February came in hard, just cold enough to freeze the rain, coating the foliage of the city in a thick layer of ice. This is the third year we’ve had a serious winter storm by Valentine’s Day in Austin, storms that would be brushed off by any city up north, but seem to break the infrastructure here almost immediately. It was the Texas trees that took it hardest this year, as the rain continued for days, and the weight on the branches brought them down on power lines. No one remarked about how the lines are already held up by dead trees stripped of their limbs, most of them Southern pines embalmed in Pentachlorophenol and diesel oil. People just bitched about how the living trees were allowed to grow so close to the carriers of our light, power, and Internet connections.
As always, I am engrossed in your Sunday post for well over an hour, as I look up he many names I never heard before. I particularly resonate with the aliveness of Nature, especially Trees, and our relationships with them. Thank you.
Mildly related, but mostly a note that if you're not you really should be reading Wallace the Brave. https://www.gocomics.com/wallace-the-brave/2023/02/27
Thanks for the stories, the excellent writing and the always entertaining links and reading suggestions. Good luck with your new schedule.
Wow! This was super rich, deep dive, fecund with mystery. Great stuff, Chris!
As always, I am engrossed in your Sunday post for well over an hour, as I look up he many names I never heard before. I particularly resonate with the aliveness of Nature, especially Trees, and our relationships with them. Thank you.