We might have thought we had bad weather and a big problem last Monday when twenty to thirty inches of snow fell in the driveway, but it didn’t compare to the earthquake and following tsunami that recently struck Japan’s north coast. Some might say these events aren’t weather related, but they are in my mind. They could cause weather issues for months or more.
I remember the shaking we got several years back and thought the furnace was on a tear. I got about halfway down the shaking cellar stairs at the Ranger Headquarters, when I realized the furnace wasn’t even running. The aftershocks are still going on in Japan almost a week later. A near ten on the Rector Scale is what you might call “the big one” if you were anywhere close to it. Many lives were lost from the tsunami. It was 30 feet high and went miles inland washing over anything in it’s path. Mother Nature still has a grip on planet earth. Just when we think we have her under control, which I hope we never do, she roars up her head to let us know who’s boss. Scientists say the shocks from the earthquake moved the earth on it’s axis four inches. I don’t know what that does to the planet, but a mere four inches sure could change things.
More than the loss of life, the nuclear power plants impacted by the earthquake seem to be attracting most of the attention. It would be an environmental disaster if the plants melt down and put their radioactive pollutants into the atmosphere. Certainly this would slow down the push for more nuclear power plants in an effort to wean the US of oil. Maybe talk about solar or wind power will pick up now. Solar has come a long way in the last few years, and its cheaper too. If we all have a few solar collectors taking up space in our yards in the next few years, won’t that be a good thing?
Locally, even though we got 20 inches of snow and more, it didn’t stop the bird migration. Last Sunday, my brother in Willsboro had 10 Red-winged Blackbirds and 1 Grackle show up at his feeder and Mary Lamphear had two Redwings in Raquette Lake. I’ve had several reports of Starlings at feeders, mostly on suet feeders. I had a Starling and a Song Sparrow on Saturday 3/13 and just up the road Stan Ernst had a Redwing. Stan thought it was a tricolor from the west coast, but changed his mind the next day.
When birds are migrating they often get off course and show up in odd places. Sometimes they are on the wrong side of the ocean. Recently, one of the Ring-billed Gulls we banded years ago on Four Brother’s Island turned up in England. This is the fourth such report from across the big pond from gulls banded on Four Brother’s. One of our Black Crowned Night Herons was shot in the Azores off Spain and two were found dead in Costa Rica within six months from when they were banded as chicks.
I have heard several stories of locals cooking down maple sap they collected on their stovetop and the moisture it released took the wallpaper off their walls. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. You have to boil off the other 39 gallons of moisture or water, which releases as steam. That’s why it should be done outside and not in the house. Reading from a jug of Pure Maple Syrup, it says it’s nature’s healthful sweetener. It contains vitamins, minerals and necessary amino acids. Try it on grapefruit, hot cereal, granola, plain yogurt, winter squash or sweet potatoes. Use it as a glaze on meat and over ice cream. Put it in milk or a milk shake. My favorite, of course, is on pancakes, waffles or French toast. Once open, maple syrup should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. The freezer is the best as it becomes thick but will not freeze. If mold forms on the top of the syrup, it can be restored to nearly it’s original flavor by reheating it to the boiling point and skimming.
There are more signs of Spring happening, but that’s another story. See ya.
