Brrrr! It’s Friday morning and 19 degrees windchill!
Was the 84 degree temp on Wednesday just an April Fool’s joke?
Spring
Ah, the smell of mud and moss
The crocuses are coming!
Night is filled with a chorus of frogs
and the squawking of geese,
calling their kin from the south.
The resident beavers,
freed from beneath their glass ceiling,
reclaim the lake
and answer my playful warnings with their own.
Painted turtles do a dance—he tickles her chin.
They come to my canoe and look right up at me.
Are they too sleepy to be afraid,
or too much in love?
Bluebirds have already claimed house #40.
Miss Lilac prepares to unfurl her green flags,
while the pussy willows fluff up their furry tails.
It’s all so exciting!
If only there were not that ominous
something wrong.
The frightening math
of 81 degrees
on the 26th of March
at the 45th parallel.
( ©March 26, 2007 Holly Jorgensen)
That was eight years ago. We Minnesotans still love our warm spring days. But now we know they are not just anecdotes, or the stuff of poems. They are breaking records, yet are only mild examples of the extremes happening world-wide. The science is indisputable – climate change is here, wreaking all kinds of havoc with our planet and our economies. The good news is that fewer people are wasting energy denying the facts and more are investing in energy-saving and carbon-reducing technologies. For 3 minutes of entertaining good news on global innovations, click here. http://climaterealityproject.org/video/good-news
We can’t all replace our old windmills with turbines, but we can all do something. Recycling is a start. If you’re busy with spring cleaning and wondering what to do with the excess stuff so many of us have, or if you actually need some things but would rather not buy new and feed the engines of over-consumption and pollution, you might enjoy reading my blog of last April, Free Stuff at the Curbside Boutique! It’s April again and pick-ups start soon in many communities. If you’re not quite ready for cruising the curbs, the church rummage sales are right around the corner, and the second-hand stores are brimming with gifts from other people purging. Whether you donate your cast-offs or shop second-hand, you are spring-cleaning more than your own little habitat. You’re helping to reduce waste on the planet and taking a small step toward stability in the weather, and perhaps in your own wallet. Have fun!