Here Comes Winter!

 

It's about time, isn't it?!? I'm not winter's biggest fan, but we're well into the second third of January and... what? No sub-zero temperatures, no snow (or hardly any) as the above picture suggests. We've had a miserable amount of chilly, dreary days. And rain! (In case you hadn't noticed.)

It was just Monday that we had snow and most of it had melted by this morning. Today's promised rain/snow/sleet "event" (with high winds!) was largely a no-show (no-snow?) Yes, we now have a 1/2 inch of white stuff that will disappear later tonight- when the temperature rises to the 50's.

Here's one of Bob's sculptures, enjoying the winter weather. You will notice the grass is actually turning greener. Okay so my mixed feelings run like this: I'm glad for mild weather as I have an opening for my show on Friday and it's supposed to be pretty nice: sunny and in the upper 30's. But another side of me is scared that we're so far along the Climate Change curve that we're at a point of no return. (*1) January should be cold, dark, snowy and yes! Miserable! It shouldn't be masquerading as late February or March.

So... can we (ironically) cross our fingers and toes that nasty weather finally finds us? It's a mixed hope whatever comes our way...

(*1) And don't get me started on the fact that the so-called Dooms Day Clock is closer to midnight than ever before.

Eine Kleine Klimawandel*

Does it do anything besides rain? Poor Maggie looked the picture of discomfort and seems to be saying, "Enough!" I changed her blanket three times (!!!) yesterday. At least she was dry underneath. (And don't forget: she could go stand in her barn, but no, she chooses to remain outside.) I thought she might drown. (1)
Which of course leads us to the bigger question: why are we having so much rain? And need I remind you that it is January and this should be snow or at least icy "mixed precipitation". Instead we get (relatively) mild temperatures and Biblical flood amounts of rain. And it doesn't stop. (2)

Here's our stream which has now widened into a cousin of the mighty Mississippi River. When we first moved here, we wondered if it might be a seasonal stream as it was modest and could easily have dried to a trickle in drought years. Instead, it roars (you can hear it from the house) and Bob's bridges have been washed out several times this year. In the above picture, the bridge should be across the stream where the first arrow is. Instead, it's been carried twenty feet down stream and deposited on the bank. That took some serious water power! Bob is now talking of engineering a major footing and constructing an improved span along the lines of the Brooklyn Bridge.
So this leads to my humble opinion- openly opposed by some!- that Climate Change is real and is here... in our back yard. I really don't want to hear shit from deniers out there; you're wrong about our planet. It's a mess and we're all experiencing this disaster first hand. Additional precipitation, rain instead of snow, a swollen stream- these are small potatoes compared to the raging fires out west, the hurricanes down south and the melting polar cap up north. (And don't forget that we had a tornado this past May). But it's all part of a bigger, nastier picture of a rapidly, radically changing world.

Even the lower part of Maggie's field is under water. This puddle is more typical of late April after Spring rain than early January! So we slog forward, hoping that the newly seated Congress (yay! More women! More people of color! More diversity!!) takes some kind of Green action; there's rumbling about that! Let's sign back on to the Paris Climate Accord, let's rive smaller cars! Let's DO SOMETHING before it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late! (3)



*Oh that's German for Climate Change... I'm just riffing on "Eine Kleine Nacht Musik" (Mozart).

(1) Yes, Maggie is still with us. That's another whole discussion...

(2) But at least it's not snow! Oooh, I feel so guilty saying that. On the one hand, we should be getting snow. On the other hand I'm glad we're not (groan). I'm just not fond of snow, especially if I have to drive in it...

(3) Look at this! Four footnotes! I just wanted to apologize for my last couple of posts. I had a head cold and was none too swift and couldn't think- or write- coherently.