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The Beautiful Last 100 Days

Animals are making a comeback.  Swine flu is hogging the headlines and a dramatic increase of bird strikes are getting more ink these days than government workers' sick-outs ever did.  To the chagrin of atheists, spiders have proven that resurrection is possible and to PETA's chagrin a famous Conservative is working for the Humane Society.

In our neck of the woods the winter weather has broken and spring has taken hold.  On a long daybreak walk up a mountain road this morning evidence of deer, black bear and snakes were present.  Avian life is teeming, squirrels and chipmunks are having a field day, frogs and toads have been chirping every night.

This morning's sky was severe clear and the only visibility problem that is being experienced by some of us these days -- Mr. and Mrs. Bloggo included -- are watery eyes caused by the excessive pollen from rapidly-growing grass, blossoming trees and flowers.  

Aquifer and reservoir levels are high and tests of wells point to a very potable water supply.  A friend tells me that the trout fishing in our fast-moving creeks and streams has been better than ever -- probably as a result of those annoying flies that make up such a major link in the fish food chain this time of year and about which so many of us have been complaining.  The streams and the nearby Hudson River look cleaner than they did when we were kids.

Winter was quite normal as well.  There was plenty of cold weather -- I've got the paid fuel bills to prove it -- and there was enough snow to provide a decent year for the nearby ski resorts, even in this down economy.  Post-winter frost heaves are a bigger problem than in some past years but we desperately need more shovel-ready projects, don't we?

It is very difficult, here in our corner of America -- a mere two-hour drive from the most populous metropolitan area in the nation -- to believe that global warming has taken hold or that the environment has been spoiled. Then again, we get our electric power from a miraculous marriage of Niagara Falls and a nuke plant.

Due to another miraculous marriage -- that of high taxes and an unfriendly business environment -- very few New Yorkers can recall the last time they actually saw smoke coming from a factory chimney. Most of us would have a tough time pinpointing a factory large enough to create an air pollution problem on a state map.

On the other hand, there are more cars on the road than ever before and rural areas such as this one are havens for full-size trucks and SUV's.

Wood-burning fireplaces and stoves are plentiful, as is the timber to fuel them.  Trees are being felled at a record clip but the forests keep regenerating and are thicker and more full of wildlife than in the past.  Bears and wild cats have made a big comeback and the deer and coyote populations are out of control.

Gas-guzzling boats, ATV's, snowmobiles, RV's and tractors with little or no pollution controls are also found and used in abundance here. I'm proud to report that our well-tuned car, truck, tractor and lawn mower all started on the first try today.

We are also allowed to openly burn organic debris if we give our volunteer fire department advance notice.  Everyone grills and open fire pits are all the rage.  Nonetheless, we opted to open all of our windows in favor of running the air conditioner and/or fans.

It might be interesting to hear a Nobel Prize-winner lecture us about how detrimental global warming has been to rural areas like this one but we don't have an airport here in Greene County that can handle his private jet.  

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