The Fourth of July

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42eehf0KCVBGtrkAvQVefwdfAFg1jkOUkXcJI6iKgcDceT2UlZT6c8vuM2Um1QAdM2UH64Ebr0M1CeM_NZ79yFqeGA0oTW9NTABfX2pX4Dr6lUedBXJbv8N-NNV90RzEvzy5HLPRdKI0M/s1600-h/robinegg.jpg">

At the last minute I decided to make a lobster bisque to bring to the boat party. I had to make the broth on the burner attached to the grill outside, because I've turned the Aga off for the summer. I saw a sweet little nest in the V of the porch roof support, shaded by the Concord grape vine, and peeked inside. Sure enough! Beautiful robin's eggs. the mother was watching me indignantly from a perch on the bean support in the garden.


It was lovely to behold but actually isn't good news. If the mother is brooding now it means she lost the first batch of babies somehow. And the grapes look dismal, as do the leaves.

Anyway on to the fun stuff, I took the bisque to the party with the aforementioned scallops and goat-cheese stuffed shrimp wrapped in prosciutto to the dock in Jersey City. It was more or less a potluck and in the end, we didn't take out our boat but "Yacht-pooled" with some friends. Wasn't that so environmentally swell? But the view was breathtaking!


At sunset, we are all ready to head for the harbor...






Here is our skipper!

And here the Bobbsey Twins!



http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/04/nyregion/20090704-fireworks-pano.html?hp




Then today, Sunday, Alice takes first in dressage. Next stop (next year) Grand Prix!!!

And How did the trees look at the Pennsylvania Horse Park? Sort of like these.







Now, a couple of analogies as it has dawned on me that not everybody reading this blog reads about climate change every day and understands the strong science that supports it.

First, you will often hear howls of protest - but it snowed in June! It's been the coldest winter ever! This is the fallacy of conflating Weather with Climate Change.

Ask yourself, would your doctor be able to look at all his patients and predict which of them is going to die of heart disease within the next year? Of course not. But can the Center for Disease Control predict with a fair degree of certainty that over 600,000 people in the US will die of heart disease this year? Of course they can! They base it on past events, and research of current conditions.

Climate scientists do the same thing. While they won't say any particular hurricane is attributable to climate change, they can and do accurately predict that storms will be more frequent and more violent due to climate change.

Unless you are versed in counting pollen trapped in ice core that dates back to past geological episodes of climate change, which indicate mass extinctions in short periods of time and corollate it to concentrations of atmospheric CO2 also trapped in bubbles frozen in ice, it really might be a good idea to rely on the experts. They are the ones doing the hard work to inform the rest of us. It's our responsibility to listen, and learn.

Sciencedaily.com, newscientist.com, guardian.co.uk/environment and of course climateprogress.org are good places to check for the latest research.

Another analogy!

Let's say you go to your doctor and you are told that you have been diagnosed with a brain tumor, and you must be operated on immediately or die. Well, you don't much like that prospect so you go to another doctor to seek another opinion - not a bad idea. Except the second opinion is the same as the first so, still not enamored of the grim prognosis, you try a third and it's damn! Surgery or die!

Well, what do you do? Do you accept reality and submit to invasive and possibly expensive medical procedures? Do you submit to the notion that you are going to spend a long period of time very unpleasantly recuperating and unable to do the fun things you are used to doing? Or do you keep looking up new doctors until you finally locate some isolated quack that assures you that you can be cured with homeopathy?

This analogy is precisely the same as with climate change. One Thousand Four Hundred studies by climate scientists recently issued a warning to every citizen of the globe that we are on a rapid collision course with utter disaster if we do not stop emitting greenhouse gasses. Are you going to listen to the experts or to a few quacks that are paid shills for the oil and gas profiteers? http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hn9EaFRM5owBl88wB18ovtOmoqxg

Sure, adapting to sustainable living is going to be tough. We are used to flying in airplanes at a whim, and having landscapers come to our homes and squander fuel mowing our lawns, and importing food from another hemisphere so we can have raspberries in January, and really cheap embroidered clothes and electronics and endless other stuff shipped from China. And that will have to end.

And beyond that, we have to rein in the population explosion. Somehow if we are to survive as a civilization, there will have to be agreement by all societies and religions that there should be a one-child per family policy. If you do the math, you will understand that we could get back to a reasonable number of people in just a couple of generations.

The alternative is to cull the population with famine, and warfare.

Which is preferable?

And a couple of other points that may get lost on my random posts.

1. Climate change is always followed by mass extinction. We have changed the climate over the last 200 years especially. Mass extinctions are inevitable. GOOGLE it!

2. Trees that show the following symptoms of decline are going to die: wilted or drooping leaves, losing leaves, thin crowns, brown leaves, bare branches, pines you can see through, abnormal production of cones or seeds, early fall coloration, yellow leaves, spindly growth, etc. By the time this occurs, it means, the roots are not functioning in their uptake of water, and the tree is not able to distribute the water and for all intents and purposes, that is a dying tree.

Lastly a few flowers, the splendid gardenia with its incomparable scent, and more of the exotic hibiscus because it is performing so well.

As for Sarah Palin, and the endlessly fascinating saga of her pathological self-indulgence, there is just TOO much to say here, so I will provide this link to the excellent Mudflats article in HuffPo, instead (Mudflats server having been overwhelmed with traffic):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/akmuckraker/huffington-post-blogger-s_b_225817.html

I especially recommend the link to the emails about the First Dud's membership in the Alaska Independence Party. The lies are so blatant and are called out by McCain's staff, it is hilarious and the most concise example of how delusional Sarah Palin is.


I wrote to the local newspaper and the editor didn't publish it. Why does the Bernardsville News hate their readers so? Don't they think they should know about a mass extinction in their midst?

Here's my letter, and if the B'ville News won't touch it, I'm going to revise it a bit perhaps and then send it to other publications:

Dear Editor,

I learned today that my Congressional Representative Lance has been besieged by constituents who object to his vote in support of President Obama’s climate legislation.

This is very sad, because those same constituents will soon realize that their precious life style, never mind finances, are going to be adversely affected by the ravages of that very same inevitable and already occurring climate change.

The average temperature on Earth (AVERAGE) has already risen significantly enough to alter the environment for long-lived species such as trees, which cannot evolve, adapt, or migrate fast enough to keep up with the rise in temperatures and resulting weather chaos. The rise in CO2 levels thanks to human activity is now faster than in the entire geologic history of earth’s past climate change events in response to earlier volcanic and meteoric catastrophes.

Look around, our trees are dying everywhere. Day by day, they are dropping leaves. By the end of this summer, there will be very few that are not lifeless.

And then consider the implications of mass extinction of trees for the rest of the ecosystem - birds, ferns, fish in shaded streams, butterflies, fireflies.

Then wonder - who are these people that object to federal legislation that will boost clean energy? Why do they hate their grandchildren?

I urge all citizens to educate themselves. A good place to start is climateprogress.org, a wealth of information and background with extensive links to scientific research. I also recommend this NYT op-edhttp://www.nytimes.com/ 2009/ 06/ 29/ opinion/ 29krugman.html as a starting point for those who haven’t yet seen it.

Please visit my blog where I am documenting climate change in New Jersey - witsendnj.blogspot.com. I believe the only path to survival will mean bringing our communities together to combat the dangers that lay before us, and I hope to be a part of a forum for local action.

Sincerely,

Gail Zawacki
Oldwick, NJ

I have been accused of "wonderful, authentic outrage". Thank you Richard Pauli for that august compliment! I don't know that it's an accurate characterization, but certainly it is flattering. It reminds me of a dinner in Italy with my dual-citizen friend Marta, and the women she went to grammar school with. I couldn't understand a thing they said of course, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The Italians accent produces some difficulty in pronouncing my name (which I've always considered hideously mundane and boring!) - they could at best mangle it as Geee-All and evenutally one lady asked Marta, what does it mean? She translated for me her answer, which was, a Wild Tempest in the Sea. I almost corrected her, but then I decided I like quite like that interpretation!

Bob Herbert Nails that Creep Michael Jackson

In my last post I said that in very short order I could prove the trees are dying from any particular random location. These pictures were all taken from the same spot, in the parking lot in front of the Pottersville Deli and Post Office. All I did was turn and take pictures in different directions. Every single tree is thin, scorched and some in the row of pines you can hardly see because they are completely bare.

Now I am going to plant some beans, then wrap scallops and shrimp in prosciutto and skewer them for grilling later on the dock, from whence we will then sail forth into New York harbor to watch firecrackers AND I'M NOT GOING TO THINK ABOUT EXTINCTION FOR THE REST OF THE DAY.











http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/04/opinion/04herbert.html
My comment
July 4th, 2009
10:08 am
I agree with Mr. Herbert. Ever since Reagan declared "mourning in America" we have indulged in a collective binge that is devastating our environment and every aspect of our culture. I completely blame him and everyone who willingly bought into the notion that we could consume and pollute endlessly without accumulating serious adverse consequences.

A Bedtime Story

I have lots of pictures, but not time tonight to load them up. So I leave anyone interested with this http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327151.300-sea-level-rise-its-worse-than-we-thought.html?full=true

Thanks to Richard Pauli for that reference.

Explore and learn, is my advice. climateprogress.org is an excellent beginning, realclimate.org is more exact science, and read the comments. They have marvelous dialogue and links.

Update: the pictures appeared below this post, in The US Equestrian Team.

The United States Equestrian Team

The USET is headquartered in Gladstone, NJ, in the stables of what was once the estate of Diamond Jim Brady. The 3-storied stables are huge, built in a U shape around a courtyard. They are more elegant than any mansion, with a red tiled roof and brass bars for the stalls. In the center there is a glass ceiling to the third floor study, where Diamond Jim could view his horses led there by his grooms, to choose which he would ride. When my kids were growing up, we went to countless competitions there - some to watch, some to participate - and also every summer were exceedingly fortunate to use their Olympic-level facilities for Pony Club camp. Oh, the hours I've spent roaming those rolling fields and woods!

Since then, most of it has turned into a golf club. Very sad, that. Anyway, I like to think that if anyone ever asked me to prove that all the trees are dying (which nobody ever has) I would tell them that they could choose any spot anywhere from Virginia to Rhode Island, any place that has trees, and within one half hour I would be able to show them enough specimens that exhibit clear symptoms of terminal decline that they would be convinced.

The USET is a case in point. By random chance I had occasion to stop by there yesterday, and along the drive on the property it was impossible to find a single tree that DIDN'T show fatal symptoms. It was shocking, really, because it's such an old estate that there are many trees surrounded by lawns that it's easier to see what tragic shape they are in, compared to when they grouped together as in the woods. My camera battery quit when I was about half way down the driveway, so these pictures aren't even from the entire length of it.



















Here's an interesting read:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/28816321/the_great_american_bubble_machine/print

Broken Link

Aauuuuuuggghhhh! I cannot fix broken cloud link in the last post. Like a poltergeist, the old broken link will not go away no matter how many times I erase it.

But since no-one's life is could be considered complete until these images are seen, here is another attempt - this time, go to the Cloud Appreciation Society site and click on "more and more dramatic examples" for Asperatus skies.

http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/june-09/

swamps, food and clouds

It has become so depressing to record the decimation of the trees. Every day that passes, they look worse. I first saw a hanging branch with brown leaves about 2 weeks ago and I thought, it must have broken off. But now, driving along the road, every 50 feet or so I see the same thing. Tips of branches with leaves completely shriveled and brown. Somebody should make a name for this condition, because it's proliferating at an alarming rate. If it keeps up or accelerates, we aren't going to have any leaves by the fall this year.


another sign of decay and demise is turning color prematurely. This pair of burning bush should be green until October.

Next, some more pretty pictures!



my most favorite fruit, especially because it is wild, a gift from nature!















http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090629081127.htm

so much for plant food!

Last week we saw the most amazing clouds. The entire sky looked like a roiling sea. Everyone was frightened. It turns out there is a Cloud Appreciation Society and they are having a discussion about whether to name a new category of cloud formation, the pictures are spectacular!

http://www.cloudappreciationsociety.org/gallery/index.php?x=browse&category=52&pagenum=1

This poem "Selected Poems: 1957-1987'' (Soho Press) by W. D. Snodgrass. has been on my bulletin board since 1987 when I cut it out of the NYT:

The Marshy Heart of Poetry

Swampstrife and spatterdock lull in the heavy waters;
some thirty little frogs spring with each step you walk;
a fish's belly glitters tangled near rotting logs.
Over by the gray rocks muskrats dip and circle.
Out of his rim of ooze a silt-black pond snail walks
inverted on the surface toward what food he may choose.
You look up; while you walk the sun bobs
and is snarled in the enclosing weir of trees,
in their dead stalks.
Stick in the mud, old heart
what are you doing here?

And this also, which I thought was very droll:

Summer Recipes by Henry Alford, published in The New Yorker June 30, 2003

Seasonal cooking is anyway better suited to those who live in sunnier climates. The rest of us need to make the most of what warmth is offered, and much of the time this has to emanate from the kitchen rather than from the skies outside. Summer, then, is an idea, a memory, a hopeful projection.
—Nigella Lawson, “Forever Summer.”

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

8 tomatoes
6 c. olive oil

Unscrew a 100-watt light bulb while it is still gorgeously warm. With a rubbing motion, thrill the skins of the tomatoes until they start to pucker and tumesce. Uncork the oil; drizzle onto tomatoes until lubricious.

Skinny-Dipping at Dusk

8 c. water
25 lbs. cocoa

Store the water in a cool place, allowing it to bio-ripen for a period lasting months or even years. Meanwhile, fill your largest roasting pan with cocoa. Roll in cocoa.

Gone Fishin’

1 telephone
1 couch

Unplug the telephone and assume a position on your couch which suggests an odalisque or any late-career Ingres portrait. Should people or problems present themselves, bite into a nougatty chocolate and say teasingly, “I can’t help you. I’m very Ingres-y with you.” Let the slipcovers puddle around you like a light vinaigrette.

Summery Chinese Toboggan Salad

1 can bamboo shoots
1/2 c. sesame oil
4 stalks celery, chopped
Juice and zest of 3 lemons
1 wooden toboggan

Put the toboggan in a food processor and pulse for ten seconds on Eviscerate. Remove the splinters from the processor and toss with other ingredients. Arrange on a plate with your bare hands, letting your fingers burrow into the mixture as they do when encountering the rich loam of the earth. Strike your gong.

August Romance

2 c. high-quality vinegar
10 toffee caramels

Unsheath the caramels laughingly, unconcerned of outcome. Fork-prick to soften. Using the soft pads of your thumb and index finger to palpate the caramels, tease them into the vinegar, saying, “Mummy knows what’s best.” Put the whole concoction away someplace dark. Have a glass of Prosecco with a friend, displaying blitheness and a tendency, when food has been dropped on the floor, to plop it back onto your plate with a soulful, sensuous expression.
Can you leave the vinegar alone for between three days and three weeks? Try to, darling—what you’re doing here is tempering yourself as well as the candy. Enjoy this. Because when you return to the vinegar the caramels will be gone. ♦



And then allow me to make some observations.

1. haven't seen one honeybee at Wit's End this year, only wasps, and bumblebees
2. Mosquitos are much worse than in the past
3. Very few fireflies compared to the past
4. Very few birds, especially hummingbirds
5. Spring peepers non-existant
6. I was told by my grocer that there will be no more soft shell crabs, due to the rain (?) they are not shedding (?) I suspect there is something at work here that does not meet the smell test.