Heat, Humidity and Spin

The members of the Louisa Secret Growth and Greed Club were out and about at Moss-Nuckols Elementary yesterday evening to try and put a positive spin on the leaked plan to buy some, to this point, unwanted forest tracts at a fine profit (still not sure for whom, other than current landowners) and develop it for unknown industrial development. Most attendees were vehemently not buying it; turning our quiet corner of the county into a industrial (waste) land. Oh, but the buffers, oh but the protections, oh, the blocking of truck traffic, people will just come, work and leave increasing our tax base, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... The battle rages on! NO LIP! (No Louisa Industrial Park)
As it does on Earth: the heat, the humidity, the chance of showers, the promise of a cold front. A weak-ish front in the Ohio valley is forecast to slide through the Old Dominion today, bringing an increased chance of storms and knock down temps for tomorrow and the weekend. The front will leave things slightly cooler, but no less humid and with a chance of afternoon showers at least through Monday. While September kicks off Saturday, it's still summer and future models are showing another hot, humid week ahead.
I've mentioned before the planet is warming...winters are shorter, summers longer, right now?? Thought I had. The very real prospect of extended drought on the East coast in coming years didn't deter the the Growth and Greed clubbers from hyping the water, still years away, from the mighty James to fuel industrial growth in Louisa County. Richmond will get their water before Louisa gets "their" water when (not if) times get tough.
The moon is not part of the evening sky show anymore, rising much later each night as it wanes, but Mars and Saturn in the east and Jupiter and Venus in the west are still glorious after we spin away from the local star. Clouds and storms may deter viewing tonight but if not, get out and check it out.
18 volcanoes on the warning list this week. Etna in Italy and Kilauea are the only non-Ring O Fire exploding mountains. Indonesia leads the list with 5, Manam on PNG has forced evacuations in nearby villages, Krakatoa and Merapi are "most watched" on Indonesia this week. Kilauea has slowed dramatically but is still oozing a little lava into the Pacific. Interesting how Etna is having Strombolian eruptions/explosions, how does Stromboli feel about that? (Rhetorical: It doesn't, it's a volcano.)
No quakes above mid-5's for a change, still 40+ quakes on the list (so far) mostly around the Pacific but the Eurasian/African collision boundary continues to be stirred up. 3.4 shake in Kansas; thanks Oklahoma (or maybe Kansas has resumed saltwater injection). The Central Va. Seismic Zone remains quiet, also quiet in industrial development talk by Growth and Greed Club. When mentioned, "Oh, I forgot about that", and so it goes, Today on Earth.
How about another little rhyme...

What a shock, my priest, a pedophile

Using your power to abuse, so vile

Cardinals and bishops look away

The pope has nothing to say

I bet that makes your little Jesus smile! 

The MegaSite Fight Grows

The battle to stop a "secret" mega-industrial complex in the heart of an agricultural and forestry district rolls onward. A group of neighbors, most living in the heart of the proposed nightmare on Parish Road, met tonight to vent, share recent conversations with board members and work on strategies to stop this taxpayer funded land sale and rezoning. The supervisors, with the secret out, are scrambling to spin the glories of this boondoggle but are meeting with little success from local residents(although they claim otherwise).
The only ones I've spoken to that like this crazy idea are the one that seem to want Louisa to look like an urban or suburban area. Our group consensus was, they should consider moving to Richmond, C'ville or Northern Va. What they seem to want is already there. We live here to avoid that. Sorry it doesn't meet your tax base strategy. You only need a high tax rate if you have to pay for lots of services.
More is not better, it's just more. Growth does not have to mean more. Cancer is uncontrolled growth, growth for the sake of growth. Plants and animals all grow but only when that growth is out of control does life fade away. Louisa needs planned, thoughtful growth. This is a knee-jerk reaction and money grab by some already rich players, not thoughtful, sustainable growth. We can do better, we don't have to just do more.

55 Years of Dreaming!!

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech 55 years ago today (to a much larger crowd than Donnie Jonnie the Chump had at his swearing in...) and while there has been much progress, (Barack Obama comes to mind) the current raging racism in this country attests to the fact, we have a long ways to go. I grew up in a separate but "equal" world, in the former capital of the Confederacy. I was slow to the fact that wonderful people come in all shapes and sizes and shades of skin tone; so do idiots and slime. It's always the parents fault; racism starts at home as does kindness, politeness and work ethic. It is also influenced by leadership at the top and the me first, be an asshole to everyone, to bully them into giving in, has given like-minded racists a reason to fly their various flags and rise, scum like, towards the top of society. The much more colorblind, open minded millennials will settle into middle age in a society much closer to what Dr. King spoke of 55 years ago. Getting there through the whinnying bleats of old, fat white guys waving confederate flags ("we are so proud we lost...") and the remainder of the Chump years will continue to be a struggle. It seems to have reminded a lot of people that if you don't get involved, don't vote, bad things can happen.
The heat continues to build on the east coast, lots of moisture in the air, too. Any breeze is amazingly refreshing, but it's the exception rather than the rule. It's sultry!!
A few mid 5 quakes and a 6.0 in Indonesia on a semi-shaky day. The Peru/Bolivia/Chile conjunction is pretty fired up today and a 5.0 rumble offshore  in the Caspian Sea likely rattled some nerves there. The Kuril Islands plate boundary zone is slipping and shaking today, as well. Earth in action!!
In addition to getting out and wandering on the hot, muggy world be nice to someone today. If we all have the goal (dream?) to get along, and work together for sustainable, limited growth this charming little planet has all we need to make it a reality. And, we don't have to kill off so many of our fellow creatures to make it happen. Go ahead, Dream big, Today On Earth.

It's Hot, It's Humid, It's August

The title says it all; the southern flow around the Bermuda High is here, backed up by a large pile of hot air that has been cooking the mid-west and it's feeling like summer again. The short reprieve with the Canadian air was much needed, and foreshadowed fall but it's summer today.
Just had a long chat with my Supervisor, Duane Adams, appreciate his time but we are a long way apart on our vision for Louisa and the project. And, another member of the board called during that conversation, leaving a message, and as soon I hung up another board member, Willie Gentry, called and we had a nice chat. I'm pleasantly surprised with the calls and that they took their time to talk to me. Local politics in a positive light.
41 quakes on the list so far today with the largest a mag. 5.4 on the Kamchatka Peninsula and a 5.0 in Pakistan. The rest are Pacific Rim with a couple of little shakes around Yellowstone. And, of course, salt water injection is still going on in Oklahoma with the obligatory quakes.
Time for another dog stroll. The planets and sunset were lovely last night, the Full moon bright. It's hot and muggy but hey, you can deal with it. We humans evolved in the heat of Africa so it's in our DNA (along with a wild mix of bacteria and virus DNA, I've just learned). Get out and do it, Today On Earth.

Thanks, John McCain!!

The death of John McCain leaves US politics without much in the way of either statesmen or heroes; while I disagreed with him much, I have nothing but respect for him. He was born into a family of heroes and when all is said and done, he will have surpassed the legacies left by both his admiral father and grandfather. Both his runs for president were stymied by racial slime politics (SC) and his choice of a clueless running mate (Sara Pallin). He refused to jump into the slime then and now, and the slime is even deeper now. Not many people in national, state and certainly local politics these days that, even though taking an oath, put the good of the country above their own agendas.
This blog hasn't had much poetry, and I was the poet laureate at LCHS...so, how about a little limerick:

There once was a board filled with slime
And, they'd screw you any ole time!
They'd take your land
Telling you all was grand
 While taxing your very last dime!

On this portion of Earth today: a huge high pressure dome is parked over the eastern seaboard and the coolish, dry days are about over. Not a return to rain but a return to southern air flow as the high moves offshore over the next day or so and becomes the classic, summertime, Bermuda high. Big heat and humidity will be the weather for the week on the east coast. A note: Hurricane Harvey was parked over Texas one year ago! Been a fairly quiet hurricane year for the Atlantic but Hurricane Lane is (last I checked) hammering Hawaii right now. (Wonder if our supreme "leader" knows Hawaii is a state with US citizens? - he didn't know Puerto Ricans were American citizens...)
A shaking week of earthquakes: magnitude 7.1 and 7.3 in Peru and Venezuela, 6.0 off Oregon, couple of 6's in the Aleutians and Indonesia, PNG and Fiji and today, 6.0 in Iran. A reminder there are no rules on Earth (well, adapt, migrate or die for organisms) just trends that we are gradually figuring out and should do a better job preparing for, but are not, really.
The moon is Full today, lined up directly behind the Earth from the Sun at 7:56am EDT but above the Earth so as not to fall in our shadow (that was last month). You could see the difference that the moon is above the ecliptic and Mars below last night as the two rose in the east. Got to see all the evening planets last night, just gorgeous and all so different in color and brightness. They are out there tonight, but so are some clouds and Venus is really low in the west. Still worth a check and it's not really that hot, get out and wander your planet, Today on Earth.  

The Cool, Dry Side of the Cold Front

Most of the east coast has been granted a summer reprieve, a taste of fall, as a cold front moved out the sultry mess that had been dampening the ground and spirits for the last...I don't even remember how long. Today is gorgeous, sunny but very low humidity and barely 80 degrees, a September-like day in late August. But, fall is not here and temps in the mid to upper 90's next week may be the hottest, nastiest stretch all summer. But, the sun is setting before 8pm so the summer heat will only last so long.
7 years ago today, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake rocked the entire east coast; that quake was centered a few miles from where I'm sitting and sure change our world. Thankfully, today, so far, has been quake free. Not true for the rest of the world: Tanaga volcano in the Aleutians had another 6.5 quake today and there are quite a few upper 4 to mid 5 quakes today, mostly around the Pacific rim.
The volcano list for the past week has 18 eruptive mountains on it, with several that have been around for the last few weeks gone (Etna, Krakatoa). Kilauea is on the list and lava is still dripping into the Pacific but the description compares the current quiet period to a calm time in 2007; that's a big change. Fuego in Guatemala is back to making noise and erupting and a name I haven't seen on the list in a few years in Japan has volcanologists there raising alerts and warnings (the name is too long for my brain to remember).
Once clouds cleared the Moon and Mars made a stunning spectacle in the southeast sky last night. Tonight the moon will be left of the red planet but the two will be close again. No clouds here should make it easy to see all four of the current evening planets. Gibbous moonshine will wash out all but the brightest stars making constellation patterns easier to see. Get out for a walk, today or tonight or both on the big planet, Earth.

The Sultry Side of the Warm Front

The front that slid through yesterday, bringing the 3-ish inch deluges to Louisa, stalled in NC overnight but is working it's way back north today; we are now in the warm, muggy air, again, and there's not much breeze to help. The sunshine that is flirting with the clouds right now is the potential danger today: excess heat leading to instability in the atmosphere and increasing the chance for severe weather. We are in the slight risk zone today for high winds, hail and less so but still possible, tornadoes. Pay attention!!
The stronger front, cold, working its way from the Mississippi toward the east coast and stirring up severe weather as it goes, will sweep this muggy air out of here late tomorrow with another slight risk for wildness before leaving cool, dry air in its wake for the late week. Hang on 'til Thursday and you will get a taste of the approaching Fall.
The quake list today is pretty average looking, Ring of Fire with some 4's and a couple of low 5's.  Some mid 4 shakes in south central Africa and northern Italy are outliers. Only 1 little quake in Hawaii so Kilauea is still in a calm mode.  The next updated volcano list will come out late tomorrow.
The moon will be between Saturn and Mars tonight, if the clouds allow a view (it will still be between the two planets whether we can see it or not). The now quite gibbous moon will wash out the fainter stars and the Milky Way as this week progresses but the trade off is a world illuminated by moonlight, also lovely. Get out, expect to sweat and deal with bugs but check out your planet, today on Earth.

The Doughnut Hole Closes: Big Rain

As I was closing last night's late blog a few drops spritzed down outside and radar showed that we might get a little light rain. Somewhere between the late weather radar and about 12:30 something exploded. The lightning and very loud, very close thunder and then the torrential rain on the roof made it a little tricky to get to sleep. A nearby lightning strike tripped the breaker on the west end of the house... But, I did get to sleep and a seemingly very tired dog showed no sign of getting up even into mid-morning. When I did finally check the rain gauge: 2.8"; whoa!! It had really poured.
After a walk through the coolish but very muggy air late morning, I was a little amazed there was not more water in the creek and that that much rain had mostly seemed to infiltrate and not runoff. I haven't checked yet but either the pond hadn't filled or the spillway had managed to work even with all the debris still in it. Pond was still a pond and not a drained mud pit. Whew!!
There are still lots of aftershocks in and around the big quakes that have shaken up the Pacific rim lately but nothing above magnitude 5.5, so far today. Hawaii is still resting after several very fired up months of activity and there are no big volcano related quakes today. That will, of course, change but things are fairly quiet today.
The clouds around today are likely to limit any sky viewing I do this evening. A shame, as the now gibbous, waxing moon will be hanging with golden Saturn, high up in the south tonight. Over the next couple of days it will move on to its now monthly visit with Mars. That may be the next time I get to see the cloud free, evening sky.  The first big blast of Canadian air will arrive late Wednesday clearing the air of the swamp-load of moisture it now possesses and dropping temps into the very pleasant zone.  But, don't wait to get out till then, it's still pretty pleasant out there on the big planet. I'm going to do some more reading (2 books: David Quammen's latest, The Tangled Tree about the discoveries that have lead to the current ideas in evolution and Edward Tenner's look at the problems with efficiency and why many of the best ideas come from taking more, not less time; inefficiency being better in many respects - interesting how often the two books converge...) go for another walk and maybe throw in a nap. We'll see if I get out a chain saw and make sure I have enough wood for the coming cold season, Today on Earth.

And Things Get Shaky!!

A little over 24 hours ago an 8.2 magnitude quake rocked the Fiji Islands in the southwest Pacific; yes, there have been lots of aftershocks, some in the mag. 6 range. Central Indonesia (near the current volcano??) had a 5.4 quake and 4 minutes later a 6.3 shake; that foreshock certainly was a warning. This week overall had the big busted up planet throwing down magnitude 6+ quakes all around the Pacific from Costa Rica, to Alaska(2), Japan, Indonesia and several in Fiji. I previously mentioned it had seemed a little quiet for quite awhile. That seems to be over. Nothing on the quake site about tsunamis but sure seems like with all the strong quakes, near water, that some wave action would have happened.
A couple of cloudy, cooler but still humid days here in the Old Dominion and as is often the case, storms were all around but no rain fell here. Tomorrow brings another slight chance, Tuesday less so and then a strong cold front Wednesday is forecast to usher in the first real breath of fall. By Thursday  lows will possibly dip into the upper 50's with daytime highs only in the low 80's and the air will be dry!!
During August we will lose over an hour of daylight from the really long days around the summer solstice, summer being about 2/3 over as we continue to tilt back away from the big star nearby. Plenty of warm weather to go so no need to bust out the sweaters just yet. Enjoy the cool that's coming, remember what it's like to shiver a little. You will sweat again.
The hidden rezoning debacle here in Louisa is fully in the news - the cat out of the bag and lying government spin that residents are excited to have heavy industry moving into there bucolic corner of the county. Seems to be a battle brewing with the idiotic " more is better" faction not thinking it through - more is the game plan for cancer and that doesn't work out for the better. Better is better, and that only comes from involving everyone to be affected and not just backroom deals so a few rich non-residents get richer and residents bank roll that. I bet I mention this again. More is better is the current economic model for humans on Earth and that eventually won't work on a finite planet, for humans anyway. The planet and the bacteria on the planet won't care.
Hopefully, another blog in the morning; a chatty weekend, at an art showing with a former teacher colleague , with a geologist neighbor about his (and other's) local earthquake work and with another neighbor about issues involving the shabby forestry "harvest" adjacent to me and to his friend. Lots going on but right now I'm just waiting for a big dog to come back home from his evening visit to the neighbors - and hoping he has no encounters with a large coyote that was in my neighbors front yard last week. Always something going on, today on Earth.
If it's clear (and that's not here) the moon should be about halfway between Jupiter and Saturn tonight.

Heat, Humidity & Hornworms

It feels like August today, almost 90 in the shade and muggy; seems like perfect weather for tomato hornworms. I picked 8 off my tomatoes yesterday and only one was smaller than my little fingers; they had been feasting. They don't do well on rock at high speed though...still on the lookout today but haven't seen any more. No storm clouds yet but that is in today's forecast. A breeze makes it a little less oppressive but, nonetheless, it's hot out there.
The crescent moon and planet display continues and it's was Jupiter's turn to shine near the moon last night. A little cloud action made both a hazy. Those two will be even closer tonight. Mars, is still so bright and so red in the east. Venus is brighter but sinking lower and lower these days even though it's at it's greatest eastern elongation today.
For the 3rd day in a row there is a quake in the magnitude 6+ range: today 6.5 in Indonesia, no tsunami  warning; yesterday Tanaga volcano in the Aleutians of Alaska went big - have to think the 6.6 quake was from an eruption, but can't find any reports to link quake with volcano. No tsunami reported with that quake either. Still a fairly shaky day on the old planet, not a real surprise.
Word is still spreading, alerting as many as we can to the backroom slime going on with the attempted rezoning of 2,000 acres of Louisa ag/forest land. Looking like three out of the county LLC's are trying to make this happen with the help of the head of the board of supervisors and the county manager. Not sure the taxpayers want them in those positions of power to make behind the scene deals that will greatly enrich some already wealthy non-residents (currently paying very low taxes with forest land tax breaks) but cause the residents of Louisa more in taxes while offering little positive for the county (sure, Dominion and Columbia Gas will make more...). Seems to be the way America works, a few get even filthier rich and everyone else pays for it.
I have changed settings on this blog. Comments were coming to my now dead LCHS email but I've changed it to my old rock guy google account. If anyone is reading this, make a comment, you will not be email spammed. Time for this lazy guy (nice nap again today) to get up and do a little grass cutting in the heat before the rain showers forecast for the next few days settle in. And, to take another walk with a large brown dog, Today on Earth.
Speaking of large, spotted the biggest mushroom I've ever seen today. Below is the picture, that's my foot for scale. Huge!

Secret Mega-Industrial Site

A letter and map showing the secret plans for a mega(2,000 acre)heavy industry site in the heart of bucolic Louisa county has just come to light. Board of Supervisor member Troy Wade and his brother, a county employee and county manager Christian (and likely his dad George)Goodwin have been secretly taking options to buy up numerous parcels in the south central part of the county (an area where the ag district designation was recently extended for 20 years) and then rezone them.
How will they deal with Earth; they will trash it: water, finding it and discharging it, noise pollution, air pollution, storm water run off of 2000 acres would be lovely, dust, nighttime light pollution, heat sink with the deforestation involved (I'm all too familiar with that with the butchering of the forest next to me). They likely haven't thought of much of that, they just know there is a gas pipeline with a substation already in place and adjacent, so power is cheap and tax payers can cover and deal with all the costs involved. America at its good ole boy slimiest!!
Time for a dog walk, hope you checked out the lovely moon/Venus show last night, if not tonight...on Earth.

No Rain, Check Out Moon Above Venus!!

No clouds, no rain, it's warm but not too bad and humidity is tolerable for mid-August. That will set the stage for a sliver of a crescent moon above Venus tonight just after sunset. Following the ecliptic eastward you will find Jupiter, Saturn and brightest of the 3, Mars. Forming a triangle with the moon and Venus tonight is Spica, the brightest star in Virgo. The moon will be above Spica tomorrow night.
Still lots of aftershocks after North Slope quake in Alaska yesterday and a 6.1 shake in the South Atlantic along the very active Scotia plate. A handful of quakes along a variety of plate boundaries and it's a pretty normal day on the big shaky planet. None in Hawaii, so, no eruption there! Oklahoma: of course, still pumping salt water in the ground to keep things slipping there. Got to have the oil and gas.
So, we can cut down more trees for more pulp...or just to do more damage to my property like I watched cutter driver Richard Patterson do today. Flipping me off was a nice, friendly touch as he threw debris onto my land...and me. Don't have to look far in this country to find someone being nasty to a fellow American, seems to be what we are encouraged to do, starting at the top!! Thanks again D.J. Chump!
How about you and I go out and be pleasant to someone, enjoy our time, Today on Earth.

Big Shake on North Slope: AK

A magnitude 6.4 quake gave the caribou and oil field workers quite a shake earlier today on the North Slope of Alaska. The tsunami warning site is not coming up for me...hopefully, it hasn't been swept away. I don't remember a tsunami in the Arctic Ocean, but earth is old so I'm sure they have been. Perhaps one will hammer some Russian military bases as evil land of Putin continues to stake claims on the Arctic. Let's hope donnie johnie the chump doesn't apologize if that happens and offer to pay the Russian more than his team already has.
My weekend started with the realization that my neighbor's logging crew, Victor Randal Logging out of New Kent, had seen no problem with dumping slash from their butchering of the forest onto my land and paths; thanks! After speaking to Victor and looking at the problem this morning and getting assurances it would be made right, a quick check reveals that their idea of fixing the problem is different than mine. To "fix" the problem they drove onto my property, dammed up the drainage they had previously just dropped slash in and still my path is blocked with debris. As I knew when I walked out to look at the problem, they really don't care and certainly couldn't be troubled to get out of giant machine to actually "fix" the mess they had created. Victor also didn't think the pond spillway has "new" man had filled in with slash would be a problem, he's wrong on that. But, 0.4" of rain last night didn't create an issue.
The rain and clouds last night did rule out any chance of seeing the Perseid meteor shower at its peak. And, with the moon being New early Saturday morning the sky would have been very dark for one of the year's more reliable showers. But, rain showers rule out meteor showers. Perseid meteors will likely be visible tonight but fewer than last night's peak. Since there was a lunar eclipse 2 weeks ago, there must have been a solar eclipse with Saturday's New moon and there was, a partial eclipse across Greenland and Northern Eurasia. The Alaska quake (and any potential tsunami) would not have effected any eclipse watchers along coastlines, the quake was over a day after the eclipse.
Didn't notice any quakes on Hawaii today (there are hundreds of aftershocks in AK) so the eruption must still be in lull mode. One nice happening on my weekend, the marriage of my cousin to a delightful young woman, with the very happy couple honeymooning in Hawaii right now. Best wishes Jenny and Zach!!💖
The big brown dog is a little bummed, the kids and dog he likes to visit are back at school and indoors. He will have to deal with me. Sadly, I just had to put him on a leash on our walk with the butchers whacking trees down so close; he wants to ride in any vehicle he can see and I'm guessing they likely wouldn't hesitate to drop a tree on him. The American creed: money and greed rule over any damage you might do to someone else's property, suck it up, Today On Earth.

Slash on my paths

Dam Failure - 101

The failure and near failure of dams, both big and small, has been in the news of late. Just last week, Lynchburg, Va. was evacuating residents over concerns a large dam in the city was going to fail, releasing a 17' high wall of water through the small city; it didn't, but it was a scare. Generally, a dam fails with lots more water than it can handle over its spillway eats away at the side and then back of the dam. The spillway is designed to get the excess runoff way away from the back of the dam. A blocked or compromised spillway seems like an easy way to increase the chance of dam failure.
Well, James River Forestry has put the perfect plan in place to dramatically increase the failure chances of the dam holding back the pond on the property adjacent to (and upstream of)me. I had seen where they had driven onto the spillway mud where it met the pond making some nice mosquito breeding ruts (had to have a couple of 8" maples); that concerned me. Today they have furthered their dam failure plan with a two prong attack: first, they drove across the spillway farther away from the pond to cut trees on the steep bank behind the pond, leaving more ruts and disturbed soil AND then filled in the spillway with a variety of cut trees guaranteeing that runoff with not flow down the spillway (and way away from the dam) but will seek a new channel in the freshly disturbed soil directly behind the dam.  Short of filling in most of the spillway with dirt and ditching out the steep bank behind the dam, I'm not sure what else they could have done to guarantee the dam will get eaten away in our next several inch rain, likely unseen by anyone, until I walk down one of my paths after the storm to discover the entire flood plain, exposed rock, moss covered trails, walking bridges, and likely trees will have all been swept away leaving a trail of destruction and debris and mud, all the way to the South Anna river.  Could happen with the rains forecast this weekend.
I spoke to Andrew Fisher with the Va. Dept. of Forestry twice to day. He was most helpful twice today: first with his call this morning returning my message from late yesterday, supportive and concerned and into action with a visit to the property and again with a follow up call late today explaining his visit and his chat with the guys doing the cutting. After that call, seemed like the cutting along the creek was going to stop and they may not cut the small triangle of land across the creek.  After his second call, I wandered with a large brown dog over the check out the days work, that was when I really looked at what they had done to the spillway - a spillway, working perfectly, that had water flowing away from the very full dam until late June. Now it was full of debris, a new dam ready to back up the next time we get a heavy rain forcing that runoff to quickly eat away at the back of the dam (it will take much less rain without the slowing and absorption of the now gone trees and heavily disturbed soil). It might handle a little shower but a 2-4" storm, and we've had several already this year, with the amazing cutting power of lots of running water, could take out the dam.
While it is not illegal in Louisa (of course not) to cut all the trees along a waterway, it is if that cutting leads to issues with erosion and sedimentation downstream. Apparently, you can cut 'em but if it leads to problems, then you have a problem. I will be calling Mr. Fisher tomorrow (I have to guess he didn't see the dammed spillway) and might give Taylor Burleson, with James River Forestry, a call, too. He had assured me when we spoke back in March they they would not cut along the creek or around the pond, so much for that assurance.
As mentioned earlier this week, the near calm of quake activity on Hawaii matches the slowing and near secession of the current eruption, ongoing for months now. Fuego, Guatemala's nightmare for months now is not even on the week's list but Etna is back and Krakatoa is still unsettled. Ambae on Vanuatu is belching big from a lake causing major evacuations from that archipelago. Earth's still rocking! Hope you neighbors are not working toward a major flood into your property as mine seem to be, Today on Earth.
And, happy first day of school Louisa (and others), glad I missed it.

Another Day of Heat & Humidity

It's heating up early in Va. with the usual humidity but a slow moving cool front will work into the area later today firing up more storms before knocking temps and dew points down for later in the week. But, only a little; it's still August and there are no Canadian cold fronts on the horizon. California and the west continues to burn with two already large fires merging into the biggest in the state's history; there are several months to go in the fire season out there. When the head of Cal. fire spoke on the news yesterday he acknowledged that with global warming only building, seasons like this were going to become the norm. Much of what's being consumed out there hasn't had a burn for decades; a tinder box waiting to go. About a dozen other western states have major fire issues right now, as well. Here, the slaughter of the forest adjacent to me continues, seemingly with little concern for drainages, greed driven, cut it all down. Horrific destruction.
Hawaii seems to have taken a break. Only one quake on the list on the big island so far today. Quite a few other quakes, mostly around the Pacific but none above mid 5. Wednesday is the day the USGS updates the volcano list, but not until late so we'll see what's up with eruptions tomorrow.
Clouds blocked my attempt to check out the planets last night, that could repeat tonight. Storms were all around yesterday afternoon but as is often the case, the tirehouse was in the doughnut hole and no rain fell here. Deluges of 1-3" were scattered about, triggering flash flood warnings and if trends continue those same spots are likely to get hammered again today.
The big brown wandering, monster dog has just returned and is at the water bowl filling up his hump; that dog can drink some water. We need a walk before I head off to get a haircut. Yesterday saw no blog, obsessive reading instead; The Girl Who Takes An Eye For An Eye. The fifth book in the girl with dragon tattoo series and even though it's a new author the page turning, can't put it down, trend continues. Breyer must have had a big morning, he's already out, head on the cool floor. But, he will be back up soon and can sleep while I'm getting a trim. Get out, sweat a little, relish the heat, deal with the humidity, all too soon we'll need jackets and be whining about the cold. It's Earth, the coolest, best planet the solar system has to offer, get out and wander, Today on Earth.

Heat Returns & A Big Shake

A magnitude 6.9 quake rocked a central Indonesia island on Sunday with at least 91 deaths reported. The quake did not trigger a tsunami even though a warning was issued. Damage and the deaths seems to have resulted from buildings collapsing. Quake was originally listed as 7.0 but USGS is now showing 6.9; either way, that's a pretty serious shake.  As mentioned on a recent TOE, the planet was overdue for a sizable quake and the collision of two ocean plates with the edge of the Asian continental plate sets the stage for yesterday's action with more to come - the movement there is about 7 cm/yr. Bet it moved several year's worth yesterday.
Back in the mostly quake free central Va, summer is back. Temps today will be into the low 90's with the usual August humidity. AC and shade are recommended.
The moon is high up in the southwest - right now- as a slim waning crescent which leaves the evening sky quite dark and nice for checking out the galaxy. Early dark will have the Summer Triangle high up in the east and if you are away from light you will notice a hazy region flowing through the triangle, that's the Milky Way. If you have a good look at the southern sky (I really don't) and can see the teapot that is Sagittarius, the Milky Way seems to thicken there...that's the center of our galaxy, about 27,000 light years away. The planets are still lovely and the Big Dipper still hangs high in the northwest with it's handle arcing to bright Arcturus. The pointer stars of the dipper itself, Merak and Dubhe, direct you to the end of the handle of the Little Dipper which is Polaris, the North Star. It was dark enough at my house to actually make out the Little Dipper last night, usually only Polaris and the two stars at the edge of the that dipper are visible. 10 to 11:00pm, some pretty good star/planet gazing these days. But, go out as it's getting dark and you can see Venus, too.
Time for me to get out into the humidity and take a large brown dog for his morning stroll. The noise of the nearby clearcutting continues; wandering into the devastation yesterday revealed a scraped, debris strewn landscape where using the term forest management is a farce. It's a greed based raping of the planet with a complete disregard for the forest, that living, breathing organism that sustains life on this planet; but, pulp prices are up slightly and we sure need to make more paper! And, I'm sure everyone of the butchers (and the land owners) figures, "can't see it from my house". Thanks, sadly I can and I fear the effects the heat sink created by the cutting is going to have in a big negative way on my forest. Better enjoy the cool of the forest while I can, Today On Earth.

Sunshine and a Dry Day???

It's looking like humid summer is back, but for a BIG change, without any rain...yet. And, not really forecast but with so much moisture around a pop-up storm is not out of the question.  What is not in question is that it's going to get even hotter and muggier today. Feelin' like August after the cool wet spell.
A very quiet quake day, none so far on the entire northwest ring O fire and not much elsewhere. Still hundreds in Hawaii so the eruption is still rolling there.
Looking like a day that might involve some yard work, be nice to get out and do something without fear of rain. And, fortunately, no big 2-5" downpours here, whereas Lynchburg is still trying to deal with deluges that have threatened a dam collapse, C'ville is dealing with road closures from potholes caused by heavy rain and the James is not in the safe to float in mode in Richmond. I'm just dealing with tomatoes bursting from too much moisture; way better than damn collapse although with adjacent clear cutting, right up to and on the spillway of the pond, that possibility just went up. Thanks absentee, idiot neighbors and we could care less loggers!!
Hope you have a nice day out and about on the big planet, it's hot, it's humid but it's summer, get out and sweat a little, Today on Earth.
With all the rain, late summer mushrooms are kicking.

Yep, Mo' Rain

A stalled/blocked frontal boundary to the west and big, blocking Bermuda High off the coast and we continue to have streams of moisture slung up the eastern seaboard bringing more and more rain. The torrential downpours have not really occurred here (there have been plenty just to the west) but just enough rain, off and on with nasty humidity to make it not a enjoyable atmosphere to wade through. That coupled with the wholesale slaughter of the forest adjacent to me did not make for a pleasant walk yesterday, late or today. What goes for forest management in this country (and around the world) is both disgusting and sad and potentially tragic for our species, not to mention the lifeforms living in the forests. Jared Diamond's book, Collapse, breaks things down pretty simply: don't want to survive, first cut down all the trees and then overpopulate. We as a species are well on our way to doing both.
Temperate forest management (that's kinda like highway engineering and military intelligence) will have us with only loblolly pine whereas in the tropics it will only be palm oil and bananas. Nice choices for a future. Current warming trends will likely take out coffee, cacao and tea trees in the near future and then where will we get our caffeine and chocolate??!!(from chemical labs) Hardwoods will be gone and without rain forests in the tropics to regulate world temps and moisture levels Earth will not be a nice place. Perhaps surviving humans will enjoy their new neighbors: pigeons, rats, coyotes, cockroaches and other mutated insects. Perhaps we won't survive and the current reality will just carry on, the bacteria and viruses are still really in charge.
With that lovely picture painted, 2 dozen volcanoes are on the active list this week and only 2 are showing heat or seismic anomalies, the rest are belching a variety of hot gasses and rocks into the atmosphere and onto adjacent countrysides. A big quake (6.4) and eruption in central Indonesia killed several and caused significant damage over the weekend. Kilauea is still going at it in Hawaii (but with our idiot "president" constantly drawing attention to himself to try and deflect attention from the fact he's complete traitorous slime the news has moved on from something as trivial as a volcano) and the Ring O Fire around the Pacific has volcanoes (and quakes) from Vanuatu around to Peru with few gaps in between, an eruptive week. Italian volcanoes have at least least calmed down and there have been no quakes lately in the Yellowstone region.
For those with clear, dark skies, the planet show continues and after complete darkness (also in limited supply on earth - unless you are in North Korea or the Australian outback) the Milky Way, our galaxy, appears as a milky swath across the dome of the sky. Look for it passing through the Summer Triangle which includes Deneb, the bright tail of  Cygnus the swan(aka. the Northern Cross) flying overhead along the Milky Way seemingly headed to the center of the galaxy in Sagittarius, which is where golden Saturn is hanging out these days. Not holding my breath for cloud-free skies around here, more likely, mo' rain.
But, even though there is mayhem and idiocy all around, it's still not a bad planet; best one we know of, so get out and check it out, Today on Earth.

Back To Work...NOT!!!

Today on Earth my retirement actually begins; summer vacation is over because employees of Louisa Schools reported back to work today...and I am not there!! I've just returned from a dog stroll on a fairly amazing start to August, coolish and not too humid, yet, with a nice breeze. A moment of the sun breaking through got warm quickly but clouds are likely to continue to dominate Va. today and the rest of the week. Rain chances are forecast to be a little lower today but back up tomorrow. Monster storms lashed the counties along the Blue Ridge late yesterday (but seem to have missed the tirehouse, we'll see in a couple of hours) with several inches of rain and flash flooding warnings. Richmond, where I'm currently hanging, got some gentle rain and then a deluge as well. And, still the west roasts and burns; Death Valley had the highest temps EVER recorded for July with a daily average high of 120 degrees and a new record high of 127. Nothing like change!!
The daily quake list, already 100's in Hawaii with another mag. 5.3 blast, is otherwise pretty quiet with only one non-eruption quake above 5 (we seem due for a big quake somewhere...). The volcano list updates later today so tomorrow's TOE will deal with that.
Storm clouds obscured any star/planet gazing last night but I did see the thinning gibbous moon this morning on an early dog outing; still shining. We'll see if today's lower storm chance will translate to a better sky look with the Mars show improving for most of August.
About time to return to the tirehouse and see how the butchering of the forest adjacent to my land is progressing, they were getting closer and closer on Monday before I headed down to town. Most American land management seems to lean toward max profits and increased monoculture. Farming designed not to feed the local population centers but grow soy beans for China, subsidized corn for ethanol and forestry cutting down the native hardwoods to replant with fast growing pine for pulp. Why recycle paper when we can just grow more (and in the most inefficient way possible - lots of plants are much better at pulp production than pine but that would require change and potential breakdown in quarterly greed cycles). Ask the Irish how well potato monoculture worked...
If you have to work today, sorry, but keep up the good job you're doing. If you're a teacher thinking about helping students on their standardized tests to make yourself look better, and you do, like the disgusting principal at Carver Elementary in Richmond did, I hope you end up in jail!! It's pathetic the city school board hasn't fired AND pressed charges against the principal and teachers involved. Nice job cheating already struggling students and bragging about your awards for amazing improvements - you all are slime!!
Ok, I got that out of my system, let's hope the city grows a spine and gets them out of their system, and files charges soon. Time to head home and walk the woods before the next shower, hope you get out for a wander, Today on Earth.