INDIAN SUMMER 1998
or
GLOBAL WARMING?
INDIAN SUMMER
It is the 5h of December 1998 and we have had over two weeks of what might be called INDIAN SUMMER. (Temperatures much above normal, chilly nights, warm hazy days). Almost the ideal weather with no mosquitoes or flies, a bountiful harvest from the land and a time to sit back and be thankful for all things that make us thankful. A beautiful time of year. I wrote a poem a few years ago in which I refer to this period in my life as the Indian Summer of my life.INDIAN SUMMER
The snow lay white on the crimson leaves.
"Squaw Winter" said the old timers.
It will be gone in a few days.
Warm breezes will again return
to blue and cloudless skies.
Bringing with them those cherished days
known as "Indian Summer".
When the smoke from the burning leaves
adds to the sweet smell of ripening apples
and freshly plowed fields.
Giving the gray squirrel a chance
to bury his 500th acorn
and Woody woodchuck more time
to prepares for his hibernation home.
Bonus time for all of life to enjoy.
The last remaining days of summer
before the cold of winter sets in.
His white hair like the snow on the leaves.
Reminds him that his winter is also near.
He must spend more time with his loving family.
But then what should appear
in the "Indian Summer" of his Golden years.
But a princess of unusual charm and beauty.
Who's smile in no uncertain terms
leaves him with a wonderful feeling.
The like of which he has no comparison.
Making him suddenly realize
how much love and happiness there is
yet to be shared with family and friends
in his remaining "Indian Summer" years.
For that final winter could be long and cold.
by Billy Phil October 6 - 1991
By the time this is posted on this WEB page (December 9th) we here in Wisconsin maybe experiencing a real Wisconsin deep freeze. But this delightful period that we have just experienced can not be taken from us and will help shorten the winter.
But where did this phrase or these words "Indian Summer" come from: Most of us my age learned them from our parents and neighbors. The encyclopedia Britannica has this definition:
Indian Summer, period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October or November in the central and eastern United States. The term originated in New England and probably arose from the Indians' practice of gathering winter stores at this time.... Indian summer may occur several times in some years and not at all in others; it often persists for a week or longer. The nights are cool and may bring frost, and the days have hazy skies and light winds. The lack of clouds causes the daytime hours to be warmer each succeeding day. Taken from: "Indian summer" Britannica Online.
http://www.eb.com:180/cgi-bin/g?DocF=micro/289/62.html
Copyright © 1994-1998 Encyclopędia Britannica, Inc.
Bill Deedler, Weather Historian, WFO Detroit/Pontiac MI, has a very
interesting WEB page at:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/i-summer.htm
Here are a few lines from his interesting article:
...JUST WHAT IS INDIAN SUMMER AND DID INDIANS REALLY HAVE
ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT?...
An early American writer described Indian Summer well when he
wrote, "The air is perfectly quiescent and all is stillness, as
if Nature, after her exertions during the Summer, were now at
rest." This passage belongs to the writer John Bradbury and was
written nearly an "eternity" ago, back in 1817. But this passage
is as relevant today as it was way back then. The term "Indian
Summer" dates back to the 18th century in the United States. It
can be defined as "any spell of warm, quiet, hazy weather that
may occur in October or even early November."
Another WEB site that I found interesting was one entitled:
Moonlit villages of corn shocks
By KEN WEBER (no relation)
http://www.projo.com/report/weather/1025ken.htm
Sort of nice story about a young man, his father & Indian Summer
GLOBAL WARMING
Has this years Indian Summer been extended by what many are saying is Global Warming. It is said that the temperatures have increased about 1.5 degree's Celsius in this past century. Being a warm blooded person, that sounds good to me and I liked last winter and this one has started off pretty good. Give me Global Warming any winter. Just think what kind of hysteria would have existed had people been concerned with Global Warming when the Ice Age started to recede. Sure we should be responsible in seeing that our air and water are not polluted by unnecessary dumping of waste materials in the air or water supply. But what is wrong with having Wisconsin winters more like Florida winters?
LINKS
The following site at:
http://stormsmart.wics.com/expert/warming/explain.html
Is a good introduction to what Global Warming is about. Here is an
introduction to that page;
"Since global warming appeared during the last decade as a serious environmental issue, it has been the subject of a lot of debate. Global Warming is defined as the warming of the earth by greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere naturally or by mankind. But there are many questions about global warming, from its causes to its full effects. " click on the URL above for more interesting reading.
The following WEB sites have some very interesting information on Global Warming from both those for and against the theory of Global Warming.
I found lots of good information on the WEB site called:
Global Warming FAQ's
http://gcmd.gsfc.nasa.gov/faq/globwarm.html
The following WEB site debunks Global Warning.
http://www.webaxs.net/~noel/gwarming.htm
If you are doing extensive research in World Wide Climate then the
Technical data from the National Climatic Data Center and the National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Association might be of interest to you.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
The British Broadcassting Company's WEB page has some
interesting facts concerning Global Warming at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/special_report/1997/sci/tech/global_warming/
For those that would like to know more about the Koyota Treaty on
Global Warming CNN has the full text of that treaty at:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1997/global.warming/stories/treaty/index2.html
Excite search engine has good list of WEB sites regarding
Global Warming:
http://search.excite.com/search.gw?search=global+warming
Also Yahoo at:
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Global+Warming
In fact anyone of the many search engines can give you all kinds of information on Global Warming.