What Makes a Season? (Nov 29th 2010)
So here we are rushing through the year and all the signs are there that Autumn is almost past. What is it that signifies the passing of the seasons, and now in particular Autumn to Winter? It is simply three related things – the reduction in daylight (and sunlight), the dropping of temperatures, and the changes in plant life – especially trees.
Technically we have only a couple of days of Autumn left. December is usually considered to be the first month of Winter. Gradually the sun gets lower in the sky each day until the Winter Solstice, the 21st of December, the shortest day. No longer is there the same warmth in the sun because of the angle it comes at, and thus everything is slower drying out when there have been dews or rains. A morning observation of the thermometer tells us that gradually the daily temperature at the beginning of the day is getting lower and the weak sun (when it is out) rarely lifts the temperatures into anything resembling earlier in the year. Already we have had several frosts (Did you read our article explaining frosts a little while back? If not CLICK HERE)
The leaves are now rapidly falling off the trees. Leaf peeping is a term that has occurred in numerous TV programmes, of American origin I believe, an autumn activity in areas where foliage changes colour. Leaf peepers are those who participate in photographing and viewing the Autumnal changes of leaves. I must be a leaf peeper! If that’s you also, make the most of it, some trees are already showing signs of their Winter skeletal appearance.
But there is a big area of Autumn-to-Winter growth that raises debate and disagreement. It is of the berries that grow on shrubs and bushes. Folk lore has it that many berries mean it is going to be a hard winter. How do plants know what is going to happen in four to six months time? Yet, it appears, there are other signs. A recent letter to the Times, from a lady in Derbyshire who keeps bees, said that the hive entrances have been blocked with beeswax in unbelievable proportions, apparently defending themselves against harsh weather to come. She maintains they are a good guide. The writer of a follow up article quoted other folk lore saying, “When squirrels early start to hoard, winter will strike like a sword.”
There is one characteristic of our weather that we can be sure about – its uncertainty! I had already written this article for this week when an article appeared in the Times titled, “Feeling a Little Chilly? This is only the Beginning” and declared, “The Met Office warned that temperatures could fall to minus 10C (14F) by the end of the week with a growing threat of widespread snowfalls across many parts of the country. The cold is likely to persist well into next month, although it is still too soon to predict a white Christmas,” and continued, “By Thursday, snow could be falling to low levels down to the South and South East, possibly even in London, although it’s difficult to say at this stage if the showers will be rain, sleet, snow, or a wintry mix,” said Alex Fox, a forecaster at the Met Office.” Note the uncertainty! This uncertainty became the focus of the article: “The Met Office is reluctant to discuss its longer-range forecast for the whole of winter after the PR disaster of the “barbecue summer” prediction last year. However there are indications from other forecasters in the United States and Britain that this winter will not be anything like as bad as the last one. “Just because it’s cold now doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be a cold winter,” said Michael Dukes at Meteogroup weather forecasting. “It looks like the winter overall for northwest Europe could be above average, but with short bouts of cold.” There you are; it’s anyone’s guess!
So here we are rushing through the year and all the signs are there that Autumn is almost past. What is it that signifies the passing of the seasons, and now in particular Autumn to Winter? It is simply three related things – the reduction in daylight (and sunlight), the dropping of temperatures, and the changes in plant life – especially trees.
Technically we have only a couple of days of Autumn left. December is usually considered to be the first month of Winter. Gradually the sun gets lower in the sky each day until the Winter Solstice, the 21st of December, the shortest day. No longer is there the same warmth in the sun because of the angle it comes at, and thus everything is slower drying out when there have been dews or rains. A morning observation of the thermometer tells us that gradually the daily temperature at the beginning of the day is getting lower and the weak sun (when it is out) rarely lifts the temperatures into anything resembling earlier in the year. Already we have had several frosts (Did you read our article explaining frosts a little while back? If not CLICK HERE)
The leaves are now rapidly falling off the trees. Leaf peeping is a term that has occurred in numerous TV programmes, of American origin I believe, an autumn activity in areas where foliage changes colour. Leaf peepers are those who participate in photographing and viewing the Autumnal changes of leaves. I must be a leaf peeper! If that’s you also, make the most of it, some trees are already showing signs of their Winter skeletal appearance.
But there is a big area of Autumn-
There is one characteristic of our weather that we can be sure about – its uncertainty! I had already written this article for this week when an article appeared in the Times titled, “Feeling a Little Chilly? This is only the Beginning” and declared, “The Met Office warned that temperatures could fall to minus 10C (14F) by the end of the week with a growing threat of widespread snowfalls across many parts of the country. The cold is likely to persist well into next month, although it is still too soon to predict a white Christmas,” and continued, “By Thursday, snow could be falling to low levels down to the South and South East, possibly even in London, although it’s difficult to say at this stage if the showers will be rain, sleet, snow, or a wintry mix,” said Alex Fox, a forecaster at the Met Office.” Note the uncertainty! This uncertainty became the focus of the article: “The Met Office is reluctant to discuss its longer-
Of course, down here in this sheltered neck of the woods, we can rejoice that weather in this country is remarkably localised, as the floods in Cornwall recently showed. Surely the rest of us looked on, thankful that we were not there. If you trawl the Internet there seems to be some variety of opinion as to where the driest and warmest places are in England, but this part of the country normally rates high on the lists. Whatever it’s going to be (unless a uniquely warm and sunny Winter – an almost impossibility!) we’d better just hunker down and wait for the winds, rain and snow to pass by and signs of Spring to arrive. Perhaps the creatures that hibernate have got it right. Imagine, going to sleep at the beginning of December and waking up on March 1st. Oh dear, we missed Christmas! Perhaps we’ll try for a more optimistic outlook on these pages in a fortnight’s time.
The Joy of the Bonfire (Nov 15th 2010)
So ‘Bonfire Night’ has come and gone. Increasingly it seems, public firework displays are no longer accompanied by a bonfire. A few years ago the talk was of the incredible insurance cover that was needed for such things. Sadly fear and a ‘claims mentality’ have banished the noble bonfire from the public scene.
I went on line to look for some poetry about bonfires and concluded that poets rarely sit and gaze at the wonder of a bonfire. There is plenty about November 5th, but nothing about the bonfire itself.
Autumn is a time for bonfires, it really is. I appreciate the fact that for many of us today a garden the size of a postage stamp means a bonfire is an impossibility. For that you have my sympathy. More by historical luck than by design we are fortunate to have a garden long enough to avoid smoking out the inhabitants and we’ve had it for many years, stick in the muds that we are. But is has meant that our children have grown up with the tradition of bonfires and still they return round about bonfire night to see their old man carry out the annual ritual. (They do the fireworks, I do the bonfire!) While my wife plied most of the family and the grandchildren with hot dogs inside, I established and oversaw the bonfire. After a while one of my sons came out and sat on a garden chair beside me and for a while we just watched. After a respectful time he breathed, “There’s nothing quite like a bonfire is there.” I sat there contented.
Over the years we have had some bonfires! In the days before garden waste recycling bins, the only way to get rid of the rubbish that would not go on the compost heap, was to burn it. After much tree and hedge trimming in early Autumn, a gradual mountain would emerge, on one occasion about fifteen foot high. Our children grew up to appreciate the wonder but also the danger which has now been conveyed to the next generation on. As one or two of the little ones came down the garden to see what granddad was doing, they stood close to me at a safe distance from the fire and one said, “Keep away from fires. Fires can hurt.” Wise words little one; well taught my children, but only half a truth.
There will no doubt be some of you who read with wonder as I write – wondering whatever I am going on about, not about the wonder of fire. It simply means you have never sat there at a safe distance and watched the dance of the flames that change so many times in the life of the fire, with its amazing colours and shapes. Why have a fire? Because it’s fun, and if you have a big garden it’s easier to get rid of stuff this way, and the compost or the compost bin are just not suitable for hard, thick, woody stuff.
Simple rules for bonfires?
I went on line to look for some poetry about bonfires and concluded that poets rarely sit and gaze at the wonder of a bonfire. There is plenty about November 5th, but nothing about the bonfire itself.
Autumn is a time for bonfires, it really is. I appreciate the fact that for many of us today a garden the size of a postage stamp means a bonfire is an impossibility. For that you have my sympathy. More by historical luck than by design we are fortunate to have a garden long enough to avoid smoking out the inhabitants and we’ve had it for many years, stick in the muds that we are. But is has meant that our children have grown up with the tradition of bonfires and still they return round about bonfire night to see their old man carry out the annual ritual. (They do the fireworks, I do the bonfire!) While my wife plied most of the family and the grandchildren with hot dogs inside, I established and oversaw the bonfire. After a while one of my sons came out and sat on a garden chair beside me and for a while we just watched. After a respectful time he breathed, “There’s nothing quite like a bonfire is there.” I sat there contented.
Over the years we have had some bonfires! In the days before garden waste recycling bins, the only way to get rid of the rubbish that would not go on the compost heap, was to burn it. After much tree and hedge trimming in early Autumn, a gradual mountain would emerge, on one occasion about fifteen foot high. Our children grew up to appreciate the wonder but also the danger which has now been conveyed to the next generation on. As one or two of the little ones came down the garden to see what granddad was doing, they stood close to me at a safe distance from the fire and one said, “Keep away from fires. Fires can hurt.” Wise words little one; well taught my children, but only half a truth.
There will no doubt be some of you who read with wonder as I write – wondering whatever I am going on about, not about the wonder of fire. It simply means you have never sat there at a safe distance and watched the dance of the flames that change so many times in the life of the fire, with its amazing colours and shapes. Why have a fire? Because it’s fun, and if you have a big garden it’s easier to get rid of stuff this way, and the compost or the compost bin are just not suitable for hard, thick, woody stuff.
Simple rules for bonfires?
- Only have them when the wind is blowing away from the neighbours houses, and preferably when there is no wind,
- Don’t burn what will rot down on the compost heap (see this week’s “Growing Stuff” page.),
- Don’t burn green stuff unless you are happy to smoke out the neighbourhood; it’s better to put it in the green recycling bin,
- Don’t burn a pile that’s been sitting there for weeks on end – you may be killing hedgehogs and they are valuable in our gardens, so dismantle and rebuild it before you set fire to it,
- Start with paper and sticks that will quickly burn but then a layer of slightly larger sticks and then bigger wood, so the heat will gradually grow and grow. After a while the heat will send everything straight up in the air and clear the houses,
- Make sure you have a pyramid structure that will not collapse outwards as it burns and cause a hazard.
- Have a bucket of water in the background just in case a spark catches something nearby,
- Don’t have a bonfire when everything around is tinder dry (that is why Autumn is so good for bonfires),
- Don’t leave the bonfire but keep an eye on it until it has burned right down,
- Set boundaries so that little people cannot stray too near,
- Sit back, watch and enjoy, and when it has burnt right down, use the embers to bake potatoes in tinfoil.
And if all this leaves you cold, you have my sympathy. I accept that this is an experience that is dying out and for that I weep at its passing. What will Autumn be without a bonfire?
Bonfire Night (Nov 1st 2010)
November the 5th is almost here. Once upon a time it celebrated - at the king’s demand – the failed gunpowder plot of November 5 th 1605 when Catholic conspirators apparently, with the help of an individual called Guy Fawkes, were said to have attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Schools may teach it in history but today none of us (?) have a bonfire and let off fireworks for that reason.
If the truth be told, IF we do have a firework party in the back garden, it’s because it is a good opportunity to burn garden rubbish and have a party with fireworks. Now they have appeared more and more as community celebrations on sea fronts or in theme parks or at New Year and so on, perhaps some of the thrust of bonfire night has been dissipated. A bit of a shame really, because it’s a good excuse to get all the family together and have fun and eat burgers and hot dogs with lots of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ as modern pyrotechnic technology goes up in smoke!
Beware the age of cynicism! The danger with professional firework displays is that they tend to make us think that anything less than mega-fireworks are uninteresting. If you are in your back garden, enjoy the less expensive and the excitement that small children still have.
Fireworks generally fall into four categories:
- indoor fireworks
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- fuse time, 3 to 13 seconds, to be viewed at 5 metres minimum
- display fireworks
- fuse time, 5 to 15 seconds, to be viewed at 25 metres minimum
- what seems slightly worrying is that these appear in shops
- fireworks for professional use only
Garden fireworks, I think, are often very good value - they have to be to compete with the big organised shows. If you have money to burn, then OK, enjoy the wonder of the big bang.
The Firework Code usually includes the following basic guidelines:
Bonfire Night (Nov 1st 2010)
November the 5th is almost here. Once upon a time it celebrated -
If the truth be told, IF we do have a firework party in the back garden, it’s because it is a good opportunity to burn garden rubbish and have a party with fireworks. Now they have appeared more and more as community celebrations on sea fronts or in theme parks or at New Year and so on, perhaps some of the thrust of bonfire night has been dissipated. A bit of a shame really, because it’s a good excuse to get all the family together and have fun and eat burgers and hot dogs with lots of ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ as modern pyrotechnic technology goes up in smoke!
Beware the age of cynicism! The danger with professional firework displays is that they tend to make us think that anything less than mega-
-
-
-
-
Garden fireworks, I think, are often very good value -
1 Light sparklers one at a time and wear gloves
2 Never give sparklers to a child under 5
3 Buy fireworks marked BS 7114
4 Keep fireworks in a closed box
5 Follow the instructions on each firework
6 Light them at arm's length using a taper
7 Stand well back
8 Never go back to a lit firework
9 Never put fireworks in your pocket
10 Never throw fireworks
11 Keep pets indoors
2 Never give sparklers to a child under 5
3 Buy fireworks marked BS 7114
4 Keep fireworks in a closed box
5 Follow the instructions on each firework
6 Light them at arm's length using a taper
7 Stand well back
8 Never go back to a lit firework
9 Never put fireworks in your pocket
10 Never throw fireworks
11 Keep pets indoors
As one who, as a child, suffered a wild friend dropping a firework into my box which was not covered, I particularly appreciate number 4 - but they ALL make good sense.
For more details visit: www.fireworksafety.co.uk or www.berr.gov.uk/fireworks
If you’re thinking of arranging a club or group bonfire party, be careful! Remember the old joke: “How many civil servants does it take to set fire to Guy Fawkes? 23. One to strike the match and twenty two to fill in the paper work.” (Sorry if you are a civil servant, but there is truth there!)
And finally a word on behalf of hedgehogs! They are not very good at understanding what happens on Bonfire Night, so if you have had pile of wood, leaves and general garden rubbish piled up for a week or three, please break it up and rebuild it hedgehog-free on the day of your bonfire.
If you are a pet-lover and your dog or cat hate the noise, the best you can do is keep them indoors and turn up the TV. Sorry pets, it’s not much consolation but it will all be over soon!
If you’re thinking of arranging a club or group bonfire party, be careful! Remember the old joke: “How many civil servants does it take to set fire to Guy Fawkes? 23. One to strike the match and twenty two to fill in the paper work.” (Sorry if you are a civil servant, but there is truth there!)
And finally a word on behalf of hedgehogs! They are not very good at understanding what happens on Bonfire Night, so if you have had pile of wood, leaves and general garden rubbish piled up for a week or three, please break it up and rebuild it hedgehog-
Have an fun evening.
Seasonal: Autumn: Past ‘Seasonal’ Articles (Nov. 2010)