Fall has Arrived

Sunday marked the official first day of fall for 2013. It’s about time. Summer was long, warm, and, oddly, wet. There were fires, but anymore I expect them during the summer. What I didn't expect was all the rain. That rain led to floods and mudslides in the Clockum and other canyons around the area. The scope of the damage seems surprising at first. But that’s only until you consider the fires from this year and last. Without vegetation the hills had nothing to help soak up the water and hold the soil in place, so down it came—over, under, and through everything in its way.

I say good riddance to summer. It's time for cooler temperatures, shorter days, and changing leaves. Personally, I love fall. I love the smell of damp earth after a quick downpour or a light drizzle. I love wading through a pile of freshly raked leaves.

This time of year always brings to mind apples for me. Harvest is in full swing, and fresh fruit is easily found in abundance. Just stop in at a local fruit stand or the farmer’s market.

All the kids wanted to get in on the action at Salmonfest.

The 23^rd annual Wenatchee River Salmon Festival was held last weekend and it seemed to be a good success. Cascadia ran the Rolling Rivers watershed model, and eight different school groups came by for scheduled sessions during the two school days, Thursday and Friday. Saturday was a free-for-all with kids and adults alike stopping by to put their hands in the plastic sand and create watersheds and salmon habitat. At the end of three days, I’m hoping that the few hundred kids learned at least something about the importance of healthy watersheds and the salmon that live in them.

A beautiful sunny morning. This photo would work great for the contest.

Fall is a great time to go out and take some pictures. Head up into the hills and capture some photos of the mountains with the patches of yellow from the western larch, one of the few conifers that drops its needles for the winter. Find an apple orchard and take some pictures of the branches laden with colorful fruit. Hit the trails and snap a picture of a large buck flashing his antlers. And once you get back with your multitude of photos head over to www.picturethewenatchee.com and submit them for the 2013 Picture the Wenatchee photo contest. The top two pictures from each category will end up in Cascadia’s 2014 stewardship calendar. Be quick about it though. The contest closes October 1^st. 


Tune in next week for another inspiring article. I hope to spend the next few weeks covering topics that have something to do with the new fall season.

Josh