Tuesday, December 02, 2008


THE SUMMER OF OUR DISCONTENT RAMBLE


Here it is December already and there is no snow on the mountains, the oak tree still has green leaves on it, we haven't had a single frost and my potatoes think they're in Hawaii, despite the black hole in the world economy. I too, when I'm working outside, am soon down to my t-shirt when it should be snowing, and as I work I have the distinct feeling that glaciers are melting, ice sheets are shattering, polar bears are disappearing and Eskimos are developing beachfront...

Of course it could all be just a centurial anomaly or something, as the folks who know as little as anyone else insist; besides, what do we mere mortals know about the history of anything, really, short term as we are, just a few gossipy fragments of surmises here and there written down as gospel, either way we don't really know what we're talking about, we can't even explain our own desires or the ice ages, or even the words we say about them, though our minds know more than we do.

The puzzles nevertheless are ongoing, like the strange lack of acorns and other nuts (excluding human) in the northeast US this year, and the disappearance of tuna and sharks from the sea and certain birds from the sky, what does our knowledge really know, the sun's getting weird, the solar system prefers to be alone, the galaxy is acting quirky, galactic clusters are accelerating away from something, space is bent and now they've sensed some strange attractions from outside the universe as we call it; so what else is new, is this all normal, are we having guests, should I put my shirt back on?

5 comments:

joared said...

Oh, I think there's much going on inside and outside of our universe that should give us all pause.

Isn't Earth supposed to be tipping ever so slightly on its axis? Add to that our exploitation of nature as a source of change. Now you tell me I must think about attractions from outside the universe? We foolishly think we have so much control of our lives and world.

Tabor said...

I also find it strange that humankind thinks he/she can tweak some here and there and 'fix' the changes.

Anonymous said...

Here in New Hampshire we're seeing much colder than usual weather this fall. The ground froze almost a month earlier than usual. I'm close enough to the seacoast to still have bear ground, but much of the state is already covered in several inches of snow.

Two years ago the ground didn't freeze and we didn't really get any snow that stuck until late January. Last year it started snowing in November and didn't stop until mid-April, adding up to somewhere around 100 inches of snow even in the southern part of the state.

So, yeah, it's probably an anomaly, but what is normal?

I think it's human nature to think we can fix anything, but the reality is that the Earth was warming and cooling long before we arrived and it'll continue warming and cooling long after we're gone.

Mary Lou said...

We are still having early Fall weather...and Yeah, might not hurt to put your shirt on and fix a fresh pot of tea...just in case...

Anonymous said...

And here in Pensacola, Florida we are having a boon crop of acorns. When I walk to the gate each day, they crunch under my feet. Even the squirrels have grown complacent. (The number of two-legged nuts seems about the same as usual. . .)