WHITE FLASHES AND WOLVES

Monday night, as Mike watched football and I crocheted on a doll hat, we were startled by a sudden flash of white light at the south window. Our immediate impression was that of a camera flash. Seconds later we heard thunder roll – not really close but not far away either.

I was relieved to know that first flash was lightning and said as much. “I was relieved, too,” said Mike, “especially when I discovered you weren’t taking pictures.” There’s nothing electric on that side of the house – not for miles and miles – and the thought that some intruder could be taking pictures of us through the window was momentarily frightening.  More sudden white flashes to the south occurred for the next ten minutes with thunder growing closer.

 

Deer hunting season opened Monday, and Mike and Clint were out early. They didn’t see deer – or anything else. With the cooler weather – 47 to 55 yesterday – the deer move to warmth and shelter -- maybe in the canyon or maybe just out of sight in a protected area..

Neighbors came in mid-morning to compare hunting notes. Their hunting style is different from Mike’s, who pretty much stays in one place and waits. These guys wait but also move around. Three guys were riding a 4-wheeler while one followed on a small “dual sport” dirt bike.

Conversation eventually turned to elk. “Oh, I’ll get one for sure,” said Neighbor I. “We see them all the time.”

Really?

 

“There’s a large herd in the canyon,” said Neighbor II. Perhaps a hundred head, he added. They’ve been run out of the North Fork (Clearwater) area, they surmised – by wolves. And by the way, did we know there are wolves here on the ridge? A pack of five.

We haven’t seen elk or wolves. But Tuesday morning, lying quietly in bed, we heard an elk bugle.


[Photo 1: Son Clint and Mike looking over their hunting site. Photo 2: The farmhouse from the old Plank place. Photo 3: Southward from the south field. The reason I took the picture was the snow on the mountains, which doesn't really show up.] KW

CHANGES

The change from daylight savings to standard time is always difficult. Seems like my inner clock is just out of whack and we do everything late. Mike had a nice solution for the first day (Sunday). We went to the second matinee of Secretariat, which started at 3:30 (4:30 by the inner clock). Evening movie times don't work well for us – usually something like 6:15 and 9:15. The dark and rainy afternoon was perfect for taking in a movie and then we picked up a Papa Murphy's calzone for supper.

Today we headed to the farm as soon as breakfast was over. We had an appointment to meet a workman there, and all of that was taken care of. Mike took advantage of the light-filled east dormer and sturdy table in order to do some leatherwork. I enjoyed some quiet hours of reading before the fire.

And I watched the weather. It was 39 when we got there and I never saw the temperature above 40. By 2:30, it had dropped to 37 with a wind chill of 25. I watched the storm roll in and took some pictures.

When I took the first pictures, photo ops seemed rather lackluster, but soon the sun began to cast an eerie light over the prairie, playing through the clouds. 

 Here's an example of eeriness. Everything has a shadow -- even me! Note that the maple tree is beginning to look bare. If you look closely, you can just make out the rainbow.

Here's a better picture of the rainbow. See how the sunlight shines on the field from the southwest while the northern sky is dark with a storm.


We left the farm about 3:15. None too soon. An icy rain commenced that was nearly snow as we turned off Curfman Road. That didn't last long. Intermittent showers were rain. No rain in Lewiston. That's the way elevation works.

STORMY WEATHER . . .

". . . wave upon wave of showers across the Northwest," the weather lady was saying as I surfed through The Weather Channel last Monday. Seems like they seldom talk about the Great Inland Northwest, probably owing to the fact that not many of us live here and our weather is usually not extreme. I took her report with a grain of salt. Often the storms do not materialize in our area.

But we have had shower upon shower since coming to the farm on Tuesday. Since we can see a lot of sky, we have watched the storms as they move through, some of them hitting us, some of them not. Yesterday morning (Thursday), we got up to what appeared to be a decent day. "Let's take advantage of this window of opportunity to thatch the trees," Mike said. I wasn't so sure there was an adequate window. Sure enough – these first photos show the storm that hit about 15 minutes later. By watching the sky and choosing our moments, we were eventually able to care for the trees. I even spied one little seedling tree lying on the ground – evidently an escapee from Mike's sack of trees as we planted. It appeared no worse for wear and Mike planted it.

Just after 4:00 p.m., a big storm hit, and we were glad for the safety of the house. Mike's weather station showed an actual temp of 39 while the wind chill was 20.7. The wind blew at an average of 29.5 mph with the maximum gust at 38.9. At 4:20, the electricity went off and was out about an hour. Mike called our rural provider, Clearwater Power, and was advised that the wind blew down a tree near Stoddard Electric on Riverside (Orofino) and that because of the back-up of traffic on the highway they were as yet unable to make the necessary repair. She wouldn't provide a timeframe for restoration.

I decided it was time to think like my grandmother. In the event that electricity would be off into the night, what did I need to do while I could see to get around the house? A kerosene lantern was ready, and I found some candles in a drawer and inserted them into holders. I chuckled to myself as I thought of Mother. She hoarded candles and I always thought that was a habit from the days when electricity was undependable. Candles and matches are an important part of preparedness. Mike ascertained that he could light our gas stove manually and a fire burned cheerily in the fireplace. So, we would have light, heat, and a way to fix food. No matter, though – the electricity was on about 5:20.

Today the weather is still unsettled, though we have had no rain. KW