Category: Nature

Snow Day

  • February 25, 2022

We haven’t had much snow this year, and the few falls we had melted quickly. But we had a good one overnight, and it led to most local workplaces and schools closing today (or in my case, teaching online).

The forecast was 8-12 inches in total, and I think we’re on the low end of that. It’s light and fluffy and easy to move, but it’s also extremely cold out which made the job unpleasant.

Every time I use the snowthrower it seems heavier and more unwieldy. And it feels colder outside in every storm. Is this what getting old is like? 🙂

The driveway is white again as I type this – another inch or so has fallen I think – but I probably won’t need to clear it again. Although the roads will be clear by tomorrow it will remain cold for many days so I think we’ll be enjoying snowy surroundings for at least a week.

I wonder if this will be the last major snowfall of the year? I hope not; it feels like we’ve hardly had a winter with the infrequent snow we’ve had. While it may be inconvenient from a work perspective I hope we’ve got at least one more big blizzard coming this winter.

  • Posted in Blog
  • Robert

Australian Squirrels

  • November 4, 2021

I was doing some research for lecture preparation the other day and learned something I never knew: Australia has had squirrels! And there’s a small chance the country still does…

Grey squirrels (the same ones common in our backyard!) were introduced into botanical gardens in Melbourne in 1880, and Ballarat in 1937. They spread into surrounding suburbs and gardens but were never truly successful, and apparently died out within a few decades. It’s possible the last remaining grey squirrel in australia was a pet which lived for 9 years (and was fed breakfast cereal)! I can’t find much information about why they died out but it may have been a combination of a small initial colony, lack of suitable food, competition from possums and natural predation (including from lizards and birds).

Needless to say this experiment will never happen again, as grey squirrels (along with all non-native mammals) are prohibited from import into Australia.

The case of the Indian palm squirrel is a little more surprising. Along with several other species (including fish and birds) these little guys were introduced into Perth in 1898 to make the area more livable for colonists. Almost none of the introduced species survived, but palm squirrels established a thriving colony in the grounds of Perth Zoo.

There they lived for over 100 years, being popular with visitors and a tasty snack for the zoo animals (there are accounts of the squirrels being eaten by monkeys, brolgas and leopards). The squirrels slowly spread out from the zoo into neighboring suburbs, a golf course and a high school and it has been estimated that the colony contained at its peak about 1000 squirrels. Some were even imported east to set up a similar colony in Taronga Zoo (in 1920) but these died out within 50 years due to predation and because the squirrels were frequently caught in the traps set up to control rats.

By all accounts the squirrels in Perth were quite popular – especially at the school – and well known by the locals. But the squirrel was eventually deemed a threat to native wildlife and agriculture, and about a decade ago an eradication program was initiated. This was very successful (apparently they’re easy to catch) and within three years the squirrels were reduced to ‘undetectable levels’

It’s not known if they’re truly extinct in Australia, but if any still live their numbers are likely too small to allow the colony to survive.

So there you have it! Australia did have squirrels, and for over 100 years at that!

Now about the reports of errant ghost kangaroos in the USA…

Cape Cod

  • July 28, 2021

We’re on a road trip vacation, and our first two days have been in cape cod. Due to a covid outbreak in these parts, we’ve restricted our activities to outdoor only, which isn’t hard with the beautiful weather and lots to see.

Yesterday we visited two salt marshes. Boardwalks had been constructed over them so you could walk above. We learned that they have plans to rebuild the platforms six feet higher due to future sea level rise.

At the second one the tide was coming in and we watched thousands of crabs and fish moving around as the little pools filled with water. It was mesmerizing!

We then walked along a two mile beach, well past the swimming area, and into dunes where protected birds nest. We were charmed by plovers darting in and out of the waves as they fed. The beach was quite nice and very popular, with loads of people sunbathing and splashing about. We didn’t bring swimmers, so walked in the waves to cool our feet 🙂

Today we went to Provincetown where I walked a causeway across to a sand island (while kls waited, since it was a bit risky for her). It was a challenging walk since the rocks were not level, and a few times I had to jump! Roses are about 9 feet here, and it was low tide when I crossed; I learned that at high tide the waters lap at the top of the causeway. It was extremely windy and a little chill, and the return trip took me 51 minutes! Not bad for a hike that they claim takes an hour each way 🙂

Provincetown is a popular tourist town on the very end of the cape known for its LGBTQ community. The homes and gardens are beautiful and immaculately kept and – since we looked at some listings in a realtor – incredibly expensive!

Provincetown is also in the news right now for recently having a bad covid-19 outbreak and for the first time in many months we were masked everywhere (and so was almost everyone else we saw). It was a bit strange, but I fear it’s the near-future of most of the world (due to Delta) so we may as well get used to it.

We had lunch from a near the pier which serves fresh (fried) seafood. My flounder burger was great but KLS says her scallop roll was ‘beyond excellent’. Even better than the lobster roll she had yesterday!

Afterwards we went and visited the location where Marconi sent his first transmission to England. There was a nearby hike through a swamp which looked great but was ‘infested’ (according to the sign) with ticks and also (according to reviews) with mozzies so we piked out and moved on. Needless to say there’s been a good deal of souvenir shopping as well; mostly for salt-water taffy 🙂

Tomorrow we move to destination #2. I’ll leave you in suspense as to where that will be…