UCP woes

Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party is in big trouble. It was formed following the election win of the New Democratic Party in 2015 leading to four years of conservative detested government by Rachel Notley.

Conservatives from a broad spectrum of beliefs and opinions managed to hold their noses and form a political party, under the leadership of the present Premier Jason Kenney, for the sole purpose of removing the left slanting Notley from power.

During the pandemic, deep rifts developed within the UCP, based on previous differences in outlook by supporters of the two forming parties, the Wild Rose Party and the Progressive Conservative Party that had been in power for some 40 years prior to 2015.

A former leader of the Wild Rose Party, Danielle Smith, is now the front runner in a UCP leadership contest to replace Kenney as Premier of the province and has promised to bring in an “Alberta Sovereignty Act” as soon as she is proclaimed Premier.

This would empower the Alberta Legislature to say “nay” to federal legislation imposing Ottawa’s will on the province, in the same way that Quebec reacts to federal interventions in its affairs.

An attempt to enact this legislation could easily cause a split within the UCP, along former PC/ Wild Rose party lines and if passed it could be declared “ultra vires”(acting or done beyond one's legal power or authority) by Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor.

That happened to legislation introduced by Alberta’s Social Credit government in the 1930ies when the powers that be didn’t like what they saw.

Alberta mindset

The political landscape in Alberta is changing towards a more independent stance against the edicts of a self serving federal government in Ottawa.

More and more Albertans feel that their constitutional rights are being trampled on by federally elected politicians, as they watched Quebec refusing to support the Emergencies Act measures when it was proclaimed by the federal government back in the spring.

Those measures froze the bank accounts of some Canadians at the whim of Prince Justin’s Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and caused a bank run as people hurried to move their money into safe places.

The (not so) United Conservative Party of Alberta leadership contender Danielle Smith is tapping into this emerging public sentiment and she is the leading candidate in the race to become Alberta’s next Premier shortly.

As Prince Justin and his crew keep on alienating people in Western Canada by pandering to the preconceived notions of their political base, cracks are widening in the Canadian federation.

While Canada and the US are different in many ways, the change in public mindsets is very similar.

Collectivism vs individualism

“We” vs “I” ideas have shaped many societies and generated much conflict in times past, and in the present.

European settlement of Turtle Island was largely guided by individual enterprise, sometimes sponsored by a state: “Between 1519 and 1521 Hernán Cortés and a small band of men brought down the Aztec empire in Mexico, and between 1532 and 1533 Francisco Pizarro and his followers toppled the Inca empire in Peru.”

One kind of collectivist state emerged from the Russian revolution in 1917 under the iron hand of Vladimir Lenin, and later Joseph Stalin (“man of steel”) where all means of production were directly controlled and run by the state.

Another form of collectivism emerged in Germany in 1933 under the hand of Adolf Hitler who proclaimed himself a dictator. Here the means of production was left in the private hands of regime supporters like Krupp Steel, for example.

Be they individualist or collectivist regimes, one characteristic permeates them all: A small group of colluding self appointed dudes, male, female or shemale/hemale holds the reigns of power using a base of ideologically programmed underlings to do their dirty work in return for some privileges and limited delegated power (‘elected’ politicians).

That is true for China, Russia and the Western Empire with its main power node in New York at this time.

Another thing these entities have in common is an ongoing brainwashing process imposed on their populations.

War as 'safety' valve

How do the rulers of a society with multiple internal stresses keep themselves in power? Groups of people with opposing views may face each other in the street, resulting in much destruction.

During the nineteen thirties, a broken financial system led to much suffering and conflict right across the world and spawned extremist views both on the right and left side of the political spectrum. Young unemployed ‘bucks’ with no money were hanging out on street corners, looking for trouble.

It was very convenient to have WWII break out in 1939, effectively mopping up all these ‘troublesome elements’, put them in uniform and send them off to war.

Some 1300 years ago there was a surplus of young bucks in what is now my old homeland Norway and a ‘solution’ was designed by the establishment of the day by equipping groups of them with ships, weapons and provisions and send them off to raid distant shores.

The expectation was for them to bring back wealth in many forms, including slaves. They are now known as “the Vikings”.

The crusades about 1000 years ago were used for the same purpose.

In our day, when the Western Empire is rattling sabres against Putin and Xi Jinping, one can ask whether the war option is on the table to save the political butts of the present establishment?

German saga

The two great wars of the 20th century, known as WWI and WWII, are now part of the fabric of Western history. It can legitimately be argued that it was really one long war, with a pause in the middle.

It was a struggle between empires leading to the demise of some and the rise of others. A shift in the global balance of power.

I have spent a lot of time trying to understand the rise of National Socialism in Germany in the 1920ies and thirties: Following the cessation of hostilities in 1918, Germans literally had their noses rubbed in the dirt by the other side (France, England and the US).

The government of the German Weimar Republic caused hyper inflation prior to 1922/3 allowing the rest of the world’s predators to literally rape Germans who were made destitute by having worthless money.

This is when National Socialism began to grow in Germany, in reaction to what was seen as a government of traitors.

The Great Depression that began in 1929 finished the job and Adolph Hitler was able to get sufficient support to make himself dictator of the nation from 1933 and onwards.

Based on the circumstances of the time, I can fully understand why 98% of the German population supported Hitler at the peak of his popularity, based on what had happened to them before.

Weimar Republic repeat?

The demise of the German Reich in 1918 saw the birth of the Weimar Republic in its place. Disastrous policies enacted by its early government led to hyperinflation in its currency and robbed Germans of their stored monetary wealth.

Widespread poverty in Berlin, and elsewhere, led to the German capital being turned into a brothel where all manner of people sold sexual favours to anybody with some hard currency to spare, in order to avoid starvation.

The reaction by the German people was entirely predictable leading to street fights between groups of people disgusted with what was happening and communists seeing an opportunity to grab power amidst the chaos.

Similar trends are now evident in the West with people taking to the street in reaction to government of the day policies and monetary inflation well under way, fuelling the fire.

History has a tendency to repeat itself.

Political parties and networks

The political party system that has evolved over the years in so called “democracies” makes it possible for anyone to chose how to be involved in the political process where they live.

Theoretically, anyone can throw their name in a hat and become the next Great Leader of their country. We are told that “democracy” is the best political system invented to date to insure inclusiveness for all.

Then there is the practical reality of politics which is based on networks of people working together for common goals and trading favours to achieve individual ones. Good old horse trading in my book.

While the party acts as an umbrella of illusions, things get done in certain ways because individuals, making compromises to get what they want, make it happen.

On the conservative side, here in Alberta, there are two prevailing networks operating within the (not so) United Conservative Party: The old guard Progressive Conservative folks that held on to political power in Alberta for some 40 years by going to bed with oil and gas companies, and then there are the former upstart Wild Rose people that had had enough of the self serving PC dudes.

A leadership race is now underway between the two factions and the winner will become the new Premier of Alberta, taking the place of outgoing Premier Jason Kenney who is firmly rooted in the PC camp of the UCP.

And the race is getting dirtier every day.

Political parties

I have been involved in politics for the better part of my long life. In a fundamentally flawed system based on political parties where real loyalties are few and far between, and where self interest occupies the high seat.

Alliances are made and broken in order to create climbing ladders for the ambitious ones and provide some rewards for their supporters.
So we end up with dysfunctional ‘leaders’ like Justin Trudeau, and coming up on the conservative side, Pierre Poilievre.

As long as we are fooled by these characters into believing that they represent our interests, they will forever put it over us and use us as their ‘sheeple’, all the while privately holding us in contempt.

They are essentially political prostitutes selling themselves to the highest bidder, which is not you, nor I.

There are three ways to vote: For, against or with your feet.

Horse has bolted

There is constant droning in the mainstream media about climate change and what we have to do to stop it from happening. Lots of preaching and moralizing.

Meanwhile, the deep freezer genie bottle in our Earth’s arctic regions called “permafrost” has been uncapped and methane is pouring into the Earth’s atmosphere at an unprecedented rate: The arctic is currently warming at three times the rate of the rest of the planet.

It is as if a gigantic landslide has been triggered, feeding on itself as more methane in the atmosphere causes warming that melts ever more permafrost layers.

So when politicians and media talk about what we should do to halt global heating, all they do is to contribute more hot air to the process.

All we can do is to try and adapt to what is coming at us and forget about the media/politician chorus.

Pontiff parade

The pope is coming to Alberta to apologize for past misdeeds by the church in regards to the residential school program for indigenous people that destroyed so many innocent lives.

Millions of dollars are being spent to bring the pontiff here to do his thing on behalf of the Church of Old Men.

A publicity stunt, if there ever was one, to reinforce the illusions that a bunch of worn out old timers have a special dispensation from God to keep the rest of us in line.

As far as the show goes, indigenous people are being pushed aside (as usual) in favour of ‘his holiness’.

Arctic warming

I have just cottoned on to the significance of methane release from thawing arctic permafrost to our weather and climate. The sheer scale of what is happening and its effects are already evident: The arctic regions of the world are warming at three times the rate of the rest of the planet.

And I believe there is a causal link between methane release and warming as previously frozen life is converted into basic organic molecules by bacteria brought to life by permafrost thawing.

This is a process which is accelerating as it feeds on itself. It is like a landslide that has been released and there is little we can do to stop it.

My suggestion is to do whatever we can to prepare for a very different world from the one we are used to. Repressive laws trying to restrict our behaviours with the idea of putting the brakes on climate change will only serve to rip society apart and do nothing to mitigate violent weather and extreme heat waves.

So, as individuals we have to become as self sufficient as possible and not just rely on long vulnerable supply chains to keep us alive:

Look at what is happening with war in Europe right now and energy for heating homes in potentially short supply for the winter or cooling them in summer.

Megalith mysteries

A lot has been said and written about stone structures that have survived from the distant past into our own time. The larger they are, the more impressive they seem to us, leading to speculation about the tools used to create and erect them:

How could a perfectly rectangular stone block weighing 100+ tons have been created and moved into place, fitting perfectly in with similar blocks, without the use of modern types of machinery?

This has led to speculation about these monuments being silent reminders of ancient advanced societies that expired a long time ago.
Perhaps not unlike our present day one.

That is a tempting conclusion, but to me there is a missing piece of evidence for this: If our society was to have an apocalyptic breakdown of some kind, the remnants of our transportation system earthworks would survive into the distant future.

Apart from the Roman road system and aqueducts, I don’t think anything like that has been discovered to date.

Warchild

Facebook is supposed to be about “showing your face” to online friends, I believe, so here is a piece of me:

I was conceived at the height of WWII in German occupied Norway in 1942/43 and literally absorbed the war into my blood in my mother’s womb as she dealt with the stresses and strains of that time.

In art classes in elementary school the teacher had to put up with images of Stuka bombers and machine guns generated by myself, independently of what the art assignment was supposed to be about.

Not that there was a lot of fighting in Norway as it quickly succumbed to a well organized overwhelmingly superior force. No, it was more about the heavy oppressive fog of occupation that permeated the mind of the Norwegian people for some 5 years (1940-1945).

I am a product of that time, whether I like it or not, and renewed war in Europe makes it all bubble up again.

It has turned me into a survivalist at heart, someone who believes in the power of the individual to transcend collective oppression.

Cosmic speculation

The newly released images from the recently deployed James Webb telescope gives one pause to think about the nature of the cosmos.

Notice that I didn’t state ”The Universe” because that is a loaded concept implying “one of”, as opposed to possibly “many of”.

The preconception possibly has its origins in a previous mistaken belief that the earth that we live on was the centre of all things.

As our instruments give us the ability to test predictive theories as to how matter and energy (human concepts) are supposed to behave, we are continually forced to revise our theories to account for observed phenomena.

Most common folk like us generally throw up our hands when muons, hadrons and peons : ) make it to the stage, as scientists desperately try to fit what they observe into an acceptable conceptual framework.

“Dark matter”, because it cannot be directly observed, only inferred from measurements, makes it easy to theorize that our so-called “universe” is but an expanding bubble of some kind in a much larger scheme of things.

So, if we talk about something out of our present reach, I prefer the term “cosmos”.

Berry picking time

After a wet June here on my acreage in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in Central Alberta, Canada, berries are getting ready for picking. Beginning with honeyberries (Siberian Haskaps) and strawberries, everything is looking good as the sun begins to dominate the skies overhead.

Not sure what the saskatoons are up to yet, as they vary a lot from season to season. Raspberries in their early stages of development are looking ok.

So are the mosquitoes that are emerging in droves from the wet grasses. They have recovered from last summers prolonged drought when they were virtually non-existant.

Potato plants, along with carrot and beetroot seedlings are doing ok as are my young bean plants at this time. Beans like warm feet in the spring so I sprouted a bunch of seeds and planted them in 20 litre drums placed above ground to accommodate their wishes. They have responded well.

Have lots of rainwater in drums to keep everybody happy for the next month or so.

Democracy?

Rule by the People. Really? Here is a comment on ancient Greece:

“Something extraordinary in the history of humanity occurred 2500 years ago in Athens—much of our cultural heritage, for better and worse, descends from a very small population of landowners, farmers and sailors during a surprisingly short space of time. They organized themselves into a radically democratic government. They held as a high ideal the dignity and freedom of an individual free man. They produced sculpture and architecture which set the standards by which these arts are still measured, and they laid the foundations of our philosophy, mathematics and sciences.”

What the commentator did not say was that the wealth of that Greek state was based on slaves, most of whom were captured in wars at one time or another.

That’s where we effectively are today, with an aristocracy based on debt slavery by the vast majority of people. And the presstitutes and paid-for politicians calling it “democracy”.

Probing and learning

That’s what happened today when the Large Hadron Collider at Cern in Switzerland was restarted after a period of refurbishment. I watched the event live and the excitement amongst scientists was akin to that seen when NASA landed its latest rover on Mars.

A new telescope was also launched by NASA recently, enabling a greatly enhanced view of the cosmos, and the restart of the Hadron collider similarly gives us a better view on what happens on the microscopic level in high energy areas of the cosmos.

And as we probe deeper and deeper into the nature of matter, as we perceive it, the complexity of what we see is ever increasing and should leave us with a sense of awe and reverence for what we observe.

Abortion debate

Abortion is one of the most divisive issues in today’s society. There are polar opposite opinions for and against: The rights of the unborn child vs those of the mother.

One side exclusively talks about the rights of the child to a life, the other exclusively brings up the issue of the right of the mother to choose what happens to her body, without any state intervention.

Gridlock, deadlock, period. It is like people are looking for something they can fight about and have come up with a perfect issue.

The well being of both the mother and child seems to have been forgotten in the debate where each side seems set upon demonizing the other.

One thing can be said: If conditions are created which allow expectant mothers with financial and life issues to care for their babies with a feeling of financial security and comfort, the number of abortions would likely drop significantly.

That said, there will always be mothers that choose to have their pregnancies terminated, irrespective of any laws to the contrary.

Highway to hell

Old habits die hard. Especially if they give us freedom and pleasure. And the world’s hydrocarbon based economy has given us just that, but it has come at the cost of permanent major changes to the world we live in.

The thawing of the permafrost in the arctic regions around the world and the resultant release of huge volumes of methane into the earth’s atmosphere should be a wakeup call, but it is not.

Instead we have just started another war in Europe and continue our opulent lifestyles in the wake of the Covid pandemic. What we want is even more and cheaper energy from hydrocarbons.

Welcome to the Titanic, 21st century version. Our stupidity knows no bounds and those of us that survive will do so with radically changed habits.

More war?

Putin’s war in Ukraine has shown up the weaknesses in the Western alliance: Russia provides a significant share of the world’s energy and food supply and has now redirected those supplies to friendly powers who can chose to consume or re-sell them at a big profit.

The resulting inflation in prices of goods and services across the world are causing internal stresses within nations weakening the integrity of the Western alliance.

Putin knew this would happen right from the get-go in Ukraine, as did his opportunistic colleague, Xi Jinping in China. They are dealing with a geriatric President in the US, a divided ruling party in Britain, a German state that is scrambling to avoid energy rationing, etc.

And least of all a prancing song and dance man called Prince Justin of Canada, half of which population hates his guts.

So, the Western Empire is not really an empire at all, even if the folks in New York kid themselves into that belief. Rather, it is a wobbly conglomeration of states whose loyalties depends entirely on their perception of the power of the US.

Thinks Xi Jinping: “Is this a good time to grab Taiwan?” Can’t blame him for doing so.

Food security

In spite of the war in Ukraine, the people in that country have fewer concerns over food shortages than many folks elsewhere in the world.

Closed supermarkets and empty shelves in war torn regions do not force them to flee their homes because of their food preserving habits with ample supplies of all kinds of fruits and vegetables and protein foods stored in glass jars in their basements.

As well as root cellars for volume produce such as potatoes, carrots and beets.

During the last 30 years here in my 20 acre wood, I have been following the same practices with a large root cellar containing home grown potatoes, beets and carrots year round and lately preserving batches of same for convenient access when whipping up a meal.

In addition, I have always had backyard chickens that provide an ample supply of very healthy eggs during the warmer months of the year.

Just for fun, this summer I have been catching rain water from the roofs of my cabins and storing it in 50 gallon drums as backup for my water well supply. About 2000 litres in storage at this time.

Here in the ‘affluent’ (for some) West, we have fallen into the trap of relying on “somebody else” to provide for our basic needs. That habit may come home to bite us down the road with galloping inflation in prices and availability issues as well.

Telling stories

Our media, be it mainstream or sidestream, like to present their stories as “The News”, when covering events that take place.

That should immediately alert us to look for bias because the headline itself is a distortion of reality. This was brought home to me as I was growing up and being exposed to the allied side of WWII event coverage.

And then seeing the German version of the same events posted on the internet in later years. The coverage presented the ‘news’ from two entirely different wars, or so it seemed.

Today is no different as two empires clash in Ukraine, pouring weapons and bodies into the fray, both sides making out that it is a conflict between good and evil.

It is really about power and territory for the ‘elites’, using humanity as pawns on their chessboard. Nothing has changed. History is repeating itself.

Interesting incident

At about 1:30am last night I woke up by what sounded like gunshots to the west of my rural yard. (I live in an area with several acreages in that locale)

Didn't initially react but more apparent shots followed at various multi minute intervals, so I got up and went out to investigate, and heard several more shots, some louder than others. My dogs were getting excited as well.

So I set up shop in a dark spot with a good view of my yard and my dogs ready to alert me of a possible intruder, the idea being of having the advantage in case of an intrusion. Thankfully, nothing happened.

Some of the folks that come out to the acreages are fond of letting fireworks go at night, so that is a possibility, but there was no crackling usually associated with these.

These days, it is better to be safe than sorry.

Gun control

Or lack thereof, as is the case here in Canada. This place is bristling with guns, especially in rural areas where I live because police are far away when most needed.

We have a government under the ‘leadership’ of our anointed Prince Justin who prances around the world and at home making grand pronouncements about his latest move to ban handguns in all of Canada, so as to score political points with his base.

By doing so he created a run on hand gun sales with retailers being unable to keep up with demand. He has also banned the ownership of so-called military fire arms by citizens, ensuring a thriving underground market for those as well.

All the while pouring lethal military weapons into Ukraine to ensure the ongoing carnage in that failed state, to the point of Canada being totally reliant on the Americans in case some big dogs start to sniff at us.

Power of chemicals

Why do we like chocolate? I found out the hard way some months ago. For health reasons, having made the decision to forego the pleasures of alcohol and caffeine on a regular basis, I turned to a harmless substitute for my coffee habit in the form of a cocoa drink.

I decided on pure cocoa powder used in baking and readily available in grocery stores. The rationale used was to avoid the sugar laden chocolate drinks where the sugar can be quite addictive.

And it worked. I used a teaspoon of cocoa powder in my hot drinks on a regular basis during the day and had no craving for coffee.

Over a period of months, this seemed to be a good way of getting around caffeine, but something happened: I began to wake up in the early morning hours with vague feelings of undefined anxieties

It got worse over time and I finally began to ask myself why people, including me, are so fond of chocolate?.

Some quick online research provided the answer: “Theobromine” (food of the gods) is the primary alkaloid in the cocoa bean and present at ten times the concentration of that in a typical chocolate product.

So, I had simply substituted one alkaloid (Theobromine) for another (Caffeine) with a slow buildup in my tissues. And it literally created a threatening world around me.

The symptoms disappeared two days after I quit the cocoa drink routine and used hot water instead.

Democracy illusion

There are still those that get excited about which politician to support when a bunch of people throw their names in a hat, vying for votes.

It gives people a feeling of having some kind of influence on policies that affect their lives. That’s the theory behind democracy: Rule by the people by way of elected representatives.

In practice those elected are merely front stage actors for vested interests in the background. They soon find out that they have to “tow the line” in order to pursue a career in politics.

The practice of ‘democracy’ works extremely well for the establishment. Elected officials are roped in, used and retired or discarded, all the while serving the interests of the few, pretending to serve the many.

Politics, as practiced in ‘democracies’, is essentially a form of entertainment for the people and a form of sport with financial rewards for the participants.

Everybody is happy, or unhappy, as the case may be, living in the illusion of having an influence on what their government of the day does.

Cannon fodder

The glory of war? There is no such thing. As the Russians and Ukrainians on the front lines in the east of Ukraine are finding out right now. Instead, it is just a steady slaughter house where you are lucky to have your head blown off rather than arms or legs or worse.

This was brought home to me by a colleague of mine that I worked with in Sydney, Australia back in 1966. At the time he was receiving psychiatric treatment for PTSD symptoms after having served in the Australian Army in New Guinea during WWII fighting against the Japanese.

His problem was that some 20 years after the war finished, the Japanese were, once again, being portrayed as human beings, rather than animals to be exterminated at all costs, and his wartime experiences had come back to haunt him at night.

During front line combat, he told me, Japanese officers could be easily identified by special markings on their helmets and every man in the platoon had orders to “take ‘em out first”. After that, it was just a chicken shoot, he said, as Japanese foot soldiers seemed incapable of acting on their own without officer guidance and command.

My friend also told me about an experience of his combat group being locked down in a beach area in Papua – New Guinea, taking regular mortar fire from a Japanese unit dug in on a beach on the other side of a headland.

“Hell started every morning at 6am sharp”, he said, and before breakfast a certain number of us would be dead or maimed every day.

So, just before 6am my friend started to shake uncontrollably, in anticipation of what was to come shortly.

He survived, but it took 20 years for his healing to begin.

Canada, fur trade vs settler culture

Canada is a mixed bag, if there ever was one. As far as events are concerned, they have all happened here: The good, the bad and the ugly.

Let’s start with the good. For some two hundred years, from the sixteen hundreds and on, Europeans encountered the people of Turtle Island and engaged in a trading relationship, exchanging goods valued by both sides. In Canada that meant furs and pemmican (bush food) provided by the natives, in exchange for guns, powder, etc.

It was a relationship not unlike what individual clans and tribes used to have between themselves. A relationship between equals with mutual respect. As traders and native people intermingled, not surprisingly, a new type of person came in to being, the Metis, (a person of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry).

The men were very strong and resilient and the women were both attractive and smart. A whole culture of these people developed before disaster struck.

When Canada became a federation in 1867, railway lines started to snake their way across the continent from east to west, fuelled by European capital and bringing thousands upon thousands of settlers into the tribal lands of the west.

And so it came to be that the Indigenous person and the Metis person were marginalized and trivialized as control of lands was removed from them by force. That was bad. Here comes the ugly part:

Backed by the federal government, policies were put in place to rob the Indigenous people of their culture by stealing their children and breaking them into the European mindset by force in residential schools. To the point were they turned their backs on their own parents.

Sadly, to date the ‘settler attitude’ of mainstream Canadians has not changed in regards to Indigenous people. They are considered ‘persons of no interest’.

Plant logic

Plants are smart, make no mistake about it. As a gardener I have discovered that you have to ’lay down the rules to make ‘em behave’.

Just like people, they have their own priorities that may not always agree with yours, as a gardener. Propagation is the name of the game for them, in contrast to your priority, which is generally yield.

For example, strawberries and raspberries have two main means of propagation: Runners (on top of the ground for strawberries and under the ground for raspberries) or by way of seeds contained within the fruit.

The preferred way of propagation for both is using runners if there is vacant friendly grow-space next to the plant.

So the way to get a crop from these plants is to thwart any attempt at spread with your hoe, making the plant realize that it trying to move into enemy territory.

Gardeners cannot afford to have a ‘liberal’ mindset : )

Nature's intelligence

Living in the bush here in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Central Alberta, Canada, Nature is my ever present partner, 24/7.

And the drought in the North American west is reaching all the way up to where I live at its northern reach. It is not that we are getting no rain at all. It is raining very lightly today, and there is a forecast of more to come.

It is the frequency and amount of rain that is the problem. Even here in the bush, dry grass patches were beginning to develop for lack of ground moisture, before this rain began. And so far we have had no seasonal thunderstorms at all. The air is just generally too dry for that to happen.

I have observed another interesting phenomenon. The amount of spruce pollen released in my yard is more than I can remember from living here for 31 years.

I’m wondering whether Nature is warning us about long term drought, which for spruce translates into the production of a lot of seeds that can sprout and create new seedlings way down the road?

It is pure speculation but, from experience, Nature is a lot smarter than us.