February 7, 2009

It's going up to 57° here today in Madison, Wisconsin.

I must go out. I'll bring you back some pictures, I hope. And hopefully these won't be like last night's Frozen Creek Alehouse picture — the one that drove ricpic to write a poem called "Suicide Creek":
Wander down to suicide creek,
Walk its ice and snow;
Dream of finding what you seek
In the dark below.
I love to take a picture that drives you to poetry, but not one that drives you toward death. And don't walk on that ice today — suicidal or not.

Is it a day to fret about global warming? Well, if you're not supposed to look at the isolated cold day as a sign that global warming is a hoax, then it's just as wrong to look at the isolated warm day as a sign that it's true. But you know, if there is to be global warming, some of us will be winners. Yet, there's no need to wait around to win the hard way — and it's evil to want to win that way — because there is today, and today is beautiful.

Life is beautiful too, let me remind you. Don't kill yourself.

22 comments:

chickelit said...

Beware of thaw. I'll never forget the time I saw our dog fall through the on Lake Mendota. She kept trying to climb back up but the shelf of ice kept breaking under her. Time elapsed. My dad, thinking, got a rope and tied it around my older brother's waist and had him crawl out towards her on his belly to distribute his weight. He got to her, and was able to help lift her up and out without breaking the ice.

True heroic story

George M. Spencer said...

2,200 degrees Fahrenheit inside Mt. Redoubt.

Clear and cool outside.

volcanocam

No "big energy bursts" so far.

(That's a euphemism I saw in one news story.)

Bob W. said...

It's actually warm here today in D.C. I ran outside without the hat and gloves that I've needed for the past week.

There is also an epic spendulus plan pending here in D.C, as you all know; after some republicans caved on it yesterday afternoon I started thinking about why the government allowing us to buy Dodge Challengers would probably be as effective at stimulating the economy as this stinker of a bill. . .

reader_iam said...

Bob W.: I got a kick out of that! Nice.

Peter Hoh said...

It's already 35 degrees, and we're supposed to get to 40 here in St. Paul. I can work outside without a hat and coat.

Might even do a couple of garden chores -- pruning and such.

John Burgess said...

There's a phrase for the reminders of Summer that come back past their expiry date: "Indian Summer."

Is there a phrase for the intimations of Spring that intrude on the coldest month of the year?

chickelit said...

Is there a phrase for the intimations of Spring that intrude on the coldest month of the year?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Matt Brown said...

Yes, but is "Life is Beautiful" beautiful? I think we could all debate that for quite some time.

former law student said...

Is it a day to fret about global warming?

Is there a phrase for the intimations of Spring that intrude on the coldest month of the year?



The Spring Thaw (tm) is an excellent day to pick up all the dog poop that has accumulated in the back yard since the first snowfall.

Darcy said...

Matt Brown said...Yes, but is "Life is Beautiful" beautiful? I think we could all debate that for quite some time.

Oh, yes! It's a story of perfect, protective, unselfish, self-sacrificing love proven under the most brutal circumstances.

Beautiful.

Darcy said...

I adore ricpic's sense of humor and his poems! That's what I meant to post here, before I got sidetracked.

jayne_cobb said...

Are we allowed to wear shorts?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Is there a phrase for the intimations of Spring that intrude on the coldest month of the year?

False spring.

We are having it here today as well. Sun is out. The sky is blue and clear. The wild rice checks below our property are not frozen over and the geese are paddling around in water instead of standing miserably on top of ices. The temperature is actually going to be above 45 degrees today.

The downside to the spring thaw is that the previously frozen ground is now a big mushy muddy mess. The other downside is that if it lasts too long, the fruit trees in our orchard begin to bud out and then freeze with the inevitable cold snap. No fruit :-(

Kylos said...

Gregg Easterbrook made a glaringly ignorant assumption in the Atlantic article you linked. He used the Mercator projection as a basis for determining the relative landmass of northern climes that might become arable and inhabitable due to global warming. The Mercator projection's only real flaw is that it increasingly exaggerates the area of landmasses as you travel from the equator. Thus, it makes Russia, Canada, Alaska, and Greenland all appear relatively larger than they actually are.

ricpic said...

Thanks Darce (that's my name for you from now on, I dropped the y!).

In reference to chicklit's comment about his dog falling through the ice: it's 50 degrees here in Ithaca, New York, which is on Lake Cayuga, and driving past the lake I saw several people out on the ice. The really wild part of that is that the ice only extends about a mile north into the lake ( Cayuga is about 40 miles long, north to south and only 3-5 miles wide). So the people walking out on the lake on this mild day can see that the ice ends only a short distance out. Insane.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

So the people walking out on the lake on this mild day can see that the ice ends only a short distance out. Insane.

Darwin's law in action. Let the stupid people drown. Don't even put anyone else's life in danger trying to rescue these people who have epic fail in life. It will be better for the gene pool in the long run.

MadisonMan said...

What a horrible forecast. 57? No way!

I don't know who you get your forecast from but they are wishcasting, not forecasting.

Ann Althouse said...

@MM That's what my iPhone says.

MadisonMan said...

I'll have to ask my officemate, also an iPhone user, where he thinks the forecast comes from. I hadn't heard of any forecast above 47 for today. And that's about what the high was.

57 with snow on the ground in early Feb? Not gonna happen.

Peter Hoh said...

Didn't rise above 36. Clouds moved in and the wind picked up. So much for wearing shorts outside.

Unknown said...

That's grossly unfair. It only got up to 45 here.

Darcy said...

ricpic: Ok by me. :)