Jack Burns Lives!

When it comes to the environment, I depend a lot on what my eyes and ears tell me, particularly when it comes to my own community. I’m not a scientist and have only an amateurish ability to decipher the complicated graphs and studies delivering all the bad news.

But I have a reasonable amount of common sense and even a cursory examination of my own bioregion suggests there have been some very definite changes in the past thirty years or so.

There are insects, amphibians and mammals I no longer see on a regular basis that I routinely saw as a child. A genus of beetles in the family Scarabaeidae, commonly known around here as the June bug, is notably absent. Fewer non-native, but helpful, honeybees.

There are extremely small numbers of Bufo bufo, the Common Toad. I’m told T. sirtalis, the Garter snake, is not threatened, but I rarely see them anymore. Crayfish, or crawdads as they’re known in the South, are in short supply in Shelby County waters. Might have something to do with the fact that four of the seven or so streams listed on the danger list by the State of Tennessee are in my bioregion. My friend Rich says he’s not seen as many tadpoles, hence the reason I’ve not seen as many toads or frogs.

The reptile and amphibian issue is most likely tied to the use (not overuse…any use) of lawn fertilizers and chemicals, especially pre-emergence chemicals designed to keep native grasses and other flora from growing in the spring and competing with the many non-native grasses commonly seen on golf courses.

Americans love their lawns. Perfectly green and “weed” free. It just so happens that weed free also means free of most native life forms, including bees and toads. Thanks to a good soaking with mancozeb, chlorothalonil, triadimefon, triadimenol, bitertanol, flusilazole, 1,2,4-triazole, propiconazole and a host of other awful sounding shit, nearly all of which are now classified by EPA as “probable” cancer causing chemicals in humans as they have been found to cause cancer in animals.

How much of a role does climate change play? I’m not sure. Maybe none. Maybe a little. The truth is we don’t know, because I don’t know of any scientists collecting and analyzing the data for this region. They’re all busy over at Buckman Labs and Velsicol Chemical making money and muck.

The normal average high temperature in March should be around 63 degrees, but this week, we’re seeing extended periods of temperatures in the mid 80′s. Today’s high was forecast at 86 degrees and would have broken a record that’s stood since 1907.

An examination of the local climate data reveals that we only hit 80 degrees and above a few times before 1990 during the month of March. Average temps for that period are, however, about the same.

But things seem warmer and drier. Lots of folks already have their lawn sprinklers going full blast, and March is traditionally a wet month for us in the Delta.

Maybe it’s just my imagination, but something simply doesn’t feel right.

Nationally, 2006 was “the warmest in the continental United States in the past 112 years — capping a nine-year warming streak unprecedented in the historical record that was driven in part by the burning of fossil fuels.”

That’s according to the guvment and seems to confirm what I’ve been thinking here in the Mississippi Delta.

There’s less life, hotter temps, less rain, more cars, heavy traffic, higher crime, especially violent crime. A connection? Perhaps.

Edward Abbey said that wilderness was a necessity of the human spirit. I agree. So when you have over one million people crammed together in a mass of concrete and steel and nearly everything green is soaked with carcinogens, well, I guess it’s not hard to imagine what’s next.

Too cynical? Abbey also said, “Follow the truth no matter where it leads you,” and careful and close observation of my community tells me we have very real, serious problems with long term consequences.

The solution? Eighty-five percent of the population in my area believes a fella named Jesus is in control and is coming back. According to Club Jesus (I used to be a member but was asked to leave due to repeated sexual violations) we shouldn’t worry about this world, because it’s going to pass away.

And I should mention this group also believes in a rapture myth.

I wish I could believe in it, too, because it would give me great comfort to know that all the stupid assholes causing the problems will soon be gathered into the sky and gone.

Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, amigos.

Assuming they leave, this would leave the Delta for myself and a few thousand other humans, June bugs, honeybees, Evening bats, toads, snakes, birds and various other critters. A sustainable population of living things hopefully living in a democratic community free of chemicals, cars, Bibles and banks.

When do we get started?

The Good News is we’re getting started with or without the rapture. Once again, perhaps within the next twenty-five to fifty years, mother nature is going to reassert herself. Peak oil will stop the cars and the stock market, aquifer depletion will slow down human reproduction, and climate change will provide a smörgåsbord of comeuppance for homo sap.

A bitter pill? Too harsh? No, not at all. As Ed said, it’s hard, but it’s fair.

“In social affairs, I’m an optimist. I really do believe that our military- industrial civilization will soon collapse.” Edward Abbey

Let’s hope. Sounds like Good News to me.

After a long period of procrastination, I’ve finally added my bat house.

There’s a good population of bats in my bioregion, mostly Evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis), but there are other species. They roost in hollow trees and houses, but I’m told the little winged fur balls are also attracted to these little houses.

I sit in the garden each evening, sipping a cool beverage, and wait, hoping to see my first occupant. The photo is from yesterday, just before dusk. I’m told occupancy can happen within hours, but can also take a couple of years. I’ll leave the vacancy sign illuminated for as long as it takes.

Maybe if I serve a hearty breakfast and market it as a Bat Bed and Breakfast, I’ll get more takers. Wait. They eat in the evening, so Bed and Dinner. I’ll call it the Flying Mosquito, touting the high popluation of mosquitos in my garden as potential tourist attraction. For the more discriminating bat, of course. Insect flavored mint on the pillow.

From what I can tell, I’m the only person in the neighborhood actually trying to attract bats. Then again, I’m the only person in the neighborhood that encourages and supports the growth of clover and dandelions for the bees. Most folks are soaking their yards with poison, trying to create that perfect, Augusta National look that doesn’t exist naturally anywhere in nature.

This, of course, kills not only the “weeds,” but it also kills toads and other animals, including the bees.

But my yard/garden is a happy place, not a chemically produced monoculture. There are at least 38 species of birds, at least two species of snakes, along with chipmunks, squirrels, bees, dragonflies and a host of other life forms. The bats are there too. They’ve just not yet decided to take up more permanent residence.

I’ll keep the light on.

Ah, spring.

Approaching the equinox on March 20, I find myself busy sowing seeds, preparing the garden and tuning the bike for increased mileage during the warmer months. Migratory songbirds like the Ruby crowned kinglet are filling up their bellies for their coming northward journey, as are the Snow geese and other migratory, avian friends.

This season I’ve mounted a bat house, hopeful a colony of Evening bats will roost and help control July’s burgeoning mosquito population. We’ve got some real blood suckers here in the Mississippi Delta and can use all the help we can get.

The azaleas are already blooming, and it will soon be consistently warm enough for me to transplant my seedlings into outdoor containers. This year, I’m planting four tomato species, various herbs, veggies and sunflowers. Might give corn a try, as well.

Spring equinox is one of my favorite seasonal celebrations. It marks the point where day and night are equal, just before the balance shifts to light. The seeds that have slept in darkness and now spring forth in light and warmth, bringing with them their bounty from Mother Earth. And in March we celebrate my favorite of the mother goddesses (fiction of course, but fun) Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty and sexuality.

What’s there not to like about March?

March is also great month for backpacking. Last weekend, I loaded my pack and took my youngest son with me for a weekend at Virgin Falls,

a once lovely spot that’s now being trampled to death by hikers like myself. Some practice Leave No Trace principles while others treat the wilderness just like they do a city street.

There were certainly some wonderful moments, but overall, there were too many people. I go to the wilderness to get away from humans, but I recall counting over twenty five camping in and around the falls. Screaming, shouting, electronic devices. What on earth are these people thinking?

Apparently nothing. Must have left their brains at home.

Despite the humans and the trash, there was much to see that was worthwhile. Emerging wildflowers like the endangered and rare Trailing Trillium (Trillium decumbens) and of course the falls itself, a 150 foot wall of water that emerges from a cave and then disappears into second cave.

A short video is here.

Some folks are spending this spring killing other people and non-people. Dropping bombs. Building wealth. Buying new SUV’s. Planning new developments. Snow skiing around towns locals can’t afford to live in and lynx can’t live in. Chopping down trees and putting their gold bank vaults. Assholes. Fuck ‘em all.

I can’t wait for oil to hit $125 per barrel and for the insanity to finally end.

I’m going backpacking, celebrating solar festivals, planting seeds and cycling.

I’m celebrating spring.

Light.

Life.

Simple pleasures and simple things.