As I said a day or two ago, these are probably the last announcements to go on the front page, and I’ve already started to post USFS press releases on that page, and announcements, while they might be mentioned here, will shortly all go to the announcement page to the right. This happens every year when we get into spring and more and more events are planned. But these two deserve mentioning.

Celebrate the coming of Earth Day in Big Sur with dinner and a great movie, Thursday, April 5 at 6:30pm.
Members of B-SAGE (Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment), who’s mission is to “Educate ourselves and others on living a sustainable lifestyle,” and the Big Sur Grange are showing the Hope Dance film, 2012: A Time for Change on Thursday, April 5, at the Big Sur Grange in Big Sur Valley. This film’s theme; From Conscious Evolution to Practical Solutions, presents an optimistic alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom and will be introduced by Bob Banner, founder of Hope Dance Films.
The monthly Grange potluck will be at 6:30 p.m. Bring a dish to share and your own place setting. The movie will start at 7:00 and a $10.00 donation is requested for the movie, however no one will be turned away. Come out to visit and enjoy this intriguing movie.
Also, on April 21st and 22nd, Big Sur businesses and organizations will be offering special promotions and profiling their sustainable practices for the Earth Day Weekend Celebration. Watch local media outlets for more information, contact B-SAGE at: http://www.facebook.com/BSAGEbuzz or phone 831.667.8823.
Dinner and a great movie-Thursday, April 5, 2012. Potluck dinner at Big Sur Grange, Hwy 1, Big Sur, 6:30. Movie at 7:00. $10.00.
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From Pacific Valley School PTO:
If you know anyone that would be interested in signing up for a booth space please forward this to them.
This years’ Spring Tide Arts and Crafts Festival will be held April 21, 2012. 10 am to 6 pm
Vendor set-up will be from 8 am to 10 am the day of the event.

The Festival is sponsored by the Pacific Valley Parent Teacher Organization and held outdoors at Pacific Valley School. This years proceeds will fund a grant to be awarded to Scholar/Athletes Fiona and Lily Buzzard to further their volleyball education and activities.

Registration fees to reserve a 10’ x 10’ space are $50 before April 12. Fees will increase to $65 the week prior to the event.

Checks should be made out to Pacific Valley PTO and mailed to:

Spring Tide Festival
HC 67 BOX 1796
Big Sur, CA 93920 … or hand delivered to the school office

Any questions should be directed to springtide@wildblue.net

Wow, what a day this has been! Not only am I not “feeding the fire” I am sitting with several doors and windows open. Talk about confusing the flowers! Unbelievably clear and blue – with snow melted in all but the shadiest of north-facing spots. There is still snow on Cone Peak, but its level creeps upward throughout the day. What a wonderful way to spend the first full day of Spring – watching the snow on Cone Peak recede. Hope your day was as pleasant.

And here, finally, is this morning’s view of Cone Peak. Isn’t she lovely?

I’ve decided that raising a fire is about as attention-demanding as raising a puppy. Don’t get me wrong. I love, love, LOVE my wood stove. Never want to be without it, any more than I want to be without my dogs. But I have to tell you, I’ve done little else but take care of it the last few days. I started a fire on Thursday, and it hasn’t gone out, yet. Yes, it has been that cold up here. Freezing temps, which is kind of necessary to produce all the lovely snow. It’s a good thing for me that for some inexplicable reason, cutting wood is one of Rock Knocker’s favorite pastimes … right behind eating and you-know-what. Whenever he can, he just loves to cut wood. Fortunately for me, I have lots of downed dead oak limbs, from various wind storms, and some dead madrone, and sundry other available sources of joy for him. No live trees are ever harmed in pursuing his passion. He wouldn’t dare. He knows these Valley Oaks are my living relatives. Pine … not so much. But pine is not good for wood stoves. They serve only three purposes, as far as I can tell. One, lovely pinecones; two, nice smell; three, they go up like Roman candles in a wildfire.

And on a slightly different note: “The vernal equinox will occur 10:14 p.m. tonight, marking the start of spring. Ironically, the region experienced some of the most unsettled weather of the winter this weekend with widespread hail, heavy rain, gale force winds and reports of snow.” (This from my weatherman in San Luis Obispo.) I guess I will see my first Spring snow, a week after I saw my first Winter snow! He also had this to say: “Another cold front will pass the Central Coast on Saturday with rain and more unsettled weather. Rain will turn to showers on Sunday with snow levels dropping to about 3,000-feet.”

Okay, that’s today’s post. I may add a lovely photo of Cone Peak bathed in snow later, as the sun is shining, and I got a couple shots off while it is. I have a couple announcements, but soon, I will have to move them to the announcement page, as the number of requests I am getting is going up as tourist season approaches. Time to go feed the fire, again.

At 11:00 am it started to snow, again. I imagine it will be like this all day. Nice day to do practically nothing!

I am snowed in, happily, and it is a gorgeous winter wonderland here. I have photos, and as soon as I have power, I will upload them. Give me an hour, so I can get the fire going, the dogs taken care of, and a few cups of coffee sucked down. So beautiful!

Here’s one:

It is not the best photo, as I had to shoot through the sliding glass door, as it was frozen shut. Also, this was the one and only moment of sunshine. I am socked in at the moment.

Here is another, more to come:

Here is the current NOAA forecast discussion for this morning:

AS OF 9:15 AM PDT SUNDAY…COLD SHOWERY CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CWA TODAY. RADAR SHOWS POCKETS OF ACTIVITY MOSTLY OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. WE HAV RECEIVED A FEW REPORTS OF SMALL HAIL AND EVEN SNOW ACCUMULATION JUST UNDER 1500 FEET. DID ISSUE A FORECAST UPDATE TO DROP THE SNOW LEVELS AND INCREASE BOTH SNOWFALL TOTALS AND COVERAGE FOR SNOW. DID ALSO UPDATE THE WINDS TO REFLECT THE BLUSTERY CONDITIONS OVER THE HILLS AND ALONG THE COAST. WITH 925 MB SPEEDS FORECAST TO PEAK LATE THIS MORNING AND GRADUALLY DISSIPATE INTO THE EVENING…WOULD EXPECT THE STRONGEST WINDS TO BE OVER THE NEXT 5-8 HOURS. SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOULD ALSO BE ON THE DECREASE THROUGH THE DAY AS NVA MOVES INTO OUR AREA. STILL SOME INSTABILITY AROUND (POCKETS OF LIFTED VALUES AT OR BELOW ZERO) SO WILL KEEP A MENTION OF SCATTERED SHOWERS GOING THIS AFTERNOON.

7:30 pm – the snow has finally accumulated but it is too dark to get a decent photo. If it keeps up, I’ll be sure to post one in the morning.

4:00 pm – seems to be a break in the weather. The sky is lighter, it isn’t raining or snowing, but there is still wind. Snow still accumulated on my Jeep, and north-facing areas, but the rest is pretty much clear.

2:00 pm – the snow started in earnest, and accumulation is occurring. Wind is up to 25 mph, gusting above that, outside temperature is 33 degrees. The snow flakes are quarter-sized to half-dollar sized, now. Maybe before dark, I can get a really nice photo. But here is a 2 o’clock shot. Wow, now at 2:30 pm, it is really coming down. Tomorrow morning should be spectacular, if not later this afternoon!

Noon – finally, all my morning chores are done and I am settled in for the day. While I was out, taking care of power, it started slushing – combination of rain and snow. Thank goodness I had put on this hooded rain jacket the wonderful guys at NOAA in Monterey had given me, and the wool gloves and hat I got in New Zealand.

This is my favorite spot in the house, today or any cold day. My friend Vilia (click on her name to go to her personal website) found that wonderful old oak rocking chair for me, and it is getting a lot of use lately!

It just might be time to get my book and sit in front of the fire for a while.

10:00 am – First, lots of comments coming in on the photo contest finalists below, so make sure to add your voice.

Second, it looks like I got about 3 and 1/2 inches of rain yesterday and last night – I’ll update this later, when I go outside to dump the gauge, as I am going on a visual from the front door right now.

Third, I had the beginnings of snow when I checked at 9:30 am, and then again at 10:00 am. I’ll be watching for the accumulation, of course, but that hasn’t really began, yet.

Last, I am trying to get my fire going, having some coffee, and then I’ll be braving the elements to get the genie started for the day (cant wait to install solar) so I can get internet more reliably and report as needed throughout the day. I checked the CHP site, and no reports of problems on Highway One in Big Sur, although one problem in Santa Cruz and one in King City. I’ll keep an eye out once my chores are finished. Have a great St. Patrick’s Day, everyone, and be safe and warm. Now to get the wood stove stoked up a tad.

9:30 pm – serious, but short-lived downpour just a moment ago.

Also, 101 is flooding in Monterey County:
“9:32 PM 2 75B ADV NB AND SB LNS 2-3 FEET DEEP APPROX 300 -400 OF RDWY IS FLOODED
9:31 PM 1 EXTENSIVE FLOODING SB 101 JNO TUSTIN
Unit Information
9:31 PM 1 CHP Unit Assigned”

And this very telling, for me, NOAA forecast discussion just released: “SNOW LEVELS ARE FORECAST TO DROP TO 2500 FEET ON SATURDAY AND THEN AS LOW AS 2000 FEET ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. IF THE NAM AND GFS ARE CORRECT…THERE WILL BE LITTLE CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE HILLS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA (ASIDE FROM THE SOUTHERN DIABLO RANGE) SINCE LITTLE OR NO PRECIP IS FORECAST. SNOW IS MORE LIKELY SOUTH…IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MONTEREY AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES. ACCUMULATION IS LIKELY ABOVE 2000 FEET AND THERE COULD BE UP TO 6 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION OVER THE WEEKEND IN THE SANTA LUCIAS ABOVE 2500 FEET.

HEY! I’m above 2500 ft! AND I’m in the Santa Lucias. I might have a fun weekend.

5:00 pm – the mud, rock, and dirt slides have started in Santa Cruz County. This first one is on Empire Grade. No reports of problems at this point on Highway One.

THE FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE BAY AREA AROUND THE EVENING RUSH AND DOWN TO MONTEREY BAY TONIGHT. BEHIND THE FRONT MUCH COLDER AIR WILL RUSH IN HELPING TO DROP SNOW LEVELS TO UNDER 2000 FEET IN SPOTS (IN FACT IT WOULD NOT BE A BIG SURPRISE IF A RAIN/SNOW MIX GETS DOWN TO AROUND 1500 FEET). WITH THE COLD CORE LOW PROJECTED TO BE OVERHEAD EVEN A FEW WATERSPOUTS ARE NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION. SMALL HAIL IS A DEFINITELY POSSIBILITY DOWN TO VERY LOW LEVELS.

THIS FRONT IS FORECAST TO ARRIVE LATER THIS AFTERNOON IN THE NORTH BAY AND QUICKLY MOVE TO THE SOUTH ACROSS THE DISTRICT THROUGH THE EVENING AND OVERNIGHT….HEAVY RAIN IS NOT EXPECTED TO PERSIST IN ANY ONE AREA FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. BUT EVEN A SHORT DURATION OF HEAVY RAIN WILL LIKELY RESULT IN LOCAL STREET AND HIGHWAY FLOODING IN LOW-LYING AREAS. ALSO…AREAS IN THE COASTAL MOUNTAIN RANGES THAT HAVE SEEN LOCALLY AS MUCH AS A FOOT OF RAIN SINCE TUESDAY ARE NOW MUCH MORE PRONE TO MINOR MUDSLIDE AND DEBRIS FLOWS…AS WELL AS RAPID RISES ON SMALL STREAMS AND CREEKS…THAN THEY WERE EARLIER IN THE WEEK. HOWEVER…SIGNIFICANT HYDRO ISSUES ARE NOT ANTICIPATED DUE TO THE EXPECTED SHORT DURATION OF THE HEAVY RAIN RATES.

Obviously, if there is any serious snow that is photo worthy, I will post. For now, I need to bring in more wood, finish bringing things in from the Jeep, and otherwise get ready for what is coming.

This afternoon’s NOAA forecast discussion says Santa Cruz mountains are getting hammered. NEXRAD shows no rain for Big Sur:

.DISCUSSION…AS OF 2:32 PM PDT TUESDAY…STEADY RAIN CONTINUES TO
FALL ACROSS THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF THE DISTRICT WITH THE SANTA
CRUZ MOUNTAINS STILL RECEIVING THE LION`S SHARE. THE SCOTT CREEK
AUTOMATED GAUGE AND THE BEN LOMAND RAWS HAVE BOTH RECEIVED THE MOST
RAIN WITH OVER 3.5 INCHES AT THOSE LOCATIONS OVER THE PAST 24
HOURS. AS THE RAIN BAND CONTINUES TO MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHWARD…EXPECT
THE MODERATE/HEAVY RAIN RATES TO CONTINUE IN THE SANTA CRUZ
MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT…TAPERING OFF BY WEDNESDAY MORNING.
ADDITIONAL RAINFALL EXPECTED THROUGH 12Z WEDNESDAY…NORTH BAY AND
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA: ANOTHER 0.5 – 1 INCH…SANTA CRUZ
MOUNTAINS: 2-4 INCHES…AND MONTEREY/SAN BENITO COUNTIES: 1/4 – 1
INCH.

THIS SYSTEM WILL FINALLY EXIT THE DISTRICT TO THE SOUTH WEDNESDAY
MORNING. THE NEXT ONE IN LINE WILL BEGIN SPREADING RAIN ACROSS THE
NORTH BAY BY THURSDAY MORNING…THEN SLOWLY SAG SOUTHWARD ACROSS
THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA OVER THE NEXT 24 HOURS. AT THIS TIME THIS
SECOND STORM DOES NOT LOOK TO BE AS WET BY THE TIME IT REACHES OUR
CWA…BUT EVEN SO WILL STILL SPREAD FROM 1-3 INCHES…WITH THE
HIGHEST AMOUNTS EXPECTED IN THE NORTH BAY.

A THIRD ORGANIZED SYSTEM IS PROGGED TO MOVE MORE QUICKLY THROUGH
THE AREA ON FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING
SIMILAR RAINFALL AMOUNTS TO THE AREA AS THE SECOND…WITH THE
NORTH BAY MOUNTAINS ONCE AGAIN EXPECTED TO RECEIVE THE MOST.

BY SATURDAY THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH IS FORECAST TO DEEPEN AND DROP
SOUTHWARD ALONG THE WEST COAST. THIS WILL USHER IN MUCH COOLER
TEMPERATURES AND CHANGE THE RAIN TYPE FROM STRATIFORM TO MORE
CONVECTIVE IN NATURE. IN ADDITION…THE POSSIBILITY FOR THUNDER IS
HEIGHTENED AS THE UPPER LOW CENTER IS POSITIONED OFF THE BAY AREA
COAST. SNOW LEVELS ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO LOWER CONSIDERABLY…TO
THE 2000-3000 FOOT RANGE…SO SHOWERS THAT OCCUR IN THE HIGHER
TERRAIN COULD BE IN THE FORM OF SNOW.

You’re Invited!
What: FireScape Monterey’s Workshop #5: Action Planning
Where: Big Sur Lodge at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park 47225 Highway One. Big Sur, CA
When: March 13-14, 2012
•Tuesday, March 13, meet at 8:30 AM in the Big Sur Lodge parking lot.
•Wednesday, March 14, meet at 9:00 AM in the Big Sur Lodge.
RSVP: Please RSVP by Friday, March 9th. Register online: http://firescape.ning.com or contact Mary Huffman: mhuffman@tnc.org

This is the fifth workshop in FireScape Monterey’s six-part series using the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation. This two-day event will start with a field trip to recently completed fuel reduction treatments in the Big Sur area. Indoor work will include exploring strategies and case studies related to potential actions that FireScape Monterey could work toward implementing in the future. Please join us!

Save the dates for Workshop #6!
April 24-25, 2012. Details coming soon.
What is FireScape Monterey? FireScape Monterey is a collaborative group that promotes protection of both life and property affected by wildfire and healthy resilient ecosystems through collaborative stewardship of the Northern Santa Lucia Mountains and the Monterey Coast. For more information, please join our website at http://firescape.ning.com. FireScape Monterey is one of 56 landscape collaborations in the US Fire Learning Network.

On Thursday, February 16, 2012, Cal-Trans flew in a helicopter to assist in laying out the metal “drapery” or netting used in more and more locations along Highway One to keep rocks from “raining” down on the highway. This particular location is notorious for that problem. Thanks to reader Nicole LaRoche, you, too can see this endeavor. On behalf of all my readers, thanks! (BTW you made my life so easy by just sending your best two!)

Sorry I have been absent much of February, so far. As many of you are aware, I have been wrestling with a grunge that is going around, and doing much of anything, other than sleep, was a challenge there for a while.