Everyone likes to talk about the weather, but all we can say is that it was a dry year. March rains pretty much saved the spring flowers and grasses, but thne things dried out into June. Temperatures were near the long-term avearges. Our annual total was only a bit over half of the long-term average. Streams never flowed in the winter on Hastings, except Finch Creek with an anemic flow of only a few weeks. It was dry by May, and unlike other years, we never saw young steelhead, or adults fish for that matter.
    Acorns were about average this year, with some trees producing prodigious amounts. For a complete digression on the topic, see the 2002 Acorn Report. Walter and Jean Knops returned to the wilds of California in a Lincoln Town Car. Not exactly a SUV, but it got them there. As I always say,"you can go anywhere in a Hummer or a rental car".
     As noted last time, many of the vernal pools around Hastings did not fill this winter. The predicted "moderate" El Nino for 2002-2003 may fill the ponds again and bring on the amphibians.An early November rain brought about 5" to Hastings, but detail on that in the next newsletter.
   We had a number of mountain lion sightings, as well as a black bear at Hastings. Lions were seen on Martin Road, on Finch Creek and along Big Creek. The black bear broke into a box storing bird seed at the School House and was seen lumbering over the hill one evening towards the Robertson House.

Photo: Black oak along Entry Lane, M. Stromberg