July..On & Off Earth

July 2022 - On & Off Earth

As we reach the halfway mark for 2022 and kick off July, vacation season goes into full swing, gardens begin to produce the fresh summer goodies we hoped for when we planted and we celebrate America’s 246th Declaration of Independence from England, all around us, evidence of recent troubles and future concerns sneak into our everyday world. 

Way back, during the January 3rd ice and snow storm, a branch of the dogwood tree just off the corner of my house snapped and hung down precariously against itself. Understory trees like dogwoods are tough and it was still attached so I didn’t cut it off; thought I’d give it a chance. My patience was rewarded and that branch, with the rest of the tree, bloomed; a white blanket draped down that side of the tree.

All seemed well, until the blooms faded and the leaves burst on the scene. Trees have to be strong to hold up all those leaves (mostly water and stored carbon) and while it handled the blooms, the weight of leaves proved too much and that branch snapped off, the leaves quickly shriveled and died; another storm casualty.

These past few months we have all seen the crews out working to clean up the damage from that storm and while the interstates, main highways, utility lines and most backroads are cleared, a visit deeper into the forest reveals a different world.

Without the ability to migrate, trees only option to deal with the changes Earth throws at them is to adapt and they are doing that everyday (like every other organism on the planet). The smaller trees, thin and spindly, reaching up for a share of the light, took it hard on January 3rd. 

Bent and bowed then and now working hard to hold up all those leaves they seem to sag lower every day; add in the weight of rain and the stress of wind from a stormy planet and times are tough in the woods. Seems like I’m ducking under or trimming another low hanging branch or tree everyday, reminded of winter as we move deeper into summer and the heat and humidity and bugs of July.

As we celebrate America’s 246th birthday, a look back into the recent or distant past will reveal a host of challenges that have bent and bowed the adventure in democracy that is America. Self-serving forces, even now, from within our boundaries and beyond, weigh on this country (and world) we all share. As the entire forest works together to lessen the impact of any storm, American democracy has always survived by finding ways to come together, bending but not breaking, ever adapting to the stresses Earth brings our way.

A July, quick peek off Earth, finds our planet at it’s farthest point from the sun, also on the 4th. For early risers with a southeast view, the first week of July is the finale for the string of all the visible planets stretched, in order from inner to outer, across the barely dark, predawn sky.

The Full Buck moon is on the 13th and again, closer in its orbit to Earth, and a little bigger to our eye. The sun, although a little farther away, is still nearly overhead and will quickly take unprotected skin from tan to burn. Our orbit moves the sun, in our Earth-bound view, from Gemini to Cancer on the 22nd.

July: American birthday celebrations, fireworks, garden goodies, vacations, sunscreen and a reminder of the United part of our grand country’s name. We have tried divided, it did not go well. Stay safe and get out there and participate, positively, in American democracy.