My neighbor has an old shirt he got while visiting a friend in Hawaii many
years ago, one that lists some of the state’s natural hazards (tsunami,
typhoons, volcanoes, red volcanic clay mud, etc) and finishes with a
statement to the effect of “Hawaii is NOT for the faint of heart”. I plan
to do one for Montana to offer in my online store, and this will be one of
the natural hazards I’ll seriously consider adding: the western third or so
of the state is, as the file title says, an allergenic nightmare. That neon
yellow scuzz at the edge of the drainage down the middle of our parking lot,
that’s *all pine pollen*. One year I woke up to what I thought was a
massive wildfire, only to realize after a moment of observation that the
misty yellowish cloud cloaking the feet of the Bitterroots that day was pine
pollen on the wind, not smoke. Other dangers I’m considering for the list:
Blizzard Season (Jan. 1-Dec. 31), Triple-Digit Summer Temps, Thunderstorm
Season, The Deep Freeze (we usually get about 2-3 weeks of below-zero HIGH
temps in January, tho this past winter it hit in December), Wildlife On
Roads (the first sign you pass heading east on I-90 across the ID-MT border
says “Caution: Wildlife On Roadways”, while “Welcome to Montana” is a few
hundred feet further east), and everyone’s favorite, Fire Season. This
lingering cloudy wet storm system is hell on gardens, but I’m starting to
remind people that it sure will cut a chunk out of fire season! You’d think
in a town where that famous deer-in-the-river shot was taken nearby while
something like a third of the surrounding area burned during the infamous
and epic 2000 fire season, people would be a heck of a lot more attuned to
things that will mellow out the fire risks, especially when a lot of folks
are stretched thin for money and can’t afford to evacuate or take time off
work if their routes are cut off.
years ago, one that lists some of the state’s natural hazards (tsunami,
typhoons, volcanoes, red volcanic clay mud, etc) and finishes with a
statement to the effect of “Hawaii is NOT for the faint of heart”. I plan
to do one for Montana to offer in my online store, and this will be one of
the natural hazards I’ll seriously consider adding: the western third or so
of the state is, as the file title says, an allergenic nightmare. That neon
yellow scuzz at the edge of the drainage down the middle of our parking lot,
that’s *all pine pollen*. One year I woke up to what I thought was a
massive wildfire, only to realize after a moment of observation that the
misty yellowish cloud cloaking the feet of the Bitterroots that day was pine
pollen on the wind, not smoke. Other dangers I’m considering for the list:
Blizzard Season (Jan. 1-Dec. 31), Triple-Digit Summer Temps, Thunderstorm
Season, The Deep Freeze (we usually get about 2-3 weeks of below-zero HIGH
temps in January, tho this past winter it hit in December), Wildlife On
Roads (the first sign you pass heading east on I-90 across the ID-MT border
says “Caution: Wildlife On Roadways”, while “Welcome to Montana” is a few
hundred feet further east), and everyone’s favorite, Fire Season. This
lingering cloudy wet storm system is hell on gardens, but I’m starting to
remind people that it sure will cut a chunk out of fire season! You’d think
in a town where that famous deer-in-the-river shot was taken nearby while
something like a third of the surrounding area burned during the infamous
and epic 2000 fire season, people would be a heck of a lot more attuned to
things that will mellow out the fire risks, especially when a lot of folks
are stretched thin for money and can’t afford to evacuate or take time off
work if their routes are cut off.
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