Stoneage Ramblings

By John R. Stone

Maybe it’s my advanced age, but it seems our springs are getting weirder and weirder.

A few years ago, it seemed we were starting to get spring in March and most of us thought that was pretty nice. Then that changed and we were getting multiple snowstorms in April.

It used to be that temperatures bumped up gradually as spring came and went down gradually as fall turned to winter. Now it seems to me that we go up or drop in 20-degree increments. In the spring we go from the 40s to 60s and then to the 80s and in the fall, we go from the 60s to 40s and then to the 20s.

I offer no science to back this up, just my casual observations.

One of my observation marks is when the golf course opens. This year it wasn’t until April 28.

It was just weird this spring to drive around and see untouched farm fields, I mean until late May or early June. In fact in mid-June you could drive around and it was rare to see any crop that was more than 3” out of the ground.

         

  -0- 

High lake levels on Lake Minnewaska have also created issues for people.

In Glenwood we see 4th Street NW flooded. The high lake levels mean the storm sewer that normally drains that area and empties into Lake Minnewaska has backed up. The level of water you see is the level of water in the lake.

We’ve had several events this spring where high winds have raised havoc with trees, boat docks and boat lifts. Some were really twisted and messed up.

Water levels do go up and down. Last year was a dry year and levels went down so far that folks were taking their boats out in August because lake levels dropped to a point they couldn’t get them out of their lifts.

Now people are parking pontoons and boats close to shore because they couldn’t get boats and pontoons into lifts if they were in too deep of water.

I played golf at Minnewaska Golf Club on Friday, June 24. The maintenance crew was watering greens and fairways because it was dry and some areas were looking burned out, not a nice look for a golf course.

Then it rained later Saturday and early Sunday, and everything looked green come Monday. I measured an inch here in Glenwood, a much-needed inch of rain at that. It seemed that farm fields looked much better Sunday as well.

-0-

Recently I was talking with a man who lived in the pathway of the tornado that hit Forada. It continued toward Nelson near where this person lives.

He was telling me a 2”x8” board came through the outer wall of the house and stuck into a bedroom wall. Nobody was in its pathway to be injured or killed. A 2”x4” board penetrated the insulated wall of one of his outbuildings.

Five windows in the house were shattered by winds and debris. The glass landed in the carpet and getting glass splinters out of carpet is nearly impossible. So, he has removed the carpet and has been using pliers to pull all the staples that held the carpet from the flooring. Otherwise, it was hard to walk on the floors. The windows? Replacements won’t be in until late September at the earliest. In the meantime, plywood covers the window holes.

We drove through the Forada area recently. What had been a nice tree lined shoreline is vastly different today. Hopefully most of those affected are able to repair or rebuild.

We still have a couple of months of summer left. Here’s hoping for no more storms, enough rainfall to keep our lawns and crops green and growing but not so much that it interferes with other activities. Oh, and temperatures warm enough to make things grow but not so hot they make us uncomfortable.