any day now
The robins are getting fat on drowned earthworms, and the fragrance of chokecherry and crabapple blossoms fills the air. On East Gros Ventre Butte, it’s as if someone spilled streaks of yellow paint down every nook and gully, the bunches of balsam root are so abundant.
Looking out the window in mid-June and seeing this view is more than one can bear. We’re only a week away from summer, and yet we never really had any spring.
This valley is about to explode — with wildflowers, runoff, and mosquitoes. A little sunshine, and the frenzy will be on for the longest days of the year.
It’s been a long time since we had a spring like this one. 1996 and 1997 were cold and wet, but by now the Snake River had crested after a wave of heat.
I am reminded of 1993, the year of the infamous Fourth of July snowstorm that dumped a foot in the Tetons. Summer did not arrive until mid-July that year, and lasted but four or five weeks. There was a slew of mountaineering accidents on the high peaks and passes of Grand Teton park.
Springs like these teach us patience. The water is a blessing, for we live in a desert. Over at TetonAT, they’re still skiing Mount Glory and reaping the bounty.
Still, I’m ready for summer.
Explore posts in the same categories: weather, environment
June 13th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Thank you for making life in Texas–over 90 degrees every day for the past month–seem not only bearable but downright sweeeeeeet.