Socks, Floods and Getting Lost
'Tother day I noticed a hole in the heel of one of H's socks. That sock hadn't had another hole which I'd already darned. Wonder where it had been hiding? Then last night I noticed that one of his big-toe nails, which sort of stick up at a 45° angle, was coming through the toe of his sock. Darn! Literally, once it's been washed. He hasn't had these socks for a year yet, but, apart from the heel holes and now the toe hole, they seem to be wearing fairly well. They're wearing a lot better than the black socks he used to wear, so perhaps there is a saving? Maybe I should invest in some more cotton/wool mix yarn and knit him some more socks, though he has five pairs at present.
Darn! I've just looked through the socks which are drying and have found another three holes/weak spots, one in the toe. Well, I suppose I've been wanting some knitting or something to do this week - once I'd finished reading the Pratchett books! Maybe I should invest in some more cotton/wool mix yarn for darning purposes?
Total change of subject - people living on the Somerset Levels, which are still deep under floodwater, have been saying that if various Responsible Authorities had continued dredging the rivers then the flooding wouldn't have happened. Others who study such things reckon that even if the rivers had been dredged there was so much rain that there would have been flooding, regardless. Not as much, perhaps, but still flooding.
Now local* farming practices are being called into question. Various practices, eg: growing maize and winter cereals, have the effect of allowing water to run off from the higher ground rather than sink in. Thus lower down gets more water faster, and floods. It also means that soil from the higher ground gets washed down, eventually into the rivers, thus undoing any good dredging might have done.
Some want to produce legislation banning the growing of maize on high ground. Many farmers say they can do without even more regulations. It all gets a bit complicated, but there you are, the world is complicated. I know a lot of the farmers in West Sussex, on the flat ground below the South Downs haven't really bothered maintaining hedgerows around their fields. In dry weather the soil turns to dust and blows away, in wet weather it washes off the fields onto the roads. Either way the farms have less fertile soil, and perhaps the farmers would do well to reinstate their hedges?
Various parts of Exmoor have been drained to improve conditions for sheep and cattle. Now people are saying that this didn't improve things. In fact it only means that the rainwater drains off Exmoor faster thus increasing the risk of flooding in the lowlands. So drainage ditches are being filled in across former boggy areas of Exmoor in the hope that the reformed bogs will hold more water.
There now, another effect of global warming - malaria is being found at higher altitudes. Time was when higher altitudes meant cooler temperatures, which meant no mosquitoes. Now higher altitudes are getting warmer, so the mosquitoes are able to live higher up. So people living there, who wouldn't have caught malaria before, now are. They're also having to invest in mosquito nets etc. See, it's not just ridiculous rainfall or really freezing winters!
And Finally - a man went out into his back garden looking for his dog, at night, and got lost. Eventually he called the police, who found him. It happened in Oz, the back garden was 20 acres with mature bushes etc. LOL!
Y'all have a good day now!
*That's local to the flooded areas.
Darn! I've just looked through the socks which are drying and have found another three holes/weak spots, one in the toe. Well, I suppose I've been wanting some knitting or something to do this week - once I'd finished reading the Pratchett books! Maybe I should invest in some more cotton/wool mix yarn for darning purposes?
Total change of subject - people living on the Somerset Levels, which are still deep under floodwater, have been saying that if various Responsible Authorities had continued dredging the rivers then the flooding wouldn't have happened. Others who study such things reckon that even if the rivers had been dredged there was so much rain that there would have been flooding, regardless. Not as much, perhaps, but still flooding.
Now local* farming practices are being called into question. Various practices, eg: growing maize and winter cereals, have the effect of allowing water to run off from the higher ground rather than sink in. Thus lower down gets more water faster, and floods. It also means that soil from the higher ground gets washed down, eventually into the rivers, thus undoing any good dredging might have done.
Some want to produce legislation banning the growing of maize on high ground. Many farmers say they can do without even more regulations. It all gets a bit complicated, but there you are, the world is complicated. I know a lot of the farmers in West Sussex, on the flat ground below the South Downs haven't really bothered maintaining hedgerows around their fields. In dry weather the soil turns to dust and blows away, in wet weather it washes off the fields onto the roads. Either way the farms have less fertile soil, and perhaps the farmers would do well to reinstate their hedges?
Various parts of Exmoor have been drained to improve conditions for sheep and cattle. Now people are saying that this didn't improve things. In fact it only means that the rainwater drains off Exmoor faster thus increasing the risk of flooding in the lowlands. So drainage ditches are being filled in across former boggy areas of Exmoor in the hope that the reformed bogs will hold more water.
There now, another effect of global warming - malaria is being found at higher altitudes. Time was when higher altitudes meant cooler temperatures, which meant no mosquitoes. Now higher altitudes are getting warmer, so the mosquitoes are able to live higher up. So people living there, who wouldn't have caught malaria before, now are. They're also having to invest in mosquito nets etc. See, it's not just ridiculous rainfall or really freezing winters!
And Finally - a man went out into his back garden looking for his dog, at night, and got lost. Eventually he called the police, who found him. It happened in Oz, the back garden was 20 acres with mature bushes etc. LOL!
Y'all have a good day now!
*That's local to the flooded areas.