What a ride! After two weeks of dramatic rain and hail squalls, suddenly it is an oppressive 85 degrees in the shade, without a hint of a breeze. The exuberant verdancy of our gardens suddenly seems briefly frozen in time before it all droops. The spinach bolts, and I want to also.
This is going to be a long summer of interesting developments. The scientists and policymakers can continue to debate their facts and figures regarding climate change, but those of us who putter around the garden or spend time walking in the mountains have a keen sense of great change. It has been coming on slowly, yet inexorably.
The chewing/gnawing-type insect population has been in full force this spring due to the very mild winter temperatures. There are holes in flower buds, flower petals and most leaf surfaces. Is this the new "lacy" look for plant portraits?
How will our local farmers survive with these wild swings in weather patterns? I understand that several crops were heavily damaged by the hailstorms. The tender early-summer lettuces we have all come to appreciate will be tougher, and more bitter, due to last week's premature heat wave. What other impacts are in store for us?
It is that sense of not-knowing and the sheer scale of the situation. We know we shouldn't drive so much, yet ... we want to travel and explore the world we are now so connected to through the Internet. But we also know those jets overhead are streaming pollutants behind them - we can see the trails with our own eyes. And we know the ratio of pollutants to the small number of people being moved is truly unacceptable.
This all reminds me of the age when people did not have the words to explain the sun's eclipse by the moon. It would just go dark for a period of time. Similarly, we sense the great weather change, but we do not have the words or the energetic leadership to act together, and globally, in an effective manner.
Meanwhile, the beautiful and soothing marine air has flowed back into the region, calming our fevered brows. All seems the same as we have known it: a gray and cool Memorial Day weekend.[[In-content Ad]]
