Normal this time of year is quite dry. The dept. of forestry has reduced their fire danger to low, from high.  I cannot guess why they skipped over medium.  Perhaps the dusting of snow on Mt. Hood had something to do with that.  Grasses are greening up, bittercress is sprouting in places.  Our creek is still very low.  I believe the vultures left when the cold front moved through this week.  The ravens were playing in the thermal all by themselves yesterday.  I am busy making preparations for rain.  Getting all the dry firewood under cover, shutting down the irrigation system, making sure tools and equipment are out of the weather.  The hummingbird has been content without extra nectar lately.  I noticed her taking advantage of the ripe fruit.  Yellowjackets are fairly numerous and beginning to get a bit pesty.  Spiders are abundant and busy.  I walked the trails in the forest one day breaking many webs, and returned half an hour later to break the webs again.  There are a lot of box elder bug nymphs in my firewood.