Of dragonflies and early birds

I woke early to a beautiful day. I dinked about the kitchen, did some work, then rode off for Pisgah where I encountered a larger amount and variety of dragonflies than I've noticed there so far this year. There were the irridescent blues and a new, larger breed that were black bodied with black and clear stripes on their wings. Yay.

I am sometimes listening to podcasts while I hike. Many of my selected shows are science and environment oriented, so I hike through nature listening to the global state of it. I remember last year hearing about the marked decline of bumble bees in England and parts of the U.S. while noting a plethora of them on Pisgah. I have no basis upon which to note whether they were declined as I had not taken note of them the previous year. This year, I've not seen as many bees. Maybe they will be more numerous later in the summer. That's when I noticed them last year.

Today I was listening to scientists mention the odd shift in Britain's weather. They have apparently had a very warm winter and are leading into an unseasonably warm summer. This has caused a shift in the amount and types of birds, butterflies and other migrating creatures' appearances in different parts of the country. It was commented on more than one podcast that there are birds and butterflies of warmer climes that never migrate as far north as they are being seen.

I stopped my iPod and spent some time pondering this. It is fascinating to think that all these vibrant, colourful new creatures are going to be spotted in someone's birdfeeder set in a proper British garden. While the warmth of that thought was still fresh, my mind turned to the chaos that could cause. New creatures could wreak havoc on the ecosystem of an area. Earlier arrivals of butterflies could mean they get all the food and leave none for another creature that doesn't hatch or arrive until later. Different birds could supplant species with long-lasting symbiotic relationships of the area. A local bird may not survive without a certain amount of food which deprives a species of plant pollination, etc.

Who can predict whether all this will have a negative or neutral result. My mind isn't powerful enough to work all that through. I'm concerned, but I am trying to do all I can at my level to preserve what we have. I guess I'll just have to calmly sip my tea and watch my own battle of the backyard species as the squirrels and birds debate for dominance over the feeder while I listen to the chirping arguements on both parties' parts.

Bwa ha ha!

I was just finishing up some laundry and listening to my podcasts. The fun mechanics from Car Talk were bantering and they began to argue a bit about climate change and the early onset of such warm weather all over the country. Why? They theorize that the government shouldn't be surprised at the early summer temperatures because it was they that set the clocks ahead a month early this year. They figure the government should have calculated the effect of an extra month of more sunlight on the country.

*blink blink*

My reaction was immediate outbursts of laughter! I almost dropped the wet laundry during the hanging process.

It was very nice to laugh out loud like that.