Winter blessings from the river—rain

It is winter and in some rebellious act of nature the temperature outside is in the 20s and it is raining. How is this possible? Shouldn’t  it be snowing? Maybe this is another example of quantum physics. The result is affected by the one observing; we need rain! Or the result of the Space Station soaring overhead. I’m wondering if I’ve discovered Nature is alive and capable of reacting...

It's winter and the river is running fast and clear ... 

I’m sitting within 3 feet of the fire in my wood stove, wearing layers of clothes, generating on my laptop and waiting for the house to warm up enough to move my chair back.

Every square millimeter of earth is a watershed

The Scenic Illinois River Canyon in the wake of the 1997 New Years Day storm.

In his wonderful book, The Habit of Rivers: Reflections on Trout Streams and Fly Fishing, Ted Leeson writes that:

Illinois River swinging bridge, a bit of history

There's been a series of foot bridges spanning the Illinois River just upstream of the confluence of Rancherie Creek and the McCaleb Ranch. This is a scan from a 1949 guide book to Southern Oregon.

From Guide to Southern Oregon 1949. Click to enlarge.