Lat night's (this morning's?) rain amounts were highly variable. The city to our south got about 0.5 inch; to our east about 1 1/4 inches; to our north about 1.5 inches. That means we probably got 1 to 1.5 inches here. SiSi, my rescue dog, needed her paw held for awhile about 2:45 am while the thunders and lightnings were booming around. We were fortunate that the storms continued east before it was time for our early morning walk.
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| robins in driveway puddle
Photo by J. Harrington
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A couple of robins enjoyed splashing and playing in the driveway's large puddle this morning. The drive is again covered in dead oak branches, broken by the storm's winds. It appears there may be more than a little validity to the climate scientists' claims that our climate crisis is triggering more volatility in our weather. 😉 Climate breakdown doesn't cause these storms and heat waves, it makes them more intense when they do occur. Plants and animals may find it difficult to impossible to adapt to extended periods of drought interspersed with intense, excessive precipitation episodes. Look at New York's and China's recent flood examples to see what's happening to our built environment. Unfortunately, even the Democrats are not responding to GHG emission reductions as if they thought "climate change" was the crisis it is, nor are adaptive actions moving expediently enough. Today's Republicans, on the other hand, are as useful now as they were during the original New Deal. May they suffer the same fate!
Despite my continuing, and growing, frustrations with the Democratic Party, from time to time there are reasons to hope for a better future. This morning I read one such reason, Q&A: 23-Year-Old Rural Organizer Anderson Clayton on Making Change and Coming Home. One part that really caught my attention is
... what a rural Democratic Party is all about. A party that shows up everywhere, meets people where they are (on their front porch), and cares deeply about the community they call home. This fight isn’t about winning or losing to me, it’s about saving the place where I grew up. And that is going to be a long battle, but one that’s worth fighting each and every day. I don’t have to win rural communities for me to feel we’re making progress in them. But we do have to start speaking up and holding our local government accountable to the people who live there.
The same themes apply at the state and national levels. The place all of US call home is Earth and we all need to "start speaking up and holding our ... government accountable to the people who live there."
The sky, above us here, is open again.
The sun comes hotter, and the shingles steam.
The trees are done with dripping, and the hens
Bustle among bright pools to pick and drink. . . .
But east and south are black with speeding storm.
That thunder, low and far, remembering nothing,
Gathers a new world under it and growls,
Worries, strikes, and is gone. Children at windows
Cry at the rain, it pours so heavily down,
Drifting across the yard till the sheds are grey. . . .
A county father on, the wind is all—
A swift dark wind that turns the maples pale,
Ruffles the hay, and spreads the swallows’ wings.
Horses, suddenly restless, are unhitched,
And men, with glances upward, hurry in;
Their overalls blow full and cool; they shout;
Soon they will lie in barns and laugh at the lightning. . . .
Another county yet, and the sky is still;
The air is fainting; women sit with fans
And wonder when a rain will come that way.
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Thanks for visiting. Come again when you can.
Please be kind to each other while you can.
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