Happy Winter Solstice! Still moderately dry. In the past week I logged 0.06" of moisture. Extremely high winds have desiccated the ground. Most snowpack is gone except in areas sheltered from the sun and winds and where the snow drifted. Moisture received MTD 99% of Normal PRISM, YTD is 67% of Normal PRISM, and WYTD is 52% of Normal PRISM value. Snotel sites are reporting 67% SWE in my 6-Digit HUC, and 77% SWE in my 8-Digit HUC. Ground is very dry. We had very high winds the past week that damaged power infrastructure, some structure damage, and many downed trees in the area. In spite of the low Snotel values, there is plenty of snow in the high country for normal wintertime activities. There have even been a few anglers out on the Big Thompson below Olympus Dam. The rivers above the dam look low, but the one gauge that is reporting shows about average runoff for this time of year. Still lots of birds at my birdbath. We had a very large herd of elk come through a few days ago but have not seen many deer. Wild turkeys are ever-present. There is not a lot of grass or browse available right now, but at least for them it is not covered by snowpack. Long term that is going to be a problem with more soil moisture loss than normal. There are no new fire restrictions in my area, just the permanent Stage 1 restrictions in the park and in town.