Rain Day Poem by Beth Wilson I stood on the curb of this flooded city.Silently I watch the world drowning,from the safety of my umbrella.Pitter patter, pitter patter. The rain drums endlessly down above my head.The snaking chill pervades through my bloodstream.The flowers in their earthy tubs droop under overbearing water, droplets sliding off their tender petals. As the clouds ...

This photo is of the Lisenby CCC Camp that we received from the Bass Lake District of the Sierra National Forest. We know there were two major Civilian Conservation Corps camps in North Fork during the 1930s. The one referred to as the North Fork Camp was located on Road 222 between North Fork and Manzanita Lake, but we don’t ...

MADERA COUNTY – In light of the major wildland fires the county experienced last summer, expectations for another long hot summer, and the serious drought conditions we have been facing, Sheriff Varney says it is imperative for all people who live or work in Madera County – especially those in the foothills – to register or update their information for ...

We headed up the San Joaquin River to check out the water in Stevenson Falls and still had lots of energy so we continued our hike up to Dam Six. One of the stars of this adventure were the early wildflowers, especially those beautiful poppies!

SIERRA NEVADA – The absence of precipitation in January, normally California’s wettest month, has combined with warmer-than-average temperatures to produce a dismally meager snowpack for a drought-stricken state, says the Department of Water Resources (DWR). Today’s second manual snow survey of the season found a snow water equivalent of just 2.3 inches in the scant snowpack near Echo summit approximately ...

I wanted to go as high up on a mountain that I could before winter took these options away from me, so we headed up to the top of Kaiser Peak where we could take a peek at the high lakes and snow covered peaks around us.

SIERRA NEVADA – The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued an urgent winter weather message for the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon and Tulare County Mountains. Travel in the higher elevations is said to be dangerous at this time.

PRATHER – The annual Harvest Arts & Peace Festival returns to the Intermountain Nursery in Prather for the 22nd year on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. With local farm booths, children’s activities, artisan food booths, music and dance, this much-anticipated event is a fall favorite for ...

O’NEALS – That band of merry makers and preservers of local history are at it again. This time the Clampers will be dedicating a monument commemorating a notorious stage robbery at the location of the long-gone town of Hildreth near O’Neals. The gentlemen of E Clampus Vitus, affectionately know as “Clampers,” love a good bit of fun, but they are ...

MADERA COUNTY – Law enforcement has seen a spike in the number of illegal pot grows in the Valley this year. Blame it on the drought, says Sheriff John Anderson, who believes lack of water may be driving drug cartels out of the forests and into neighborhoods throughout Madera County. “They can’t grow in the mountains, because there’s not enough ...