I HOPE YOU WERE AMUSED by the image of a small boy, long ago, wondering how an electric stove could possibly work. Within a year or so, we had an electric stove although my mother continued to use a wood stove most of the time, especially in the cooler months. So the daily drill of cutting kindling still fell to me even as my father, now home from The War, took over splitting wood.
A correction on the last posting. It seems that producing gas fuel from the partial combustion of wood products is alive and well here and there, even here in the US. What results from this process (in which wood or similar stock is slowly combusted at high temperatures and in an impoverished oxygen environment) is not methane but CO gas and, if steam is introduced, hydrogen. Depending on the density of the wood, each load in the generator can take a car up to 200 miles. However the conversion is limited to carburetor engines or diesels. Try Googling 'gas producer cars' and see where this takes you.
By the time I was a teenager, oil was cheap and plentiful and cars were becoming more common. In Adelaide, my home city, almost everyone used public transport to get about, or else, cycles. Every main street or road had tramway (street car) tracks or electric trolley buses but the City Fathers determined that these were getting in the way of cars. Traffic was slowed because the trams had right of way, as did passengers alighting from them. Also, at street crossing where there were trams you had to use a special turn that increasingly held up traffic. So all the trams were replaced by diesel buses. The only Australian city that held back from this was Melbourne, a delightful city that still has those trams and one can just hop on them for a block or two to get about. However, drivers still have to execute that weird turn. As you may know, in the US, the motor manufacturing companies bought up the street car networks and then closed them down! I wonder why.
At the time, this seemed to make a lot of sense although there were, inevitably, the old stagers who resisted this modern advance. 'This is not progress at all', they protested. After all, rail transport was converting to diesel, so why not make a clean sweep of it? And oil was cheap...
Despite growing up in the dry mid-North where water was always in short supply if you had to rely on rainwater, life in the city led me to think that two materials were seemingly inexhaustible: Oil and Water.
Now we have looming the two scepters: Peak Oil and Peak Water. In our energy based society, we are beginning to realize that it is not only true, as the saying goes, 'oil and water don't mix' but they actually work against each other. It take water to produce the gas we buy at the pump, the coal or natural gas to produce the electricity we use in our homes, and the natural gas for heating, and it increasingly takes energy to supply water for agriculture and urban use. Pumping water into California, for instance, is the biggest power consumer for that state. Desalination plants are mind-boggling users of electrical power.
Best to read the special issue in Scientific American Earth 3 series, 'Energy versus Water' to get a good grasp of this looming crisis; the URL is in my latest email to you. Fresh water turns out to be relatively scarce and is getting scarcer. In 1996, Vice President of the World Bank Ismail Seregaldin predicted, 'the wars of this century would be over water. It is the oil of the 21st Century'.
If this even halfway true, then the biggest issue to confront and solve is how to get more energy from wind, sun, and tide and less and less from sources that use up that familiar but precious resource essential to life and of which we are mainly made...water.
Thanks to my daughter, Elizabeth (who lives in Adelaide, capitol of the driest state in the driest continent in the world) for drawing to my attention the Scientific American article mentioned above.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
A FEW WEEKS BACK, I saw a frog. I was working in the back yard, tidying up some cuttings, on a crisp Autumn day. Suddenly, there was the frog, just at my feet! It seemed that it had been a long while since I had sighted my last frog. Reaching down, I picked up Mr. Frog (I think he was a little slowed by the cold) and together we regarded each other. After a few moments I replaced him on the ground and he hopped away slowly. Probably a little like me, this ancient frog, with a touch of arthritis in his knees.
A sign of the times, this scarcity of frogs, it seems. What with global warming, too few streams and ponds, and too many houses the world has become inhospitable for frogs. But a sign of what times, I wonder? That the times, they are a'changing? Now, when I was a lad (here we go again!) there were frogs all about. If one wanted a dozen or so frogs, they were easy to find. Often they kept you awake at night with all their croaking.
This week one of my brothers turned 83 (my other brother is 84); I bet they miss the frogs too. My birthday brother and I lived our first years on a small farm about twelve miles from a small town that was, in turn, some 85 miles north of the capital city; colloquially, we lived in the mid-North of South Australia.
How were our times? This was just before the outbreak of the second World War and toward the end of the Great Depression. You might think we lived a primitive sort of life. True, we had a motor car, and a truck, and our father had not long begun farming with a tractor having used horses in the early years of his farming life. On the other had, we had no electric power and had only a wood burning stove for cooking. No refrigerator of course, just an evaporative water cooler for keeping things cool. In the evening, our parents lit kerosene lamps. We were not cut off from the world however as we had a party line telephone and a radio that worked off a car battery (when you turned it on you had to wait for the vacuum valves to warm up so the sound came up gradually).
In America, and I suppose in the big cities of Australia, things were much more advanced. With the outbreak of war, an administration called Manpower sucked away all the casual labor left as men enlisted. My father found he could no longer run the farm and he too rejoined the Army. My mother moved into the town with my two sisters and me. My brother had moved to the city and my other brother had joined the Navy. Even in this small town, we were rapidly embroiled in the war effort. We knitted for the troops, collected all sorts of stuff to be melted down for the war industry, and wasted nothing. We grew our own vegetables as much as possible. Being in the town, we now had electric power but still had to rely of rain water collected from off the roof into two large water tanks. Alas, there was still the wood stove and the water cooler but now we also had an ice box with ice delivered! Each day the milk man called by, as did the bakery man. Every so often a grocery cart would come by or perhaps the haberdashery man. All horse drawn with the horses knowing just where to stop. The horse manure was prized for the garden!
Petrol rationing meant that only a few could continue to run motor cars; ours was put up on blocks in the garage. Some folk ran their cars on coal gas held in rubberized bags atop the bonnet (car roof) and others had gas generators mounted at the rear of the vehicle!
How quaint! These used coke, wood, or coal to produce methane gas to power the car. The cars looked just like this.
With almost no cars on the roads, we rode our bikes about with complete abandon and virtually no road sense.
Looking back on it, I realize that ours was a wood and coal dependent society. If we had to travel any distance, it had to be by steam train.
Somehow we all got by. If something happened that was particularly frustrating, a common oath was, "Well, wouldn't it rip your ration cards!" Just after the war ended, the local electrical store featured an electric stove. We rushed down to see it in the store window display. How, I wondered, might a stove work on electricity?
A sign of the times, this scarcity of frogs, it seems. What with global warming, too few streams and ponds, and too many houses the world has become inhospitable for frogs. But a sign of what times, I wonder? That the times, they are a'changing? Now, when I was a lad (here we go again!) there were frogs all about. If one wanted a dozen or so frogs, they were easy to find. Often they kept you awake at night with all their croaking.
This week one of my brothers turned 83 (my other brother is 84); I bet they miss the frogs too. My birthday brother and I lived our first years on a small farm about twelve miles from a small town that was, in turn, some 85 miles north of the capital city; colloquially, we lived in the mid-North of South Australia.
How were our times? This was just before the outbreak of the second World War and toward the end of the Great Depression. You might think we lived a primitive sort of life. True, we had a motor car, and a truck, and our father had not long begun farming with a tractor having used horses in the early years of his farming life. On the other had, we had no electric power and had only a wood burning stove for cooking. No refrigerator of course, just an evaporative water cooler for keeping things cool. In the evening, our parents lit kerosene lamps. We were not cut off from the world however as we had a party line telephone and a radio that worked off a car battery (when you turned it on you had to wait for the vacuum valves to warm up so the sound came up gradually).
In America, and I suppose in the big cities of Australia, things were much more advanced. With the outbreak of war, an administration called Manpower sucked away all the casual labor left as men enlisted. My father found he could no longer run the farm and he too rejoined the Army. My mother moved into the town with my two sisters and me. My brother had moved to the city and my other brother had joined the Navy. Even in this small town, we were rapidly embroiled in the war effort. We knitted for the troops, collected all sorts of stuff to be melted down for the war industry, and wasted nothing. We grew our own vegetables as much as possible. Being in the town, we now had electric power but still had to rely of rain water collected from off the roof into two large water tanks. Alas, there was still the wood stove and the water cooler but now we also had an ice box with ice delivered! Each day the milk man called by, as did the bakery man. Every so often a grocery cart would come by or perhaps the haberdashery man. All horse drawn with the horses knowing just where to stop. The horse manure was prized for the garden!
Petrol rationing meant that only a few could continue to run motor cars; ours was put up on blocks in the garage. Some folk ran their cars on coal gas held in rubberized bags atop the bonnet (car roof) and others had gas generators mounted at the rear of the vehicle!
How quaint! These used coke, wood, or coal to produce methane gas to power the car. The cars looked just like this.With almost no cars on the roads, we rode our bikes about with complete abandon and virtually no road sense.
Looking back on it, I realize that ours was a wood and coal dependent society. If we had to travel any distance, it had to be by steam train.
Somehow we all got by. If something happened that was particularly frustrating, a common oath was, "Well, wouldn't it rip your ration cards!" Just after the war ended, the local electrical store featured an electric stove. We rushed down to see it in the store window display. How, I wondered, might a stove work on electricity?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
ELECTION REFLECTION
ELECTION DAY 2008 was the first time I actually attended a polling station since becoming a US citizen. Not wanting to wait in line, the people in our house arrived well before opening time. I got to be the first person to vote and by the time I had voted, there was quite a line of folk waiting for their turn. I had previously voted but, as a Washington State resident, I had voted by mail (by poking chads out of an IBM computer card and sending it back by post). However, this was my first Presidential Election.
As noted in my earlier posting, I admit I was a little apprehensive about using the machine (instead of poking out chads or, as in Australia, using pencil and paper to record my ballot) but everyone was friendly and helpful. The machine was one of the older type and simple enough to use. Now, in the aftermath of that historic day, I have found myself musing on some of the differences between the two countries of which I am a citizen in the handing over of power.
Things are a little more complicated in this part of the world. The President is independent from the Congress and may not always have support from his own party even when it has the majority in the house of representatives. In my other land, the leader of the party that wins the election becomes the Prime Minister and is active in the lower house, hopefully busy on putting into place policies argued during the election period. It gets a little more complicated if the Prime Minister (PM) leads a minority government and has to contend with getting a bunch of independent members to support government policy. Even so, the PM can expect to have the support of his party. With the US style separation of powers, this t'aint necessarily so.
Then there is the long transition period between the election in early November and the Inauguration of the President late in the following January. So you have a 'Lame Duck' President on the one hand, and the chap you have just elected on the sidelines waiting to assume power. Elsewhere one week it is the current PM and, once the election is finished, it is the next PM...move out and move in!
When things are relatively stable, this ought not produce much anxiety...but, with things in crisis on the financial, and perhaps also, political front it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck just a tad. A urgent question seems to be, Having gone to so much trouble to get a President, how can we ensure he gets sufficient support from his party?
President-Elect Obama seems like a very smart fellow and very much inclined to surround himself with chaps just as smart or more so. He has the quality of listening to others, or so it would appear, and his Vice President-Elect certainly knows how the ropes work in Washington, DC. However, there are powerful senior congress members and senators who might easily thwart his intentions...not to mention that hidden body of government in the US, the kingdom of lobbyists. Let's hope too that the Fourth Estate, the press, will take the role of independent criticism of government and formulation of issues seriously. That would be a change from their performance over the last eight years. Rather too many of them, for comfort, are under the control of that ex-Australian press mogul.
I guess this means that we all have to be on our mettle and to be sure to give the new President the sustained support he will need to guide the US through extremely difficult times.
As noted in my earlier posting, I admit I was a little apprehensive about using the machine (instead of poking out chads or, as in Australia, using pencil and paper to record my ballot) but everyone was friendly and helpful. The machine was one of the older type and simple enough to use. Now, in the aftermath of that historic day, I have found myself musing on some of the differences between the two countries of which I am a citizen in the handing over of power.
Things are a little more complicated in this part of the world. The President is independent from the Congress and may not always have support from his own party even when it has the majority in the house of representatives. In my other land, the leader of the party that wins the election becomes the Prime Minister and is active in the lower house, hopefully busy on putting into place policies argued during the election period. It gets a little more complicated if the Prime Minister (PM) leads a minority government and has to contend with getting a bunch of independent members to support government policy. Even so, the PM can expect to have the support of his party. With the US style separation of powers, this t'aint necessarily so.
Then there is the long transition period between the election in early November and the Inauguration of the President late in the following January. So you have a 'Lame Duck' President on the one hand, and the chap you have just elected on the sidelines waiting to assume power. Elsewhere one week it is the current PM and, once the election is finished, it is the next PM...move out and move in!
When things are relatively stable, this ought not produce much anxiety...but, with things in crisis on the financial, and perhaps also, political front it makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck just a tad. A urgent question seems to be, Having gone to so much trouble to get a President, how can we ensure he gets sufficient support from his party?
President-Elect Obama seems like a very smart fellow and very much inclined to surround himself with chaps just as smart or more so. He has the quality of listening to others, or so it would appear, and his Vice President-Elect certainly knows how the ropes work in Washington, DC. However, there are powerful senior congress members and senators who might easily thwart his intentions...not to mention that hidden body of government in the US, the kingdom of lobbyists. Let's hope too that the Fourth Estate, the press, will take the role of independent criticism of government and formulation of issues seriously. That would be a change from their performance over the last eight years. Rather too many of them, for comfort, are under the control of that ex-Australian press mogul.
I guess this means that we all have to be on our mettle and to be sure to give the new President the sustained support he will need to guide the US through extremely difficult times.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
BACK TO COMPOSTING...
THE TREES HAVE TAKEN SERIOUSLY that this is the Fall. In turn, they have dropped their leaves and this means it is serious composting time for me.
After a few days, this task is well in hand; the composting processt starts with things looking like this; it doesn't do to wait for all the leaves to fall as this makes too much work for the mower. First, I set up the mower to mulch. Unless I am collecting cuttings, this is the normal setup. The mower chews up whatever it goes over and returns the cuttings to the ground. One has to mince up the leaves to speed up the action of bacteria already on the material. Leaves left uncut take forever to reduce to compost. After a run of the mower, the leaves look like this.
Composting leaves works best by including grass clippings as each has different balance of nutrients and one is looking for a proper balance of all nutrients in the final compost. In Summer I compost the lawn clippings from time to time but generally leave them in the lawn which grows up around them and returns them to the soil. As Autumn draws near, I collect lawn clippings in one of the bins at the end of the yard. Within hours the bacteria are at work and you can feel the heat of the reaction if you place your hand into the pile. The heap settles quickly and must be turned over to aerate it and prevent anaerobic bacteria taking over.
The next step is to set up the mower to collect the cuttings. When mincing up the leaves, I have the mower set high. With the basket attached, I set the mower lower so that it will also cut and pick up grass cuttings along with the macerated leaves.
Here is the good old Toro mower ready cut and vacuum. In the background, in the middle bin, you can see compost mainly from last year but also from the 2008 spring collection. On the left is some compost that has been working for several weeks (since coming back from Paris). In the right hand bin are cuttings done just the other day.
Here is a close up of the recent cuttings. If you look carefully you will see blades of grass mixed in with the chopped up leaves. All this is a bit dry (the bacteria love moisture) so I spray in several gallons of water for each six inch layer of cuttings.
This really gets things going and the heap becomes very warm by the next day. After a day or so the heat of the reaction dries out the mixture and I turn over the pile, adding water by layer as before.
After this, it is just a matter of turning over the heap occasionally to keep it aerated occasionally adding some water to preserve a moist environment for my bacteria friends. This only takes an hour or so and is good exercise. A garden fork is just fine for this task. I have just discovered that one can compost leaves inside black plastic rubbish bags. Rolling the bag about would make mixing and aerating the compost somewhat easier. If I have a surplus of leaves, more than my bins can hold, I will give this a shot. What does it all look like when the process is complete? Lovely compost like in the final picture. New York state is short on worms so I will look to introducing worm culture to the middle pile.
Now, doesn't it look just lovely! It smells wonderfully fresh and earthy and plants just love to grow in it. The pieces you can see break up easily in the hand into friable, rich dark potting material. During the Winter, the pile remains warm despite a constant covering of snow and, last Spring, I was not surprised to discover evidence of a couple of mouse nests. Bacteria were the first life on earth and constitute the largest biomass by far. The soil is full of them. In fact, they make earth into soil. We too are mostly bacteria and they generally treat us very well. It is nice to have them working for me in the garden and the compost they produce is better than potting mixture and petroleum based fertilizers.
After a few days, this task is well in hand; the composting processt starts with things looking like this; it doesn't do to wait for all the leaves to fall as this makes too much work for the mower. First, I set up the mower to mulch. Unless I am collecting cuttings, this is the normal setup. The mower chews up whatever it goes over and returns the cuttings to the ground. One has to mince up the leaves to speed up the action of bacteria already on the material. Leaves left uncut take forever to reduce to compost. After a run of the mower, the leaves look like this.
Composting leaves works best by including grass clippings as each has different balance of nutrients and one is looking for a proper balance of all nutrients in the final compost. In Summer I compost the lawn clippings from time to time but generally leave them in the lawn which grows up around them and returns them to the soil. As Autumn draws near, I collect lawn clippings in one of the bins at the end of the yard. Within hours the bacteria are at work and you can feel the heat of the reaction if you place your hand into the pile. The heap settles quickly and must be turned over to aerate it and prevent anaerobic bacteria taking over.The next step is to set up the mower to collect the cuttings. When mincing up the leaves, I have the mower set high. With the basket attached, I set the mower lower so that it will also cut and pick up grass cuttings along with the macerated leaves.
Here is the good old Toro mower ready cut and vacuum. In the background, in the middle bin, you can see compost mainly from last year but also from the 2008 spring collection. On the left is some compost that has been working for several weeks (since coming back from Paris). In the right hand bin are cuttings done just the other day.Here is a close up of the recent cuttings. If you look carefully you will see blades of grass mixed in with the chopped up leaves. All this is a bit dry (the bacteria love moisture) so I spray in several gallons of water for each six inch layer of cuttings.
This really gets things going and the heap becomes very warm by the next day. After a day or so the heat of the reaction dries out the mixture and I turn over the pile, adding water by layer as before.After this, it is just a matter of turning over the heap occasionally to keep it aerated occasionally adding some water to preserve a moist environment for my bacteria friends. This only takes an hour or so and is good exercise. A garden fork is just fine for this task. I have just discovered that one can compost leaves inside black plastic rubbish bags. Rolling the bag about would make mixing and aerating the compost somewhat easier. If I have a surplus of leaves, more than my bins can hold, I will give this a shot. What does it all look like when the process is complete? Lovely compost like in the final picture. New York state is short on worms so I will look to introducing worm culture to the middle pile.
Now, doesn't it look just lovely! It smells wonderfully fresh and earthy and plants just love to grow in it. The pieces you can see break up easily in the hand into friable, rich dark potting material. During the Winter, the pile remains warm despite a constant covering of snow and, last Spring, I was not surprised to discover evidence of a couple of mouse nests. Bacteria were the first life on earth and constitute the largest biomass by far. The soil is full of them. In fact, they make earth into soil. We too are mostly bacteria and they generally treat us very well. It is nice to have them working for me in the garden and the compost they produce is better than potting mixture and petroleum based fertilizers.
Monday, November 3, 2008
ON ELECTION EVE
A BIG DAY FOR AMERICA...
A longtime friend wrote me: 'Robert, are you voting Nov 4th? Are you voting for the right person?'
Yes, I am and, Yes I think I am. If you live in the US, there is a strong feeling abroad that this Election Day will be one for the history books. It is my first opportunity to vote for a presidential election since my naturalization. Just figuring out how to use a voting machine will be quite a challenge (in Australia, we use pencil and paper, which could be quicker and certainly less expensive and, in the state where I last voted, Washington, it was all postal voting).
It could well be a day for the records in terms of the numbers of registered voters voting.
So we will vote and wait to see the outcome.
We have been enjoying wonderful autumn weather: sunny days and frosty mornings. How good it was to 'fall back in the Fall' last Sunday to rejoin standard time. Begun during wartime, long ago, Daylight Saving persists despite economic analyses suggesting that is does not save energy and costs more that remaining on standard time. At least the sun now gets up at a more convenient time.
The fine weather has extended the suitability of bike riding. Corning has some really beautiful countryside and, from where I live, I am quickly into rural scenery and quiet roads that often run alongside the rivers jn the valleys. Climbing out of the valleys can be quite a grunt, I do admit.
At the end of my last ride, I was lying on my back on the rear deck looking up at the blue, cloudless sky and the autumn leaves and suddenly thought, 'Photos". Jumping up I got myself inside and returned with my camera. So, here is what I had been looking at:
Once you get going with a camera, it can be amazing how that changes how you look at familiar scenes. Suddenly, instead of leaves to be mulched, lawn to be mowed, fallen branches to be picked up...there were scenes to be photographed!
The local squirrels seem to love this weather also. Of course, they are busy finding and burying seeds for their winter larders. Nonetheless, they find time to frolic about together in the sun. They love the breezes which seem to get them quite excited. Have you ever looked at a squirrel's tail lit from behind by the evening rays of sunlight. Their fur is amazingly fine and their tails are electric with small tremors. Almost as in the Spring, they run about, chasing each other up and around the trunks of the trees...squirrel aerobatics!
This pic eventuated as my favorite for the day. Luckily for me, the three trees in the yard take in turns to shed their leaves. This tree is the last and it may be several more days before all its leaves havel fallen. The streets are lined with heaps of leaves at the front of all the houses...except for our place where, at the rear, compost grows higher with each mowing.
Have you ever wondered where the squirrels go during Winter? Chipmunks pop in and out of their holes while woodchucks retire to the burrows to hibernate and to have their litters. One thing squirrels do is to construct nests made of leaves in the forks of three branches. This tree has such a nest, about two thirds of the way to the top. Also, while woodchucks sleep the squirrels may decide to squat in the woodchuck holes. The woodchuck are generous chaps and do not seem to mind the occasional guest.
We have had two days when fine snow fell, quietly materializing all around then melting as soon as the flakes found the ground. This sent me into the shed to recover my skis with the aim of getting my winter gear in order. Also, the promise of snow had me swapping out my snow tires. I am keeping my fingers crossed as such behavior has been know to send snow away. After election day, I plan to drive north to check out cross country ski areas between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks Park.
Happy Election Day if you live in the US and, if in Canada or Australia, enjoy the spectacle.
A longtime friend wrote me: 'Robert, are you voting Nov 4th? Are you voting for the right person?'
Yes, I am and, Yes I think I am. If you live in the US, there is a strong feeling abroad that this Election Day will be one for the history books. It is my first opportunity to vote for a presidential election since my naturalization. Just figuring out how to use a voting machine will be quite a challenge (in Australia, we use pencil and paper, which could be quicker and certainly less expensive and, in the state where I last voted, Washington, it was all postal voting).
It could well be a day for the records in terms of the numbers of registered voters voting.
So we will vote and wait to see the outcome.
We have been enjoying wonderful autumn weather: sunny days and frosty mornings. How good it was to 'fall back in the Fall' last Sunday to rejoin standard time. Begun during wartime, long ago, Daylight Saving persists despite economic analyses suggesting that is does not save energy and costs more that remaining on standard time. At least the sun now gets up at a more convenient time.
The fine weather has extended the suitability of bike riding. Corning has some really beautiful countryside and, from where I live, I am quickly into rural scenery and quiet roads that often run alongside the rivers jn the valleys. Climbing out of the valleys can be quite a grunt, I do admit.
At the end of my last ride, I was lying on my back on the rear deck looking up at the blue, cloudless sky and the autumn leaves and suddenly thought, 'Photos". Jumping up I got myself inside and returned with my camera. So, here is what I had been looking at:
Once you get going with a camera, it can be amazing how that changes how you look at familiar scenes. Suddenly, instead of leaves to be mulched, lawn to be mowed, fallen branches to be picked up...there were scenes to be photographed!
The local squirrels seem to love this weather also. Of course, they are busy finding and burying seeds for their winter larders. Nonetheless, they find time to frolic about together in the sun. They love the breezes which seem to get them quite excited. Have you ever looked at a squirrel's tail lit from behind by the evening rays of sunlight. Their fur is amazingly fine and their tails are electric with small tremors. Almost as in the Spring, they run about, chasing each other up and around the trunks of the trees...squirrel aerobatics!
This pic eventuated as my favorite for the day. Luckily for me, the three trees in the yard take in turns to shed their leaves. This tree is the last and it may be several more days before all its leaves havel fallen. The streets are lined with heaps of leaves at the front of all the houses...except for our place where, at the rear, compost grows higher with each mowing.Have you ever wondered where the squirrels go during Winter? Chipmunks pop in and out of their holes while woodchucks retire to the burrows to hibernate and to have their litters. One thing squirrels do is to construct nests made of leaves in the forks of three branches. This tree has such a nest, about two thirds of the way to the top. Also, while woodchucks sleep the squirrels may decide to squat in the woodchuck holes. The woodchuck are generous chaps and do not seem to mind the occasional guest.
We have had two days when fine snow fell, quietly materializing all around then melting as soon as the flakes found the ground. This sent me into the shed to recover my skis with the aim of getting my winter gear in order. Also, the promise of snow had me swapping out my snow tires. I am keeping my fingers crossed as such behavior has been know to send snow away. After election day, I plan to drive north to check out cross country ski areas between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks Park.
Happy Election Day if you live in the US and, if in Canada or Australia, enjoy the spectacle.
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