After a week of heavy rains, chilly mist and boggy landscapes throughout the American Midwest, we have escaped to the relatively dry, sunny refuge of our Littleton, Colorado, farm. En route, we crossed the flooded Missouri River, which has spilled across its floodplain, and the Kansas River, which is lapping the top of its banks. On my side trip to Ohio, I had also encountered flooding along all of the major streams, including the Kaskaskia, the Wabash, the Kentucky and the Ohio River itself. Leaving the luxuriant but soggy landscape in central Kansas, we gradually climbed into the semi-arid province of the High Plains; nearing Limon, we endured one final onslaught of precipitation as a massive supercell crossed our path.
Though numerous broken limbs and a sluggish start to leafing attest to the recent snows and cold weather along Colorado's Front Range, the dry air and sunny skies are a welcome change. We may have to dodge afternoon thunderstorms over the coming week but the steady rains and humid air of the East are relatively unknown at this longitude and elevation. Of course, luxuriant greenery is also lacking but I am inclined to trade the verdant foliage for the crisp air and hard-edged scenery of a Western landscape.
The recent tree damage should provide plenty of work during our visit but the weather is expected to cooperate. Under the deep blue Colorado sky, heavy snows still blanket the Front Range peaks, the South Platte is running high, the farm offers its many diversions and my soul will be recharged.
