March 11, 2022

Years ago, Melissa and her mom planted a variety of bulbs in the front beds of our house.  The daffodils (Narcissus spp.) have bloomed every year, and this year we already have two different varieties in the maple bed and mailbox bed.  Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) bulbs were planted at the same time, and they have literally exploded.  They take over the mailbox bed every spring and have spread seed throughout our yard.  These shoots come to flower prior to my first mow of the season.  The hyacinth never bloomed during Melissa’s time here, nor since our return three years ago.  This year the hyacinth finally bloomed, after lying dormant for over a decade.

When I looked online, I found the common hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis), also called the garden hyacinth or Dutch hyacinth, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae (yes, like asparagus), native to southwestern Asia, southern and central Turkey, northwestern Syria, Lebanon, and northern Israel.  It was introduced to Europe in the 16th century and is now widely cultivated throughout the temperate world for its strong fragrant flowers which appear quite early in the season.  It appears our bulb is the ‘Royal Navy’ variety.  This is a hardy, perennial which bears up to 40 dark-blue double flowers, ¾-1½ inches (2-3.5cm) long, packed into a head 8 inches (20cm) tall.  Hyacinth bulbs need to be planted in fall to allow the bulb to experience the cold winter temperatures, allowing it to break dormancy in the early spring.  

All flowering plants do so at a particular time according to their species.  It is possible to make a plant flower at other times by artificially creating the proper conditions.  This process is known as “forcing” and is often used by commercial growers.  Hyacinth is among the most popular bulbs for forcing and this is commonly done around the Christmas season.  The bulbs can be forced indoors by depriving light and warmth for several weeks, then placing them in a bright, cool place such as a kitchen windowsill.  Hyacinth bulbs can also be forced in a narrow-necked vase of water, which allows you to view the root growth.  Other cultivars of bulbs suited to forcing are crocuses and daffodils.  It was advised to always wear gloves when handling the bulbs as they contain oxalic acid, which can cause skin irritation.

THOUGHTS:  When the hyacinth came up in our bed, Melissa thought it might be a crocus.  She made this suggestion without looking at the flower, but the hyacinth had never bloomed, and I knew this was not the daffodil blooming beside it.  I later realized this was a not a crocus due to the rows of double flowers.  Melissa’s sister suggested the hyacinth may have bloomed because of the garden netting we placed over the bed to protect it from the cold.  The hyacinth bulb received the cold needed for dormancy, and the mesh allowed the soil to warm quickly.  In essence, we had forced the bulb outside rather than on our windowsill.  Humans can create artificial conditions to force flowers to react at unnatural times.  We do the same thing with animals when we tame, then domesticate species.  This has not worked when we have tried to “force” other humans.  To live together we must treat everyone with respect and acknowledge their worth.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 09, 2022

I stopped by our local market last weekend to restock my supply of bird seed.  I have mentioned how our store is rearraigning stock to meet the demand for online delivery.  Lately I have found it hard to know where many of my supplies are located.  As I passed another shopper talking with an employee, I heard the employee say, “I am not sure where that is, I have been off for two days and now I can’t find anything.”  I located the bird supplies in a different section of the store, decided on the seed and squirrel food I was looking for, and then went out to the garden center to check for early stock.  There were a few flowers and a small rack of vegetables and herbs.  The racks with lawn care treatments also had the 40-pound (18 kg) bags of seed that used to be inside the store.  As I approached the seed, I noticed a flurry of wings.  Apparently, the sparrows had decided to cut out the middleman and get their seed from the source.

When I looked online, I found that a middleman is defined as a trader who buys from producers and sells to retailers or consumers, serving as an intermediary or go-between.  The transfers of goods that occur between the producer to the retailer is called a supply chain.  This involves a middleman at each level of transfer.  For the last two years global supply chains have been strained as shipping routes are snarled by the pandemic, extreme weather slowed shipment, and a notable blockage of a canal caused delays.  The transfer of goods along the supply chain has caused the breakdown or delay in moving all sorts of goods to market.  Each transfer through a middleman raises the price and has the potential for added delays.

Many agribusinesses and food processors source raw materials from smallholder farmers, and over the past 20 years there has been a shift towards more traceable supply chains.  Rather than purchasing crops that have passed through several layers of collectors (middleman), firms are sourcing directly from farmers or trusted aggregators.  The drivers for this change include concerns about food safety, child labor, and environmental sustainability, as well as a desire to increase productivity and improve crop quality.  This also gives the retailer greater price control.

THOUGHTS:  Supply chain delays have caused businesses to react like our market’s sparrows and seek ways to cut out the middleman.  Restaurants and markets are increasingly advertising food as “locally sourced”.  The use of this term is not regulated and is determined by the seller.  Some stores consider vegetables grown within 100 miles as local, while others believe it only includes foods produced within a 10-mile radius.  Globalization encouraged corporations to seek the lowest cost goods, regardless of the middleman.  Supply chain delays now encourage goods manufactured or produced locally (nationally).  It is not cheaper if you cannot get it.  Do the work.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 08, 2022

Variants

March 08, 2022

One of my favorite birds is the red-tailed hawk.  I have been enamored by raptors since my early college days and even (briefly) dreamed of being a raptor veterinarian in Alaska, until I was stymied by the memorization required by Chemistry I, II, and III.  While the majestic eagles soaring on the thermals are often the main attraction, the hawks were more common in the prairie state where I grew up.  Since becoming an Arkansas birder I have struggled to identify the hawks I see perched on tree limbs or power lines along the road.  I would take a picture and then compare it to the images in my guides.  What I finally realized is these “different birds” are all variants of the same species, my beloved red tail.

When I looked online, I found the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies.  It is one of the most common members within the Buteo genus in North America or worldwide.  The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest members of the Buteo, typically weighing from 1.5 to 3.5 pounds (690 to 1,600 g), measuring 18-26 inches (45–65 cm) in length, and with a wingspan from 3’7” to 4’8” (110–141 cm).  The species displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.  The bird occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas.  Red tails are legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the US by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  There are 14 recognized variants that differ in both appearance and range.

When I tried to identify the different hawks I photographed, their colors ranged from brown backs with a dirty white mottled front, to brown with full white breasts, to nearly white with a pinkish tail.  My research indicated that red tails are often strongly polymorphic, with individuals ranging from almost white to nearly all black.  These variants explained my different birds.  The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the US as the “chicken hawk”, though it rarely preys on standard chickens.  The diet of red-tailed hawks is highly variable and reflects their status as opportunistic feeders, but most often they are predators of small mammals such as rodents, and prey that is terrestrial and at least partially diurnal is preferred.  Like many Buteo species, they often hunt from a perch, but they can vary their hunting technique where prey and habitat demand.

THOUGHTS:  While speaking with my mom last week she mentioned the “chicken hawk” that had roosted on the tree outside her window.  This was joined by another smaller bird, and both were the same variants.  This must have been a female (larger) and her mate (smaller).   While I grew up hearing the term “chicken hawk”, I did not realize (until today) they were probably red tails.  When the pandemic began researchers struggled to identify the corona virus.  Once the virus’ genome was mapped, they began to identify later variants.  Like my red tails, none look quite the same on the microscopic level, but they are all covid.  So far, the vaccines have been effective against these variants.  Follow the science.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 07, 2022

I have mentioned how we have been puppy sitting our friend’s Sheltie over the last week.  The routine he began with has altered as he has become more comfortable with the surroundings.  When he first arrived, he was met by the cat next door (at our front window) and challenged by the two dogs behind our back yard.  Initially, he would patrol the front by prancing along the edge of the yard when we let him outside.  The change came when the neighbor’s cat showed up across the street and he ran into their yard, forcing us to call him back.  Eddie now seems to think anywhere in the cul-de-sac is fair game.  That means he will take off on a wider patrol and we call him back to keep him close.  At least he is willing to return.

When I looked online, I found many animals identify territories or ranges they patrol.  Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior, usually with a focus on behavior in natural conditions, and viewing behavior as an evolutionarily adaptive trait.  In ethology, territory is the area that a species of animal normally defends against related animals, and animals that defend the areas they patrol are referred to as territorial.  Territoriality is not shown by most species, and more common is for a group of animals to confine to an area (not defend) of home range.  These home ranges often overlap with different groups of animals, and the groups tend to avoid each other.  Members of the group use vocalization to advertise their territory and scent marking to let others know of their presence.  That is why a dog sniffs everything, to find who has been there.

Eddie is also used to having a large, fenced backyard at his house, which we do not have.  Still, he does enjoy being on patrol on our back patio.  There were some lively “vocalizations” in the beginning when our neighbor’s dogs were outside.  Now more often, these dogs will continue to bark and stir up the entire neighborhood, while Eddie stands and watches or even ignores them.  He seems to be confident in his own space and does not need to create a vocalized claim.

THOUGHTS:  I find it interesting how Eddie’s behavior has changed in the week he has been with us.  When he arrived in this new territory, he quickly made his presence known.  Still, he stayed close and limited his area to patrol.  Now that he is comfortable, he has a greater range and seeks new smells and challenges.  At the same time, he no longer seems to need to challenge the other dogs, knowing they are unable to enter his space.  Humans hold this same instinct to create and defend territory.  At times this is done with saber rattling (vocalizations) and at times by drawing lines in the sand (scent marking).  Unlike the animal groups which recognize and avoid interaction, human interaction may result in physical violence toward the other.  Humans are one of the few species willing to kill to exert territorial control.  War never creates a lasting peace.  Instead, it requires a willingness of both sides to listen.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 04, 2022

As Black History Month came to an end the Sunday edition of my local newspaper printed a front-page article on the Green Book and its impact on Black History in our area.  Tour Guides have been a popular way to direct travelers to needed services since the Middle Ages.  These were originally designed for the European rich, but in the US westward expansion, then trains, and later automobiles made these vital sources of information for the masses.  While cars opened travel for the Black middle class, Jim Crow laws and discrimination limited available amenities.  The Green Book listed locations that were friendly (or at least tolerant) of Black travelers.  Most of these sites were located near larger cities, but attention was also given to ways to traverse between cities.  Arkansas had around 230 listings, including four tourist homes in Fort Smith.  Two of these homes are still standing.   

When I looked online, I found the Negro Motorist Green Book (The Negro Motorist Green-Book, The Negro Travelers’ Green Book, or the Green Book) was an annual guidebook for African American travelers.  It originated and was published by a Black New York City mailman named Victor Hugo Green from 1936 to 1966.  This was during the Jim Crow era when open and often legally prescribed discrimination existed against Blacks and other non-whites.  Although racial discrimination and poverty limited Black car ownership, the emerging Black middle class began to buy automobiles during the late 1920’s to avoid the discrimination of mass transit.  Blacks still faced a variety of dangers along the road, including refusal of food and lodging and arbitrary arrest.  In response, Green wrote his guide to services and places relatively friendly to Blacks travelers, and eventually founded a travel agency.

From a New York-focused first edition in 1936, Green expanded the work to cover much of North America, including most of the US and parts of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda.  While the Green Book became “the bible of black travel during Jim Crow”, enabling black travelers to find lodgings, businesses, and gas stations that would serve them along the road, it was little known outside the Black community.  The Green Book was intended to make life easier for those living under Jim Crow, but its publisher looked forward to a time when such guidebooks would not be necessary.  Green wrote, “there will be a day sometime in the near future when this guide will not have to be published.  That is when we as a race will have equal opportunities and privileges in the United States.  It will be a great day for us to suspend this publication for then we can go as we please, and without embarrassment.”  Shortly after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, publication ceased, and the book fell into obscurity.

THOUGHTS:  The Green Book inspired a 2018 movie of the same name that won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor.  The Green Book was a vital aid to travel for some, while nearly unknown to others.  Even though the book included locations around my birth state, the movie was the first time I recall hearing the term.  While the Green Book ceased publication, the discrimination it addressed still exists.  Not having a book does not make discrimination go away.  That only happens when we all change our attitude.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 03, 2022

Today’s NY Times Morning feed posted an article on the difficulty of getting the 80 million eligible persons in the US to receive inoculations against the covid virus.  The first interest in inoculations in America came from an enslaved man brought to Boston from West Africa.  Onesimus had lived in an area of West Africa where inoculations for smallpox were common.  He had been deliberately infected with smallpox to make him immune to the severe version.  Onesimus told his owner, Cotton Mather, about the practice.  Mather was one of the colonies’ most prominent religious leaders in the 1720’s, as well as having a keen interest in science.  When smallpox began spreading in Boston in the 1720’s, Mather campaigned for inoculations.  Mather was met with fierce criticism as some argued the inoculations violated God’s will and others debunked it as folklore.  Arguments against inoculations were powerful because their use is counterintuitive.  Mather claimed people could avoid getting sick by getting sick.

Another early evangelist for inoculations was Benjamin Franklin, stemming from his own brush with smallpox.  As disease swept Philadelphia in 1736, the Franklin’s decided not to inoculate their 4-year-old son as he was sick with a cold.  Their son contracted smallpox and died, and rumors spread that Franky had died from the inoculation rather than the disease.  Franklin wrote the true story in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette, and in the following years tried to persuade others to avoid his mistake.  In a pro-inoculation pamphlet Franklin wrote, “Surely parents will no longer refuse to accept and thankfully use a discovery God in his mercy has been pleased to bless mankind with.”

Modern inoculations are not as counterintuitive as we now know drugs can teach the immune system to respond to a deadly virus without having to use the actual virus.  Inoculations are still considered strange by some, as an unknown cocktail of foreign substances are injected into the body.  Every new vaccine has had its skeptics and historically the two most effective responses to skepticism have been government mandates and relentless, calm persuasion.  Covid mandates are unrealistic in the US today, although it has been tried on a lesser scale, and persuasion will be required.  Persuasion means taking seriously the concerns of skeptics and creating opportunities for doctors, nurses, relatives, friends, and other trusted people to explain why inoculations can be counterintuitive yet lifesaving.  Dr. Vivek Murthy, the surgeon general, said “You build trust by listening to people, helping them feel they’re respected and valued.”

THOUGHTS:  Vaccine mandates have been used by governments since the 18th century and have been tried in recent years in response to disease outbreaks (smallpox and polio).  The covid death toll in the US exceeds 950,000, and many of those deaths occurred after inoculations were available.  Congress approved the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA) in 1986 and established the National Vaccine Program within the US.  There are ten mandated vaccines that are routinely given to protect infants or children from the ravages of disease.  Since covid is not on the list, listening to concerns and respecting feelings is the best way to save lives.  Follow the science.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 02, 2022

Yesterday was the last night of Mardi Gras, or Shrove Tuesday.  The festival season varies from city to city, and traditions such as New Orleans, Louisiana, consider Mardi Gras to stretch the entire period from Twelfth Night (Epiphany) to Ash Wednesday.  Others treat only the final three-day period before Ash Wednesday as Mardi Gras.  Epiphany always occurs 12 days after Christmas (remember, “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?) on January 6^th and marks the traditional arrival of the three magi (Wise Men) at Jesus’ house in Bethlehem (not a manger).  The final day of celebration changes from year to year and is tied to the Jewish Passover, or Pesach.  While the Pesach always begins on the on the 15th day of the month of Nisan on the Jewish (lunar) calendar, this correlates with a variable time during March or April on the Gregorian (solar) calendar.  Do not even get me started on the 40 days.

When I looked online, I found the term Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday” and reflects the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season.  That meant all the meat, milk, and butter needed to be removed from the house.  Rather than throwing these valuable comedies away, people would cook slabs of meat (collops) and eggs on Monday and then pancakes on Tuesday.  The word Shrove became associated with the observance in England, and is derived from the word shrive, meaning “to administer the sacrament of confession to; or to absolve.”  Not surprising, this is also called Pancake Tuesday.

Several years ago, we checked off one of Melissa’s “bucket list” items when we attended the final weekend of Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  I had not paid much attention to the celebrations but was smart enough to purchase grandstand seating for several of the parades.  The scarcity of items thrown from the floats along most of the route was countered by the plentiful beads and medallions thrown as the krewes who sponsored the parade passed the grandstands.  The wild celebrations and costumes the celebration is known for abruptly end with the clearing of Bourbon Street at midnight on Tuesday night.  Rather than end, this seemed more like, “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”  When we walked the street the next morning the only others there were the crew hosing the sidewalks and sweeping the streets.

THOUGHTS:  After a year hiatus, the parades and celebrations of Mardi Gras returned to New Orleans this year.  One treat associated with Mardi Gras is the King cake.  King cakes can be found as “rosca de reyes” in many Spanish-speaking countries and “galette de rois” in France. This is a slightly sweet cinnamon bread decorated with purple, yellow, and green icing, and usually comes with a trinket hidden inside.  In the 1950’s, a New Orleans bakery popularized hiding a porcelain baby inside the cake, a practice that reportedly traces back to 18th-century France to supposedly represent Jesus.  Today, the plastic figurine is hidden inside the king cake, and the person who finds the baby in their slice is responsible for providing next year’s cake.  While we did not have king cake, we did have pancakes.  Hopefully we can venture out again.  Follow the science.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

March 01, 2022

I am always amazed how amid the bitter cold, freezing rain, and sleet, the flowers still rise if there is a warm day to set them off.  Prior to converting our front bed to succulents, Melissa and her mom had planted the area under the Japanese red maple with ground cover and daffodil bulbs.  When we transformed the bed to succulents, we took out the mulch, added pea gravel, and waited to see what would come up.  We have also been forced to put garden mesh over the bed over the last two winters as we try and preserve the succulents beneath.  Last week I noticed the daffodils had bloomed under the cover of mesh.

When I looked online, I found that Daffodils (Narcissus spp. or “various species”) are one of the earliest spring-blooming flowers.  These hardy perennials grow in most regions of North America, except in the hottest, wettest areas, such as South Florida.  Daffodils are a fall-planted bulb which then bloom in late winter or early spring.  The traditional daffodil flower may be a showy yellow or white, with six petals and a trumpet-shape central corona, but many cultivated varieties (“cultivars”) exist today.   The cultivar planted in our bed are the Daffodil Large Cupped Red Devon.  This award-winning heirloom daffodil was bred in Devonshire, England and was first introduced in 1943.  Red Devon attracts the eye from yards away with its brilliant yellow petals and flashy orange cups.  This is said to be a dependable performer and great naturalizer.  It has adapted well to several of our beds.

Narcissus is the proper name for all daffodils.  While the exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection.  It is called a narcotic because its bulb houses a toxic substance, and the Greek word ‘narcissus’ means ‘numbness’, so it is a reference to its narcotic nature.  The English word “daffodil” appears to be derived from “asphodel”, a flower with which it was commonly compared.  The most common symbolic meanings attributed to the narcissus flower are rebirth, renewal, and the coming of spring.  It can also mean good luck, happiness, prosperity, and wealth.

THOUGHTS:  Echo and Narcissus is a myth from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a Roman epic from the Augustan Age.  The myth tells the story of the mountain nymph Echo and the beautiful youth Narcissus with whom she falls in love.  Echo is rejected (fading into the wind) and Narcissus falls in love with his own reflection (and becomes a one of the daffodils).  The introduction to the myth appears to be of Ovid’s own invention and Ovid’s version influenced the presentation of the myth in later Western art and literature.  Narcissus’ vanity came from ego and a focus on self.  We need to make sure we do not become the myth.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

February 28, 2022

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is over and the totals have been tallied.  There were over 320,000 checklists submitted representing the 192 countries who participated in this year’s count.  The count identified 7,095 species worldwide.  The country of Columbia had the most species identified with 1,239 species in the 1,847 checklists submitted.  Ecuador ranked second in number of species with 1,039 on 584 checklists.  India was third with 1,020 species and ranked second for checklists with 39,204.  While the US ranked eighth overall for the number of species with 689 it was first in number of checklists with 195,167.  That was followed by India and Canada was third with 28,601 checklists identifying 256 species. 

When I looked online at the Audubon website it stated each checklist submitted during the GBBC helps researchers at the National Audubon Society, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and Birds Canada learn more about how birds are doing, as well as how to protect both the birds and the environment we share.  Over the last 25 years the totals from submissions have created the largest instantaneous snapshot of global bird populations ever recorded.  During this four-day event birdwatchers all around the world are invited to count and report details of birds in the area in which they live.  Data is submitted online and compiled for use in scientific research.  Data collected during the event is subjected to verification by experts to overcome any potential shortcomings from the (mostly) amateur participants.  The totals resulting from the event raises awareness about changes in population and habitats of common birds.

While awards are not given, bragging rights are still possible.  The top birder honor world-wide went to Guillermo Saborío Vega (Columbia) with an incredible 299 species observed on 24 checklists over the four-day period.  Top birder in the lower 48 states of the US was Brandi Fox with 196 species, narrowly edging out James Leone with 195.  Arkansas had 138 species observed on 1,273 checklists representing 69 of the 75 counties.  Daniel Mason took top birder honors with 82 species reported.  I was close (not), with 12 species observed on my three checklists.  I was still glad I was able to participate.

THOUGHTS:  I admit I was overwhelmed when I looked at the statistics for number of species and number of checklists submitted across the world, across the lower 48 states of the US, and even across my own state of Arkansas.  However, as I went deeper into the totals it changed my perception.  My county had 50 different species identified on 13 checklists.  I accounted for 12 of the species and 3 of the 13 checklists.  Like so many things, perspective makes a difference.  Statistics are great to provide snapshots of averages, means, and trends, but it is easy to get lost in the big picture.  Real change in the ethical treatment of others happens one person at a time.  Do not swayed into thinking you cannot make a difference.  Keep working one day, and one person, at a time to build unity.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

February 25, 2022

We have been trapped inside by the ice storm that descended on our state on Wednesday.  We received a heavy layer of ice that was repeated throughout the day on Thursday.  Melissa has her home office set up in our Bay window in the kitchen and watched as the few cars and trucks that tried to brave the storm slid into the ditch trying to make a turn.  Since I do most of my work from home, I do not normally get out every day, but being confined by the storm somehow made it feel different.  I was in my office yesterday when I heard thunder amid the sleet falling in the storm.  While most thunder is associated with rain, I have rarely heard it during snowstorms.  This was the first I recall hearing thunder during a sleet storm, but sleet is just short of snow.    

When I looked online, I found thundersnow, or a winter thunderstorm, is an unusual kind of thunderstorm with snow falling instead of rain.  Thermodynamically, it is not any different from other thunderstorms, but the top of the cumulonimbus cloud is usually quite low.  In addition to snow, graupel (snow pellets or corn snow) or hail may fall.  It is unlikely to see lightning during a thunder snowstorm.  First, you must be in the right place when a rare thunder snow happens.  It is estimated that only six snow thunder events occur in the US each year.  Second, in most cases it is not possible to see the lightning because the snow already makes the sky bright and white.  You may hear a rumble of thunder, but the significant snow associated with these storms will muffle the sound.  Typically, the thunder can only be heard within a couple of miles.

The cause of thunder has been the subject of speculation and scientific inquiry for centuries.  Early explanation was it was made by the gods, but the ancient Greek philosophers attributed it to natural causes, such as wind striking clouds (Anaximander, Aristotle) and movement of air within clouds (Democritus).  The Roman philosopher Lucretius held it was from the sound of hail colliding within clouds.  In the mid-19th century, the accepted theory was that lightning produced a vacuum and the collapse of that vacuum produced the sound known as thunder.  In the 20th century a consensus evolved that thunder begins as a shock wave due to sudden thermal expansion of the plasma in the lightning channel.  Experimental studies of simulated lightning have produced results largely consistent with this model, although there is continued debate about the precise physical mechanisms of the process.  I am always happy to hear the thunder, as it is the lighting strike that proceeds the thunder that will kill you.

THOUGHTS:  I faced another bout with winter thunder in Utah years ago.  We were skiing and made the last lift to the summit before it closed due to wind.  The fog and light snow caused the visibility to be about 30 yards, and this was a Blue run I had never skied.  As I dropped below the fog, I realized I was skiing into a bowl with a dense line of trees on the far side.  I cut too close to a tree and a powder drift exploded around my fall.  In that instant, lightning struck, lighting the sky around me, followed by a loud boom of thunder, and then silence.  My thought was, “If this is the Rapture, why am I still here?”  While the noise of thunder may be frightening, it rarely causes permanent damage.  Too bad the same cannot be said for the noise that comes from politicians.  Do the work.  Change is coming and it starts with you.