13 thoughts on “”

1. Oooh. It snew! That simile is like the grit in the oyster. It works particularly well because it doesn’t work (paper’s white? if there’s a hole then that’s not white? so the snow…? what’s white and what’s not white? etc) imho. [Getting my coat now…]

   • The snow breaks branches, leaving ugly (non-white) scars, if you want to be literal about it.

   • Still snowing hard, BTW. 6-8 inches are forecast. We will almost certainly lose power soon.

     • Blooming heck. It was such a beautiful bathed in golden day of autumn here. And yes, having seen the photograph I got the get in the branches. Why does snow take the power out? Does it bring down cables? (of course you won’t be able to answer that if it’s gone)

       • Yes, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that one or more trees or large limbs will take out the high line somewhere in the area. OTOH, it’s almost stopped now, the temperature has climbed a couple degrees above freezing, and the now is falling off the trees, so I’m cautiously optimistic that they’re won’t be too much damage to the forest.

         I’m uploading a video right now, though I think the still photo at the Woodrat Photoblog is more effective.

2. Hmm. But isn’t snow damage a natural phenomenon? I was looking at a plaque on Hampstead Heath today which bemoaned the damage caused by the hurricane of 87 and thanked the donors who contributed to its “repair”. One appears to me to be a “natural” phenomenon, the other not.

   • What’s natural? Global climate change accounts for at least a majority of these freak storms. I’ve lived here for four decades and have a pretty good idea of the extent to which odd weather events are proliferating. We’re already seeing portions of what had been black cherry-dominated woods turned into permanent savannas due to a combination of too-common ice storms and over-browsing by deer (another unnatural phenomenon).

3. We’ve had this discussion before. What is “unnatural”. When did it, however you define it, become so. Bah.

   • Yes we did. You obviously failed to take notes on my many trenchant points.

     • I think you mean entrenched. To the barricades!

4. (I keep forgetting to hit reply and thereby end up being unnested. Double bah. Humph, even.)

5. COLD FEET

   Snow. Can’t hold it back now.
   You said you would not go to
   her wedding. Too heart-sick.

   But she will hound you anyway
   like the wandering winds here,
   running through dark rooms

   like cackling broomstick riders
   on lost halloweens: Chicken little,
   chicken little. Your sky is falling!

   Can’t take my letter back. Tore a
   hole through the “regrets” but left
   “can’t make it” unexpunged with

   that hard eraser. Can’t retract snow.

   — Albert B. Casuga
   10-29-11

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