Mist rising off recently rain-moistened moss
The 2022 Water Year ended on September 30th, with a precipitation total of 56.51" for our area. This is approximately 10" less than our normal precipitation average, or about 85%. The drought is definitely still here. However, this week we received 1.78" of rain, and significantly more is predicted for this coming week!!!
This week I was busy putting on a "Damp Earth Art Show" (see more info below) so that, combined with the welcome rain, limited my time outdoors. My husband and I did take a short walk on the Canyon Creek Trail where we witnessed mists rising off the newly moistened moss covered trees.
It was so incredibly beautiful to watch, I made a move! Enjoy!
Due to the recent rains, the local Dendroalsia Moss has been rejuvenated and is gloriously lush and green again! I'm so looking forward to another season of examining and learning more about them!
Most of the ferns are also thriving in this colder, wet weather. I'm going to hopefully find a fern gametophyte this winter, and who know what else in these lush green winter gardens!
First Place - "The Great Equalizer" - ©Mary Hurst 2022
Damp Earth Art Show
These past few months, I have been working in conjunction with the Sierra County Arts Council to put on a Damp Earth Art Show in our local town. on Saturday, Nov. 5th. The director of the Arts Council, B.J. Jordan, coordinated all the publicity in the local papers and on the Arts Council website, sierracountyartscouncil.org., made a heated building available for the show, had the display panels put up, and donated $600 in prize money!!! The art show was part of a "North Yuba River Day", that was put on by the Sierra County Arts Council. In addition to the art show, they held an environmental forum on the North Yuba River watershed, sponsored a fly-fishing demonstration, arranged for the South Yuba River Citizens League to hold a short environmental film festival in the Yuba Theater, followed by a showing of a film about the local newspaper editor, Carl Butz, called "Carl Runs the Paper." It was quite a day!!
Second Place - "Yuba" - ©Kimi Barnes 2022
Third Place - "Helping Hand" - ©Bobby Wheeler 2022
I received art from 43 different artists, from 15 different cities (mostly local but several from the Bay Area)! The mediums represented were acrylic paintings, watercolors, oils, photographs, ceramics, fabric, felted and naturally-dyed wool, glass paint, wood, and an assemblage of natural and man-made found objects! Over 100 people attended the show during the course of the 4 hour period it was open! The Sierra County Arts Council donated $300 for the First Place Award, $200 for the Second Place Award, and $100 for the Third Place Award!!! We got rave reviews the whole day, and lots of requests to hold a show again next year! It was a very fun, wonderful day!
"After the Rain" - ©Katie O'Hara-Kelly 2022
To top it off it RAINED the whole day of the show!!! I've been featuring a Damp Earth Art blog (dampearthart.blogspot.com), within this blog for several years, in which I have solicited for "rain art" from my readers. The idea behind the Damp Earth Art blog is that with our collective wishes and hopes, along with art, photographs, and poetry , we might help rain to fall! Who knows if it helps, but positive thought never hurts!
"Winter Wrens" - ©Katie O'Hara-Kelly 2022
I wasn't in the Damp Earth Art Show, but I was inspired to create the two pieces pictured directly above. If you get inspired to create "rain art" please send it to me, at northyubanaturalist@gmail.com and I'll post it on my Damp Earth Art blog.
Oriole Nest - North Yuba River
What's happening on the river?
What insects are still out and about?
Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!
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