Yetismith posted: " 0724/28th February 2024 After dawn yesterday, the day grew progressively darker till I was obliged to turn on a light, despite sitting in front of large windows. By 3pm, the world had acquired a foreboding, distinctly brown hue that reminded me of"
After dawn yesterday, the day grew progressively darker till I was obliged to turn on a light, despite sitting in front of large windows.
By 3pm, the world had acquired a foreboding, distinctly brown hue that reminded me of the London smog in the 1950's.
.
The photographs don't capture it, but it brought to mind the Canada wildfire smoke of last year.
There was no smoke yesterday, but I wondered about this coming summer and then I saw reports from Texas of the appalling fires in the Panhandle.
.
Forest fires were not something I ever had cause to worry about until my last two years in Washington when we were affected by smoke.
Back in New York, I dismissed it until last summer.
It isn't the possibility of fire here that concerns me. It's the devastation of our planet.
You begin to wonder what is left.
.
Our temperature yesterday reached 59F/15C. A howling wind blew all day with periodic heavy rain but during the night there was a sudden plunge.
Waking to bright sunlight, I gaily went around turning off radiators. Then I went outside.
Oh. Winter again.
.
Soon clouds were drifting in again but I decided to accept a ride to Greenwich. This time it was not for shopping.
Greenwich is a multi-purpose destination!
Grant's accountant is there.
.
There were other things I could be doing.
Like sorting out cupboards and drawers.
I'm fast getting to the point where I'll just leave instructions to simply set fire to the lot.
When the time comes.
.
As we left, the sky was totally obscured but with the wind still howling, anything could happen.
And when we turned to come home the Sun was fighting hard to put its mark on the day.
.
We swung onto one of our alternate routes,
.
and what do you know!
.
Because we turned that way, Grant caught sight of wild turkeys on the rim of a hill.
.
Against the light and too far away for a decent picture, it was so wonderful to see them again after all these months and so many of them.
( 20 or more)
In our book, that made the trip worthwhile.
.
The distant hills had been brushed with snow but where we are all traces have vanished.
.
As we drove around there was more evidence of...
I am at a loss for what to call it.
When we were small, I remember my brother walking along country lanes bashing hedges with a stick and that is the image that comes to mind.
.
Not long ago, I mentioned the sudden clearing of undergrowth and trees everywhere.
It's all very well to clear overgrown brambles and tree limbs that are tied up in power lines, but I can see no sense in most of what has been done.
It has been done carelessly and savagely.
.
Mostly what they have done is drive their machine, whatever it may be called, along the edge of the road ripping and tearing at whatever is in its path, leaving torn debris wherever it happens to fall.
What my brother did, on epic scale.
These pictures are not very good examples, but the damage is quite disturbing.
.
Perfectly healthy trees were felled for no good reason. An eagle used to perch in one of them.
This has been done by government workers. So, is one to assume they were given a job with a limited time frame and no supervision?
It gives the impression of work done by people who were pissed off and demonstrating it.
.
Any time we came upon one of these work parties, two of them would be in charge of the Stop/Go signs, one driving the machine and the rest standing around with hands in pockets.
In one case, the man with the sign was on the wrong side of the road vaguely dipping the thing. He then berated Grant for being confused.
.
Apart from the sad and unsightly damage, there is an underlying disturbing aspect to this.
Maybe these workers are badly paid and have reason to be unmotivated, but it suggests to me more of a general attitude of hopelessness that is also reflected in the ever increasingly neglected homes and equipment.
Locally though, it's as if an edict has been issued to clean up! Piles of trash have suddenly been removed from around one or two tatty houses, and front yards have been tidied. Vaguely.
.
It's as if the town is spiffing up for a Royal Visit.
But like someone cleaning house by flicking a dust mop here and there.
It all feels a bit strange.
.
Even in our isolated corner something's afoot.
Back here the clearing up takes place during the hours of darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment