Backyard Ramblings May 4th 2008

Sun, 4 May 2008 23:14:09 -0400

I had a chance to spend some more time at the wetlands behind house. Bathing among the thousands of frog eggs, I found a stunning spotted salamander (picture to the right). Really an amazing animal and the first one I have ever seen. I found some more red efts (Took this of an eft last year) and finally spotted the noisy little Spring Peeper. Finals are finally over so I have some quality time now to wander around the forest in the back. I added some new species to the list below.

Backyard Ramblings

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:49:37 -0400

Thanks for checking in on my latest addition to Backyard Ramblings. Spring is finally here! I have been patiently waiting to get my camera back out and finally I have. A few days ago, a friend and I were hiking the woods to see if any new growth has taken place yet. We not only found a new wetland I wasn’t aware of that was filled with newts and frogs, but we came across a favorite ridge of mine, that since the last time I was there, has exploded in new growth. I returned the next day to snap the shot to the right. During winter, I was pretty sure that my forest here would put on a nice show of wildflowers, but I had no real proof of it. If early growth is any indication though, I was right, and it’s going to be a very nice spring for wildflowers here on Happy Hollow Road. As you may also notice, I have seen a few new animals and added the purple trillium to list of Flora. Hopefully I will be updating more often now as it is now Prime Time in the woods.

BP: Beyond Principle

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 13:16:51 -0400

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve noticed that being “green” has become the chic thing in our society. Everyone wants to be green, as do companies; many of which have spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns touting their “greeness”. Of the plethora of products and companies alike that are flat out misleading people about their earthiness, one company really deserves to be mentioned. That is BP, or as they now like to be called “Beyond Petroleum”. Among all of the oil companies, BP has, in my opinion, had the strongest ad campaign. I even for a few minutes believed they were actually changing as a result of their brilliant ads. However, hidden among their solar, wind, and other green initiatives, hides a dark little secret. BP recently reversed their stance on a “self imposed ban” on acquiring crude from tar sands in Canada. Why is this a big deal? For those that aren’t really familiar, instead of sticking a drill/tube in the ground and getting oil from below the surface of the earth while scarring a relatively small area(as in the Middle East), getting oil from tar sands requires the crude is strip mined out of the earth at massive excavation sites which quite literally destroy millions of acres of forest land in Canada. I suppose it is not such a surprise that an oil company would do something like this. Take a stand, refrain from buying gas at B.P.

Why You Shouldn’t Eat Meat. Follow Up

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:34:14 -0500

If you read my article from January 31st you would have seen, or at least read about, the horrible video portraying the blatant abuse of cows at a factory farm. Well, I know the USDA wasn’t reading my website, but none the less, the exact video that prompted me to write that article, has also prompted the USDA to recall 143 million pounds of beef from shelves in our grand country. Not only do they cite the abuse as a factor, but also that the abuse contributes to possibly tainted beef because the animals were not seen by required vets before being slaughtered and turned into cute patties for your enjoyment. It is the largest recall in American history for beef. Kudos to the USDA. PETA, keep on rocking.

Link to CNN article: LINK

Why you shouldn’t eat meat. The hypocrisy of this nation.

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:08:25 -0500

Today the humane society released yet another appalling undercover video showing inhumane and blatant abuse of cows on their way to being slaughtered. I have already discussed the reasons why it’s hypocritical to be an “environmentalist” and be a consumer of meat in my essay titled ‘A Land Ethic for a Modernized Planet’. Here however, I want to ignore the environmental aspects of the meat industry and just look at the animals. Just 6 months or so ago, there was a public outcry around this silly country when former NFL star, Michael Vick, was convicted of mistreating dogs. People all over the country demanded he serve a prison sentence, questioned how someone could be so cruel, and donated to various charities to support animal protection; and then they sat down for dinner and dug into a nice steak. People, you are no better than Michael Vick. Eating meat supports the abuse of animals, there is no way around it. That piece of meat on your plate, whether chicken, steak, obviously veal, lamb, whatever...chances are it went through much worse than any of Vick’s dogs did, and you don’t think twice about it. Just log onto youtube.com and type in animal abuse or factory farming, and you will see hundreds of videos showing the cruel treatment of the very animals that now sits cut up on your plate. Unless you hunt for your meat, you support the abuse of animals. There is no difference between a dog, a cow, a pig, or a sheep. They are all mammals, they all have nerves, they all have brains, and they all feel pain. Next time you sit down for a nice steak dinner while your cute dog sits at your feet under the table, think about the fact that meat is meat and in some countries, your cute dog would be prodded, kicked, punched, beaten with metal tubes, stabbed, pulled apart alive, and then served as food just as that cow was here that now sits in front of you on your plate.

I have provided links to the videos showing what I write about. Don’t ignore it, it’s happening because you support it.

Latest Humane Society Video
Dogs being beaten and slaughtered.
Meet Your Meat
Pigs being scalded alive
Horses being slaughtered

A Lasting Legacy

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 18:26:13 -0500

The man who managed to make me both question evolution and our political process (twice), is now begging me to question his sanity (again X 20). We have all heard the term “lame duck president” and we all know most presidents at this point in their 2nd term tend to start working towards, or at least thinking, about their legacy. For all the things a president does (or doesn’t do) in his 4 or 8 years, it’s history that has the final say, right? Bush...well...what really can one say? With less than 1 year left in his term, President Bush seems to spend every minute that he is not making bad decisions about Iraq, making bad decisions about the environment. We all know the old stuff; he has sided with industry on forest management, air quality, and water quality. He rejected Kyoto almost instantly, he still denies global warming, he stripped funding of nearly every environmental agency in the country, and appointed oil/timber tycoons to head our environmental agencies...the list goes on, and on, and on, and on. In his most recent assault on our environment, Bush has done all he can possibly do to dismantle the lasting legacy of President Clinton’s 39 million acres of roadless wilderness set aside. Already stripping thousands of acres in Colorado and Idaho from their roadless designation, he has now stripped Tongass National Forest in Alaska from its roadless designation. In one swift move, he not only insults Clintons legacy, but Teddy Roosevelt’s, who first set this area aside over 100 years ago. What makes the entire situation even better? The roads are being built with taxes paid by Americans FOR private corporations to reap huge profits. "The Tongass is the crown jewel of our nation's roadless wildlands," said Trish Rolfe at Alaska Sierra Club. "Wild salmon, bears, eagles, and wolves thrive there among moss-draped ancient trees, along crystalline fjords and untamed rivers. It has nine million acres of roadless areas that lack permanent protection. The Bush administration has just put some of the best of them on the chopping block." Lovely.

Everyone raise a glass, 359 days left! For more information on the forest, click HERE.

Backyard Ramblings

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 12:12:36 -0500

I am going to continuously update this WORD with new photos, observations, and thoughts about the woods in my area. I plan on being in this neighborhood for the next three years (at least) and want to get to know the forest as well as possible. I want to find every big tree, learn what animals live here, know where the streams are, seek out where the flowers bloom in spring, and discover what new animals move in during summer, etc. I wrote a long essay about the importance of knowing your bio-region; this is my attempt to show you what I learn and experience outside of my home. I hope through this experiment, I can show people that the outdoors is not always “somewhere else” it can literally be right out your door. So keep checking back here for updates and new pictures of my backyard. At the bottom, you will find a list of every species I have seen and documented (hopefully with photos).

A Land Ethic for a Modernized Planet

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:29:57 -0500

This 21 page essay is my first attempt in the environmental ethics arena. Using the general principles set forth in Aldo Leopold’s ‘A Land Ethic’ 60 years ago, I set out to add modern themes that address some of today’s environmental problems.

A Species in Peril

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 15:20:08 -0500

A 27 page research paper on the plight of the Florida Panther and the ramifications of global warming. Prepared for Extinction and Climate Change at Vermont Law School. Please follow the link to view as a PDF or download to your mac/pc. None of the photographs in the paper were taken by me.

Continent in Crisis

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 00:25:07 -0500

I’m not sure if Africa as a whole has seen a single year of collective positive progress since I was born 23 years ago. From the diamond trade in the west, to the famines in the east, to apartheid in the south, deforestation in central Africa, and endless tribal fighting all over the continent. Blame it on colonialism, blame it on poor foreign aid, misguided religious intervention, whatever; the causes are so far behind us at this point, it neither matters nor adds to the debate. In the last few months, wildlife already in peril has faced new absurd hurdles. Misguided, uneducated, and economically desperate people have taken their hard lives out on wildlife, for whatever reasons. I don’t blame the people, for they are a just a product of the horrible conditions placed upon them. Most recently, 3 female Black Rhinos were shot and killed by masked men in the middle of the night. One of them was pregnant, and it will be 2 decades till the 4 infants in the program are able to breed again. Just weeks ago, 7 Gorillas were shot execution style and left to rot by rebel leaders in a feud that has nothing to do with the animals. I feel pretty hopeless over here in Vermont, but there are a number of organizations actively working to help the situations. Follow these links to become educated on the crisis and do what you can.

Ponds

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 21:29:23 -0400

I'm sitting at the shore. My legs are propped up on a fallen lichen covered hemlock, my back against a tree. Nothing is under me but a blanket of moss. I can't name them all yet, but the ones I know, the sugar maples, hemlocks, and the white ash are apparent all around me. Boulders and helpless drowned trees line the shore across from where I sit, their reflections are almost more vivid in the motionless water than their true counterparts. At one point in my life I would have been intimidated to sit here, alone in the woods miles from anyone, but this, everything here, it has become my home. It makes me wonder, is it so odd that I prefer the croaks of bullfrogs and the buzzes of bumblebees to people's chatter and the noise of cars whizzing by? As far as I'm concerned, there isn't another place I'd rather be than right here, sitting among the bunch berries and lady slippers.
The ponds are just a short hike from the road. The walk here is a pleasant stroll through typical Vermont woods; gorgeous. If you're lucky, you'll find some flowers that escaped the picking or trampling of disrespectful people. For a large portion of the hike, you're crisscrossing a quaint brook and if you look carefully you may spot the brilliantly colorful brook trout. The real treat is of course at the end of the hike. The last stretch is a short but strenuous up hill climb and just as your legs start burning past repair, you see a clearing ahead. You keep walking, following the light that has been absent while under the canopy of hardwoods, and suddenly you find yourself chest high in vibrant green ferns. As you let your eyes lead you, they leave the peaceful forest behind and spot an enormous cliff face, and below it, a huge open meadow void of trees. In the middle of that meadow lays a small puddle, nothing more.
Emerging from the chest high ferns, I look around and take in the meadow. The ground is soft, almost invitingly so, so I take off my sandals and place them aside. I begin exploring. In every direction are grasses, tall ones, short ones, sharp ones and soft ones. My studies of the landscapes and local biota haven't included grasses, so the names elude me. And although nameless, my satisfaction received from their texture rubbing against my exposed legs isn't of any lesser value. Around the meadow stands thick forest branching out endlessly in every direction except right in front of me, where the trees are pressed up against the cliffs. Here, the division between different species of trees that occurs at varying elevations, soil types, and shadiness is clear. Around me, down here, are gorgeous hardwoods, and above me on the cliff stand proudly the softwoods baking in the blinding sun. All the better though, I prefer the hardwoods anyway.
The scene gets the better of me and I begin to think about the implications of our modern world on little spots like this meadow. Surly this isn't so wild of a place, I'm no more than an hour or so from the road. The entire state of Vermont was 90% deforested just a century ago. This forest is so young! The wolf no longer hunts here, and I'd be lucky to spot one of the 4,000 bears that both live in and are once again hunted in Vermont. Why do I get these feelings of belonging and understanding when I'm here? I sit down on the cool floor and wonder how many people in our age have ever sat in a meadow? Do my friends back in the cities know the joy of pressing your fingers into the cool spongy ground and feeling that history in the dampness, in the layers of sediment? Do they understand the thrill of knowing that not too long ago, the rock I'm sitting on was submerged in a pond created not by a human, but entirely by the beaver, the most industrial animal in the world that isn't us? Do most people still know the delight that one can feel stumbling upon a wild raspberry bush and stopping for an afternoon snack in the woods?
The unfortunate truth is that the answers are most probably no. There is a lot to be said for that and this disconnect with the land that modern society has. That brings up the questions though, what is the land? Or wilderness? How does it relate to modernity? As I write this in my journal a helicopter flies overhead and instantly, that sense of withdraw, of solitude, of freedom from the world, is gone. Everything is interrupted as the chopper flies from one end of the sky to the other. Once gone though, nature doesn't hesitate to bring me back in. Just as quick as the helicopter disappeared an owl hoots in the woods behinds me, the sun gently sets behind the cliff, and the footsteps of some animal becomes audible just enough to grace me with its presence.