Yes, I know it's been well over a month since I last posted, and I no longer have the holidays to blame for my slackerly behaviour. I've had many good intentions to start posting some film reviews (and they will happen soon, I promise!) but honestly, it's been a rough start to the new year for me. I won't go into long, whiny dissertations as to why, but suffice to say, I've just not been energized to keep up with things around the blogosphere. I've heard others say they need a blogging break from time to time, so let's just leave it at that.On other fronts, however, we had such a mild December that we thought winter would never make it out here ... but au contraire, since January hit, we've been feeling it on a regular basis. From a New Year's Eve snow (we barely missed hitting a record for the lowest snowfall ever in December for our area), to present day, we've been having much more seasonal weather around the IVG homefront. And honestly, I've been rather glad we have. Olivia had told me back a few weeks ago that friends of hers in Toronto had daffodils coming up, which led me to panic that our bulbs would be trying to come up prematurely ... but fortunately, they are still apparently biding their time and staying below ground. And with the last few weeks' cold and snow, I'm not worrying about them trying to emerge before their appointed times.....as I write this, it's about 1 F with a windchill of -20 outside, some of the coldest weather we've had in quite some time.
So, with all our recent snows, the icicles are sure to come round... so this post will give you a sense of what has been dripping and freezing off the roof by our driveway... you can thank Fernymoss for the photos, since he's been around more during the day than I have, so he was able to capture this megacicle before it finally broke off and smashed itself into the driveway on Friday, when it got all the way up to 44 here. I'm sure there will be more soon, since we've plunged back down into the deep freeze... but hey, January may be almost done, but that doesn't mean there won't be many more snows. In fact, some years, February is snowier for us than January ... What will happen this year yet remains to be seen, but if the past few weeks are any indication, the groundhog will see his shadow on his appointed day.
And, you know, even if it does mean we have an extended winter, that's not such a bad thing. Since many of our plants do need a long cold period to complete their cycles, far be it from me to criticize, just because I don't want to have to dress warmly and just plain deal with winter, it's all part of the climate cycle that needs to happen for things to stay in balance.
Shameless plug here: our truly and honestly elected president in 2000 (we wuz robbedI) has been warning about such change for quite some time. And I'm thrilled that An Inconvenient Truth has been nominated for two Academy Awards! If you still haven't seen this alternately depressing, yet ultimately hopeful film, then get your butt out and either buy it or rent it as soon as possible! Fair minded people of any political stripe should be able to see, just from the evidence presented, that we are currently undergoing some major climatic changes that will affect our way of life in the near future. And if they can't acknowledge these simple truths, then perhaps we, as a species, don't really deserve to survive after all. Yep, that was harsh, but take a look at this map from the Arborday Foundation and see just how much our growing zones have changed in just the last 16 years! You don't have to be a weather geek like me to see that some profound changes are happening.
And the longer this delusional administration refuses to acknowledge the problem, the closer we skate toward the eventual abyss. Impeachment is not merely an option, it is a moral imperative! For our survival, and our future generation's survival, this evil puppet must be stopped!
Oh, and by the way, I hope you all had a happy new year's celebration ... Now it's time to get down to work and turn this country around and head us into a more positive direction. Let's make that our project for 2007 ....
8 comments:
Hi IVG! Wow, those are huge icicles -- megacicles, hehe! Love that. You better be careful thought, that one of those doesn't fall off and konk you or the furry loves. Happy to hear that your bulbs have stayed down ... and now that you've got the snow maybe we'll see some holly berries ... ;)
You know I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth yet, of course you know me and movies ... just saw Annie Hall and Manhattan this w/e for the first time. LOL ... hopefully it doesn't take 25 years eh? ;)
That is a scary looking graphic on the moving growing zones. I hope that this year has been a blip and that we get back to regular cycles (remember how my stuff came a good month or so early last spring?) ...
Have a good week at work there toots. Keep that chocodrawer full! :)
Hi IVG glad to see you back. I think everybody has to take a break from blogging every now and then. I'm just glad yours has been relatively short.
As Olivia, I haven't see An Inconvenient Truth either. The next time I rent a movie, that will be on the list.
I haven't been out to the yard to do anything this whole winter. If I don't watch it the leaves will start growning back before I get the old ones off the ground. I keep giving myself the excuse that someone stole my leaf blower out of the carport so I have to wait until I get another one. Lame excuse I know, but it's the only one I've got. :)
I hope this coming week will be a better one for you than last week. Just keep your head up.
Take care
FM
Hey there O and FM! Thanks for the kind words, as always. No worry as to getting conked by the megacicle, as it broke off and shattered sometime Friday when it made it up to 44 here. I'm sure more will be forming soon though, since we're supposed to get some more snow late this afternoon and into the evening.
You two really do owe it to yourself to see Inconvenient Truth ... if you've been putting it off because you think it would be too depressing, let me just say that it is very serious, but with a hopeful conclusion. Ok, I'll descend from the soapbox! Make sure you do check out the extras on the DVD... there's a very long, detailed update from Gore that is well worth watching, along with the other supporting materials.
Welcome back, IVG!
Another movie-slacker here, I haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth either. :-P Wow... that arborday pic is scary; we've gone from a solid zone 7 to just inside zone 8 here. I was planning on starting some basil and bell pepper from seeds; looks like I need to go ahead and fill the seed trays….
Silly question: can you cover your plants with shaved ice or something on warm days to keep them from sprouting early?
Howdy Far, nice to see you again. I'd think that where you are, you could certainly start your pepper and basil seeds any time now. Though (and maybe you know this) Basil seedlings can have a bad tendency to "damp off" in the early stages if it gets a bit too cool for it ... they'll look ok one day and be dead the next. So I usually wait until warmer weather to start those, but peppers don't mind a bit of chill once they get going.
I don't see why you couldn't use some ice or something to keep stuff from sprouting too soon, but we don't usually have that problem in our parts. :-)
As for us... won't even begin to think about starting seeds until sometime next month at the earliest. Especially in the current deep freeze we're in (it was 0 again when I went to work this morning...)
Hello IVG. I agree with all of the above and glad to hear the megacicle bit the dust before damaging anyone or anything.
Your furkids look to be in utter bliss in the previous post. So cute. We used to do that with our cairns too, but then a tooth broke so we quit.
That growing zones map is really scary but very believable. And, sorry, Olivia, it's here to stay. I'm not sure what we can do to turn it around now. I know Gore ends on a positive note but if he didn't do that, no one would have the guts to watch the movie. It's been coming a long time. Remember how much snow there used to be when you (us/we) were all kids? I remember my Grandmother saying how the horse she and her siblings rode to school would have to go through drifts up to his belly and that was in southern Ohio. I've seen many such changes in my own lifetime and to think this map reflects only the last 16 years. Yikes!!!
Hope all is well at your house with you and yours. Take care.
Hi there P4! Glad to you see you stopping by again ... I need to head over to your place and see what's new as well! I hope you've escaped the worst of those storms out your way the past few weeks ...
Yes... memories of snows past don't seem to match up with what we have been experiencing the past 6-7 years here (and we've lived in our house for 8 now!) I too was alarmed, but not that surprised, by the Arborday Foundation map, which is why I felt I needed to share it with others, if for no other reason, than to hit home some of the points our duly elected president makes in his film. I am somewhat hopeful that if enough people and governments take action now, we may be able to attenuate some of the catastrophic changes to come. I may be hopeful, but my innate doubt in the actions of most humans does leave me a bit pessimistic on that issue.
At least we feel that if we continue to perpetuate our own little green spaces, we can make some difference ... perhaps a pipe dream, but it does keep us going!
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