Horrific fires?

         Devastating drought?

         Limited crop yields?

         Rivers, creeks and lakes running dry?

         Heck, I am just enjoying the best spring in memory here in Wyoming. And then knowledgeable people keep bringing up these horrible scenarios, which could occur as a result of this balmy weather.

         A typical Wyoming spring is really not a spring. The old joke that the four seasons in Wyoming are Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Construction usually rang true around this time of year with “Still Winter” describing March and April.

Now it is May and we can look back on the driest March on record – zero inches of moisture. And just about the driest April on record, too. In Lander, April normally is our wettest month.

         Although I am loving this oddball spring, it seemed appropriate to see how things are going around the state:

         In Cheyenne, Tom Satterfield said it has been looking like a snowstorm at his place with all the cotton from the cottonwood trees in the neighborhood. They are a month early, he says. “Every morning walk sees new plants in bloom and fruit trees area glorious. Most of the bulb plants (daffodil and tulips) are gone but the lilacs are starting. ”

         Phil Roberts in Laramie says his crabapple trees blossomed out in mid-April. “The trees seem to be confused. They think they are in Fort Collins or Cheyenne.” Debbie Hammons says in Worland her normal lilacs, which she places on graves on Memorial Day, are now blooming. “

         Pat Schmidt in Thermopolis says he has been amazed at watching all the school children in his town running around in March and April without coats. Unprecedented.

         Bob Coe of Cody says “The Horse’s Head (rock formation) on the South Fork melted out early this year. The reins were showing in early April. Last year it was the second week of May before you could see them.”

         In the Buffalo area, ranchers and farmers in the Rock Creek and Clear Creek areas watch the snow on a peak in the Bighorns called the Ant Hill. If it had snow on it by June 15, it would be a decent year for irrigation, reports Jim Hicks. “Last year, it was covered with snow until mid-July. This year, the snow was nearly gone by mid-April. That has not happened since 1988.”

         Mary Murray of Lander who helps operate the horsemanship program at Wyoming Catholic College reports: “ Our horses shedded out a good month early – makes for happy nesting birds.”

         Leslie Blythe of Casper who has show dogs offered a similar comment. “Our dogs are shedding or what we call ‘blowing coat,’ much sooner than normal. With many shows coming up in May and June, this is not a good situation.”

         Steve Johnson, the pro at the Riverton country club, told a coffee mate of mine that they set an all time record for number of rounds in a day – over 250.   Cheyenne’s Airport Golf Club also had a record April, it was reported.

         Tom Cox reports that as a grandpa, this was been the best season ever for going to grandkids’ soccer games. The same is true about the usually non-existent Wyoming track season.

         In my back yard, we had some wild geese hatch out five goslings. I swear that is at least a month early. They have been coming to our place for the past three years and always build a nest on a little island in one of our ponds.

         As research for my new book, I have been spending a lot of time in the Red Desert. Local desert rats Jim Smail and Joe Motherway, who each have been going to the desert for over 50 years, say it is the driest they have ever seen it at this time of year.

         After worrying about floods in the Wind River Basin for the past two years, our snow packs are in the 45 percent range. This is a great cause of worry about fires later this summer and fall. Folks who know these things have been worried about the Shoshone National Forest for decades, as it would not take much to start a gigantic fire. So far the conditions are perfect to see such an event.

         It is so dry, our local lawn sprinkler expert Brian Clark was in our yard getting the system ready to go. He had over 60 calls from people in April, which was totally unheard of.

         Yep, sure looks like a dry season.