The weather is making it really difficult to believe it is November, but I’ve decided to just go with it and try to not be too freaked out by the weirdness of it. Climate change in action? Probably a little bit. But there is also a “Godzilla” el niño in the Pacific that is a major contributor as well. The combination makes part of me very happy because, wow, November and I spent time outdoors today plenty warm in a sweatshirt. The other part of me is worried and a little angry because this is just not right, not normal at all and nobody seems concerned, too busy running around and believing we are somehow lucky. Humph.
On a happy note, I jumped with joy the other day when President Obama said no to the entire Keystone Pipeline project. I want to thank the farmers in Nebraska for all their lawsuits that slowed the entire review process down and gave a lot more people time to comment and protest and government officials, including the president, time to seriously consider what an oil pipeline running across the U.S. from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico would mean in terms of climate change and immediate environmental impacts. So thank you Mr. President. You made me squeal with joy, clap my hands and do a happy dance. My eyes might have gotten a little teary too.
Then there is the news that Vermont Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon have proposed legislation to stop the government from issuing new leases on public lands for fossil fuel extraction. The “Keep it in the Ground Act” would also end all current non-productive leases for fossils fuels on federal land and offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. It would also prohibit offshore drilling in the Arctic and the Atlantic. It is a bold move and Republicans, many of whom don’t “believe in” climate change, are already saying the bill has no chance of passing. It is unfortunate but not surprising. Nonetheless, the fact that anyone is even proposing such legislation is a huge step in the right direction.
Closer to home, I pulled the turnips today. One huge one and three radish sized ones and an actual radish that’s a bit deformed. Bookman is going to boil them and mash them up with a potato to have with dinner tonight. Yum.
We do not rake our leaves up from the yard. We rake them off the sidewalk only. This year we are putting the sidewalk leaves in the chicken garden. Remember it is all sand? We covered it in wood chips in August but those take so long to decompose. Now we are adding leaves. And since it has been windy these last couple of days and the neighbor across the alley from us has a huge tree in their backyard that dropped its leaves, a good many of them blew over and caught themselves along our new chain link fence. I raked them all off the fence and deposited them in the chicken garden while thanking the neighbor’s tree for the donation to our soil-building project.
Bookman and I spent quite a lot of time today looking at pictures of rafters on the internet and discussing physics and geometry. We are ready to frame the roof on the chicken coop and run and since we are building it as a green roof we have to account for extra weight. What’s the best and easiest way to build five rafters? Lots of rafters are notched on the end of the board that sits on the structure’s frame. Do we need to do that? Also, how steep do we want the pitch of the roof?
We decided from roof peak to frame would be a foot which means the roof pitch is not super steep but steep enough to provide decent drainage for the green roof. So then we had to do some geometry. Kids, if you are sitting in geometry class thinking, this is so stupid, I will never need this in real life, let me tell you that you are wrong! So we worked out the math and started to cut and drill and we changed our minds about how we wanted to build the rafters from mitered triangles screwed to the frame to notched rafters sitting on the frame edge. And we got ourselves so turned around upside down and backwards that we decided to stop and have some chocolate chip cookies.
The cookies made everything better. We decided to go back to our original rafter plan of making triangles that attach to the coop frame. Much easier than figuring out how to make notches. By this time though we had worn ourselves out so we called it quits for the day on coop building. Our building progress today was conceptual rather than actual but we have to have the concept down before we can make it reality. Now we know what we need to do and how to do it so next chance we get should go more smoothly.
That’s the idea anyway.
Something bookish. I am very much looking forward to Richard Mabey’s new book The Cabaret of Plants becoming available in the U.S. The Guardian had an essay by Mabey recently in which he talks about plants and the environment and much of what he talks about is in his book. Things like how beans use echolocation to find their poles and mimosa shrubs have a greater memory-span than bees. I am all agog. I must know more! Please book, hurry up and get published!
Biking
Just a quick note about how indoor biking is going: great!
Achievement unlocked! I did a metric century on Zwift yesterday (100km/ 62.2 miles). For that I get a special jersey my avatar can wear to let everyone know about it. It was actually harder to do on my trainer than on the road. When I am riding outdoors I get to coast on the downhills and get to rest at traffic signals. On the trainer I am pedaling all the time, no stopping. I did stop halfway for about two minutes to run to the kitchen and get a couple energy bites. But golly, did I work! And sweat! Even with a fan blowing right in my face the entire ride I went through both my water bottles, something I only have ever done on the hottest days of summer. But it was good and it was fun and I got lots of kudos from other people riding at the time. The next big goal is an imperial century (100 miles/ 161km). I wonder if I can do it by New Year’s?
I somehow missed that you chicken coop is going to have a green roof. That’s awesome!
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biblioglobal, thanks! Can’t let that space go to waste, plus it will act as insulation in both summer and winter 🙂
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Yay for President Obama for putting an end to the Keystone Pipeline….that was a courageous decision and I am glad someone made it! Chocolate Chip cookie does make life better!!! Awesome achievement on you biking adventures! I am snowed!
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cirtnecce, Obama’s decision is definitely worth celebrating. Chocolate chip cookies do indeed make life better 🙂 And thanks! The stronger I get at cycling the more I want to do it and the more I want to challenge myself. It’s a win-win!
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how amazing and energetic !
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Yes, the weather here has been uncannily warm (just now also very wet and windy) and I don’t like it either. At least that is some good news about what Obama has done. Good for you in retaining some geometry and I hope you enjoy the new Mabey book when it comes out.
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Ian, the weather wouldn’t feel so wrong if you could feel as though it is only an anomalous blip but since it isn’t it is a bit scary. I was surprised and it was kind of fun to dust off the geometry! I expect the Mabey book will be most excellent 🙂
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Good for Everyday, thanks!
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It sounds like your coop building is what the gardener Geoff Hamilton called – a ten mugs of tea project – it takes a lot of thinking about. I was interested in that Guardian plant article too, I’ve been saying for years that we have no idea how plants feel and it means I’m not good at cutting back shrubs. I know people think that’s crazy of me!
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piningforthewest, heh! Or in my case a ten chocolate chip cookie project! I had better keep up with the cycling 😉 It’s really amazing, isn’t it, the things we are learning about plants? I hate pruning too, especially trees and I always apologize profusely to them so I don;t think you are crazy at all!
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I too have been uneasy about the warm weather. Two days ago it was 76 degrees in my house and I had to open windows for a breeze. I was relieved and glad to wake up this morning to a cold room and our first hard frost- welcoming the cold weather we ought to have at this time of year.
I only tried growing turnips once and I was pleased they did so well, but my kids wouldn’t eat them! Of all the recipes I tried, I found I really only liked them diced and pan-fried with peas. Can you suggest another way to cook them? I’d like to grow them again…
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Jeane, glad you got a frost! It is amazing how much we are affected by the weather especially when it feels wrong.
As for turnips, I am pleased with how easy they are to grow. They are good mashed up like potatoes. They are also good cooked up in a root soup with parsnips and carrots. You can puree the soup for something smoother. It tends to be sweet so we like to flavor with black pepper but other savory spices used lightly would be tasty too.
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Thanks! Soup is a good idea- my husband has been asking me to make more varieties of soup, and I was just trying to think of different veggies I could use. I’m going to see if I still have turnip seed in the fridge jar! Time to plan for spring already…
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I love soup season. Have you had carrot ginger soup before? So easy and so tasty! Good luck with the turnips!
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The Keystone Pipeline already exists The Mainline extends from Canada (Alberta, I think) to Peoria, IL and the Cushing Line from Nebraska to OK. They’ve been running since 2010 (thereabouts). There is an extensive permitting process performed by a number of agencies, EPA, US. Fish & Wildlife, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – and others – as well as multiple state and county agencies who study the environmental impact (wetlands, navigable waters, endangered species, and other natural resources) prior to issuing permits. Some argue that the pipeline will have a negative effect on the long-term use of land, harm to agriculture and cattle grazing (of course, since you’re a vegan you probably wouldn’t worry too much about cattle farming) and our ability to respond quickly to a leak in the pipeline. None have occurred yet, but naturally that isn’t to say one never will. But this much is true: the oil will be extracted and will be transported. Perhaps by rail or roadway – but certainly via a dirtier, more dangerous and potentially more disastrous method. We already have a vast pipeline system buried in the bowels of the Earth. Unfortunately Keystone XL has become yet another political wedge to divide people rather than encourage them toward serious discussions to weigh the facts – both pro and con. What I have found to be true is: (1) If you lean to the left you will be against it no matter what sound arguments come from the opposite side; and (2) if you lean right you will be for it no matter what sound arguments come from the opposite side.
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Grad, yes large portions of the pipeline have already been constructed which is unfortunate, but at least this last big piece of it won’t be and that’s at least a small victory in my opinion. Yes, the oil will still be transported in other ways that are potentially hazardous — we have oil trains passing through the Twin Cities regularly and Minneapolis is doing everything it can to change that — however to argue that the pipeline should go through because it is safer is a bad argument I believe. The oil should not be removed and transported to begin with and the more difficult we can make it for the oil companies to transport it, it is more likely to become a losing prospect entirely and hopefully, eventually, is abandoned altogether.
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See this is why I can never have a chicken coop – I was one of those kids in geometry totally confused and angry at having to do stupid problems that I would never use in real life 🙂
Did not know about the Keep It In the Ground Act. That’s awesome!
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Iliana, heh, I bet you remember more than you think! And if not, well, there are lots of blueprints for coops and you can even buy pre-made ones so you wouldn’t be completely out of luck 😉
The Keep it in the Ground Act makes me really like Bernie Sanders 🙂
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I hadn’t heard about Obama and the Pipeline. I read Bill McKibben’s Oil and honey a couple of years ago and in that I was horrified by the fast that Obama seemed to be supporting it. I admire the tenacity of people who fight these things for so long.
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whisperinggums, I remember when you read the McKibben book. It is still on my TBR list 🙂 I think Obama is thinking legacy at this point and is looking for things he can do that don’t require help from Congress. He has also been talking strongly about the upcoming Paris climate talks and how he wants the US to be a leader and so framed his rejection of the pipeline as part of that — how can we lead if we are building oil pipelines?
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Yes, the thought of legacy crossed my mind. Whatever it takes, we’ll accept eh?
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Exactly!
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You need a carpenter to help you with your coop – what a shame I can’t post mine to you! We are also having mild weather, which is better for my cfs recovery, but also a bit discombobulating. Weather people have been making dark mutterings about El NIno to us in the UK, claiming it will make December very cold, but I can’t quite imagine that at the moment! Very glad to hear that the pipeline plan has been shelved, though. Apart from anything else, it’s really important we wean ourselves off fossil fuels. Anything that goes towards that goal is a really good step in the right direction.
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Litlove, oh indeed a carpenter would be so handy right now! Interesting that el nino makes your winters colder when it tends to make mine milder though potentially snowier. I don;t mind lots of snow, we’ve had snow deficits for two winters a row now so it would be nice to have some. The weather right now though, like yours, is making it hard to imagine that might happen. And you are right as far as fossil fuesl go, any little bit helps!
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I just want you to know that I almost tweeted your sentence “And we got ourselves so turned around upside down and backwards that we decided to stop and have some chocolate chip cookies.” but I didn’t have enough room to give YOU the credit.
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Care, oh that’s glorious! Thank you! 😀
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Stefanie, geometry is not and has never been my friend, that is what my partner is for hehehe, he is a maths whizz and hugely practical, whereas I can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler (although I blame the ruler for this of course), However, I am very glad that geometry is your friend and very excited about your chicken coop which will be the Buckingham Palace – White House? – of coops. I won’t tell my hens about it because they’ll all be very jealous.
It’s nice to read some good news about climate change, even if it’s qualified it’s still a step. Who knows, maybe we’ll stop being stupid in time to halt the worst?
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Helen, a stab to the heart of geometry! 😉 We are aiming for cottage status on the coop, nothing so grand as palace or presidential mansion. As for climate change, I am cautiously hopeful that we might stop being stupid in time.
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‘100 kms’ sounds fantastic. 🙂 You inspire me, Stefanie! 🙂
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