End of Year Wrap-Up

     The rains held off in September, for once, and the beans matured and then dried partly on the vines. Transported into the barn to complete drying, hanging on twine tied to the rafters, they will make good baked beans and chili. But the lack of rain and near-drought conditions made it difficult for the other crops in the garden, while the apples remained small--as was the harvest. September thru November was unusually warm, and the rains finally did come by mid-October. The first frost didn't occur until mid-November. We've been getting those first frosts a few weeks later, now, than in the previous century, probably the result of climate change. Another result, though, has been more bitter cold weather around the time of the winter solstice thru mid-January; and this year is no exception. For the past five days the temps haven't risen above ten degrees F.
     The cold weather in New England apparently prompted our nation's leader to a skeptical statement regarding climate change, directed to the "blue" states here that did not vote for him in 2016. In saying that the cold weather disproves global warming, he is in error: climate change intensifies the heat and the cold both--that is, weather extremes due to the current climate change regime are greater, as are storms, hurricanes, snowfall amounts, rainfall amounts, while ocean levels rise along shorelines. Global warming refers to the overall rise in the temperature of the planet, not to whether we have a cold spell in the winter. It is remarkable that our nation's leader withdrew the US from the Paris climate change agreement while he ignores climate science and on the basis of his recent statement, evidently misunderstands global warming. 
     Several years ago I was invited to write an essay for Antioch College's reflective environmental journal, Whole Terrain. I chose to write on the sound of climate change, something that I heard for myself in the terrible storm of 2014 that blew down and snapped off so many trees. With climate change, the habitat will change here and so will the populations of plant and animal species. Already some of the unwelcome insects from the southern parts of New England are on the march here, migrating to where they will find fresh food. The rise in deer ticks and Lyme disease in northern New England is one indicator. The changing bird population is another. This winter I've not seen juncos about, the way I normally do. Perhaps these cold-climate birds are just late in arriving. The white-throated sparrows, once abundant here in the previous century, are now largely absent. Weeks go by in the spring and summer without my hearing their songs in this place. 

A reminder of spring: Jack-in-the-pulpit, May, 2017

     I expect that I'll be able to grow more crops in the garden next spring, as my knee has gradually improved. And walk more often in the woods, seeing skunk cabbages, jack-in-the-pulpit, and other plants and wildflowers in season. But I'm also spending more time reading and writing now, working on various articles and book projects, not to mention preparation for lectures at conferences; and all of this leaves less time for gardening. Still, I was able to plant one new apple tree variety last May, Zestar, and it seems to have done all right despite the drought. The other recently-planted apple tree, Garden Royal, finally grew a good deal this past spring, and is now above deer height. If I have the time and inclination I'll do some grafting next spring, as I have a few spaces in the orchard yet to plant.
     Winter is always a good time to take stock of the previous year, and plan for the next!