Winter Woods (click on pics)

Hiked 3 miles near Chapman Dam and Hearts Content today, doing a loop along a road then upon an ATV trail and back along an oil/gasline road. The partial sign is at Hearts Content, a natural area where the original loggers decided not to cut the trees in order to preserve a small section of original forest. So 300 year old trees-mostly hemlocks- reach much further up into the canopy than anywhere else in Pennsylvania. The turkey and black bear tracks are on a frozen puddle. An erratic climate has confused a lot of species, and likely delayed this bears normal hibernation cycle. I suspect that warmer winters may have bears foraging year round in the not too distant future, probably searching among humans for food when unable to find their normal sustanance...Although winter is not my preferred season, I try to find the beauty, and the end of hunting season has allowed me to return to the woods. In February Beth and I will be heading to New Mexico to hike,bike,play golf and explore the southwest-warm weather activities that I have embraced more and more as I have aged.

Snow...and the future?

...Had the first snow showers of the new winter today, three weeks later than in some other years; it has been a warm autumn. The closeup is of old goldenrod and the Kinzua lake shot shows the draw down of water that is common in winter. The DCNR/ArmyCorp prepares for snowmelt by releasing water from the reservoir-although that ultimately has been unnecessary the last two winters because of a lack of snow. That perhaps is because of the changing climate, and I suspect other new weather patterns will continue, especially now that we have a climate denying administration in power. It has been truly criminal how the fossil fuel industry-with help from politicians- has obsfucated the science, and how shortsighted the American public is in their acceptance of the status quo. I am quite pessimistic about the future when I observe so many people who claim to care about the environment hypocritically doing the opposite in their personal lives. They become distracted by deliberate propoganda about transgenders and immigrants and other issues, all the while the atmosphere heats up and the ocean acidifies and wildlife species die off...and they believe that none of the latter will affect them and their children and grandchildren? Do they truly think the current price of bread and gasoline and transgenders in the bathroom matter in the long perspective, or do they have no long perspective? They have just seen over 15 billion dollars wasted on the election yet they think there is not enough money for solar power or immigrant assitance or affordable housing? ...I have read books about engineers who are doing wonderful things about climate change such as designing new power transmission equipment to accept renewable sources, then I watch politicians forbid the importing of cheap electric Chinese vehicles. While importing vaccuum cleaners and cameras and bicycles and air conditioners and televisions is acceptible, selling automobiles that the average consumer could actually afford that might make a difference in American emissions is not; in truth, America prides itself on free enterprise until we are out competed by another country. So Republicans say they want to take America back, to dismantle the institutions and see what they can build from the rubble. Based on their lack of sound reasoning and disregard for facts and moral principles, I am fearful of what they shall erect. Politicians have rarely been our best people; now we shall see if the new leaders are qualified to address genuine problems.

My Final Trump Letter to Editor-with a postscript

>Letters to the editor in support of Mr. Trump often refer to Christian morality, and call him the “chosen one”, but that is difficult for the rest of us to understand when the man has broken at least 8 of the 10 commandments. Perhaps being anti-abortion is their motivation, yet in the year following a 6 week abortion ban in Texas, infant mortality rose 12.9 % over the previous year and infant death from fetal anomalies rose 23% compared to a decline of 3% in other states. Saving an embryo may feel right, but a day-old baby dying of malformations, or worse, being forced to live a life of suffering, has been one real world consequence. Look up the John Hopkins study... Contrary to claims by Mr. Trump, most illegal immigrants are not criminals so much as desperate people seeking a better life-just like the ancestors of present day Americans were doing. Many immigrants currently work at jobs like cleaning hotel rooms, roof construction and hard agricultural labor because natural born Americans do not want to do that important work. As for crime, the Texas Department of Public Safety reports that: “From 2012 to 2018, U.S.-born citizens were arrested for violent crimes at a rate that was more than twice that of undocumented immigrants. For drug crimes, U.S.-born citizens were arrested at a rate that was more than 2.5 times that of undocumented immigrants. For property crimes, U.S.-born citizens were arrested at a rate that was more than four times that of undocumented immigrants. “ In 2024, nationwide, the violent crime rate remains 49% below the peak in 1993, so despite fear mongering, crime is not the problem political propaganda says it is. In addition, most mass killings are perpetrated by white people, at 54%, followed by blacks, 17% and Latinos, at 8%. Check the FBI statistics... Despite Mr. Trump's denigration of America, the United States has been rated 3rd in ‘best overall country’ by U.S. News and World Report, behind only Switzerland and Japan. Anyone here earning more than $50 a day is in the top 20% worldwide, so when I see ‘Make America Great’ signs near houses where there are two cars in the driveway, a boat, an RV, a satellite dish and pizza box trash at the curb side, I conclude that Americans would do well to stop complaining and start appreciating what they have. Under Mr. Trump, the S&P 500 rose 58.3 % between January 2017 and January 2021, and in the last four years it has risen 51.1 % with 2 months remaining in 2024. So both presidencies have offered substantial market gains for all those with 401ks or other assets in the stock market. According to Investopedia, the national debt rose 33% under Mr. Trump and 17% under Mr. Biden as of 2023, but inflation has been a worldwide issue that has been the result of many factors- from supply chain shortages to consumer demand to profit taking to government spending. No president or country exists in isolation. The infrastructure being rebuilt under this administration and their support of cleaner energy sources are long overdue investments in the future. Those severe storms in Florida and North Carolina were predicted decades ago by scientists paying attention to reality... Some perceive Mr. Trump as being ‘tough’, yet according to his nephew and other family members, he evaded the draft in 1969 by having podiatrist Dr. Larry Braunstein, who was a tenant in one of his fathers buildings, write a false medical report claiming that he had bone spurs on his feet. Those perks of privilege were common during the Vietnam era, but since then he has mocked members of the military and tried to halt the peaceful transition of power that many veterans have died defending. His stated admiration of Mr. Putin and Mr. Kim Jon Un -both oppressive, sociopathic dictators willing to murder their own citizens-makes the rest of us wonder how those behaviors coincide with the Christian morality people think he represents? But I have no illusions about the sincerity of their convictions, and even close family members can disagree about politics and religion. Just remember that reality is nature's way of cutting through human hubris, and sooner or later truth emerges.< POSTSCRIPT- Mr.Trump won the election and some of my friends and family are deeply upset. While I truly wish the outcone had been different, my tendency is to see the larger perspective where politicians come and go. I encourage everyone to take a deep breath and continue their defense of truth,facts and the things they believe in. If someone or some policy asks you to do something you wholly disagree with, refuse.

Allegany State Park

We walked at Allegany park today (...spelled differently from Allegheny National forest because New York named the park in 1921 and saved that spelling even after the National geographic board adopted the 'egh' for the national forest) The leaves right now are just past their peak color, although compared to other years only certain trees had brilliant hues, with most of them a little muted/rusty.The lake was created by a dam and circling it is about 2 1/2 - 3 miles, with a swimming beach, fishing, kayaking and campsites nearby-the usual state park offerings. The weather this week has been exceptionally clear and warm, 70 degrees under blue skies, so Beth and I are taking advantage of it by hiking and biking and gardening and golfing.

Speaking of Plants...

The small oak tree in the pot is the second one we have found in the yard as a sprouted acorn. Eventually we will plant it somewhere like we did with the tree shown in the other pictures. The leaves of that first tree (a red oak) were eaten to bare wood twice, yet it refused to die, so we planted it in the ground for a year then replanted it in a more permanent location the next year. This year it blossomed to the size in the last photo, and seems to be well on its way. The following blog is about the latest research on plant behavior, which makes me extremely respectful of their will to live.

Plants

This is an enlightening book detailing the latest research on plant 'intelligence' or 'consciousness', although even among researchers there is still much disagreement on what terms to use to describe what they are discovering. That is, what word best describes the ability of plants to 'hear' the specific sounds of caterpillars muching on their leaves and respond appropriately with specific chemical insecticides to deter them? Or of the ability of common tomato plants to produce a chemical that can literally make caterpillars stop eating their leaves and start eating one another? Or the ability of some plants to recognize plants of their own genetic relation and so not grow their roots towards them in order to share resources while not doing that with unrelated plants? The list of 'intelligent' behavior is expanding as researchers continue to investigate, with more and more evidence accumulating to vindicate what I called 'sentience' among plants in Anti-Clock. For decades scientists were hesitant to study such things because of bias and fear of losing grants; such research is too borderline from the 'hard' sciences and open to mystical interpretation. But things have opened up in recent years and some of the discoveries are remarkable. Did you know that common ferns reproduce through spores that develop into a a tiny plant called a gametophyte, where the male reproductive structures on that plant produce sperm that swim in the moisture towards the female structure. So this book details all manner of new research about plants,which predate human beings by hundreds of millions of years and without which we would not exist.

Meanwhile

"On April 13, 2029, Apophis will pass within 19,794 miles (31,860 kilometers) of Earth's surface. This will be the closest approach to Earth by an asteroid of this size that scientists have known about in advance." While we are all hyper distracted by this and that on Earth, nature keeps reminding us that something could blind side us when most of us aren't looking. Of course, some people are looking, so astronomers discovered this 1,100 foot asteroid in 2004, and for awhile there was genuine concern that it might stike Earth with enough force to flatten a city. More precise calculations have reassured them-and everyone paying attention-that it will miss in 2029 and again in subsequent passes over the next 100 years. An asteroid of this size is estimated to strike the planet every 80,000 years. Personally, I am always oddly reassured by reminders that nature still dominates humanity despite our arrogance and hubris. Looking at the stars still humbles me to our insignificance within the Universe, and to the fragility of Earth and all of life living on it. While we argue and whine about political and religious and economic disagreements, the clock keeps ticking and the Universe keeps evolving. But 20,000 miles is pretty close-closer than some satellites orbit- and we will dodge a bullet this time; the math assures us; science assures us. A 1,100 foot asteroid is survivable unless you are directly under its impact zone. It would leave a crater some 3 miles wide and a damage radius of about 50 miles.Possibly we could attempt a deflection of a large

asteroid if there is the political will, and studying the 2029 trajectory of Apophis will more accurately determine its very unlikely chance of a 2068 impact. So life goes on within us and without us, as it has always done, and I have no doubt that life in some form will outlive us; the microbes that dominated for 3 billion years will dominate again. (...this is a photo of Apophis, named after a 'god of darkness/chaos' in Egyptian mythology)