Douglas Fir Blossoms

When I was walking in the canyon this week, I noticed reddish tips on the branches of a number of Douglas fir trees. At first I thought it was an insect infestation—spruce budworm perhaps. But when I got close enough to remove part of a branch, I realized that they were cone blossoms. That is probably the wrong word, but out of the tiny buds were emerging bright red blossoms that will eventually make cones.

Ecological Rescue

Every so often, when Rural Ways is walking in the hills, we will bring home a native plant to try growing it at The Homestead. Yesterday, I found a small pinyon pine growing in the berm pushed up by a grader working the road in Dry Canyon. The pinyon is now in the ground at The Homestead. By the letter of the law, this is probably not correct. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has responsibility for that particular piece of ground and they undoubtedly require a permit for live plant removal. I did not have a permit. My justification is that plants growing on the City of Parowan's pipeline right-of-way, which this one was, are not managed or protected by the BLM. They are, in fact, unwanted. The City maintains its road and pipeline by digging, grading, cutting, and driving. Plants growing on the pipeline are subject to destruction at any time. So, by bring home a sprout, I am engaging in ecological rescue. How heroic!

Two Pear

This morning, the orchard at The Homestead consisted of two apples, one pear, two hazelnuts, one almond, one peach, and seven plums. It sounds more impressive than it is. Many of the trees were planted as bare root seedlings, and they are not much taller than your knee. When production is good we get some apples, a few pears, and a bunch of sour plums. In an effort to upgrade that output, I bought two larger trees today at Home Depot. They were less than $20 each and had actual leaves like real trees. I guess we'll see how they do, the root balls don't necessarily look promising. One of the trees was a pear. The other was a pear, too. Which means that I bought a pair of pears.

Watermelon Season

When I got up this morning, I noticed the snow plows from the state DOT shed headed up Parowan Canyon. They were full of sand and salt, and had the orange lights turning. It is currently 34F, and I've been splitting and hauling wood for the stove. The image (at left) is a real time view of our tomato crop. A few minutes ago, Valerie asked, "Do you think it was a mistake to plant the watermelons last weekend?"

A Flora of Southern Utah

At Rural Ways we are currently working on a new publication called "Plants of Southern Utah, Research Guide." The lead author is Ms. Ellen D, and each entry comes with a sample of the actual plant for comparison to any specimen you might find in the field. Yesterday, we discovered the small yellow flowers of a blooming Oregon grape, as well as some kind of white-ish monkeyflower. The entry in the picture (at left) is from a Symphoricarpus oreophilus wearing its fall colors. At least, we think its a Symphoricarpus, but we're not really sure. Any future purchasers of the volume should be aware that the identifications are not considered authoritative.

Gas Heater Results

In January, Rural Ways blogged about our helpful neighbors, and their donation of a gas fired heater for The Homestead's kitchen. Now it is time for a report on its efficiency. We ran the heater when necessary for approximately four months, January through April. Our energy costs over that period were about $23 or $24 dollars less than what we paid last year, but approximately $23 more than what we paid in 2009 (see chart). So, is the heater an improvement or not?

While not providing a huge cost savings, there are two things to note about the data. First, the winter of 2011 was quite a bit colder than average. The average temperature for the first four months of this year was 35.9F. The long term average for the months of January through April is 38.8F. Second, our indoor comfort level was significantly higher this winter as compared to the past two years. We had indoor temperatures of high fifties and low sixties in the kitchen this winter; whereas, last year, it was not uncommon for the kitchen to be in the high thirties and low forties.

Looking at it that way, I would say that the heater is a big improvement. Even if our energy costs have not gone down significantly, enjoying a comfortable house during one of the colder winters on record without paying more for it counts as an improvement in my view.

Fire Free

I once mentioned that my brother-in-law marks his spring by counting "fire free" days, or "fuel free" days, I can't remember which. These are the first warm days of the season when the wood stove is not required. I know that, during the cold spring of 2010, we burned all the way through April and part way into May before we had our first fire free day. Unfortunately, I forgot to note the exact date. This year, I've got a date. Yesterday, May 7th was the first fire free day of 2011 at Rural Ways. And, was it ever. Our thermometer stopped at 84F. Too hot for me. Of course, we need only wait one day to ameliorate the overheating: Snow is forecast for tomorrow.

Spruces

It was hot, dry, and windy today at Parowan's tree nursery. I was watering some of the seedlings and decided that most of the spruce trees in the nursery didn't look too good. I went around and soaked them with the hose until each one was practically standing in a pond. That is probably not the way to do it either, but then I got to thinking about spruces. Whenever you see a conifer tree encroaching on a wet meadow or a riparian area in the real world, what kind of tree is it? It is usually a spruce. They don't seem to be as sensitive as other trees to an over-soggy environment. In southern Utah, you will often see Engelmann, or even Colorado blue spruces with their roots in the creek. In the Black Hills of South Dakota, where I made this picture, it is the white spruce trees that tend to be in the damp meadows watered by ephemeral creeks. I even got to thinking about the black spruces that grow on floating mats in the bogs of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. We're not going to grow our nursery trees in a bog, but it might be that the spruces could do with a little more water than the others.

Cannonville, Utah

Same weekend; same weather. Last year, when we did our mini-tour of the canyons around Cannonville, it was cold and snowy. This year, it didn't snow, but the north wind was cutting and the temps dropped into the twenties. Once again, we had three kids. This time, in addition to Ellen, it was Noah and Lydia Koslowski. And, once again, we had two kabins at the KOA. With overnight wind chills in the teens, I, for one, did not regret four walls and a roof.

On Saturday morning we drove over to Rock Springs Creek. The sun was high and, by the time we started hiking in the canyon, it was warming up. The families walked and talked together for a while, and then Kass and I made a dash for the Paria. We made it before 1p and had a few minutes to gawp. It is an outstanding river canyon, and I was tempted to start for Big Water on foot. Instead, we hustled back to the trucks and joined everyone for lunch.

After lunch, we drove our way out to the end of Between the Creeks Road. Leaving the trucks, we walked out to the point overlooking the confluence of Sheep Creek and the Paria. What can one say? That is simply one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The view is from Powell Point to the Kiabab Plateau right down the gut of the Paria. Just big, rugged, empty, ugly, silent country. What else do you need?

Well, dinner, for one. So, we went back to Cannonville and I cooked the ravioli while the girls took a shower. The north wind was still going, but we stuck with it long enough for a little time around the campfire and a slab of dutch oven brownies. In the morning, we made the run to Grosvenor, which I will probably not do again. It was good to share it with the Koslowskis, but the drive-by-killers in their rented sport utes were out in force, and they can ruin anything.

On our way back to Parowan, we looked at each other and said, "Well, we're not really backpackers, but it might be nice to strap 'em on and walk down Willis to Sheep, and on to the Paria, and all the way to, well, Lee's Ferry."

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