSE SMALL STREAM LEVELS TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY. THE INCREASED FLOW IN THE SMALL STREAMS WILL CAUSE MAIN STEM RIVERS TO EXPERIENCE STEADY RISES LATER THIS WEEK AND THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A COLD SYSTEM IS ANTICIPATED TO SWING THROUGH THE […]
I was disappointed to see that the incumbent Ravalli County Sheriff was running unopposed. He is not THAT good. Nobody is. I did a little feasibility study with a few selected friends. At a meeting today, I was strongly encouraged to run for this office. We are off and running. We have until the 27th of this month to gather 700 registered voter signatures in order to have a choice November 4th. The county sheriff is more important than most people understand. Please look at the PAGES linked on the left column of this website for more information. It matters – to you – to me – to all of us.
Field Day is an annual amateur radio event involving radio operators, clubs and groups nation-wide. They set up stations in the field no sooner than Friday morning, then begin practicing communications from “emergency conditions” to as many stations in the USofA as possible. The Bitterroot Amateur Radio Club (BARC) has been doing this along with the national amateur radio community for decades. This year, our main setup will be at the Darby Loggers Day site. Much more than the contesting aspect of the event, this year we will be focusing more on introducing radio to the people of our community – and perhaps encouraging others to gain valuable radio communications skills. At the very least, we hope our event will […]
I remember hearing that “We don’t let it get more than half full because of the safety hazard presented by this type of earth-fill dam.” Interestingly, yesterday it was running over the top at 2+ acre-feet per minute with no room for more. Every drop that comes in from spring runoff MUST come down the West Fork. Let us all fervently hope that is all that comes down.
Warm with scattered showers, intermittent sunshine expected high: 60 It has been creeping up from its winter/spring long-term stable state around 2 1/2 feet, but today the river is getting a bit more serious about rising. It is at 3 1/2 this morning, with strong probability of gaining another foot by the end of the day. I am pleased I risked my freshly-injured back to at least put some marks on the bridge piling. They aren’t good, but they are a heckuva lot better than what existed before I braved the shallow, river to paint them on. In next summer’s low water, I will significantly upgrade the marks. My Thinking Rock us now completely under water. The water has […]
Andrea and jamie brought themselves to our humble home, and neighborhood for a visit. It was WONDERFUL. The original plan had her two sisters along, but in spite of the disappointment their begging off this trip brought, it turned out to be a great time for us all. I don’t know how we could have squeezed any more into it. You can go over to Free Missy.com for another view of the event… along with some other photos. One of my favorites that she didn’t post is this one, catching Andrea doing her professional, avocational and much enjoyed thing. She really does combine knowledge, education, talent and artistic sense with cameras and composition. And, to credit the unsung talent […]
|
|
