The Annual Coping with Winter Thread

[John P]

Having first talked about falling trees, I wanted to get further off topic by mentioning a book I've read, The World Until Yesterday by Jared Diamond. He talks about living among local people in New Guinea, and their attitude toward risk, especially falling trees, since they live among trees. And in fact they're quite cautious; as Diamond puts it, "Consider: If you’re a New Guinean living in the forest, and if you adopt the bad habit of sleeping under dead trees whose odds of falling on you that particular night are only 1 in 1,000, you’ll be dead within a few years." That's from a newspaper article that Diamond wrote, titled "That Daily Shower Can Be a Killer". See it here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/29/science/jared-diamonds-guide-to-reducing-lifes-risks.html

Does it make it almost on topic if I point out that in New Guinea, people hardly wear any clothes? (But they do wear clothes, even if they're skimpy, and hardly clothes at all by our standards.)

[jbeegoode]

Okay, John P., let me see if I got this straight. In other words:

The cautious bunny will live to see his genes passed, making for more cautious bunny genes. The incautious bunny will find food when there is little, thereby passing genes.

Bunnies are naked. Obviously, the ones that wore clothing didn't get their genes passed.

That is such an appropriate and entertaining article.
Jbee 

Rotten deadwood falls from dead trees and live ones. High winds, snow, rain and erosion usually make the big stuff fall over...if they don't catch fire. Inspect your friend the tree, for it knows not what it does. The tree has been naked all of its life, but it is still dead and naked and will fall over sometime.
Jbee 

[John P]

Yes JBG, you've got it about right. For a creature at the bottom of the food chain, every day involves gambling with its life. Either risk meeting a hawk or a fox out in the open, or stay in shelter and starve. Not very appealing, eh. Maybe what nature rewards is being a smart gambler!

[eyesup]

JohnP, the experience of seeing a tree or branch falling (idea for a club) or a rock falling (idea for a slingshot) by a human gives an interesting perspective on your statement:

Either risk meeting a hawk or a fox out in the open, or stay in shelter and starve. Not very appealing, eh. Maybe what nature rewards is being a smart gambler!

Life does reward a risk taker that is paranoid!

Jared Diamond wrote a book that is on by list, "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies". I saw a show on cable about the book and intend to read it. It talks about some of the largest mass exterminations in history that were the result of cross infections of germs during the age of discovery. A bit of a dark side to the Renaissance.

Duane

[jbeegoode]

Yes JBG, you've got it about right. For a creature at the bottom of the food chain, every day involves gambling with its life. Either risk meeting a hawk or a fox out in the open, or stay in shelter and starve. Not very appealing, eh. Maybe what nature rewards is being a smart gambler!

BY GOLLY! I think we're on to something. I've always been rewarded that way. It's ma nature.
Jbee

[ric]

ive been round the green burial ground this afternoon bashing brambles with a petrol strimmer with metal  (weed wacker) blade , had to wear boiler suit and head protection but was sweating like a pig in the march sunshine .  before i came away i slung the tools and boiler suit in the van and spent about half an hour wandering arround the burial ground and adjacent nature reserve in the sunshine seeing what else needs attention. was just on quarter past four when i got dressed to come home, still pleasantly warm in the sunshine. looks like winter is gone and springs arrived.
theres been a change of access at the burial ground, basically the track down the edge of  the neighbours garden has been straightened and a lot of trees taken down and undergrowth cleared which means the burial ground itself is in view from the gated entrance to the driveway some 300 yards away.  though theres another quarter mile of track before you get to tarmac lane so theres no passing traffic.
also means the neighbours lawn that i also mow is now in view of anyone going down the burial ground access, at least untill the hedges regrow.
the neighbour is a 90 something year old widow that ive known all my life and is unconcerned about my nakedness, but she has know sold the property to a younger friend who is converting a garage into a weekend cottage, whilst the old lady continues to live in the old bungalow ill cary on mowing the lawn for her.
but as the property is more open now im begining to wonder if i should casualy bring up  the subject of  naked lawnmowing next time i see the new owners, same with the commitee thats in charge of the burial ground...chances are that if i carry on as normal this summer theyll find out anyway... better forwarned by me than informed by a mourner thats been surprised....  mind you none of the ones ive encountered in the past have seemed bothered.

[jbeegoode]

Mourners are generally pretty consumed to be bothered by something else.

The committee may not take to it. If they are stuck to make a choice, they will most likely say no. If they discover it, you can explain that you have been at it for years and there has been no mind. Sometimes it is best to not ask for permission.

People will be encroaching upon my domain in the future to some extent as they build. Maybe it is getting time to change locations, but I am so attached to the wondrous each morning. Hard to beat.
Jbee

[JOhnGw]

Good point, JBee - committees are notoriously cautious and liable to vote for a previous generation's status quo.

[ric]

i wasnt intending to ask the commitee for permission...more a case of maybe  mentioning it to the chairwoman, after shes seen her nice tidy set of graves without the tangle of brambles thats invaded the place over the last few years.   she is the one that fields the comments from visitors.

[nuduke]

Yesterday I could feel I was beginning to feel better in the way I have come to recognise happens towards and during spring.  We've had 2-3 sunny days this week and, as I've remarked before, whilst most of us don't suffer overtly from SAD, most of us feel the spring coming and it lifts our spirits and increases activity levels.
John