We needed some sunshine (and so did some of our friends), so we visited the ASPI Rockcastle River Wilderness Demonstration Site last weekend after the intense storm and rains Thursday night.  The River was transformed.  We watched debris whirl and flash past in its middle.  Logs floated by with immense force.  Although it was calmer along the banks, we were careful to teach and enforce strict safety!  

You may be able to see by the shadows that we were there early.  There was somebody there before us, though!

Below the flood plain at the Bamboo Forest, what must be tons of beautiful sand had been deposited by the flood waters.  Most of it was perfect for playing, but some was a bit muddy.  (It made very realistic looking scat.)    When I wasn't appreciating a sand building or animals or hole dug with only a stick, I was looking for the landmarks that would tell me exactly where we were.  I knew where we were on Earth, even on the ASPI Trail Map for the area, but as for what, exactly had been beneath our feet or the water 20 feet out into the river - that took some clues.  I found the dead trees reaching up out of the water, not 10 feet from the bank - they are usually about 35 feet or more.  With a little more work, we discovered a bit of trail down to the old dock - it was smoother sand and ended in water about 15 feet before it will in the summer.  I wished I had a class focussing on river features, deposition, and erosion to witness this.  Our small group proved to be appropriately impressed with the flooded features.

How long can children play along a river in the sand?  I don't know, because we eventually set out a picnic lunch and lured them away with food.

With good food and plenty of water in our bodies, we hit the trail - the Zalla Trail.  A five-year old was in charge of the map and kept track of our progress at each trail marker.  Another five-year old, a seasoned hiker on this trail, was our leader.  An eleven-year old kept an eye out for bear and two seven-year olds were self-appointed waterfall explorers.  Baby got to ride in the back pack.

Mountain climbed!  Waterfalls explored!  We went back to the Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center to explore a little more.  

It was fun to watch the children each gravitate toward different exhibits.  Baby loved the birds.  Some were almost as big as he!  Another child kept coming back to the collection of jawbones.  The 5-year olds "sailed" the geology boats along the painted river, and everyone always loves a pair of diffraction glasses.

The next two weeks at the Rockcastle Site we will be hosting two dozen college students and 120 high school students in Service Learning projects.  They will help with the annual sweeping-out and cleaning-up, but also add to our exhibits and facilities.  This summer we hope to have the buildings open to the public every weekend and most weekdays.  Bring a picnic - and come back!  It's not only the river that's changing!

Living sustainably does not mean living independently.  Even self-sustainable homesteads rely on neighbors.  We are at an interesting time in the human history of housing.  We have many and varied requirements when choosing our homes:  finances, amount of land, access to resources (could be water source, could be library), access to a job, schools in the area . . . and you can think of more, I'm sure.

Very few folks put neighbors very high on the list.  There are some intentional communities, and some folks do choose to live next to family, but can you imagine?  "Hi, I'm thinking of moving in two houses down, could we chat?  I'd like to know who my neighbors will be the rest of my life?"

Then, you go ahead and make some good neighbor friends - and they move away.  You'll still be friends - "Read my blog.  I'll look for your pictures on Facebook."  But they are not physically there.  We've been a highly mobile society for a long time now.

Do you know your neighbors?  If they may be in need?  Traditionally, February is the lean month.  Winter supplies are low.  O.K. - my immediate neighbors do not need food or heat.  But, the lights have been flickering, school has been cancelled more than convened, roads are slick, and the sparse winter sunlight is filtered by a low blanket of clouds.

Is there someone who 
cannot get out - and could use some canned goods or toilet paper?
needs some snow removed?
needs help with child care when school is out, but work is required?
needs to get to a doctor's appointment or needs a medicine refill?
could use some help caring for outdoor animals?
needs fuel (wood, coal, kerosene)?
would appreciate a hot shower if electricity has been out?
hasn't been able to get out, and could chat for an hour?
has been at home for weeks with kiddos and could use an hour of alone time?
has been at home for weeks with kiddos and could use a cup of coffee and a chat with another adult?
is sick and could use a pot of soup and some bread?
is experiencing the first winter for someone without their partner?

FEBRUARY is Cherry, National Bird Feeding, Black History, Humpback Whale Awareness, International Friendship, Forgiveness, Youth Leadership, Library Lovers’ and National Chocolate Lover's Month.  Because of the often harsh winter weather, February fortunately also contains Random Acts of Kindness Week (Always 2nd full week) and Random Acts of Kindness Day (Always Friday of 2nd full week).  Kindness helps when those cold, winter winds are blowing.

February also contains one of the four religious pillars of the year, Candlemas, or Presentation of the Lord on February 2, observed by the Roman Catholic & Eastern Orthodox Churches.  This holiday commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the Jewish Temple & the purification of Mary 40 days after his birth.  Candles have been blessed on this day since the 11th century.  An old Scottish couplet proclaims: “If Candlemas is fair & clear, There’ll be two winters in the year.”  This notion is also connected to the groundhog and its shadow, which scientists say has no basis in actual science, but which seems to be a lot of fun for folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where there is an annual festival centered around Phil, the groundhog.  The legend of the groundhog's forecasting powers arguably dates back to the early days of Christianity in Europe when clear skies on Candlemas Day meant an extended winter.  The tradition was then brought to Germany, with the German twist being that if the sun made an appearance on Candlemas, a hedgehog would cast its shadow, thus predicting six more weeks of bad weather.  More specifically, the legend states: "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May..."

February is the birth month of many notable and historic personages: Rosa Lee Parks, the Civil rights leader, was born at Tuskegee, Alabama on Feb. 4th, 1913; Sinclair Lewis, American Novelist & social critic was born on the 7th, 1885, as was Charles Dickens, much beloved English author (b. 1812); Thomas Edison (b. 1847) was an American inventor whose work gives us Inventor’s Day, always on February 11th;  Astronomer Galileo Galilei (b.1564) and Suffragette Susan B. Anthony (b.1820) were both born on February 15th.  Susan was the first American women to have her picture on an American silver dollar, and spent most of her life fighting for women's rights, including the right to vote; American novelist John Steinbeck was born on the 27th, 1902; and two pivotal America Presidents have their birthdays in this month: George Washington (b.1732) and Abraham Lincoln (b. 1809).

February is a great month to live simply and stick to essentials!

We had a discussion at the ASPI office recently about cold. Here is our weather-appropriate science lesson this month:  The office has a concrete floor - which was keeping our toes chilly.  We use thermal masses in our greenhouse and solar house, which absorb energy from the sun and release it slowly throughout the night (usually made of clay, stone, or concrete.)  So the comparison was made that these floors were like thermal masses in reverse - they were releasing the cold that had been absorbed all night (and since the nights were crazy-cold, that was a lot of cold.)  

Hopefully, this idea makes you cringe.

It is something we don't think a lot about, because of the sensations in our body.  When the temperature is high, we feel hot.  When the temperature is low, we feel cold.  Most folks can tell you that heat is some kind of energy - and they are right.  There are different ways to define heat, but it is accepted to be a measurement of energy - or the energy itself.

What, then, is cold?

Cold is a sensation you feel - like hot.  But, cold is not a thing or a type of energy.  It is the feeling you get when one type of energy is being transferred from your body at a rate greater than normal.  If you want to call that energy heat - well, feeling cold is feeling the heat leaving your body.  Nothing is going into your body - not even when you are cold down to your bones.  Heat is just being transferred from it.

Was the ASPI floor then releasing cold?

No.  There is no such thing as cold to be released.  The floor has a lot less energy than our toes (and the surrounding air).  The energy is being transferred from our feet to the floor.  Heat does that - goes from where there is more of it (or it is more concentrated) to where there is less (or it is less concentrated).  So the floor was kind of acting as a thermal mass in reverse - but instead of releasing heat, it was absorbing it.  

Is there a lesson here?

I learned to wear two pairs of socks to work.