An ark, anyone?

I work for an agency that measures snow in the wintertime. Believe me when I say that it is NOT just because we enjoy abandoning our stale, germ-infested offices for mountains that actually exude minty fresh breath, but because it is our DUTY to forecast water. We are the folks who brave avalanches, blizzards, arctic cold temperatures, and 11,000-foot elevations with two-foot wide trails on rugged cliffs so that we can come back home and say, "Perhaps you should prepare for a terrible wildfire season because there's not gonna be enough water to quench the thirst of a small heifer this year."

But we aren't going to be saying anything of the sort this particular year. Not in the Upper Rio Grande basin. Or in the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range basin. Not even in the Rio Chama River basin. This year, we're thinking about skipping the announcements and maybe having a sandbag-filling party. Only instead of BYOB, our invitations will say BYOS... Bring your own snorkel. And mosquito reprellent. Maybe some flotation devices while you're at it.

This, my friends, is great news for a river that has been called "endangered" in some scientific circles. And for an agricultural valley that has been ravaged by drought in the recent past... let me retract a little... it'll be great news so long as this valley can still be classified as AGRICULTURAL... as opposed to AQUATIC.

But when you live within shouting distance from the river and you see pictures like these... (click image for better viewing.)

BEFORE

AFTER

Let's just say GREAT isn't the word that comes to mind. YIKES is more like it. As of today, we are at 165 percent of normal snowpack with two more months worth of snow yet to come. Let it be stated here that I am not complaining. NOT complaining, farmers! Just.... kind of wringing my hands a little, that's all.