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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
Landscape is not "land," it is not "nature," and it is not space...
A place owes its character to the experience it affords to those who
spend time there, to the sights and sounds, and indeed the smells, that
constitute its specific ambience. And those in turn, depend on the
kind of activities in which its inhabitants engage. ~ Tim Ingold
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
Some of you will NOT have a book and that is fine - We expect to use the book as a guide for this discussion relating what we read to 'your' nearby lake. Most of the book is available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- Tell us about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - tell us about those lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- How does Stephen A. Forbes fit into the story of Lake Agassiz? - We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- While walking in the woods and lake trails do you call by name the trees, birds or insects?
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
And so, rather than listing a group of focus questions that would only help us identify various characters and their individual habits, let's read and share the words and information that strike us as well as, photos (as Jane says, of reasonable size - no larger than 400 pixels on the largest side - need help with that please ask) Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that further and make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Our next section, Mindscapes is planned to be discussed next week, Wednesday, September 16 and Futurescapes to be discussed the last week, Wednesday, September 23.
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
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I could not welcome y'all better than this email from Darby Nelson - the author of For Love of Lakes - I had emailed to ask some questions since I have absolutely no knowledge of geology and one of the short chapters uses words that any amateur geologist would easily be able to roll off their tongue knowing exactly what it all meant - And this reply arrived.
From: Darby Nelson Sent: Aug 29, 2015 10:32 AM To: augere@ix.netcom.com Subject: glacial questions
Dear Barbara,
What an honor to be chosen for your long-running book club! I hope your members will enjoy For Love of Lakes and learn how better to be good stewards of their lakes.
My wife and I have been sick with a flu this week, so hope this gets to you in time for it to be useful.
First some background on continental glaciers. During the several ice ages, snow accumulated to miles deep as there was little melting during summers. The weight of snow compressed underlying layers and turned them to ice. The bottom layer melted with geothermal heat, lubricating the ice sheet so that it could more easily slowly flow outward in all directions, moving just centimeters per year. Any rocks and soil at the land surface froze into the ice (“plucked” off the surface) and moved along with it. All this material is what is left as “till” (unsorted, unstratified mixture of all sizes of rock material deposited directly by glacial ice with little or no working by water) when the ice finally melted.
After many glaciers worked over the land, scraping it clear, all that was left in places was highly resistant bedrock, “bedrock basins”. Many of these filled with water after the glaciers melted and became lakes. In the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, you can see parallel scratches on the bedrock where rocks carried by the glaciers scraped them as they flowed over them.
All of Canada and much of the US was covered by glaciers. Glacial geologists have been able to map where they went by identifying rocks that came from various points north. Since this happened over and over again, newer glaciers obliterated much of the evidence of older glaciers. “Ice tongues or lobes” are the front of the glacier. If the ice front hit a resistant hill, it split and flowed around it, forming smaller lobes.
When the climate started to warm again, at the southern edges the glacial ice melted faster than it was replaced by new ice moving in from the north (“melting back”). The slower this happened, the more till dropped out of the ice in one place forming an “end or terminal moraine”.
You have down cutting exactly right.
“Fetch” is the distance wind can blow unbroken by land from one shore of a lake to another.
Hope this helps!
Darby
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Hi Barb,
I have just printed your questions and the author's letter and will now see if I understand what he has to say and will try to answer your questions later. My book has not arrived at my library.
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How great to have the author, way to go Barb! I don't have the book, so will look forward to the samples from Amazon. I've asked for an interlibrary loan, but don't know when that will happen.
Now that i think about it, my adult life has been very much related to lakes. During my college years, I spent every summer at Mt Lake resident camp in Fannettsburg, Pa as a counselor. I don't know the history of it, but it was a natural lake. The other two that I've been close to are both results of FDR's CCC program in the 1930s. One is Italian Lake in Harrisburg, Pa. In the 60s i lived on one side of it and walked across the little "Japanese Bridge" to teach at William Penn HS on the other side of the lake. I talked about it and showed pictures of this beautiful lake on one of our other sites a few months ago. I'll hunt up those pictures again and post them shortly.
The other CCC project is one I live near now and Ginny will know it well, Strawbridge Lake in Moorestown, NJ. I think I will have to go down there to get some nice shots of that beautiful lake since what I researched quickly didn't show it at its best.
Looking forward to learning all sorts of new things about lakes. :)
Jean
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Oh, i almost forgot, I worked for Dept of Army for 16 yrs at Ft Dix and they have a lovely lake where i often ate lunch. I have a hunch it is also man mad since it is near the golf course. I'll check with their museum and see what I can find out.
Mt Lake in Pa is in the Appalachians, so I have a feeling it is very old.
Jean
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Ann - looking forward to you peeking into the discussion - the letter from Darby Nelson was in response to my writing and asking him to explain the 4 pages that deals with the birth of what he describes as a Ghost Lake that stretched from the northern States into Canada, was 4 times larger than Lake Superior and it disappeared before the history of man even arrived on the scene - it was birthed from the action of glaciers and when it breached the glacier made dams, that were created from the rocks and dirt picked up by the packed years of snow that turned into ice at various times, places these porous dams broke till the final breaks which allowed the lake to start its journey emptying that added to many of our rivers and lakes still with us.
(https://markgelbart.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/lakeagassiz.jpg?w=634&h=459)
I had no background in geology - none what so ever - had no idea what he was talking about using the elementary words known by anyone who is familiar with glaciers and how they affect the land - I read and re-read those pages at least 5 or 6 times and started to Google but it was still over my head - so I wrote and between what Darby Nelson shared in his email and the additional information I found Googling first the name of the lake and then the various individual words I am pretty confident we can really enjoy understanding how our land was affected and is still affected by glaciers.
All that in 4 pages of reading - the other pages are filled with his thoughts, experiences and concerns for things like algae - nothing new and challenging.
But before we get into the book itself - let's talk about the Introduction and the biggie - please introduce us to your lake.
Jean thanks for your introduction to two lakes - both in Pennsylvania - yes, a photo will be a treat for us to see 'your' lakes - I hope you can easily find those photo shots again. How great to be hearing about a lake that as you say, must be old since it is located in the Appalachian Mountains - I guess it never crossed my mind till reading this book if the Appalachians were created from glacier activity. So much of our landscape I just took for granted as is and always was - never crossed my mind it was developed from the action of other natural forces - I knew there are mountains that are so windswept the walls of the close passages between the rock formations are beautifully sandblasted into smooth rock and I know in our area there is a huge underground system of water ways and caves as well as areas that still have the foot imprints of Dinosaurs.
Well I spent time last evening trying to decide which of the nearby lakes I would use a reference while reading. In the process I looked and found many lakes are part of a river system. Remembering 4th grade geography that a lake was bounded by land I thought I should be looking for a nearby lake that is self contained but soon realized all the lakes in the book are not self contained.
The Lower Colorado runs through the middle of Austin and until, the dams were built would often flood just about the entire town - a series of 5, that have now become 6 dams were built with the lake in town still looking more like a river than the other broad spread out lakes in the chain. I was shocked to read that Darby Nelson knew of and mentions Town Lake in the book - Since his acquaintance with Town Lake it has been renamed a couple of years ago to Lady Bird Lake and just about completed now is a hike and bike trail that surrounds the lake with a couple of substantial foot bridges making the connection across the lake - however, there is only one spot that folks can still get in the water. For years that was a spot used by casual fishermen who came with the proverbial piece of cane cut from their backyard and some string or just the string with a bobber to keep the bait from sinking. Those old fishermen seem to have disappeared and now mostly young men and women with their dogs use the spot.
I just did not feel like getting into that mix or driving downtown - I do not even walk the trail any longer - yep, Austin has changed - the next lake in the chain is Lake Travis - it takes about 20 minutes to drive out there and it has several boat ramp areas where folks swim nearby - it is a broad and open lake - big enough for sailboats with lots of coves, a couple of yacht clubs and boat marinas, some private property with mansions worth several million where as, for years before Austin grew up it was where families had their summer house that was mostly a huge porch, with a bathroom, a small kitchen since most all cooking is done outside - no AC or for many no electricity. Those summer places are all gone now as the property was sold and substantial year round homes were built.
The layers of limestone and probably other rock layers are seen with only a few beach areas that are on pieces of land that poke out - When the dams were built, if you ever saw the Montgomery Clift movie, Wild River -- he is, during the 1930s a Tennessee Valley Authority Agent responsible for moving everyone so their house can be demolished in order to make way for the new lake - well that is the story of the demise of the small communities when this chain of lakes was developed also, in the 1930s.
East of town there is a small lake that was for years called Decker Dam - I do not know its history and then up in Georgetown that I can drive to it in about 40 minutes is Lake Georgetown that I remember when the San Gabriel was damed to form that lake only about 20 years ago - I just cannot think of a self contained lake in Central Texas.
Funny growing up we always lived near the ocean or the gulf - Florida, Georgia and City Island in NY - there was always an expanse of water with a big sky and a fresh breeze or when we lived north at times the cold settled in with ice and snow and there were things like deep sounding bells that rocked in the water to let boats know where they were - and boats using fog horns - and so when I saw my first lake - I have no idea where we were - I do remember we were on a picnic with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in their vehicle and my Mom, Dad and Grandmother in our vehicle with me and my sister - My uncle's vehicle got a flat tire on the way and it seemed to take hours to get it fixed so that the quilts were spread on the side of the road and we had some of our picnic right there -
But when we got to this lake I just did not like it - kept looking and looking and all these people and it was hot, the sun beating down and no breeze. There were trees right up to the edge of the lake with a beach area with sand and some tall lifeguard stands - did not even want to get in the water - I just stood and did not like what I saw and certainly did not like the odor - not scent but odor to me - mostly a mixture of heat and humanity. I was so thankful when we set up the picnic under the trees out of the eyesight of that lake and after eating my dad and I went for a walk in the woods where he, like always, named all the trees and plants that grew wild. He would show me the difference in the bark and the shapes of the leaves that would tell me the name of the tree.
I did not again see a lake till I was a teen - a shaded small lake in the mountains that was lovely but most of my adult life living away from the coast the nearest swimming area was a river rather than a lake. Here in Austin in one sense they are a chain of lakes but they do empty as a river into the Gulf. Most lake areas of water in this state are called tanks and there are lots of creeks and streams that open up in spots to swimming holes and ponds. I love walking along Bull Creek that is about 10 minutes down the other side of this Mesa I live on. When I have been especially stressed out and the creek is still running (it tends to dry up during a hot summer) I just plop into the water, clothes and all and look up at the sky - then I have to sit on a boulder to dry out so I can get in my vehicle to drive home.
Then there is deterioration - think I will wait and talk about what little I know in another post tomorrow.
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Ooops, I seem to be always behind. I've got my book, have just started reading. I can see already that I like his approach, but don't have much to say yet.
Lakes are a part of my past, not my present, as now I'm not within easy reach of any, but water has always been important to me. I'm never happier than when I'm floating in it, or on it, or sailing over it, or swimming through it. So I'll dig into my happy memories.
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Pat glad to see you - this is not so much about what Darby Nelson says in his book as it is making his points relevant to our own experience - this being the pre-discussion we are only attempting to read the Introduction to the book that is online with the Amazon preview of the book - so no panic you are just fine... and yes, memories will be wonderful.
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I have not gotten the book so I will just follow along with what you provided us from Amazon. I grew up in a small town of Monroe, Michigan and have had the great pleasure of being surrounded by the great lakes. Lake Erie is just a short drive from where I grew up, and we would have family picnics at the state park there. I was never and still am not a swimmer, I have enormous fear of being in any water where I can not touch the bottom, or grab on to something I can touch easily, but I am drawn to water for peace and calm, so we go to our Maumee Bay, here in Oregon Ohio about 20 minutes from where I live, or we vacation in Marblehead near Sandusky, Ohio which is about 45 minutes from where I live, or we go to Manitou Beach in Michigan about 40 minutes away. I MUST be near water to relax, on vacation. I love boat rides and pontoons.
Here are a few pics of my favorite places to vacation.
This is Marblehead, where we have the famous lighthouse.
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/156107_10201707771439428_792879455_n.jpg?oh=3a61dff1e5cc745f9c53db274ac3f535&oe=5673219F)
A little info about Lake Erie
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/v/t1.0-9/580242_10201707781239673_391116882_n.jpg?oh=290e64e0f8a716610ba8dc107d7cb10d&oe=566A7928)
This is another shot of Marblehead, Catawba, from here you can take a jet express and go to Put In Bay Island, and you can see Cedar Point amusement park across the bay on a clear day.
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/1000980_10201707771719435_40757588_n.jpg?oh=e1220cc94ff750d5d63492a2be6fc99f&oe=5664326D)
I'll post some more pics later, I have to run for now.
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I very much like the book. I love the illustrations he's drawn. I haven't paid enough attention to the drawings to see who did them but I like the book enormously. Not what I usually read, but look at the difference it's made already:
Where was the first lake you remember visiting as a child?
Did you live near your childhood lake and visit it frequently?
Do you remember what you thought when you visited the lake?
When you visited the lake did you play, swim, picnic, boat, fish or simply look?
What is the name of the lake you now most often visit? Is it located nearby?
Silver Lake in Bucks County PA is where we always went to swim and do whatever one does at a lake. I will never forget the day we went and found it closed, it was contaminated. The most beautiful lake, silver in aspect, really, it looked like mercury. It had that strange flat sheen that UK waters have.
All these years I have thought what a sad thing that was, the contamination of that area and guess what? It's not any more!!
Here's something from the Silver Lake site itself:
Geology
This area represents a geologic zone referred to as the Coastal Plain. Let's go back a bit in history to find out how Silver lake came to be. During the last glacial period, the oceans were about 100 miles further inland. Much of our water was contained in ice. The glaciers came down as far as Easton which is about 60 river miles from Bristol. Along their path, they scraped, plucked, smashed and ground different types and sizes of rocks. When the glaciers melted, water flowed into the Delaware River, increasing its size tremendously. Rocks floating down the river were chipped along their edges, making them rounded in shape. This mass of water encountered a dam, thereby spilling over into the areas we now call Falls Township and Trenton. Once over this obstacle, the water flow decreased and spread over a large area. Many of the rocks transported along the way found a new home. If you pick up rocks in Silver Lake Park, you will notice that they are rounded, having been taken from their unknown origin and laid to rest in Lower Buck County. Also noticeable are the varied colors of rocks.
Due to the fact that these rocks had very diverse origins, many types of minerals are now found in our soil. Lower Bucks County is reputed to have some of the richest soil in the state. Unfortunately, this has also aided in the construction industry. This prime soil has sprouted houses as well as farmlands. The housing developments seem to have won. The type of soil found in Silver Lake Park, is the reason it is so highly protected as a Coastal Plain Woodland. If you visit, you'll notice the relatively flat terrain within the park boundaries. The elevation varies from 18 feet above sea level to only 34 feet.
This type of geology makes the park unique, being reflected in the flora and fauna. Pennsylvanian rare or endangered species are also located here. Many of the plants and animals are more likely to be found in the south like the Magnolia, Willow Oak, Sweet Gum, Red Bellied Turtle, and the Southern Leopard Frog. In contrast, there are few northern species. Each of the Walnut trees were planted and you will not find any Hickory trees, normally common in Pennsylvania.
I did not know that. And were it not for this book and this discussion I never would have, either. It's amazing what you can learn from a book.
And it's apparently quite a reserve too:
Parks and Recreation
Silver Lake Park - Coastal Plain Forest (465 acres)
Bath Road, Bristol Township, PA
http://www.buckscounty.org/government/parksandrecreation/parks/SilverLake\
Lots more history there, all fascinating. I'm so glad they took hold of it, we always enjoyed it when I was a child.
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From the map it looks like there must be houses pretty much all around the park, some right on the lake shore. It's a good thing they protected the lake.
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I agree, I was kind of surprised by this: Once purchased, Bucks County coordinated a series of clean-ups, eventually removing over 200 tons of trash. Trails were installed to provide public access from the nature center building area. Most recently, an effort to route a highway through Delhaas Woods was defeated.
200 TONS of trash.
It's been 64 years since I saw Silver Lake. A lot can happen in that time. And that's a fairly well populated area.
The Nature Conservancy does good work.
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This was my posting in the Library in May when i was mentioning Italian Lake in Harrisburg. I hope it works so I don't have to repost the links to the pictures and my comments.
http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=881.msg254833#msg254833
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What great gifts y'all have brought to these pages - the photos Bellamarie are a joy to look at - I bet you feel so proud of that area and a photo just does not do it justice - with pontoon boats nearby it sounds like the lake is developed and cared for - is it part of a state park system or is it privately maintained?
Wow Ginny the background Geology is almost as if written for the book - and yes, it is so fascinating isn't it to realize what we have looked at was so much more than we ever imagined. And all these new words - the web site is a jewel - they really did a wonderful job.
The history of the lake is as fascinating as the geology - when we read this and really understand because I think many of us read this kind of background and it goes right over our heads as background information that is nice to read but it really makes no impact - now with the impact of really understanding how our northern lakes were formed you could not dream of leaving trash behind - with 200 tons - TONS - of trash - that says to me there are many more who do not have the reverence for an area because they have no clue of the miracle they are looking at.
I say they and it really is me as well - the only difference we were trained not to leave a place unless it was better than when we arrived - it appears that is not a common view but even that viewpoint is so limiting compared to having the reverence for the land that comes with knowing how it was altered by natural forces. And better yet, to be living now, in this time of history where the thousands of years of land movement can be seen and best yet, explained - So much to be thankful for those who lived in the nineteenth century and started to understand geology. This is right in line with the Novel we read about a year ago - Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier only this time it is not a novel - hmm there was so many true names and events in Remarkable Creatures it is strange to think of it as a novel.
Pat and Ginny what is the Lake you both frequent now - I am not sure where you live Pat but I always imagined Ohio and Ginny is in SC - is there a lake you visit now?
We had an interesting event - again I had no clue and it would have gone by me with a passing notice except for reading this book - I shared earlier we have creek only about 10 minutes away - it widens out in a few areas and one area there is a park where there are several boulders worn down over, who knows how much time, and the children slide down with the water that is like a mini waterfalls. The city took over a few years back and has developed it into a park like area with picnic benches and a restroom - it is adjacent to one of the few low water bridges still left - the cost of a normal raised bridge was a great drain on the city budget so that when the early roads were built the road continued on the ground and was laid over the land under many a creek when it was at its seasonal low or dried up and so when the creek is running you drive through a foot or more of water. The problem and danger is when we have our severe rain storms that are frequent raining 10 to 16 inches in hours - the creeks run wild and if you are crossing a low water bridge the water is so swift it takes the vehicle with it down stream.
With a super highway that encircles the west side of town having been built some 35 years ago few folks use the old road - thus the park - well back to why I started all this - seems like yesterday there was a spill - of all things CITY WATER - had no clue how dangerous City Water is to fish - so dangerous the creek and park were closed down -
It seems "chloramines in treated water adhere to the gills on fish and quickly suffocate them. That's why people with aquariums don't just fill them up with city water...fish can tolerate a small amount but 100% city water will quickly kill any gill breathing animals."
Who knew... I sure didn't...
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My earliest memory of a lake is not a happy one, but funny (now, not then). At about age 14, our family vacationed at a lake in New Hampshire (Pat will remember its name).
I ventured into the lake, somewhat shyly, wearing my first two piece bathing suit, and dived in. When I came up, it was a one piece bathing suit.
The rest is lost in the mists of time.
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Since then, many lakes have featured in my life. I agree with the author:
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole.
While such feelings have arisen in me at other times in other places, all have occurred in the presence of water and most frequently, as now, by the side of a lake." ~ Quote from page 7
The area where I lived for many years had several small man made lakes, and I have spent many an hour by their side. Another lake precious in my memory is Lake Placid in the Adirondacks. (If you've been to the town of Lake Placid, the lake that it is on is NOT Lake Placid, which is several miles away. When I visited it decades ago, it was not built up at all, except for the place where I stayed. t was as still as a mirror, with the woods and mountain reflected in it perfectly. And the silence was almost complete.
I don't want to know what it's like now.
http://tinyurl.com/o2fkber
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Now, I don't live near lakes, but near the ocean. When I want to be near it, I go to Point Vincente:
https://www.google.com/search?q=point+vicente+pictures&biw=853&bih=570&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CDIQ7AlqFQoTCNPitvr908cCFRM1iAodSAwMhA#imgrc=GXGPIOhoTb8yhM%3A
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Aha - if I was just patient there you explain for us the very question I was asking
;D :) :D JOAN - I am still laughing - oh as teen you must have been mortified - did anyone come rushing with a towel for you.
I have heard often of Lake Placid but never saw it and for some reason never googled it either - what a marvelous looking lake - looks like it is well cared for -
Joan let me know but I can make the very long link into a short link for you but I will wait for your OK.
Seems to me you live now near the Ocean - I think I remember you sharing how you have been able to view it from an area near your apartment - is there any lake in the area - you may not have visited it since you do have one of the largest lakes in the world - the Pacific Ocean to enjoy - and I bet you enjoy by looking rather than swimming or boating or fishing.
Darby Nelson makes an issue of this looking business that he shares that we will get into on Wednesday when we start looking closer at the book and see how we relate to 'our' lake.
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BARB: we were posting at the same time. As you see, I do have a favorite spot by the ocean. I have a memorial stone to my husband there, and I can go and sit and talk to him.
Yes, please make my URLs shorter. Thank you.
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Amazon's sample starts us at Walden Pond. Here is a nice group of pictures from 1909 to 2000s of the pond and replica of Thoreau's cabin.
http://thoreau.eserver.org/pondpics.html
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A huge and beautiful feature article in yesterday's NY Times on Lake Michigan! Just as if it were made for this discussion. :)_ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/travel/lake-michigan-tour.html?_r=0
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Exploring your site, I came on this tour. It leads you from one picture to another with a connected story:
http://thoreau.eserver.org/cliff.html
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You asked that we share a favorite fiction book about a lake, i immediately thought of Susan Wiggs "Lakeshore Chronicles" series. Here are THIRTEEN books from the series:
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/susan-wiggs/
They are easy reading, enjoyable stories of family relationships.
Jean
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This gets better every hour - I have always wanted to visit Waldon's Pond - maybe it will still happen - we discussed his book a few years back and loved it - remember especially the birds and the ants marching and the thumping of the lake as it thawed in Spring -
Yes, the first chapter is not included in the Amazon preview - I will try to put together a synopsis for Wednesday - Pat I understand you have the book - maybe if I miss something important you can help fill in the blanks -
Wow and Wow again - the site for Lake Michigan - I do not think I have seen another so well done - the photos are wonderful you can almost feel the breeze coming in off the lake - what a treat that site is to spend time going from page to page - they have sure set the bar for a professional #1 website.
And Jean I never heard of these books - fabulous - a whole series - they sound like a fun read - have you read them?
What a variety of lakes we already have - from the most formal garden type lake near Harrisburg to the wild and huge lake of Lake Michigan and then everything in between.
No magnificent site for Lake Travis or Town Lake, recently named Lady Bird Lake, or the short bit that connects the two called - of course - Lake Austin - all part of the chain of lakes that includes Inks Lake, Lake LBJ and the really big Lake Buckanan (said Buck like a male deer with the emphasis on the Buck and then quietly anan as in canon without the c sound) if you think that is different wait till you get a load of this - one of the tributary rivers to Lake Travis is the Pedernales said, - get this - PUR-də-NAL-iss
A few photos I found online
Pedernales River
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Pedernales1.jpg/300px-Pedernales1.jpg)
The Narrows up near where Lake Travis makes a bend before it widens
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f2/79/7b/f2797b3eea4364818cf9698a730ccb5d.jpg)
Small section of Lake Travis
(http://blog.austinluxurybroker.com/files/2015/08/Lake-Travis-06102015-e1437047030144.jpeg)
Another view from another area of the lake (Travis)
(https://lukebaerenwald.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/lake-travis.jpg)
Get this - same area before and after the drought
(http://communityimpact.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/LTW-2015-06-01-2H-460x179.jpg) (http://sheila365.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/123011.jpg)
Lake Austin from the top of Mount Bonnell - a hill to most of you but the highest point in Austin
(http://unrestingsea.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/mount_bonnell_colorado_river_view.jpg?w=640)
Town Lake / Lady Bird Lake
(http://www.dailytexanonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_main_image/public/images/2014/08/2014-07-12_Water_Sports_Amy.Zhang04683_0.jpg?itok=ykVFS2zd)
Hike and Bike trail Lady Bird Lake from statue of Stevie Ray Vaughn
(http://www.capitaloftexasconference.com/images/headers/stevie_daytime.jpg)
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I grew up in an area of central Wisconsin where there were lakes everywhere, and the village where I grew up was about a mile as the crow flies from Rush Lake, a very old lake that lives up to its name. It was a hunting lake and full of waterfowl and still is a popular place for hunting and birding; some people fished in the deeper spots, but it was mostly too shallow for anything but canoes and little rowboats. We would go down with my dad to check out the ducks, to see some of the hunters who had cabins, but there was no shore to sit at or piers, just a boat landing on one end. On the map, it's a large lake, and one of my memories from my teens is seeing a truck pulling a very large boat behind whiz past heading down the road to our end of the lake, and 5 minutes later seeing it whiz back out to the highway. Here is an overhead picture and article about this lake:
http://www.wisconsinbirds.org/iba/sites/rushlake.htm
I go home to this area, where I still have family, but don't go down to the lake.
But when I was young we also lived close to other lakes, one being Big Green Lake, which was a beautiful place with beaches and lots of public access, and so we went there often. My uncle had a boat and he'd take us around the lake to look at all the big summer homes built years before by people from Chicago who summered in Green Lake. I remember swimming, fishing, ice fishing, and picnics at the beach. There was one area we swam that was lined with rocks, but it was closer to home and so on hot July nights we'd head out there after my dad closed his shop, so often after 9 p.m., and we'd swim for a short while to cool off, and enjoy the peaceful evenings with just a few others out there. There was and is so much going on at Green Lake. Here is some information.
http://www.cityofgreenlake.com/modules/web/index.php/id/1/Green-Lake-Wisconsin
For the last 30+ years we have lived in the un-glaciated corner of the state, so we are close to the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers, but our closest lakes are man made. They are lovely, and we head to the state parks where these lakes are located frequently, but the area is just not the same as where i used to live and the lakes don't feel the same or have the same impact on the lives of the people here. We own a canoe, a rowboat and a larger boat and motor, because we had them before coming here, but they aren't as important as we're more apt to go hiking as go out on a lake.
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This picture is Round Lake Manitou Beach, MI. NOT to be confused with Devil's Lake. We go here once a year with our kids and grandkids. A friend owns a beautiful summer home on this lake. I had never seen a sunrise, so I got up early and watched the pink outline on the horizon and took pictures as the sun came up. I was simply amazed with this picture.
My first ever sunrise on Round Lake.
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/47392_10201713280257145_1626837886_n.jpg?oh=1a91803e9d2c6de24cb061a3fb556d42&oe=567EA1E2)
Round lake.....a view from the balcony of our friend's summer home.
(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/31593_10201713304857760_176439708_n.jpg?oh=8163b4ed46f5a66aeac010aa22b59e8c&oe=56640AEB)
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Love the rock formations on Lake Travis, they are wonderful.
Green Lake and Round Lake are beautiful.
Barb, i have read some of the Lakeshire Chronicles series, probably 3 or 4 of them. I found them entertaining, easy reading and a good look at interpersonal relationships.
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Got a riddle for you. Don't look it up!!
What can run but never walks,
has a mouth but never talks,
has a head but never weeps,
has a bed but never sleeps?
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nlhome lovely web sites and it was only going back a second time to the second link that I saw the heading photo change - and sure enough it changes several times - nice memory for you - interesting how the man-made lake nearby has enough difference about it that you do not enjoy it in the same way but do more hiking than boating. And three boats - you did do a lot of boating didn't you. You have some nice memories with your family on that lake and you ice fished -
I have never known anyone who ice fished. Did you use a drill to break a hole in the ice - did you have a shelter like they showed in that funny movie with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau - What did you catch - Did you or your mom cook up the catch and how did you/she cook it - Did you fish often in the winter or just a few times - How did you keep warm - OH please share - this is exciting to know someone who actually went ice fishing.
I remember as a kid in high school my father brought home a wooden canoe that was leaking like a sieve - all that winter and spring my best friend Pat Cranna and I patched those seems, sanding and using marine putty and then marine varnish - every chance we had we worked on that canoe - early summer we tried it and it would still leak so back on the horses it went - for awhile we even contemplated stretching a muslin skin over it - till near the end of July we finally had it tight and then off we went - we lived on an Island and that was our first excursion to canoe around the island that was a mile and a half long and a half a mile wide at its widest - the shore was surrounded with mariners, sail makers, and wooden boat builders as well as, a few yacht clubs so that you could not stay near the shore but were out where the current and wind gave your muscles a real workout.
For a few years we had a small sailboat that we trailered out to Lake Travis. One summer I was working at the Girl Scout Camp and my daughter was also working as a councilor. We arranged to have our free time at the same time and took the sailboat out but that part of the lake is narrower - in fact just past the Narrows pictured above so that the wind is different than when there is a broad expanse of water - well we got to the opposite shore and then the wind just dropped to nothing blocked by the trees - Katha thought if she pushes the boat with me in it further off shore the wind would catch the sails - she was right but neither of us expected it to happen so quickly. The wind filled the sails, the boat took off and she grabbed the stern just in time as we laughed and laughed me trying to handle the boat while helping her back in. She was dragged half way across before we could both sail the boat back to the camp.
Bellamarie - more lovely photos - do you get out to the lake often - since you are not that comfortable swimming how did you make sure your children learned to swim - did you arrange for lessons or was there another family member who taught them - when you visit the lake is it an all day excursion or is it close by that you can just run out for an hour or so?
Jean after you sharing about the Lakeshire Chronicles series I had to look on Amazon for other books written around a lake - to my surprise found several - the only book that I remember fondly is the old Sir Walter Scott Lady in the Lake - but then I love the Arthur stories and The Song of Roland and and and... but a contemporary story... I did find one and ordered it used - takes place in Ireland and I love all Irish literature - they have a way with words that i find unmatched by any - By the Lake by John McGahern. I think I will first check out our library and see if they have any of the Lakeshire Chronicles.
Well tomorrow we start - so gear up about to learn more and more about 'your' lake - I love starting a book discussion midweek - we will have a set of focus questions that can be changed out or added to over the weekend so that we can either go deeper or wider in our exploration of lakes and Darby Nelson's experiences discovering his seven lakes.
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OH my Ginny - you have me stumped for now - need to think on it because we just know it is going to be the most obvious answer - shoot leave it to you to get our brains moving on a Tuesday... :)
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What a beautiful riddle, Ginny. Would the Hudson River serve as an answer? Let me tell you about its head. It's located just below the summit of Mt Marcy in the Adirondacks, and it is called Lake Tear of the Clouds, at elevation 4346 ft. If you want to go there you could take the Calamity Brook Trail. Let me quote from my trail guide:
'At about 8.8 mi. the grade begins to moderate and finally becomes level just before reaching the outlet to Lake Tear of the Clouds, the highest pond source of the Hudson River. Across this little body of water, fringed with spruce and balsam, the rocky dome of Mt. Marcy rises in full view.
Nothing prettier in this world than the many lakes in the Adirondacks, seen from its mountain tops. Lake Colden from the top of Mt. Colden was on the cover of NG a few years ago. Heart Lake from Mt. Jo, is pretty. Lake Marie Louise from Rocky Ridge is a bright shining jewel. Lake Ampersand from its namesake mountain is just that. And you should walk in to Avalanche Pass and Avelanche Lake beyond.
Joan, what an experience you had with the swimsuit malfunction. The 'precious lake of my memory...' isn't that beautiful. The town, Lake Placid, you're right, is on Mirror Lake.
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Never heard of it - lovely poetic name for a Lake - and to think this small bit of water is the headwaters for the mighty Hudson river and with all the History that has taken place on that River - amazing.
Found this photo - of all of them I liked this one best
(http://www.northcountrydaylilies.com/northcountrydaylilies/pictures/catalog_pictures/flowers_text/lake_tear_of_the_clouds_lg.jpg)
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The lake JoanK remembers with mixed feelings is Newfound Lake in New Hampshire, a beautiful thing. We went there several years.
http://www.lakesregion.org/RegionalInfo/OurLakes/NewfoundLake/tabid/184/Default.aspx (http://www.lakesregion.org/RegionalInfo/OurLakes/NewfoundLake/tabid/184/Default.aspx)
The place we stayed, a bunch of cottages with a hall for recreation and dining if you chose to, isn't there as such, but the hall seems to have been divided up into private units:
http://www.vrbo.com/3684856ha (http://www.vrbo.com/3684856ha)
The cottages were up the hill, starting about where the photographer must have been standing, and you just walked downhill to a nice little beach.
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What can run but never walks,
has a mouth but never talks,
has a head but never weeps,
has a bed but never sleeps?
Yes it would, Mr. Jonathan, you're too smart. hahahaha
The answer is "a river."
I thought that was appropriate for this discussion.
Super job! :)
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Pat the town nearby pictured in the first link appears like the quintessential New England town that we often see photos. With the woods to walk in and the leaves will be turning what a wonderful spot however I do not think I could take the winters and they are long. But what a lovely place to live.
I have to compare these lakes to the acres on the lakes I know nearby to get an idea of size - photos sure can fool you - so far the only real monster of a lake that we have is Lake Michigan and to think the lake that Darby Nelson speaks of, Lake Agassiz, describes in the book is 4 times as large as all the Great lakes combined - it must have been really inland sea - I don't think you can see across some of the Great Lakes to Canada so surely you could not have even imagined where you would be sailing off to if humans had been there to explore the lake.
The wonders of nature - I keep thinking and do not mean to offend but I still believe in a higher power and to think that as we were developed as humans with hands and fingers to make things, so to we had been given the gifts of wind, the cycle of rain, clouds, snow, ice, the seasons as we circle closer and further each year from the sun. All these natural wonders not just to look at or be at times inconvenienced by, but like our hands and fingers they do things to this earth - they became glaciers that over time carved and pushed rock and dirt and in other places seeped underground, they widened rivers and carved through surface and bedrock to form other rivers, the wind sculptured, the rain allowed things to grow - on and on - it is really a magical place we live in, this place called earth, the cycle of it alone is a marvel but now to learn how a cycle of snow and ice is a system that carved and sculptured the land forming lakes and mounds and beaches - no wonder some people see church in the woodlands.
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Jonathan, makes you curious doesn't it how a pool of water can become a huge river - its like you want to find out how any of these rivers and lakes we take for granted had their start - what caused the water to collect at a certain point and then as Derby Nelson points out rivers all travel downhill looking for a way out to the sea or ocean. Seems to have captured mankind so that both Rivers and Lakes appear over and over in Literature as symbolic messages.
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Barb, I am drawn to water even though I do not swim. We always had some sort of swimming pool in our backyard. I did indeed teach not only my three children how to swim, but all my grandchildren and many other children. Because I fear the water, I also respect the water and was determined all my kids would swim. We just never had a pool over my head. We got lucky and bought a home with an in ground 24 ' round, gunite pool, that is 4 ft deep around the outside, and 4 1/2 dead center. We have lived here since 1984, never an incident, and I can not begin to tell you how many children have learned to swim in my pool. You don't have to know how to swim to teach others, you just need one other adult swimmer in the pool for safety purposes.
We have so many beautiful lakes within 20 - 45 minutes from our house either in Ohio or Michigan and even Indiana, if we want to drive a bit further. We owned our own cottage on Little Long Lake, near Angola Indiana for years, while the kids were growing up. Every vacation we have ever taken has been near water. My biggest enjoyment was when I stood on Clearwater beach, and for the first time looked into the Gulf of Mexico.
Cute riddle Ginny, of course our Jonathan would be the first to guess the answer!
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Ice fishing! I think we all seem to prefer our warm weather memories of lakes, but yes, I did go ice fishing with my father often, when I was young. There were several lakes within 10-20 miles, and he had favorites for different types of fish. We'd sometimes drive out on the lake and use the car as a shelter. He had a special ice chisel, and he'd use tip-ups and set a couple out, then have one little pole he held on to. He also had a shack, yes, like the movie, with a heater and windows, and he set that up, usually on Big Green Lake. We'd play cards, eat, watch out the window for the flags on the tip-ups to fly up if we got a bite. If the ice was clear, we'd skate. There is a whole ice fishing culture on certain lakes. Yes, we cleaned the fish, and we ate them. My mom would deep fry them usually. Mostly panfish, like perch, bluegill and crappie.
And my husband also fishes on the ice, although he has a portable shack. I don't join him, unless it's just to walk out for a bit - sitting around in the cold waiting for a fish to bite is not my thing. He has an ice auger, but it's a manual one. People use power augers too, I think.
Fishing and lakes go together. Growing up in an area of so many lakes, we did a lot of fishing, ate a big variety of fish, including trout and sturgeon and bullheads. Now, of course, it's not wise to eat too much of certain kinds, because of mercury in the lakes.
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You sure make ice fishing sound exciting - even if it is cold and dull waiting - but playing cards and looking forward to some fried fish that you caught - and then all the do of getting the hole in the ice and watching for the sign that there was a fish on the line - must say I had no idea what tipup was so here it is - found one for sale with a photo.
(http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/7739796/Frabill-Great-Lakes-Premium-Wood-Tip-Up-877cbacd-7cb4-4fec-85c6-83e1dd36fd34_600.jpg)
And then too you know all the various fish - what a great legacy you have - really - as you say, we think of lakes when the trees have leaves but so few of us have had the opportunity to enjoy time on a lake in the dead of winter.
Yes, fishing and lakes do go together don't they - I am struck how some of the lake website feature birds and the surrounding plants and even the geological history where as all I can find about any of our local lakes is the type of fish - the history of fish in the area including any stocking where and when - the current and historic water levels - amount of water in storage - height of the dams - the number and size of the turbines and the megawatts of energy generated.
So far anything that talks of the geology of the area is in reference to land-use limitations and protecting the aquifer that runs from southwest part of Austin down to San Antonio.
Far different than these wonderful websites about lake areas in the northeast and north that go into so much history of the land itself but then they do not talk about fishing being the most important aspect of the lakes which leads us right into the chapter in the book called, Deep Heart's Core where Darby Nelson speaks of how those who live next to the lake are seldom seen playing in or on the Lake but rather they are just sitting and enjoying the lake. I am thinking there are all kinds of ways to sit and enjoy a lake including on a frozen lake in a shelter playing card waiting for a fish under the ice to bite.
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We start reading from our book and for those who do not have yet their book - my library does have 12 copies spread through out the various annex locations - in the meantime or if you cannot get a copy of the book we have linked in the heading the preview from Amazon that is amazingly inclusive of most of the book.
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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
Landscape is not "land," it is not "nature," and it is not space...
A place owes its character to the experience it affords to those who
spend time there, to the sights and sounds, and indeed the smells, that
constitute its specific ambience. And those in turn, depend on the
kind of activities in which its inhabitants engage. ~ Tim Ingold
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
Some of you will NOT have a book and that is fine - We expect to use the book as a guide for this discussion relating what we read to 'your' nearby lake. Most of the book is available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- Tell us about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - tell us about those lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- How does Stephen A. Forbes fit into the story of Lake Agassiz? - We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- While walking in the woods and lake trails do you call by name the trees, birds or insects?
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
And so, rather than listing a group of focus questions that would only help us identify various characters and their individual habits, let's read and share the words and information that strike us as well as, photos (as Jane says, of reasonable size - no larger than 400 pixels on the largest side - need help with that please ask) Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that further and make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Our next section, Mindscapes is planned to be discussed next week, Wednesday, September 16 and Futurescapes to be discussed the last week, Wednesday, September 23.
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
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There is a unigue lake near us where I took our kids when they were growing up. Lake Atsion is in the Pine Barrens and looks like a cup of tea. The water is a re-brown color and this is why......
The unique tea-colored (or “cedar”) water that flows through the Pinelands is evidence of the area’s biodiversity. The water’s light-brown hue is a result of the tannic acids present in the Pine Barrens’ plant life—especially the Atlantic white cedar—as well as naturally occurring iron in many of the streams. It’s not a good idea to drink the water, but go ahead and swim all day if you’d like.
The Lake was perfect for taking children to because a portion of the a wide slow moving river had been dammed up to make a recreation area and a section had been roped off from the river that at its deepest was only about 5 ft deep. The state had made a very nice beach and provided "bath houses" and snack bars and grills and there was a lifeguard about every 50 feet, including on the river side of the swimming area. It felt very safe. The "tea water" made it unique. During the Revolutionary War there were forges of iron throughout the area that provided iron for the arms used by the colonists. I'll look for a picture for you to see the water.
http://njmonthly.com/wp-content/uploads/cache/2014/07/pinelands1/732718997.png
Jean
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The tea colored water made me curious about trees affecting the health of lakes - I found this that I never had heard of but evidently are used on the shore line here for Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin.
The logs you see on the shoreline are made of “Coir” and have been placed with plantings for erosion control and lakeshore habitat.
Coir is the natural fiber found in ripe coconut husks, and it has been used for centuries to make ship ropes due to its durability and resistance to water damage. One of the modern uses for coir includes mats or logs of coir fiber bound by coir ropes for erosion control. Coir is anchored in areas with loose soils that need stabilization including stream banks, wetlands and construction sites. The advantage of using coir logs for erosion control (rather than rocks or bulkheads) is that the coir allows vegetation to grow within it as it slowly biodegrades becoming part of the matrix of the soil. When the coir has finally biodegraded (years later), the roots of the vegetation then provide the long-term stability of the soil which provides natural and beneficial integrity to the land and water.
Although appealing in its low cost, durability and ability to biodegrade, it was unclear if coir logs would be successful in stabilizing the shoreline of Lake Austin due to the intense wave energy from recreational boating. A pilot study to test this method in Lake Austin was initiated in Summer 2009. After 5 years of observation, it was determined that coir logs and plants can be successful (under certain circumstances) in stabilizing and restoring a shoreline to a more natural state. Most coir logs deteriorated slowly and the remaining fiber has roots and stems growing throughout. The pilot study provided valuable information regarding placement, location, timing and plant species.
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The City of Austin takes on the care and maintenance of Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake where as the LCRA (Lower Colorado River Authority) appears to take on the care and maintenance of the entire chain of Lakes that includes Lake Travis as it is part of the Colorado River Basin and the State Parks and Wildlife Department maintains all the River Basins as part of their mandate towards wildlife, water and land management partially controlled by licensing fishing, hunting, boating, Park fees and state funding.
This site again, never would have looked into it except for reading this book with y'all - shows the condition of the rivers from the affects of Algae - but best of all in the upper left hand corner of the page are wonderful links describing and even picturing Algae -
https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/ga/status.phtml
The City of Austin website on the Watershed Protection Department is quite extensive with many issues linked to this main page including the information on Algae that I opened -
http://www.austintexas.gov/department/watershed-protection/faq
The LCRA website for Water Quality along the entire chain of lakes - with further links specific to testing for Algae
http://www.lcra.org/water/quality/Pages/water-quality-index.aspx
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ahhh please share the sites that show how the lake near you is maintained and tested - this is just fascinating - had no idea there was this kind of effort toward the 'stewardship' of our local lakes.
One more... Found this nice PDF from the National Park Wildlife Survival Guide for a Warming World about how climate change and the growth of bacteria and toxins are killing off birds on the Great Lakes - starts with a beautiful photo of Autumn tree color on the shore of Lake Superior and another is a close up of a loon.
http://www.npca.org/assets/pdf/06-NPCA-Wildlife-Loon.pdf
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#5. What do you know about algae and is your nearby lake infected with algae or other invasive plants?
For the past two years we are being affected by the algae bloom in Lake Erie. Last year I woke up to a phone call from my sister in law in panic saying, "Don't drink the water, don't cook with the water and do not shower with the water!" I had no idea what she was talking about, she explained that they issued a warning for our city to not use our water until further notice, due to high ratings of toxins in the water. This lasted for a few days and you can only imagine the frantic that set in. We had to go buy bottled water and stock up on it. Neighboring counties were affected as well. The stores were out of bottled water, and the city started having water brought in by the truck loads to hand out to those in need and could not afford to buy water if you could find it on the shelves. Luckily for me, my son works as a distributing manager for 7-Up company and was able to get me all the water I needed, and then I went to my neighbors offering them cases. This year we were not under the severe warning, but I do not drink any tap water. We have decided not to give it to our dog either.
Here are links to explain why we are affected and pictures of what it looks like.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/08/140804-harmful-algal-bloom-lake-erie-climate-change-science/
(http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/BN-DY450_0803BL_G_20140803191157.jpg)
The city water department and environmentalists are constantly testing our water, and gives us an update. They have cautioned small children elderly and pregnant women should not drink the water at this time.
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Yes, I remember when the news was filled about the Algae Bloom in Lake Erie - seeing your photo I got curious and wondered just what is the danger of drinking water after an Algae Bloom and found this site that explains beautifully
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/cyanobacteria/en/
Bellamarie how does the city process the water from the lake - it must have some sort of a filtering system - did they find the reason for the serious bloom that happened in 2014? What kind of monitoring practices do they have in place - do they depend on volunteers for water testing or does the city have a department that does that?
Did it also affect the use of the lake for recreation or fishing - does your city depend on the lake for anything other than the drinking water? Are there changes to your use of water becoming law since it appears Global Warming is causing hotter summers so where here our creeks, rivers and lakes dry up it appears in the north more algae grows profusely creating havoc with the waterways.
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All of my life I have wanted to live with trees and water on our land or near us. And we have pretty much managed that even in California. Although our lake there was the Pacific ocean. We lived just a mile from the water and spent many days walking the beach paths that follow the ocean for miles. California takes wonderful care of their beaches. And they have life guards all along the water. The water is icy and although I love to swim, it was just too cold.
The first memory of a lake for me was a manmade lake in Indianapolis,IN, named Lake Sullivan. In the summer, we visited often to feed the ducks that lived there raising their ducklings. In the winter, it was a city park ice rink, which when it was safely frozen and surrounded with warming huts with blazing fires, our little family went ice skating as often as we could. My parents were also skaters and just loved this tiny lake. Many of our school chums enjoyed skating there also. We had a great time many nights. Yes, it was well lit and they played music.
We have spent time on Lake Paradise in MI, fishing and swimming and at Lake Charlevoix, too. We watched the first moon walk while staying there. Long time ago! Last year, we spent four nights in Alpena, MI, on Lake Huron attending the international underwater robot competition. Our team didn't do that well but we all enjoyed being there. Needless to say, when time permitted, we walked along the sandy beach at the lake. Huron is just a beautiful lake. Barbara, I really liked reading the history of the first Finger Lakes which started in the US and Canada? Is that right.
We visit Ithaca, NY, often as our daughter and family live there. The Finger Lakes were formed when the glaciers melted. Even on my daughter's property, the well that they drilled for gave them water that had glacier milk in it. Its supposed to be good for you?? Its on Cayuga Lake which is one of the Finger Lakes. Ithaca's is Gorges is their motto. Love being up there. We will be attending a wedding there on Sept 26th. One day will be spent relaxing at the park on Cayuga Lake. We also may try to take a wine tour along one of the other Finger Lakes on our way home.
Where we live now in Ohio, we are surrounded by trees and a wonderful little creek flows by our unit. Very peaceful. All of the lakes in Ohio are manmade except, of course, Lake Erie. We have also spent time up on Kelley's Island and the other Island which Bella mentioned. We used to fly up and land on the that island and rent bicycles to ride up to the pier where my cousins kept their boat.
The lakes in Georgia, where we lived for years, were not particularly pretty, mostly brown water but they are very popular and have a lot of rentable cottages and nice lodges where one can spend a weekend. We spent a weekend there on a houseboat with friends. My sister, Mary, lives near Lake James in NC and she spends a lot of time up in the mountains and on the lake. Sunsets are so beautiful up there.
As Barbara had told us all about the Austin TX lakes, I won't go into any detail but wanted to mention that when we lived there, Lake Austin and Lake Travis were very popular. They were new, back in the '50's, but we did go on picnics there.
I understand that Possum Kingdom State Park, west of Dallas, is quite beautiful and also on a lake. My husband and some friends that he took there on a flying trip were stranded when their plane broke down but Ralph was offered a phone at a mansion on the lake. Just too gorgeous, he says. I understand that the park it also home to a large Girl Scout camp. Had a friend who used to spend time there with her scout troop.
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We all seem to have a love affair with water and want to be near water. What is that about. ........
ROBBIE!?! ...... We need your expertise here! ;) :D :)
Jean
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Ann you sure have enjoyed lakes over the years - wonderful - no matter where you lived there was a nearby lake to enjoy - sounds like winter on a northern lake is cause for a neighborhood get together just for the fun of it - I wonder if they still ice skate at night with warming shakes surrounding the lake -
Jean yes, I think that is the million dollar question - why? I know for me when I am on a large lake as when I lived near other large bodies of water I feel a weight lifting - I am free to just be with no thoughts and no concern for responsibilities almost like being in a cocoon with the breeze blowing any loose hair around my face. All this interest in yoga and exercise as a way towards emptying the mind and all I have to do is stand or even sit by a large body of water and in no time flat I am out of body.
Darby Nelson speaks to our desire to just sit and observe the lakes more than be active in or around them suggesting this as he observes so many who own property with lakeside homes and who are seldom ever seen outdoors, much less on the lake. Second, he seems to notice those who do play on the water.
I wonder though if that is our modern viewpoint taking over. I remember when hiking in the mountains of Mexico any small village, most not even on the map, were built near a stream or creek - in fact the hiking bible said if you are lost just listen for chickens which will be located near the river and then you can follow the river to find larger communities. The stream was their only source of water - they drank it, bathed in it, washed their laundry in it, cooked with it, the animals drank and swam in it, ducks lived near or in it and were often the family meal.
Which goes to how while working over a 5 year span of time, various jobs at the Girl Scout Camp those of us who were not responsible for a unit of girls would in the evening take our folding chairs within about 100 yards or so of the river to watch the deer come down to drink and so for early man it seems to me the river was an easy source of not just water but where taking down an animal was possible as long as you were not taken down by the animal.
And then long before engines moved us across the landscape our highways were the rivers and even creeks for a canoe or other boat with a shallow draft. So the river was a place of commerce and the public activity that spawned all sorts of jobs and investments - where you went to keep in contact with people in the community. I can see how those living near the ocean saw it as a place of travel, fishing and community however, it was not where animals or people came to drink or wash themselves. Hmm I guess a lake or stream is a more intimate place since our history includes our using the waters for our person more so than for commerce.
All to say I think we may have lost our original reason for living near water - Except here, in Austin we had lots of cheaters living near the lake/river siphoning water to keep their lawns green - they couldn't drink it without it going through a filtration which is costly but for the last 2 years, until the rains came this past Spring, we were only allowed to water or wash our vehicles once a week and some communities ran out of water so that it was trucked in. And then folks were sneaking water out of the lake - of course this a common practice when the lakes are nearly full but some think of 'me' and 'mine' before the community.
The other issue as to value - water front property will always be more expensive - there is a lot of land but a limited amount of shoreline in comparison - where ever there is a limit there is a premium - the reason California, Oregon and the State of Washington have more expensive Real Estate - there is the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other limiting the easy building and farming land to what is between those two barriers. And if you look at a map nearly any large city is built next to a body of water - they may be large and lost to their city centers but they all started as trading spots and a good place to beach or anchor a boat so that even then prime locations on the water enjoy a premium.
To my thinking, the draw to live near a lake is like eating cheese - We ate cheese as a mainstay food source for over 4,000 years however, now we are drawn to many sources for cheese unavailable as recently as 50 years ago because of the opening of worldwide markets and more travel. Now we enjoy cheese for more than topping a pasta dish, as a sandwich or cooked in supper and lunch dishes. Some of the grocery stores have cheese departments larger than the meat markets of a few years ago - and so where our attachments change I think as we love eating cheese so we love living near, walking near, playing near, traveling and drinking in the source of life, Water...
;) my contemplation on water...
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Ah nearly forgot with all my wool gathering on living near water - we can so easily miss jewels because of words that we take for granted thinking we know what they may mean. Ha...
I knew reading I had to look up 'outwash' - saw the word but did not research it till this morning - was I in for a mouth gape -- turns out it is another one of those significant words used by geologists... the whole thing explained here - -
http://geo.msu.edu/extra/geogmich/outwash_plains.html
(http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/images/ice-sheet-ideal.jpg)
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Like many concepts in geology, I only sorta-kinda understood that.
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You're right Barb, we probably have genetic memory of needing to be near water for all of the reasons you mention. When we visited the James River plantations, I was struck by the fact that the road we drove in on was not a part of the life of the plantations - the river was on the opposite side of the houses and that was their road. The James was used for visiting neighbors, for bringing in and taking out supplies; I suppose they had wells, but it may have also been their source for domestic water use.
Of course, having taught Western Civ and talked about how all the early civilizations grew up near rivers, I understood the concept, but seeing it so starkly on the James implanted it in a different way in my brain.
Jean
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Jean where did you teach "Western Civ" I know I would have enjoyed taking your class - Had not ever been to the part of the country where many of our early families lived but the James River area I had read about and you had a chance to visit - were there many homes to go through? How far back from the river's edge are the homes built - did they have small docks? You can almost hear folks saying to one another - meet you down by the river tomorrow morning or whenever - I remember that wonderful movie - I think we wore 3D glasses but back in the 70s maybe even as early as the 60s How the West Was Won and some famous actress was taking a huge raft down the river over rapids and along the banks if I remember correctly there were often hiding pirate types who robbed those on the river.
Yes, JoanK I am amazed reading this how often I think I know what a word means and the many words he uses that are steeped in geology are really opening my eyes - not anything I knew much about - I just thought he meant like a small line of gravel you often see on a beach - but oh no this is a big deal - looks like many acres can be part of this 'outwash'
Just like I thought I knew what Algae was but this is really allowing me to understand - I wonder what Bellamarie finds out about how the water from Lake Erie is processed and what caused the dramatic bloom of the Algae that became so dangerous. Who would have guessed a lake the size of Erie could be so affected - I have always thought it a problem in a still pond or near the shoreline of a lake that is seldom used. I've been reading how fertilizer is washed into the lakes that increases the growth of Algae - sure wins me over to not buy any more fertilizer that is a pollutant and learn more about natural fertilizers.
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Barb I taught Western Civ for about five yrs at a local community college and I taught World Cultures (Pa's world history high school course) for 5 yrs. i also taught American History 101 and 102 for 16 yrs at the college. I was an adjunct, doing my "day" job at the same time. :)
There are at least five historical James River Plantations that you can visit. Here is a good airview picture of Shirley Plantation which was owned by the Carter family for 11 generations. Sherwood Forest is not quite as fancy as Shirley, but was the home of. Pres John Tyler. Berkeley was owned by Pres Wm Harrison.
http://www.shirleyplantation.com
http://www.jamesriverplantations.org
Click on each picture to see more info of each plantation.
Yes they did have docks. The houses sit high up on the hill from the river as you can see. Gardens, fields and slave quarters were on the opposite side of the houses from the river.
Jean
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Thanks for the links Jean - I did not know that a couple of our presidents lived on the James River - so much to learn - at this time in life I thought I would have a better handle on things... :o
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I am new to the book discussions; in fact I am brand new to this site. This is my first post and I am not sure I am doing this right so any help you can give is welcomed. I read "Agassiz's Gift" and it took me back to my favorite lake.
Cobbosseeconte lies in the state of Maine very near the capital Augusta. It is 61.8 miles around, nine miles long, and has a mean depth of 37 feet. When I was a year old my parents rented a camp for the summer on Cobbossee. Of course, I have no real memories of those weeks, but in the pictures I am playing in very clear water. When I was 5 my dad joined the country club which is at the northern end of the lake and the family had access to a small beach that belonged to the club. My mother took us to the lake every summer afternoon that was the least bit sunny from from the time I was 5 until adolescence made that "Kid's" beach obsolete.
The beach was sandy this sand continued as far as an adult can walk. Seeing the bottom, we could find rocks, an occasional swim shoe, and, the most fun of all, what we called "clam shells." We love scaling them across the calm surface of the lake, which was disallowed after a stray shell cut a gash requiring stitches across my upper lip. Between the beach and the golf course, there was a swamp that we were forbidden to enter. On either side of the beachfront were the many summer camps and an occasional year-round homes. I so wanted to spend the summer in one of these.
Amid the camps that continued around the perimeter of the lake were two summer camps for boys, another country club, three or four lavish estates, one owned by the Woolworth family. A few of the more fancy homes had manicured lawns and retaining walls, but most had yards filled with pine needles. Everywhere along the shore were the docks with floats. Everyone had a boat of some kind but during the week there were few boats on the lake.
Things change. Throughout my life I have returned to the Cobbossee shore to spend weekends and vacation weeks at relatives "camps." For three years I lived in year-round home and had the joy of watching the lake become a "winter park" with ice fishing ice-shack clusters, snowshoers and ice skaters. Each spring I waited with anticipation for ice-out. By the late 1980s, when I lived on the lake, summer camps had become year-round homes with cleared land for large lawns; a few small boats had become high speed streaks shooting across the lake; loons with their haunting night cries had decreased. The water was no longer clear and August brought the annual algae bloom. The water quality is still poor, but DEP reports that the "it is better." Thoreau "took to the woods to live deliberately," and I am drawn to water for the same reason. Around the water I see more clearly, think more deeply, and let my creativity loose. Beautiful homes, more powerful boats, jet skis, incredible lawns and flowers are a sign of progress and prosperity. I am reminded of the message of the message of The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. Cobbosseeconte has "given" of herself for thousands of years and the human race has taken. I wonder how much she has left to give.
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Thanks for posting Mkaren557 - welcome to Senior learn - we have many discussions for you to explore - Another lake from a different part of the Nation that we have heard about and yet, like the others we all have in common the dreaded Algae blooming in summer -
Trying to visualize the size of the lake by using lakes here to compare - Looks like 'your' lake Cobbosseecontee is 5,543 acres and even has an island or two toward the center of the lake - easily the lake is larger than either the lakes close to town - Lady Bird with a hike and bike trail surrounding the lake is only 468 acres and only 18 feet deep the next in the chain of lakes is Lake Austin with 1,599 acres and only 75feet deep as compared to Cobbosseecontee 100 feet deep and the Lake that is easiest for me to access is the next Lake Travis but it is much larger at 18,939 acres and when we are not in a drought the depth is 210 feet - It appears your lake is not that big - But But But I did find a nice photo of part of the lake and it really is a pretty lake. I can see how easy it would be to go into the quiet place we have inside ourselves if you are spending time on this lake.
(http://www.tescottage.com/images/Maine.jpg)
Mkaren557 this lake being in Maine does it have anything to do with having been formed by glacier activity - is there a web site that explains the history of the lake -
What did you think of the chapter on Lake Agassiz - I had no idea such a monster lake was part of the North American landscape - had you heard of it? Once I became a bit more familiar with some of the language used to describe the way a glacier affects the land I found it fascinating - the more you read the more you want to know - do you have an interest in geology? Now I need to find out more about quartz - I have Googled photos and they are beautiful - to learn they grind these up to make kitchen cabinet tops I feel as raw and wounded as you suggest we feel about the way many 'use' a lake today - they are not a part of nature but 'use' not even the beauty but, the assets to further their own interests.
I hope you will post more of your thoughts - we are reading just the first section of the book and will start the next section next Wednesday September 9. Those posting in this discussion live all across the nation - from California, Ohio, South Carolina, not sure where PatH lives but I think Virgina and now with you we have Maine represented - you are close to Jonathan who lives in Canada - wait maybe not - I think he is in Ontario and aren't you closer to Montreal or maybe Nova Scotia. Well we are a spread out group and glad you found us.
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Welcome, Mkaren, it's great to see you here. Certainly you're doing it right. It's pretty hard to do it wrong here. How lucky you are to have been able to live near water so much.
Around the water I see more clearly, think more deeply, and let my creativity loose.
I feel that way too.
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Thank you for the beautiful photo of my Lake. I did find that much of Maine's land was formed by glaciers and by plates crashing plates forming the mountains. maineencyclopedia.com/glaciers provided this information, but not specifically about Cobbossee. The lake was named by the Abanaki indians as were many of the locations in Maine:Cobbossee is in Kennebec County (another Indian name) and drains into Cobbossee Stream which drains into the Kennebec River.
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Welcome Mkaren! Have a cup of coffee and sit awhile with us.
Jean
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WELCOME MKAREN! Let's sit by the lake together and enjoy the sunset.
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And the loons! JoanK, when was the last time you heard a loon?
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Welcome, Mkaren!
How beautifully you write! Just reading what you said has taken me back to summers spent in Maine in various sports camps. For some reason they were always in Maine. I think one year we went to get instruction in lacrosse from the British Women's Lacrosse Team, my first trip to Maine. I'll never forget the smell of those...pines? And how cool it was at night, you could open the windows, you didn't need air conditioning: it was like a different world.
And I will never forget the British Women's Team, no matter how awful you were, they would always say "well tried!" That was the worst thing they ever said. I heard it a lot. You could drop the ball, fumble around and finally get it back to them and they'd say in a chipper voice, "Well tried!" hahahahaa
What a wonderful country this is! You can go from one coast to the other and see such natural wonders, it's a miracle.
So glad to have you! Please stick around, we need people who think like you do. :)
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Welcome to our humble abode, Mkaren. It is nice to have you. My husband has a friend who lives in Maine and I have always wanted to visit your beautiful state.
As to the cause of the algae bloom that has put our water at risk the past couple of years I was able to find this link.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/08/05/3688199/lake-erie-algae-bloom-is-back/
"But industrial farming, which brings with it huge amounts of fertilizer runoff from corn and soybean operations, is at least partly responsible for a recent surge in algae bloom activity in the Great Lakes region. Of all the phosphorous that makes its way into the Lake Erie Basin, 61 percent of it comes from cultivated cropland. But increased phosphorous from commercial agriculture might be just one factor in Lake Erie’s algae uptick. Timothy Davis, a NOAA research ecologist specializing in harmful algae blooms, told National Geographic that some of the recent increase in blooms “can be attributed to global climate change.” That’s because the bacteria responsible for the blooms thrive in warm temperatures — something that climate change is helping create."
"The city has since installed an early warning system near its intake as well as a filtration system, leading some residents to express renewed trust in Toledo’s ability to handle algae blooms."
Our state representatives have been addressing our problems to Washington, and I do know we need to update our water filtering system.
http://toledo.oh.gov/services/public-utilities/water-treatment/
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Great information Bellamarie - I did not know this - the article says, "Boiling doesn’t kill the toxin — it just makes it worse." - That would have been my first response so now we know.
Our lakes are reminding me more and more like raising kids - when they are young and sweat we like to watch their every move with a smile we photo and share proud stories of their growing experiences - then they are older and have a mind of their own as they develop into their own personality often trying out new behavior that makes us uncomfortable.
Seems like lakes are that for us - we like to loose ourselves in the sounds of nature and then we have others who use the resources for their benefit that alters the very essence of the lake - so the expanse of clear water becomes muddy or green with Algae - instead of leaving rivers alone they are damed, and the new lakes are stocked sometimes with fish that a predator to the balance of the lake.
Well it may be that only because of the deteriorating lakes was Darby Nelson prompted to write this book and I am so thankful because more than half what I am reading is all new to me -
At the time there was all the news about the pros and cons of the Clean Air Act I wonder how many of us had an inkling that it was a conversation that was the pre-discussion to the safety condition of our lakes today - the damage by pollutants to our lakes like what you found Bellamarie about the run-off from commercial farming. I do not know about you but when I hear this stuff on the news it goes in one ear and out the other mostly I can see now because I did not have a real understanding of what they were talking about, what the damage is and what those in local government have been doing to protect the cities and what more needs to be done. Looks like the second link is making its case for federal controls and assistance.
Then when you read how never to drink water from a plastic container left in the heat of a car because it is a carcinogenic - bottle water then also has its risks, obligating us to learn the required special handling - oh back to the day when we could have dipped our hand in any body of water and taken a long sip.
Ginny camps in Maine - sounds like you have a full memory bank of time spent in the Maine woods - just the words Maine woods or a Lake in Maine conjure mental visuals fit for our Imaginariums.
Pat I too wondered about loons - I've only seen them in the movies - but I do not hear that much talk about them as we did a few years ago - I wonder how the loons handle these Algae bloom during the heat of the summer.
I love this on page 55 - "The mists of time blur most of the details of that first experience. I don't recall if we caughtfish or even if we tried, I remember little of the weather, the precise route we took, where we camped, number of miles covered, or even our destination. I do remember unpracticed arms so sore they groaned for mercy before the end of the second mile.
Most of all I remember sensing how the canoe put me into a new relationship with the lake. I sat much lower and, with the narrowing at the bow, so much closer to the water than when in a boat. My lower hand on the paddle could directly touch the waves. I learned that with practice I could even point a dripping paddle skyward and let its water run down the blade and feed at least some of it dribble into my mouth."
Now if that is not a perfect imaginary picture of what a canoe trip aught to be... as if we are still back in the garden of Eden before the changes of the last 50 years.
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Fabulous show on PBS last night - The Mobile-tensaw - has anyone seen it - just fabulous - about - well let me just share the preview on the PBS site and the link to Alabama - had no idea - I am saying that a lot about this subject - anyhow Alabama has the oldest living animal life from before the ice age - since the sheet of ice that covered the north came down as far as Tennessee Alabama was a tropical center that - get this- all the plants that are now blanketing the north originated in Alabama - that area became the seed bank so to speak as the ice melted.
"America's Amazon" paints a visually stunning documentary portrait of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, an amazing watery world, and one of the continent's most diverse biological treasures. Through compelling descriptions of this rich river system's origins, history, and connections to plants, animals and man, we gain a deeper understanding of what is at stake as the population living around the Delta grows. With appearances by world-renowned Harvard Professor and Pulitzer prize winning author, Dr. Edward O. Wilson and other Alabamians, this compelling and informative one hour documentary reveals a hidden world in constant transition. Ultimately, this award-winning film suggests we must act now to protect this great wilderness for future generations, before it is lost forever.
Link to America's Amazon website that includes a short video - http://americasamazon.net/
What I find hard to watch, so much so that I found myself automatically channel hopping and having to force myself to go back is when the polluting industry and the mis-use of the land by everyday folks is shown - After the thrill of seeing this magnificent show of rivers, lakes, streams, land, fish, birds on and on and then they have to see the damage being carried out in the name of profit and carelessness.
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Hallelujah - the ENTIRE show is available here - OH you just must see it - it is an hour long but oh so worth it...
http://video.aptv.org/video/2365149942/
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What an interesting and beautiful video Barb. Thanks for sharing it.
Of course the destruction of the eco-systems is one of the reasons I've become crotchety and angry! :) what idiots humans can be. Whatever happened to zero population growth? Has anybody heard that term since the 70s? We would need less space, less lumber, less paper, fewer perticides, less of everything that is destroying our ecology! I know getting a nat'l park will be a Pikes Peak hike, but wouldn't it be wonderful if they can do it?
By the way Dr Wilson was on Charlie Rose last week.
Jean
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I am very take with the beautiful writing in this book. As a kid, I devoured biographies of young famous Americans, my children's encyclopedia, and Weekly Reader articles. As I grew older, I began to avoid books that were "non fiction" because they were "boring" to me and not always clear or understandable; yet, because I wanted a good grade, I would plow through the dry material as fast as possible, not really understanding all of what I read. I would not always look up words I did not know, skip parts that were long and drawn out, resent all of the letters and long journal entries that filled biographies. How I ever became a history teacher I'll never understand. So I ordered this book wondering if it would stand unread on my shelves unread and unloved.
Surprise! For Love of Lakes is so beautifully written that I was drawn into the author's landscapes immediately. Through image filled description, the use of metaphor, and the personal stories the author tells, I am a part of the landscape as I look for ancient beaches and canoe the algae sludge in the lake. Through Darby Nelson's I understand glacial lake formation, know what a moraine is, hate the Northern Pike, and realize why people think lakes will endure even if turn green every August. I am excited each time I pick up this book. I am inspired to go to the internet for more information on glaciers, Thoreau, and my lake in Maine; I am even reading Walden.
Five years ago I moved from Maine to Florida to avoid winter. The next thing I may do is stand in front of the bulldozers that are destroying swamps to build houses and condos, The irony of this is that when the swamp is drained by making canals, the developers create one or more man-made lakes. This may make an activist out of me.
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I love "Walden". used to read it a lot when I lived in New York city, with it's constant noise and bustle. I would read it on the subway going to work. It seemed like I couldn't survive there without some connection to nature.
I didn't realize how full of lakes, real and imagined, my life has been til I read "Lakes."
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Mkaren557 you also on the looking up part - after seeing the video on Alabama's landscape and learning that there was the seed bank so to speak for all the area that had been covered in ice, was to me as much an eye opener as learning how ancient lakes were formed and drained by glaciers - reading this does make you want to protect what is really ours that institutional disdain has confiscated for their profit.
I can imagine your attempt to stop the earth moving machines - but we can really see what you are saying - the more we find out the more questions as to how we could not know what is really our eco system - we heard more about the Brazilian Amazon for the last 30 years with this superior feeling of - oh it is them and we cannot do anything about them but like an auto accident it is worth standing here and seeing all the drama - where as it was happening and is still happening in our own backyard.
I used to think giving attention to social issues and the issues of the poor was our highest priority - had all sorts of pipe dreams if I ever won the lottery - now I can see it is the land - the misuse of the land is affecting all of us including our food chain - the health of the very people who live in poverty -
It is like being a kid with a new toy - as long as the toy was a novelty and worked as it came out of the box all was well - but maintaining it and finding out all its parts was replaced with the next new toy. As toys and everyday utilitarian 'things' became throw away is about the time we no longer had reverence for the land.
We may not have known the background of how the land was sculptured or from where the seeds were blown that developed the landscape but locals knew where the waterways were, what animal life depended on that particular waterway, and how the water drained off a plot of land. And the other biggie - there were not as many of us... all scrambling for our own rose covered picket fence. That is the image that is 'used' to encourage growth that gobbles up not just land but as we are learning the eco system. That loss comes back to bite us years later.
And yes, we could almost look at this as a novel - who is the story teller - is he a reliable story teller - what functions as the protagonist - the CSCPT of a story (character, setting, conflict, plot and theme) - how does the author draw us in and hold our attention -
I can even see using the way a plot is developed (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) how this section was arranged -
- We are introduced to lakes by the story teller getting into a canoe and sharing his first journey along with tales of his past experiences on a lake in a canoe -
- Then we have the rising action of Algae taking over the lake and how we sit in the middle of that action accepting it as normal -
- Then the climactic drama of how lakes and the landscape were formed with new words shot at us like playing a computer war game and in order to successfully get the the next part of the game we have to figure out what was happening -
- Then we were urged to "Open your eyes and see." - not to run off and attempt to save the earth but to see - to look at the toy and learn its parts so we can effectively maintain the wet areas - to learn what is dependent upon the wet areas and how they live there and how the are a part of the chain of life -
- And then resolution comes with hearing so that we are one with what we have learned.
Yes, Mkaren557 - thanks for bringing his beautifully constructed story telling to our attention - I wonder if we could make a synopsis of our own plot to understanding and becoming a part of 'our' lake - If we no longer canoe how would we introduce someone to our 'affair' with 'our' lake...
You helped us enter these thoughts on this book by sharing with us your past experiences with beautifully written books - interesting - well done - really draws us into your post - thanks for the example because, example it is...
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Ah yes, JoanK - Waldon - it was a lovely read wasn't it - he was really rather cantankerous but he brought to us a world few of us experience.
Reminds me how as a kid we would lay on the earth where today there are concrete sidewalks and we would watch the ants even using a stick to alter their march - and how we would run to the curb when it rained and splash around in the water and how we played store using the various weeds that reminded us of vegetables we ate and then made with a mud miniature loaves of bread to sell on the shelves we constructed with twigs. Reading Waldon did not seem like reading something from an ancient land that we only see on TV and yet, for many kids, even those in suburbs technology is there toy to the exclusion of being one with nature. Is this our new challenge I wonder, to bring our children into a world with no urgency other than to lay on the ground and watch the ants as Thoreau does in Waldon.
OK Joan when you were a kid did you watch the ants or the birds - what are some of your best memories of being in the out of doors - ;) other than loosing half your swim attire... ;D
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Hi Ginny and all,
It's been a long time. The lakes are calling me. Know nothing. Waiting to learn and play in....Which lake should I choose? How about Lake of the Ozarks? :) Wish I had gotten here sooner.
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Hats! How good to see you here. You're never too late.
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My goodness, HATS! I must have ESP! I was just thinking about you so good to see you!
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OH Hats - how are you - you are so missed but so glad you could join us - and yes, a lake in the Ozarks would be grand -
Playing around last night and found a site where they are collecting the names of all the lakes formed by glacier movement - whew quite a long long list - but now that we understand how glaciers act on the earth and also that the ice sheet came as far south as Tennessee it would make sense that most, if not all the northern lakes were affected if not created by the melting and freezing of the ice.
Cannot wait to find out more about the lake Hats chooses - it is an area where we have no lake yet to talk about.
Thought for sure I would get out to Lake Travis today and scoop up some of its waters in a jar to just see what there is to see - but instead - cannot believe what I did - my heart is still pumping after hours and hours of trying to retrace - I have a blog on Tumblr and about 12 blogs saved that I loved each day reviewing the photos and inspirational quotes - well I misread some direction and all 12 disappeared - and of course the name of the 'gone' blogs did not fit neatly under one of their categories so I could quickly re-capture them.
I found 3 and then played around with titles till one title had photos from one of the blogs I did save and that is what I have been doing for hours - is reviewing the few blogs I did find for photos that came from the 'gone' blogs - because that was how I found the blogs I like to begin with. All told I have 7 back but a couple of my favorites is what I am missing - so of course I did not jump in the car and run out to the lake today.
Did y'all know because I sure did not know the art work and specialness that goes into a canoe paddle - found this site and was bowled over - it never occurred to me that a canoe paddle was such a special opportunity for artistic skill
http://paddlemaking.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html
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JoanK nearly forgot - found these two sites on the collected artifacts for Henry David Thoreau - did you ever have a chance to visit the museum in Concord?
http://www.concordmuseum.org/henry-david-thoreau-collection.php
http://www.thoreausociety.org/news-article/henry%E2%80%99s-rock-and-mineral-collection-robert-m-thorson
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Hi Hats, so glad to see you here. I can't stay just now, will be back. :)
Jean
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Still no luck getting back my 'gone' blogs but got back into the book and to the links you've shared - Bellemarie in the second link you shared there is a whole deal about Basement flooding - is this a usual occurrence - is it the lake that floods the basements or storm - does your basement flood - do you have advanced warning with Basement's are likely to flood - what about your pool - does that ever flood over the top during the times that Basements are flooding?
I have not lived with a basement since I was a kid - forgot about them - between the rock on the west side of the Balcones fault and the gumbo like clay soil on the east side basements just do not work here but I thought of Lakes as having basements - the floor of a Lake basement covered as Darby Nelson explains with various sediments and news to me the lack of oxygen on the lowest levels - What really caught my eye was his explaining how optics work against us. How we do not see half of it and how Thoreau reveled in reflections...
This small lake was of most value as a neighbor in the intervals of a gentle rain-storm in August, when, both air and water being perfectly still, but the sky overcast, mid-afternoon had all the serenity of evening, and the wood thrush sang around, and was heard from shore to shore. A lake like this is never smoother than at such a time; and the clear portion of the air above it being, shallow and darkened by clouds, the water, full of light and reflections, becomes a lower heaven itself so much the more important.
A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. The fluviatile trees next the shore are the slender eyelashes which fringe it, and the wooded hills and cliffs around are its overhanging brows.
Standing on the smooth sandy beach at the east end of the pond, in a calm September afternoon, when a slight haze makes the opposite shore-line indistinct, I have seen whence came the expression, "the glassy surface of a lake." When you invert your head, it looks like a thread of finest gossamer stretched across the valley, and gleaming against the distant pine woods, separating one stratum of the atmosphere from another. You would think that you could walk dry under it to the opposite hills, and that the swallows which skim over might perch on it. Indeed, they sometimes dive below this line, as it were by mistake, and are undeceived. As you look over the pond westward you are obliged to employ both your hands to defend your eyes against the reflected as well as the true sun, for they are equally bright; and if, between the two, you survey its surface critically, it is literally as smooth as glass, except where the skater insects, at equal intervals scattered over its whole extent, by their motions in the sun produce the finest imaginable sparkle on it, or, perchance, a duck plumes itself, or, as I have said, a swallow skims so low as to touch it.
To have looked that closely at a Lake - how about do y'all look at a lake and notice for more than a brief moment the reflection and then to describe that reflection. Gives a new perspective to looking doesn't it.
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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
Landscape is not "land," it is not "nature," and it is not space...
A place owes its character to the experience it affords to those who
spend time there, to the sights and sounds, and indeed the smells, that
constitute its specific ambience. And those in turn, depend on the
kind of activities in which its inhabitants engage. ~ Tim Ingold
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
Some of you will NOT have a book and that is fine - We expect to use the book as a guide for this discussion relating what we read to 'your' nearby lake. Most of the book is available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- Tell us about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- How does Stephen A. Forbes fit into the story of Lake Agassiz? - We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
And so, rather than listing a group of focus questions that would only help us identify various characters and their individual habits, let's read and share the words and information that strike us as well as, photos (as Jane says, of reasonable size - A width of about 500 pixels should do it - need help with that please ask) Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that further and make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Our next section, Mindscapes is planned to be discussed next week, Wednesday, September 16 and Futurescapes to be discussed the last week, Wednesday, September 23.
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
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Well after all the sublime thoughts on lake reflections I was still caught in the idea of a lake having a basement - and did I have fun...
Asked Google what was at the bottom of Lake Travis - expecting to read about the couple of old towns and ranches that were buried when the dams were built and a few of those locations popped up big time with the recent record breaking drought as well as, we have one spot rather close to the surface of Lake Travis that is known as "Sometimes Island" because, other than this horrendous drought we often go through a year or two of little rain up stream, the lakes lower and up pops Sometimes Island.
But I was not expecting this revelation...
http://archive.laketravisview.com/2009/07/30/lake-coughs-up-its-secrets/
And better yet, this is amazing - I wonder what has been found in the basement of your lake - oh please let us know this is amazing to realize what is as close to us as our nearby lake or even the lakes we swam in as children - talk about the various movies with an ominous hand coming out of the lake - but a 2000 year old hand attached to a body - wow...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1691166/posts
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Can we comment on any part of the book as we read or is there an area we should concentrate on at a specific time? If so, where are we now? I forgot to mention that Cobbossee Lake, my lake, has a lighthouse. I need to do some research here to find out why and how the lighthouse got there. I have a friend who was the lighthouse keeper for a time.
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I hope this is a photo of Ladies Delight Lighthouse on Cobbossee Lake, the only land-locked lighthouse in Maine. In the early part of the 20th century, steamships were on the lake to transport passengers to Island Park, a recreation area with beaches and a dance hall. In the area there are submerged ledges and rock formations. The Cobbossee Yacht Club built this and has maintained ever since. Visible from the Country Club beach, the lighthouse fascinated me and became the location for my imagined stories. I could not figure out how to get a photo in this entry. Help, please.
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Can we comment on any part of the book as we read or is there an area we should concentrate on at a specific time? If so, where are we now?
Usually, we divide a book up into chunks, and take each chunk in turn, according to a schedule. That keeps the discussion more coherent. There's a schedule in the heading, and I see we're due to start the section Lakescapes tomorrow, which means I have to hurry up. I got behind over the long weekend. We can continue to talk about older sections too when we move on.
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Karen...you need go upload your picture, if it's on your computer, to a third photo hosting site. Photobucket is a free one that many of us use. Then you get the url for the photo from that site and you put it between [img ] url goes here [/img ] I've left a space in the img tag so you could see the tag. Take that space out between the g and the ] when you post.
Also try to keep the size relatively small ...maybe no larger than 400 pixels on the largest side.
If your picture is already at an internet site and not your computer, you can put the url in between the tags as above. Just be sure there are no copyrights on the photo.
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(http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b508/karen_mathews2/Seniorslearn/Ladies_Delight_Light_2005_zpsrvkmhhsv.jpg) (http://s1289.photobucket.com/user/karen_mathews2/media/Seniorslearn/Ladies_Delight_Light_2005_zpsrvkmhhsv.jpg.html)
Success. Thank you, Jane. This is Ladies Delight Lighthouse
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Whee Mkaren - you did it - wonderful - nice photo - a picture perfect lighthouse isn't it - and then my goodness, a steam ship on the lake - now that is a "lake" - if the lake has a lighthouse it says to me there is a concern for more than bumping into the coastline - I wonder if there are hidden shoals or high spots near the lighthouse - whatever - it sure makes a pretty picture doesn't it - I wonder how close lake Cobbossee is to the ocean - need to look on a map now and see where in Maine this lake is located.
I bet it ices over in the winter - have you gone to the lake in the winter months? If there is a yacht club there must be some significant size boats on the lake - are they sail boats or motor - fishing boats or recreational boats - is it a lake that a canoeist would enjoy? Do those who use the lake come from bigger cities in Maine or are they locals - sorry lots of questions but I really would love to know more about this lake - after all this lake is on the opposite north side of this nation from where I am near Lake Travis which is only 3 1/2 hours from the Gulf of Mexico. Oh yes, do you know if Algae is a problem on the lake?
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Yes, tomorrow we do start the next section - read a post from Steph in the Library that her face to face reading group read Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness and all the guys in the group loved it - ;) but not Steph - I have on my shelf, still not read, Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac as well as a couple of Rachel Carson's books. I found, used a lovely almost new copy of The Sea Around Us - again, I am shocked how much I never knew about sea animals and wind and tide as they relate to the environment - I used to sail and canoe and thought I knew something about weather, tides, wind and currents but to just sail I can see is still only breaking the surface as to being one with the water and all that is living and inert in the water as well as above the water.
Not sure if I like what I'm learning but it is fascinating - it was so much easier wasn't it to have this romantic notion of looking at a lake however, it appears if we are going have these lakes for our grands and great grands we really have to know what the contribution of a lake is to our lives other than something pretty to look at and play in. Who said, or as I thought, being environmentally aware was easy - my inner motto was, just live as we did before all the oil based products became as common as our thumbs and left foot.
The next section goes deeper into the concept of becoming one with the lake - lots of insects are named and identified - our author starts us off on another perilous canoe trip this time in November when even the locals think he is as mad as a hatter.
The first chapter from this section is not included in the Amazon preview - so I will get busy and copy some of it and summarize other parts of this first chapter in this section.
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Cobbossee Lake is located 5 miles west the capital city of Augusta. It feeds into Cobbossee Stream which flows into the Kennebec River at Gardiner, which is six miles miles south of Augusta. It is about 1.5 hours drive from Popham Beach, where The Kennebec flows into the ocean. It is 400 miles from Augusta to the tip of Maine and the Canadian border. Because Cobbossee is surrounded by well kept roads, it is accessible all year round. In the winter on a nice weekend afternoon, there are little villages of ice shacks and many holes in the ice where the tough fish without benefit of shelter. There are whole families walking, roasting hot dogs over fires, skating, snowshoeing and the ubiquitous snow mobiles. People used to take their cars on the ice and race. And I spent many afternoons as a kid watching horses race as well. Algae is a big problem. It can get like pea soup on the surface during part of the month of August and EPA lists it as a problem lake, but it is improving. In recent years pike and invasive milfoil have appeared in the lake and an effort is being made to stop the invasion of both. The Yacht Club is still very active and every Sunday afternoon there are Yacht Races. Sadly, when I was almost a teen, Island Park Dance Hall burned and the park closed. Now it is being sold piece by piece.
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OH my thank you for sharing - another world from anything I know - how exciting - shacks with families enjoying winter - and cars racing or horses racing on the lake - talk about a Currier and Ives print - hahaha now I have to figure out how far Augusta is from the Canadian border - talking miles is like trying to convert miles into meters ??? - we are so used to speaking in terms of time and it is assumed that it takes into consideration the large sections where 90 miles an hour is normal - I know 3 1/2 hours to either Dallas or the Coast - because of traffic it is now nearly 3 hours to Houston - 7 1/2 to Lubbock - 8 1/2 to El Paso, a little over 5 to Shreveport La. aha I bet it is as if driving to Beaumont which is just under 4 hours - oh wait you said 400 miles - shoot, now I do have to do some research.
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Got it - found it - if I were to drive to Brownsville - the tip of Texas with Mexico on the Gulf Coast it is just shy of the 400 miles - 385 to be precise and it takes about 5 1/2 hours to drive - been a few years since I drove to South Padre which is located there at Brownsville. Past San Antonio there was 'nothing' on the road. I believe there is a huge birdwatching area nearby that in recent years is bringing many from all over during the winter months. Well birdwatchers or not I've a better idea of how far you are from the Canadian border. I think I will take a trip tonight on Google Map where you turn it to the street view and go to areas near the lake - should be fun...
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this next section entitled - Landscapes - start with a chapter called Edges
A man sees only what concerns him...How much more, then,
it requires different intentions of the eye and mind to attend to
different department of knowledge. How differently the poet and
the naturalist look at objects.
Henry David Thoreau
Some might describe the distinctive odor of a lake as smelly, even obnoxious. Except when the stench of rot pervades the shore, for me lake smell is alluring, as invitation that draws me like pheromone.
Geri and I are camped in a state park campground a hundred yards back in the woods from a large lake's edge. We can smell the lake from out tent. I am enveloped by that smell as i sit on a boulder inches from the water.
I have come here to immerse my sense in the shore, to follow eyes and ears and nose and fingers wherever they lead and open new "departments of knowledge," as Thoreau put it. Edges intrigue me. In edge the place one thing begins and another ceases to be? Or is it where two things blend to become one?
From my boulder, the line where water meets land traces a long gently curved crescent into the distance, clearly marking the divide between one world and another, as clear a separation as a line drawn in the sand, where my toe gets wet an one side and remains dry on the other. At least that's the way it seems.
Here the line is edged in stones. Nearly all the rocks are large, many are two feet across. Sluggish waves flood into the chambers among these boulders to melt peacefully away in nooks and crannies. Waves here are not always so passive. Geri and I once brought our newly purchased sea kayak to this lake to test its seaworthiness. A strong wind drove great waves out of the open horizon that day, hurling them toward land. Huge swells toyed with our twenty-foot craft, then threw themselves crashing onto the shore. Windows of driftwood and bulrushes decay in the trees behind me, testimony to the great energy with which waves can attack the land.
Northwest winds and the waves they produce strike the shore obliquely here. The considerable energy the breaking waves discharge to the shore does not die in the foam of the rocks, but is transferred into t mover of articles-seed grains, tiny pebbles, and, on this beach, even cobbles, leaving only the largest of rocks behind. Today's waves are too puny to move much of anything.
more later - the remainder of the chapter will be a synopsis...
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Mkaren, I like the picture you paint of the lively scene on your lake in winter. My husband went to graduate school in Madison Wisconsin, and said that cars would park on the ice in the winter, but come spring, there was often some optimist who didn't retrieve his car in time, and had to watch it float off on a slowly diminishing ice floe. Did that happen on Lake Cobbossee?
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Pat what a picture an ice float car and all floating downstream - I hope they had good insurance... :'(
Ok to continue with a synopsis of this first chapter in the second section of our book - Edges - Included here are a bunch of web sites with a couple of Youtube videos that show what "characters" Darby Nelson includes in this chapter - Of course he continues his storytelling from his stage, his canoe and at one point he wears goggles as he encounters these characters. In this chapter it sounds like he is introducing his central characters with the entire chorus acknowledged in the next chapter - almost like a elementary school teacher introduces the entire cast to the appreciation of all those loving moms, dads, grandparents and siblings clapping in the audience.
The Minnow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pticYptHaKs
Mayflies - oldest insect on earth - 300 million years!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBHBfck67D8#
A delightful video of kids voices and a Mom catching crawfish
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O4r8f0D064
Marvelous interactive site with a bit about nearly all creatures that live in the water and included in this chapter.
http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/activities/waterquality/
Everything you want to know about midges
http://www.clemson.edu/cafls/departments/esps/factsheets/household_structural/midges_hs43.html
He talks of the barely there wave and how it moves the smallest grain of sand over and over again.
Good site all about beach sand
http://www.iupui.edu/~g115/mod13/lecture03.html
Here is an entire page of dragonflies in all their glory - he points out they are not aggressive and do not sting or bite
http://tinyurl.com/omy56cb
Then he includes this bit - I erupted laughing outloud - He visits a grandmother in Austin and encounters a waterbug that is a form of a roach but with a very different hangout - he hates them and from his other grandmother learned they were nasty and would enter a house like the resurrection of the black plague on the bottom of boxes and grocery sacks that had to be emptied outside the house. And yes, roaches are smaller and breed often in places that are moist and usually not clean.
Here they are known as waterbugs - same family but with a different hangout - they live in the moist grass and trees and come in houses during the summer looking for water, leaky or sweating pipes are a favorite or a dripping faucet or even a spoon still holding water left in the sink - often from a nearby tree, they come down through the attic where they had worked themselves under the shingles in their mad quest for water.
They are big - some as big as 6" and yes, gross - hate squishing them they are so big and oh what a mess - and then to top it off, he must not have visited in August because during the high dry heat of the summer I forget if it is the females or the males but they fly - sitting peacefully on your sofa and this flying elephant scrambles you from you spot - I've heard they will bite but never has one bite me but then, with a shudder I move double time tripping over my own feet to get out of their way.
Anyhow, he hates roaches and was sure, even though his Texas Grandma had the exterminators out in preparation for his visit, the one he saw skedaddle across the top of the bed he was to sleep in he was sure was a roach and that said a lot to him about this grandmother from Texas ;D
Then after picking up some groceries and while sitting on the dock he contemplates the shoreline and what the meeting of wet and dry mean - and mentions the plant life he sees.
Water Crowfoot - pretty web site.
http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/pond-water-crowfoot
Cattails - lovely site...
http://www.cattails.info/
Yellow water Lilies
http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/yellow_pond_lily.htm
White water lilies
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/aquatic_plants/floatingleaf_plants/white_water_lily.html
Turtles - Never take a Turtle Home with you...
http://turtlerescueleague.com/pet/wildcapture.html
He mentions blackbirds but there are many that live near a lake - here is a link to all birds that live near water including the blue heron he sees.
http://www.whatbird.com/browse/objs/All/birds_na_147/113/Habitat/2076/Lakes,%20Rivers,%20Ponds/default.aspx
He speaks of in winter following the tummy trail in the snow of an otter
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/american-river-otter/
All about sedges that grow in swampy areas that is the edge between dry land and the lake
http://www.bwsr.state.mn.us/wetlands/training/PlantID-sedges.pdf
Willow Dogwood shrub in northern swamps
http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/restoreyourshore/pg/willowswamp.html
Here is a wonderful site all about the Aspen woodlands of the northern states - he spoke of aspen suckers.
http://buffalo.uwex.edu/files/2011/01/Aspen-Management.pdf
Reviewing his notes as he is about to leave he quotes Thoreau again, Insects occupy page after page after page. An objective reader would conclude I saw nothing else. It appears I have stumbled into the trap Thoreau warned against.
His thoughts are that his underlying premise for this visit appears flawed - my eye and my mind have different intentions to see other than what interests or directly concerns me.
Then he beautifully justifies with - The beach itself is a joint creation of lake and land. Aquatic insects feed fish in the water and birds on the land. That these insects, intimate members of food webs in both places, reproduce on land yet, rely on water to produce their young shreds the notion of separateness. A lake edge extends past where water first encounters something dry. One cannot place a single "neatly folded shadow" into two separate drawers.
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This post feeds back perfectly into your post on the Alabama "fertile crescent."
Love otters!
Jean
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Jean have you ever seen an otter? Jean where you an adult or a kid when you saw your otter trail.
Yes, it does mirror the Alabama Crescent doesn't it - it was a way to get that first chapter out since those without the book would miss this chapter - it is not included in the preview.
As a kid did you smoke punks or some called them ducktails - the matured brown cigar shape on a cattail?
We used to imitate grown men sitting back with our feet up on anything nearby and pretend but smoking punks did keep away the mosquitoes when we went nosing around in the swamp.
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Welcome back Hats! It is so very nice to see you again. It's never too late to join our discussions, so jump right in .....not in the lake but the discussion.
Barb, Still no luck getting back my 'gone' blogs but got back into the book and to the links you've shared - Bellemarie in the second link you shared there is a whole deal about Basement flooding - is this a usual occurrence - is it the lake that floods the basements or storm - does your basement flood - do you have advanced warning with Basement's are likely to flood - what about your pool - does that ever flood over the top during the times that Basements are flooding?
I have lived in this house since 1984 and we have had three floods in our basement. The first flood was due to our sump pump not working, so we replaced it and also had a back up water system installed in case the electricity goes out, it will run by water force. The second and third floods were back up water sewer. Our city has been neglectful to update our sewer system and so many neighborhoods are dealing with destroyed possessions due to constant flooding. This past June 29th we were flooded due to constant rain, the sewers could not hold all the water, so it flooded many basements. Luckily we had $25,000 worth of insurance coverage because it destroyed our carpet and so much more. The adjuster estimated and allowed us $14,000 worth of damage. We are just now finishing up restoring everything back to normal. It took us the entire summer to complete this project because my husband was determined to do the labor himself. I pray we never get hit again. The city has a grant and we could install check valves to possibly prevent the backup but we have heard horror stories from people who have them, it caused water pressure on the sides of their basement walls and windows and the water forced it's way through. As much as I enjoy lakes and other bodies of water, I hate water damage. When we have too much rain, it causes the lakes to rise and overspill and surrounding areas get hit pretty hard. Mostly the rain causes streets to flood and of course basements. A neighborhood just minutes from me gets flooding constantly when it rains.
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I loved lakes without knowing much about them, but this up close and personal look I am getting through Darby Nelson has opened my eyes to how alive a lake is when it is healthy. He asks if the edge of a lake can be defined as the place where the lake ends and land begins and then goes on to show us through his great insect stories how it is not quite that cut and dry. By the time the chapter ends, he has convinced me that the edge is where lake and land fuse together.
I now think that the lakes were there first. The swamps, rivers and oceans were there first. We sometimes have to pay the price for living where we do in relation to bodies of water. Living in Florida I see it all the time. The swamp that they drained to build a neighborhood wins: streets that do not drain properly causing terrible and unsafe conditions, sinkholes appear and houses, roads and lives are lost, condos built on sandy beaches right at waters edge may not stand a major hurricaine. Homeowners rebuild in flood zones after losing everything; we keep destroying habitats to build more malls and developments. But eventually the water will win the battle and the war.
I do have great sympathy for your basement plight, Barb. In Maine I lived on a big steep hill that is mainly granite. I lived with a sump pump running all the time. Nothing in my basement ever survived a rainy season. I spent hours and days shoveling mud from the floor and yet year after year my pump ran and I went on living with it.
I do go on. I will try to control myself in the future. I have to add that I loved the dragonflies. My brother called them needle bugs because he thought they were going to sew up his mouth. Somedays I wished they would.
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hahaha I have to add that I loved the dragonflies. My brother called them needle bugs because he thought they were going to sew up his mouth. Somedays I wished they would. oh my as only a sister could say it aloud. :D - and please go on... we love hearing your thoughts and experiences.
Yes, how little care we have for this earth - I do think part of it is we had no idea - I did not even know till reading another site that so much of what is known today about our environment could only be investigated after The Chaos Theory was understood that was built on the understanding by Benoit Mandelbrot, who during WWII questioned along with his Uncle, and they both developed a different way to get to but we have as a result Fractal geometry.
http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/what-is-chaos-theory/
The chaos theory has one of its principles that butterfly deal - where the tiny breeze of a butterfly in Madagascar affects our weather here in the USA. And then Fractals best served Britain's National Coastline funds for maintenance. They never had an accurate way to measure their coastline, only using a sort of linear measuring system from surveys - well the fractals allowed them to accurately measure all the ins and outs, gullies, and sharply curved rocky coastline so they finally had a real number for the coastline that was translated into a realistic budget. Their actual coastline increased in numbers by almost double and of course more funds were allocated.
It seems what is our system of rivers, lakes, ponds etc and the wild life that inhabits these wetlands is a chaotic lot that could only be understood using the Chaos theory.
And so I am not as surprised that builders and developers did their land grab - hate it, and I too easily say it is greed but really no different then the Oklahoma land rush of 1893 - no one really has a clue - we are probably on the forefront of really understanding all of what is our water ways by reading this book.
No wonder the few environmentalists are looked upon as crack pots - too bad they jumped in assuming these basics so that, not knowing, we did not jump in to support them in large numbers.
OH yes - not me but Bellamarie that has the flooding of her basements as a sever problem
I wonder - do you know Bellamarie if the other cities built on the Great Lakes also have issues with flooding - what a mess - I know here we have periodic flooding with heavy rains and there is too much rain for the creeks as well as the rivers to handle - the city has altered one of the creeks over and over till I think 'they got it - the rain in Spain' - our close-by Shoal Creek had a lot done back after the horrible Memorial Day Flooding in '81 and part of the answer was to remove some houses that backed up to the creek - I remember driving down a few streets near the creek the next day to see to a family I was helping sell their house - it looked like a war zone with all their belongings hanging out to dry off every tree and bush and the carpet already ripped up in many of the houses out on the curb for garbage pickup. I bet that is how your street looks after these basement floods.
Do not remember where in our book I read how he noticed that the lake had flooded because of some debris high in the trees. My head picture immediately went to seeing anything from refrigerators to parts of lawnmowers and of course the usual rags hanging in the trees after the last flooding of Bull Creek. That one was so severe and started so far upstream it did affect quite a few houses.
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Ha I could not help but laugh and wonder if our idea that 'woman alone can run the world' comes from knowing about the daphnian -
"Nearly all daphnians are female. In some species males are unknown. Female cloning rules. Like mama like daughter. Making babies without sex actually has much to recommend it. No need to waste time and energy finding a mate or impressing the heart-throb in bizarre courtship rituals. No worrying about compromising one's own set of genes, one's own sex cells, with who knows what kinds of genetic mayhem some slick suitor might deliver. The random mixing of genes that results from sex produces a variety of traits in the babies that is sure to include a few genetic misfits unable to cope. In cold calculation, a waste of time and resources.
That the large daphnian in my jar has survived the challenges to this habitat to reach maturity reveal she holds a winning genome, has the right stuff, you might say, like the genetic equivalent of holding a four-of-a-kind hand, maybe even a flush, in poker. With no sex, no shuffling of the genes to mess with, she simply hands off the flush, her superior DNA, to her babies, all of them."
Well what do you think - a formula for the future superior women?
I hope he was saying this with the unseen dry humor I suspect when he gave his manuscript to his wife to read.
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I've missed a couple of days, and what a richness I find. Thank you for the lighthouse, MKAREN. They are always fascinating, and I was surprised to learn that the state with the most lighthouses is not one on the ocean, but Minnesota with it's lakes.
All these descriptions of life on lakes! The life that fascinates me is birds. The endless variety of birds that are adapted to living on or around water is amazing. here are a few that hang out at Bolsa Chica, a tidal lake near where I live:
Black necked stilt:
http://tinyurl.com/o3feg45
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The Black Skimmer has a lower beak that is longer than its upper. It feeds mi skimming over the water, with it's lower beak in the water, gathering up small animals. (see picture upper right. They go really fast, and I keep waiting for them to hit a rock, and go a_ _ over teakettle, but it never happens.
http://tinyurl.com/nuavmm7
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Joank as you see I shortened the URLs for you - I am so glad you posted them and also the name of the lake - I know so little about California and quick looked up Bolsa Chica - it is in Orange County - that is the southern part of the state isn't it - the many shore birds I have seen on Aransas and I do not think I ever saw these birds - are they special to California do you think.
Looks like the first bird the Black necked stilt is finding something in the wet sand to eat - I am guessing they hang out in groups - if so I could imagine them racing along the beach where a wave keeps the sand wet.
Since the lake is so close to the ocean is it affected by tide - Do you get down there often and do these birds fly inland at all - in other words is the beach the only place you can see them.
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Good grief it appears I 'should' have recognized the Black Skimmer because they are according to this map that shows their range more likely found on the Gulf coast and just that small wee part of Southern California
(http://sdakotabirds.com/species/maps/black_skimmer_map_large.jpg)
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Well who would have guessed the Black Neck Stilt breed in places like Nevada and New Mexico - looks like the Black Neck Stilt is a true wet and dry land bird fitting in with the chapter on Edges. - Both these birds are in Brazil - talk about tying the world together through nature - this is great JoanK thanks
(http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/PHOTO/LARGE/hima_mexi_AllAm_map.gif)
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Wow JoanK you live on top of GOOD NEWS - there is so little of it and this is great - California is reclaiming and restoring the area after it was used for years by Oil and Gas folks
https://www.bolsachicarestoration.org/
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Bolsa Chica is sort of an hours drive south of Torrance, where JoanK lives. I've been there with her, and the variety of bird life is indeed astonishing. You have to stick to the paths to avoid disturbing nests, but you can overlook plenty.
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I'm still not caught up, but I'll throw in some insect life. These creatures skate around on the water, using surface tension to hold them up.
I like dragonflies even better, but don't have any photos.
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff125/PatriciaFHighet/IMG_1085%20water%20striders_2.jpg) (http://s239.photobucket.com/user/PatriciaFHighet/media/IMG_1085%20water%20striders_2.jpg.html)
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PatH the insect you shared has been driving me crazy all day - I have seen it so many times but not in our lakes but rather in the sometimes pools dependent on the season in Bull Creek - dagger, dodger, darter kept flooding my thoughts and then I knew a darter was a fish till all of a sudden it came - a strider - so I am off to learn more about a strider... :-*
First though I was poking around into Florida and look at this beauty I found - Mkaren have you ever seen one of these - almost looks like a painting rather than a photo of a real live flower - the label says it is a, " Parnassia grandifolia, Ocala National Forest, Marion County, Florida" - evidently it blooms in the fall of the year on shaded boggy banks and in swamps.
(https://40.media.tumblr.com/2d66af44e81b68c8a3132276ad262def/tumblr_n7q136E8T71r38hk2o1_1280.jpg)
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A really nice site - the National Wildlife Federation - and here we are - all the info on a Strider
https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Invertebrates/Water-Strider.aspx
Goodness the Fox River Basin is a large area that is divided geographically into three areas - yep, logical, upper, middle and lower... the site says 700 miles of stream that drains over 1000 square miles of land - wow that is 640,000 acres -
http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/foxil/
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Thanks for the water strider site, Barb. I'm glad to see I had the name right. (I didn't put it in my post because I wasn't sure, but that's what I call them.) It wasn't in a lake; it was either a pond or a stream, I'll try to remember which. That's an amazing photo on the wildlife site. It's totally in focus, and the light shows you the denting of the water surface. My striders were skittering around too fast to keep in sharp focus. That was the best picture of four.
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Nelson doesn't mention water striders, but he talks about a lot of insects. How many have you seen? I know I haven't seen mayfly larvae, am uncertain about the adults. Never saw a caddis fly, and midges aren't a feature here, thank goodness. I've seen fewer dragonflies than I would have liked--magnificent darting things, gleaming with strange colors. I've met more mosquitoes than I would choose, but thank goodness it's been years since I've seen a roach. His loathing isn't illogical, though; they're disease carriers.
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Like you Pat I have seen many a mayfly but never the Larvae - or at least that I know of because this book is showing my how much I have never noticed because I had no idea what I was look at or for... Also, insects were never anything i paid that much attention to - like Joan, Birds caught my attention, and small animals but mostly for me it was always what grew, from trees to underbrush and from grasses to wildflowers. I still do not have the names of common fish caught in our lakes matched to what the fish looks like. I love swimming but never thought of who or what shares the swimming space with me.
What caught my attention was when he attempts his canoe trip on the Fox River and finds the shoreline nothing but private property, the homesites for lakeside and riverside home owners. I see that here and a few spots that used to be so great to walk to received a zoning change and built their mansion where I used to take my little ones to dip their toes in the lake and to look for pollywogs in the shallows.
In one way or another we are loosing access to our heritage. No sense gripping but rather do double time to support the work that is adding more and more public parks and access to our waterways. I am not in the financial position any longer to make a meaningful contribution but I can join a couple of the groups preserving our heritage and keep abreast of what is happening. And for sure, no more commercial fertilizer - it has been made so easy here and I did not take advantage of it - We recycle and all wood, downed tree limbs etc is brought to one site - where as, paint, oil etc to another - well the wood, limbs and sacks of leaves (no more leaf burning) is ground into tiny chips that other city composted ingredients are added for a natural fertilizer - here they call it dillo dirt - a take off word on the armadillo that is not near as prolific since the city has grown so large.
I have experienced, the more an issue or experience is foremost on your mind the more likely you use it when chit chatting with a stranger while waiting in line for something especially, when flying and so with continued reading and learning I will keep learning more and more - in small ways I feel I can do something.
Do any of you have ideas or plans to make the saving of our heritage an item on your agenda? Really - always looking for ideas - ah just thought I may give copies of this book to my grands as Christmas gifts - now to figure out a note that will tantalize them enough to actually read the book. But ideas folks - any ideas - one may just hit a nerve...
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I have to confess that I do not frequent Florida lakes so I have not seen this amazing flower. I am not anxious to walk the banks of water features here in the Sunshine State as I understand that alligators and poisonous snakes live there. I do frequent Sarasota's beautiful beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Nothing like a sunset on Siesta Key!
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I particularly like the way Nelson describes canoeing. He's right--you are down at water level, and you don't have the noise of a motor, or the need to pay constant attention of a sailboat. In still water, you can stop and drift at will, and let your surroundings flow in. It's peaceful and reflective.
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You too with the gators - been thinking hard about moving nearer to my son who is over north of Houston in the part of Magnolia near the Woodlands - I was thinking a bit further north outside of Conroe near the lake and they too contend with gators in the bayous - I understand they are more of a problem over by the Trinity River and Lake Livingston - so we shall see what we shall see -
Looks like our local PBS is featuring a special tomorrow night on the loss of wetlands and the Everglades in Florida - looking forward to it after your post mentioning the losses.
Mkaren did you know anyone in Florida before you made your move or did you just up and move based on what you heard? I can see how living in Maine would take fortitude to struggle through those long icy cold winters.
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Mkaren, we were posting at the same time. I grew up on the east coast, so am used to seeing the sun rise over the water, and have only recently been able to enjoy watching the sun set there. It's a better time of day, though facing east you also get moonrises in the evening. Have you ever seen the green flash?
Alligators would put me off too. Don't think they are a problem in Minnesota. ;)
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Yes, Pat - is it bringing back memories for you - I keep wondering if I could do it anymore - for one thing it would take weeks and weeks of getting some strength back in our arms - this would be a lovely time of the year for some canoing wouldn't it... leaves just beginning to turn and no really cold breeze yet.
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The last time I went canoeing was 2 or 3 years ago, when my next door neighbors invited me along for a family afternoon of canoeing and kayaking on a quiet stretch of the Potomac river. I was in a canoe with the husband, paddling in the bow, while he was in the stern, providing most of the power, and of course the steering. I could see that I was really contributing, but wouldn't be strong enough to go it alone, and it was a pretty short trip. It did have that wonderful feeling of peacefulness and awareness, though I was mostly watching birds, not insects and river fauna..
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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
Landscape is not "land," it is not "nature," and it is not space...
A place owes its character to the experience it affords to those who
spend time there, to the sights and sounds, and indeed the smells, that
constitute its specific ambience. And those in turn, depend on the
kind of activities in which its inhabitants engage. ~ Tim Ingold
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
We are reading the section entitled -
Mindscapes.
If you would like to join us and do not have your book we found that most of the book available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- Tell us about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- How does Stephen A. Forbes fit into the story of Lake Agassiz? - We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
Rather than a list of focus questions, we are reading and sharing the words and information that strike us as well as, photos that further our understanding and enjoyment of the book (as Jane says, of reasonable size - A width of about 400 pixels should do it - need help with that please ask)
Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Helpful Links:
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
YouTube - Darby Nelson Tests Lake Water Quality (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6lX0VQkhwA)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Mindscapes is the section discussed this week of September 16.
Our next section, Futurescapes will be discussed the last week, starting Wednesday, September 23.
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
Barb, my brother and his wife moved here three years before I did. I visited them and really liked the city. It is small enough to be doable (I can drive without fear). It also has an opera company, ballet, symphony, several theaters, a branch of the University of South Florida.
Pat H-Funny you should mention the "green flash" I have never seen it, but last April I went on a long cruise to the South Pacific. I unhappily report that I was sick and mostly doing the hermit thing in my cabin. I knew nothing about the the flash until we discussed it one night at dinner. I tried to catch a few sunsets, but no luck.
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whoops I did not catch the page turn so MKaren your post is now part of the heading - it happens and we are used to it - so now when folks check the heading there you will be... :D :-*
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Every time I open this book, I learn something new. In this section, I discovered Stephen Forbes and his theory of the lake as a microcosm. The waterlillies, daphnids, dragonflies, sunfish, wild rice and even the gray slime together are the lake. What inhabits the lake gives it its character. Some lakes like Lake Winnipeg are "mean" lakes, other lakes, like Lake Fox are very sick, and my lake is somewhat sick, and some lakes like Sebec Lake in northern Maine and the pond at the staging area for the climb to the summit of Mt. Katahdin, Chimmney pond are crystal clear but in grave danger from the mercury that creeps into Maine from the industrial midwest.
My in-laws owned a large camp high above Lake Cobbossee and I spent many happy hours there. It was probably forty feet of steps that got you to the water below. The dock was built beside a huge rock and a big rock pile. My boys learned to swim off that rock and I would read and think sitting on the rock with my feet in the water. Light filtered through the pines and the and the birches that surrounded the lake, sunfish nibbled at my feet and after a fashion the lake and I became one. In the dark of night I would swim and so would the eels; we shared the lake quite peacefully. I loved that rock but lost it in the divorce.
I hate wild rice, but how it grows and is harvested into the bottom of the boat is fascinating. It must be a very healthy food(which is probably why I don't like it). I love that the Ojibwa built their culture around this grain and when they were forced onto reservations they lost access to many of the rice lakes.
I love this book!
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I love the way he writes, too. He's a scientist and poet combined. He knows all the scientific facts, and gives us plenty of them, but he never loses sight of the beauty and the mood of what he's looking at.
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Yes, I too agree - some of his turn of phrase describing things is pure poetry - it has been awhile that I really love picking up a book and just feeling it because it contains so much wonder and this is very much that book. I thought I liked how Rachel Carson described especially her experience wrapping her grandchild in a blanket and walking along the edge of the ocean but even her book cannot compare to the beauty of reading this -
Forbes' words "The animals of such a body of water are, as a whole, remarkably isolated - closely related among themselves in all their interests, but so far independent of the land about them that if every terrestrial animal were suddenly annihilated it would doubtless be long before the general multitude of inhabitants of the lake would feel the effects of this event in any important way."
His quote remind me of the Cluny tapestries where royalty and nature are one with the senses. I used to know the senses depicted, forgot the 1st tapestry, the 2nd is hearing, forgot the 3rd, the 4th is tasting, 5th seeing, 6th touching - but it is the close up of the background flowers, bugs and animals along with the fruit on the trees - we did know about humans as part of the symphony of nature but we seem to have lost it.
I have not seen them but I understand in NYC at the Metropolitan Museum of Art there are a set of Tapestries on a blue background depicting a hunt for the Unicorn, and they too have a background of flowers, tiny animals and insects.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/2e/2f/12/2e2f1299011e4a883882f6d4a0a376ce.jpg) (https://www.thetapestryhouse.com/media/transfer/img/me072.jpg) (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JhUIxhMlvBg/TtOTEe7gy2I/AAAAAAAAREk/0hkK6bblDbg/s1600/dsc_0530%255B1%255D.jpg) (http://p7.storage.canalblog.com/78/14/137895/10570273.jpg) (http://p1.storage.canalblog.com/15/84/137895/10570303.jpg) (http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x7061179/lady-and-the-unicorn-sense-of-touch-15th-century-tapestrytextilesflemish-tapestry-musee-national-du-moyen-age-thermes-hotel-de-cluny-paris-france.jpg)
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Which by the way, found a PDF copy of The Lake as a Microcosm by Stephen A. Forbes and it is in the heading.
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Close up of Chara and a Chara Meadow with an Ash Meadow pupfish glistening among the Chara that is displaying its orangy-red sperm pockets - did find that another vernacular for Chara is Stonewart.
(http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images/chara1b.jpg) (http://waynesword.palomar.edu/images2/pupfish1b.jpg)
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I've seen the Cluny tapestries, and they're magnificent. They're so rich in detail, and the many small animals and flowers show such a love for the natural world. You can sit and stare for a long time. I see they have been cleaned and restored since I saw them in 2004, so if I ever get back to Paris I'll have to see them again.
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We used to harvest wild rice, which is an interesting process. It was a pleasant activity in late summer/early fall. Harvesting involved a canoe, sticks, knocking rice into the bottom of the canoe as we paddled through the water. When I say "we," I must admit that I only went out on the water once to harvest, otherwise I just went out to check out the maturity of the rice. My husband usually went with my dad or another friend. But we all got into cleaning the rice, as there was an art to that and also a lot of work. But we did like it, using it in many different recipes, including stuffing for roast wild mallard and including pancakes and muffins and casseroles. The lakes we went on were shallow and had streams running through.
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oh my nlhome - real wild rice directly from the plant - what glory you have experienced in your life - between ice fishing and now harvesting wild rice - I have never had wild mallard - lots of Deer but few to no birds - my mom used to prepare goose, oh yes, and rabbit that I have not seen available in the grocery in years - you have me hungry for pancakes - another couple of weeks - although cooler today it is still 90. Too hot to heat up the kitchen so early in the day.
Mkaren forgot to thank you for sharing how you came to move to Florida - sounds like you hit a winner with all the perks you mentioned available where you are living.
Pat I have not been back since the 90s and notice the interior photos of the Cluny is much upgraded and more like a museum with glass cases placed in the rooms then the old Abby look with things hanging on the walls that I saw. In the meantime I am becoming more and more curious about seeing some of the National Parks that are all about lakes and rivers. I understand there are day trips on the Grand Canyon now so that you do not have to sign up for an excursion. Just looking at the local lakes with new eyes will be an adventure.
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I just picked up my library book yesterday and am way behind in the discussion but here's link to a magazine article from National Wildlife magazine about what is happening to our lakes this year. Not a pretty picture! >:(
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2015/Algal-Blooms.aspx
Am only up to Pg. 49 but will continue on reading all the posts and hoping to catch up. I had another website to link you to but maybe its in inappropriate for now. All about the Alpena and Lake Huron International Underwater Robotics annual competition. This competition is spawning new scientists from all over the world. Just an exciting happening in our high schools and colleges of today. Later 'gater! :)
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That's a discouraging article, Annie. We don't seem to learn, do we.
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Annie yes, scary - I think it was put together to not only alert the public but I think they hoped it would influence farmers.
Looks like from this article we learn that Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the lake's watershed in not only densely populated but heavily farmed and highly industrialized. As a shallow lake from what we are learning the likelihood of algae growth is a given since a shallow lake will heat up providing an incubator for its growth as compared to a deeper moving lake.
http://www2.erie.gov/environment/index.php?q=lake-erie-watershed-protection-alliance
With the amount of farming alone using fertilizer that drains into a watershed there would be in time a problem - However, the choice of fertilizer is not always in the hands of the farmer - according to where they buy their seed and who is fronting the money for that year's crop, expecting first dibs on the profit if not the crop itself and often expecting the farmer to purchase from a certain supplier, can affect the farmer's ability to 'voluntarily' use less fertilizer.
Example - a farmer using GM seeds, herbicide action is within each GM seed that does wash into a watershed causing a growth of algae in the lake, river or stream that is fed by the watershed.
https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/_file/aglaw/Impacts_of_Genetically_Modified.pdf
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We had terrible algae growths on the manmade lakes in my old neighborhood. And all kinds of stuff put into the water to control them -- who knows what further harm that does.
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I'm way behind. I love the book, but have to read it in small bits.
Where I am, he is talking about "planktonic" animals, without defining it. An animal is "planktonic" if it floats or drifts as it's most important means of locomotion. Jelly fish are planktonic, but most p. organisms (plankton) are tiny. They exist in millions in all bodies of water, and are very important because they are the base of the food chain.
He has you imagine what it would be like, being such an animal. The one he talks about can move for short distances on it's own (a kind of hop) but mostly it's just taken here and there by currents and changes in water temperature (which helpfully change its depth during the day and night. I'm pretty lazy, but imagining such a life gives me the "creeps".
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Yes, Joan someone else saying what I thought was age on my part - but the books is so dense without reading densely - his language allows you to glide along but each page is so packed with new information or more in-depth information than I know I ever imagined and so too I read small chunks at a time - Just the concept of plankton and as you say how it hops along dependent completely on a host - never knew that - in fact I just assumed plankton was inert like floating bits of bark not thinking it was a life force.
Been a long long time since I ever read a book twice but I can see this is going to be one of those books - I get it but since so much is new it will take a second read for me to really own that I get it. And so that thought actually freed me up to just read and now ponder every other sentence as if it were the last time I would ever see that sentence or thought again. For sure the other help has been to immediately look up and find another web site that explains further what he is saying.
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Wheee look at what is on YouTube - a video with Darby Nelson - of course it will go into the heading...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6lX0VQkhwA
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I have the same trouble reading more than a little of the book at a time, even though I love it. It's too rich, and I want to let one thing roll around i my head a while before moving on. But I'm finally caught up, at least for now.
Barb, do I understand the heading correctly--that we will continue to discuss Lakescapes through Tuesday the 15th, then start talking about Mindscapes on Wednesday?
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Yes Pat - there are four sections to the book and we started our discussion on Wednesday therefore, each Wednesday a new section - as you say the book is so rich so that our usual use of focus questions to guide our discussion almost belittled this book. I do not think any of us have read the entire book and so, it is easy as we come upon these astonishing bits or new understandings to comment and share not only our reaction but anything we find to further our understanding.
Relating what we read to our own lake at this point may be an extra step because I doubt seriously any of us ever thought, much less knew, all this was going on in front of our eyes but it does give us an anchor. Some of what we are reading we have heard about, just not about our lake. It is an easy step to see with a quick Google if any of what we are reading has been written as part of the story of our lake.
By the way, saw the special on the Florida Everglades last night - in fact there were two back to back specials that featured the land in Florida - the story there appears to be less about industry and more about covering the land with roads that became barriers choking off the whole reason for the swamp and lake system.
The one hour long program did show some Good News of a state agency that has removed just under 300 miles of road built during the 1920s for a Real Estate and Resort boom that went bust, leaving behind this road that they recently removed. And then, one of the shows did show some current Native Indians who live in the swamp and know it like the back of their hand which brought me back to tying in the story of the Creek wars and removal of the of the Creek Nation during the early nineteenth century and the many Creeks who fled to Florida creating the Seminole Nation.
The Cherokee, Shawnee, Muscogee, Choctaw and Seminole are all part of the nation we labeled the Creeks - we got into all of this when we were reading for a month the poetry of Joy Harjo who was kind enough to join us for a bit. Two books that were eye opening are The Road To Disappearance, A History of the Creek Indians by Angie Debo and Deerskins & Duffels Creek Indian Trade with Anglo-America 1685 - 1815 by Kathryne Holland Braund.
Seeing the films of both Florida and Alabama it is easy to contemplate how comfortable the Creeks were in the original environment and how we, the Anglo not only pushed them off the land, discredited their intelligence and then proceeded to defile the land because of our uneducated Hubris.
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I am still conflicted and maybe I just do not yet know enough - but it appears the big culprit to the destruction of the environment points over and over to oil and gas and their by-products. Yes, it is easy to point fingers but then, if we were to live without the by-products of oil and gas I do not think it is possible. Every facet of daily living with the current population numbers and the commerce that supports jobs is dependent on oil and gas. As animals breed when there is a food supply to support them, we too have passed the point where we could manage the welfare of the population living as we did in the eighteenth and even nineteenth century. Even our medicine is a result of oil and gas dependency.
So how do you marry that with keeping an environment pure, clean and functioning as it was intended.
I do think we bought into many products that were not necessary - just because you can do something does not mean we must - little things like bringing our own sacks to the grocery - easy now for me to see since here, plastic sacks have been legally eliminated - Using natural fertilizer rather than oil based fertilizer - and all those plastic lawn chairs that weighed so much less compared to wood but...
Found this - a partial list of products made from petroleum - and this list in only a drop in the bucket - Holy Hannah
http://www.ranken-energy.com/products%20from%20petroleum.htm
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Even when we try to cut down on oil, we sometimes degrade lakes in the process. Nelson points out that one source of the pollution is fertilizer needed to grow the excess corn needed to produce the ethanol that it's now mandatory to put in gasoline to make the oil go farther.
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Ah, JoanK, being a water flea is a life of ease, at least until you starve because the wrong plants are growing or something bigger eats you.
Did you notice the nifty description of the protective shell of Daphnia? Like the body is stuffed inside a taco shell. :)
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Barb, thanks for that link to the article about the pros and cons of growing GMO crops. It's very even handed and complete, not taking sides or getting emotional.
The thing I distrust most about them is that many of them have been modified to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. The active ingredient in Roundup, it's a pretty nasty material, toxic and carcinogenic. The farmers use large amounts of it to kill everything but the crops, and there is a residue in the crop. Studies are incomplete on the safe limits of it, and the FDA allowed amount in food may well be too high. (Glyphosate is misspelled in the article--a typo of transposed letters.)
But, as spelled out in the article, we are messing with the environment in all sorts of unpredictable ways, without really knowing what we're doing, and the only plus side is to make more money off the crops.
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Hesitate to get too far away from Darby Nelson's book but when you look at the business of farming and the expectations of all those who have a finger in the success of a crop again, just like oil and gas it is difficult to find a clean answer.
Few farms are paid off - those family farmers are few and far between - so there is a mortgage of some sort - the cost of equipment that just like a business is often purchased with a loan and has a life cycle so money needs to be available for replacement. The cost of water is astronomical, the cost of labor is not like years ago with day labor that did not have to show up on the books.
Plus, all the manufacturers of annual products from seed to herbicide and fertilizer want their percentage - Monsanto is the one we hear about who expects the farmer to exclusively use their products once you sign on. Also the seed, fertilizer etc. is purchased with a loan so the farmer cannot afford to loose any of the crop and then on top, most farms have multiple owners, investors all expecting their investment to pay off because if it does not the farm owners are either searching for new investors or the farm is sold off and everyone involved loses.
I can see taking care of our lakes, rivers and streams needs to come from the heart and until you know something about someone or something there is no heartfelt connection however, from everything I see and read the fix is a series of 'no good' choices - difficult choices we may not be willing to accept or willing to push Congress to make those choices if we do not have a deep and abiding love for the ecology of the water ways beyond a place to play and relax.
We do not like it when our neighborhood changes so we hardly recognize it or the place on the lake we always went for fun, fishing or to retire no longer provides that kind of opportunity so we pick up and move or find another place to play or retire - we are not attached to staying as we hold fast a family heirloom or for that matter our children.
From the little I know and I know very little about industry the changes are not easy and these changes affect far more than the water ways. The change effects, for instance to anyone like ourselves, living on proceeds from investments. The greater the cost to produce a carrot, the greater the cost in the grocery market but more, the less profit for any investment that goes into the production of that carrot from, those invested in iron and steel that is part of farm equipment, to those invested in labs that come up with the latest medical breakthrough but also, part of their work is developing a safer and as effective a herbicide and fertilizer.
All I see is the more additional fingers in this pie, the final product becomes too expensive, as onions and other low value crops are no longer grown in the US because of a lack of enough profit to balance costs. Now they are all grown in Mexico, on miles and miles, as far as the eye can see of what was desert and where there are few controls. If there is not sufficient profit for an investor they will switch investments just as if our neighborhood dramatically changes we switch neighborhoods. If many pull out of either an investment or a neighborhood it leaves behind a shell that becomes a burden to those managing the investment or the neighborhood.
My instinct tells me we, the buying public will have as great an impact on farming methods as anything because when we stop buying, lower profits force change - we see it already in fast food and it is why getting labeling has become such an issue. And in fact our buying habits may be all that is left - I will gather the information for another post but Congress has been hog tied to legislate any change to the use, manufacture and advertising of fertilizer.
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Another link to my National Wildlife magazine about the droughts and loss of water:
http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Animals/Archives/2015/California-Drought.aspx
Part of this article mentions the problems that occur with drought. The loss of certain kinds of fish and the saving of the salmon. Sad story. I have good friends who live on the mentioned Lake Meade. They have sent us pictures of the falling lake for the past four years.
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I live in Southern California which has been terribly affected by the drought. I notice it most in the birds, we had almost no nesting birds this year. The nearby wetlands, which the towns people worked so hard to save from development, has been completely dry forever.
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Now Darcy is talking about the plants in the lake. Since I live near the ocean, I have become fascinated by kelp (what we used to call seaweed). I live near one of the two great kelp forests in the world, here off Southern California. Every time I go to the little inlet where I love to hang out, I see a new different species, green, red, or brown. All different but all with the little air bladders we used to pop as kids.
Biologists have decided they are not plants, but a separate category. But, like plants, they "breathe" in carbon dioxide and "breathe out" oxygen. I'm told that kelp do more to keep the air oxygen rich than trees do.
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Watched the Darby Nelson video. he looks just like a guy who spends his time canoeing around lakes ought to look.
I was interested in what he said about watersheds. What happens at the lakeshore depends on what happens at the watershed: those often little tiny creeks that feed into rivers that feed into lakes. We need to protect all water sources then: not just the biggest, but the smallest as well.
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Wonderful additions Joan to our conversation - been busy today and will be back later this evening - just wanted to pop in for a second - I did not realize Joan that seaweed was kelp. I wonder how it is dried so that it does not lose the good - I have used Kelp as a daily herbal capsule for years and never knew it was seaweed. Interesting...
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I really enjoyed the section on harvesting wild rice. It's a wonderful technique, involving a careful rhythm. The one poling the canoe has to gauge both the proper path for getting the best yield and the right speed at each moment to coordinate with the beat of the harvester (who also has to have a proper rhythm), so (s)he can beat with maximum effect. It seems almost zen like; I can imagine the feelings for the process that would develop if it were a major source of food.
Here's an Ojibwe site describing the significance of wild rice for their people, with a good picture or two, plus some details of technique. Notice the parallel beating sticks.
http://www.manoomin.com/harvesting.html (http://www.manoomin.com/harvesting.html)
Here's an NPR link with a good picture, some more description, and a comment about the threat of genetically modifying the rice.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/09/19_robertsont_wildrice/ (http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/09/19_robertsont_wildrice/)
Two interesting facts I learned in my browsing: The choice of wood for the beating sticks is important, as it must be both very strong and light enough not to tire the beater. The lakes impart a taste to the rice, not duplicated in commercially grown rice, and those who really care about such things claim they can tell by taste which lake the rice comes from.
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So many thoughts and questions come to mind reading the book - back to Joan's watershed bit - looks like we all probably live in a watershed - got online- of course, where else, it has become our up to date finger tapping encyclopedia - anyhow found this cartoonish but nice explanation of the watershed that does say any area higher than the lakes, rivers and streams is part of a watershed since water from the higher spots drain into the rivers, lakes and streams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f63pwrMXkV4
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PAT: it was good to see what the sticks used for harvesting wild rice actually look like: I didn't quite understand the process from reading Darby.
He also implies there are two things that might have prevented wild rice from becoming more commercialized up to now: the fact that the harvest is very variable, and the fact that the grains don't mature at the same time, so you can't have just one harvest. Looks like scientists are trying to overcome these and grow it commercially, even clone it.
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Thanks for the description of watershed. Where I used to live In Maryland, even though I was miles from the Potomac River, and a hundred miles from the ocean, the water in the tint creek behind my house was in the Potomac watershed, and eventually flowed into the ocean, as did the water from the storm drains in front of my house.
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The second of the watershed movies reminds us that it's not just debris left in water that pollutes our watershed. Debris left anywhere on the ground is carried by rain into the nearest water and beyond.
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We're venturing on a different water adventure next month. The pre-discussion for "Dead Wake", the story of the sinking of the Lusitania is now open. come check us out :
http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4811.msg261618;topicseen#new
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Perfect description for this section because I sure was stretching my mind trying to get a handle on this section's first chapter - I could not figure out if Cyanobacteria was a good thing or a bad thing. And the talk of various chemicals making things like Turquoise was a challenge since I did not take chemistry while in school - however, once he likened it to making muffins I was on more solid ground and understood what he was saying.
Found a few links that assured me Cyanobacteria was both - a good thing and a bad thing - because I thought he was suggesting the what induced growth was Phosphorus which I understood was the nemesis to the creation of algae of which too much algae robbed a lake of oxygen reducing the ability of fish to survive.
Took a bit but that is exactly what he is saying however, I was surprised to learn how Phosphorus is necessary for growth, including growth in humans. That meat and dairy are the best sources of Phosphorus which maintains our bones and teeth, clears up indigestion and generally tones up the digestive system. Also, it is a link to heart health, meaning that with a proper intake, you can better protect yourself from a range of cardiovascular diseases.
I liked this link about Phosphorus and health benefits for humans -
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/minerals/health-benefits-of-phosphorus.html
This site corroborated for me what was explained in the book. I needed a second go round using different words to catch what was explained about Cyanobacteria.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/bacteria/cyanolh.html
So far I have read this chapter twice and I need one more go round to be sure I understand - each section of this book has one chapter that is a real challenge and then the other chapters in the section are a piece of cake that are off shoots of the chapter that is grounded in science. Sure glad I am reading this - I have learned so much that is probably typical science learned by the average student in High School today.
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Aha - here we go - this site explains more about restoring a lake that was over-run with algae and how Aluminum, iron, or calcium salts can inactivate phosphorus in lake sediments. It also talks about dredging a lake - whew can you imagine if that is the cure required for lake Erie???
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/algae/lakes/LakeRestoration.html
Now I do like this web site - things we can do to help maintain our lakes and rivers. Maybe not a big fix but there is that theory about the tipping point - so if enough of us act with restoration in mind we may see some results and these are pretty simply habits to adopt.
http://floridaswater.com/waterbodies/whatyoucando.html
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Wow - bingo - this is a great PDF booklet with photos of Blue Green algae
http://healthvermont.gov/enviro/bg_algae/documents/BGA_guide.pdf
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A photo of Diamond lake Michigan from the air
(http://mudclub.scubaobsessed.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Just-Like-the-Bahamas-only-colder_3077.jpg)
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And Diamond Lake County Park
(http://www.sailmichigan.org/gallery/239.jpg)
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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
The spectacular fish is a memory of its past and a vision for a
desired future, an icon to stir human action on behalf of valued
and relatively unspoiled Boreal lakes. ~ John J. Magnuson
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
We are reading the last section entitled -
Futurescapes.
If you would like to join us and do not have your book we found that most of the book available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- ...about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
Rather than a list of focus questions, we are reading and sharing the words and information that strike us as well as, photos that further our understanding and enjoyment of the book (as Jane says, of reasonable size - A width of about 400 pixels should do it - need help with that please ask)
Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Helpful Links:
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
YouTube - Darby Nelson Tests Lake Water Quality (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6lX0VQkhwA)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Futurescapes is the section discussed this week of September 23, starting this final section on the first day of Autumn
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
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Amazing how timing is magical - our neighborhood is fighting a developer who wants an office park with retail and condos built in 15 and more story high buildings to replace a 35 year old office park with buildings that are only 2 and 3 stories high surrounded by lots of natural green space including a host of heritage trees - they are labeled heritage when they measure 29 inches round. There are several reasons the neighborhood does not want to see the zoning change including very over crowded schools with more portable buildings than classes in the main buildings, the problem of additional traffic and the concern for loosing the trees.
Well because of reading this book I was able to share how it is in the watershed for Lady Bird Lake and Lake Austin - all the heavy rains rush to the two creeks that are on either side of our neighborhood where this plot of land is located and it was easy to get the conversation off just an older established neighborhood not wanting change, to if this land is re-zoned then how many other locations along the newly widened road, major artery to town, would request re-zoning leaving us with only a memory of green spaces and heritage trees as we develop a concrete water-slide right down to the lake - I am so pleased to be able to see this, share it and only because of our reading this book - hurrah Darby Nelson.
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Thought this might interest those of us who have drunk water with glacial milk in it. My daughter's family had the pleasure of this being in their well water and she said the water really tasted good. I remember that. Anyway, here's an interesting link to glacial milk's perks!
http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/longevity-glacial-milk/#axzz3kiS81TuV[/b]
My daughter lives in Ithaca, NY and they had a very similar problem with big box businesses being built on ??????? where the runoff was appropriate for that area. But, the city council, of course, voted to approve new zoning. So, not only taking business from the downtown area of Ithaca (now a newly restored commons is hoping to improve business for
downtown) but the runoff is worse. Could cause flooding on rainy days.
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interesting Ann - I had no idea anyone could get glacier water - I see there is a Dr. Flanagan who espouses drinking glacier water and has developed a way to imitate the benefits and sells both water and a powder that has the extra hydrogenated ability of glacier water.
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back a bit later - been a week I cannot believe - getting a house ready for sale and the sellers are 3 siblings all out of the area and one out of state - they all have to agree and we had a hiccup with an inspector who could not follow through - to change inspectors I might just as well have been attempting to bring peace to Syria - each of the siblings are at a different stage with their grief - one in particular is hanging on to what was - oh oh oh -
I am attempting to see this experience and relate it to how we understand and take care of our waterways - the only thing I can think of is we would like to go back to the simple life when our waterways were naturally clear without much effort on our part - I wonder if part of this has to do with the increase in population we have seen these last 40 years that all want to play in and around the water as well as the increase in the numbers of people with the where with all to purchase waterfront property so that we cannot go back - like it or not we must learn well enough to share with those who do not read or study the changes we must make to our simple daily lifestyle in order to have the clear and healthy water we once enjoyed.
Well onward - back later today...
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Such a balanced thinker as he contemplates his choice of collage those many years ago while gazing at the UW waterfront pondering the road not traveled however, by staying at UM he met his wife and with that realization says, "Serendipity works in wonderful ways."
Also his explanation of problems supported by unknowing home owners he suggests is like flushing away and therefore not seeing what is everyday waste.
This followed in the heading of the next chapter the quote from Thoreau seems so right...
What if all the ponds were shallow? Would it not react on the minds of men?
And this bit is a wonder of learning - "...different till, different chemical makeup, different lake chemistries. Different lake chemistries yield different lake behavior. I find the logic compelling."
Now more than ever I 'need' to find out more about the lakes near me as well as the two creeks - no glacier in this part of North America so how, where, when, what is the makeup - the lakes are simply the river damed but the creeks are another story.
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From what we see of Geri in the book, it was worth going to the slightly worse school to find her.
Interesting about the glacial water. I couldn't figure out what kind of hydrogen he thought was in it. All water is 11% hydrogen by weight, and his explanation of what's special here is too simplified to be scientifically clear.
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There was a show on the Discovery Channel about the boatmen who collect this glacial water. Their port is in Maine. They motor out to the glacier. They need a chunk of ice that has "calved" from the glacier but is not too large for their equipment to handle. To get this, they fire bullets into the glacier or a large iceberg in such a way as to cause the glacier to split at that point. It is very dangerous, since they only seem to have a rough idea of how to do this, if they cause a major "calving", they could get caught.
if there are pieces of the right size, they scoop them up on deck with a kind of net arrangement. Again, dangerous, since they have to be quite close to the iceberg. It takes all day, and there is a limit to how much they can carry back, hence how much they can earn in a day.
So if glacier water is expensive, you can see why. If it really catches on, someone will figure out a way to mass harvest it, with who knows what effect on the planet.
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It doesn't really belong in this discussion, because I'm sure it's been highly engineered, but I have to share a pond that's a big presence in my life now. It's in the Japanese garden in Portland, OR, and it's wonderfully peaceful. That's a real duck, so perfectly placed on the rock; he very obligingly posed for me.
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff125/PatriciaFHighet/IMG_0888Jgardenduck.jpg) (http://s239.photobucket.com/user/PatriciaFHighet/media/IMG_0888Jgardenduck.jpg.html)
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There are places where you can catch odd glimpses of it:
(http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff125/PatriciaFHighet/IMG_0891-1.jpg) (http://s239.photobucket.com/user/PatriciaFHighet/media/IMG_0891-1.jpg.html)
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I'm sure the water quality is carefully controlled, as the connecting water is full of koi. It's not clear, though.
You don't get the kind of peace you do with a natural setting, but you do get a very contemplative peace.
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PatH, I have. Seen that pond in the Japanese garden. The duck wasn't there.😃 I have some pics of the combed rocks too. Peaceful!😍
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He was probably on his lunch break. ;)
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It is a lovely setting isn't it - so green -
Years ago I was attempting various features of the Japanese garden in my back yard and had a lantern on a low oblong shaped rock at the end of a fence line of growing nandina that look like miniature bamboo - within a few years the deer ended up knocking the lantern and in time the cap broke but the base is still there -
I did not really know what I was doing. Just took features of what I knew about a Japanese garden and attempted to incorporate them into the backyard. Since then I read a few books and learned that everything in the Japanese garden is a miniature version of either a well known mountain or the shape of hats worn by royalty or a miniature of nearby scenery. The ponds that in Tiji Itoh's book Space & Illusion says the are called basins and are shaped to resemble various forms of dress often to copy the shape of a woman's kimono sleeve. And so you've peaked my curiosity and I wonder more about this garden in Portland -
I never did get to see it although my youngest lived outside of Portland for 3 years - we went into Portland and drove through a large beautifully landscaped park and walked the banks of the river running through town that was choked with floating timber after a storm - and I remember visiting the zoo with the boys who were quite young - they started school in Beaverton where they lived and the walk meant going to the end of their cul-de-sac through a piece of forest with gigantic trees coming out across the street from the school. What a glorious way to start the day...
I too wonder how they keep the water clear - but then maybe it is not such a puzzle after all since the koi is an ornamental variety of domesticated common carp and carp are used to help rid Algae and Hydrilla from a lake it may be the koi that keeps the pond/basin clear.
A site that talks about Hydrilla - the damage it causes and the cures that have been adopted.
UT-Hydrilla-known as Indian star vine (http://www.utexas.edu/depts/grg/hudson/grg360g/EGIS/final_project/spring04_projects/web_waters_oliver/Hydrilla%20in%20Lake%20Austin.htm)
Here is a map showing where Hydrilla has spread in the lakes and rivers of the US
(http://www.invasive.org/eastern/images/maps/Hy_verti_distr_us_sept_03_web.jpg)
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I don't have the book, so I'm reading the bits and pieces on Amazon, when I can. I chuckled at the bit about Madison, WI and the author's option to stay in Minnesota. When my son was a student at UW Madison, he was advised to leave for his advanced studies and research to get exposure at another school, so he ended up at the University of Minnesota. But while he was a student at Madison, we had lots of opportunity to see the lakes there, including Mendota, which is definitely part of the city's essence and especially the University. Madison is a city of 4 lakes.
We live in the "driftless area" and are only about 50 miles from Madison.
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Nlhome, my husband did his graduate work at UW Madison--chemistry--and the lakes were a big deal for him. I only know them by name--I didn't meet him until later--and only remember Menona and Mendota, but he knew them all. When he moved here, the Washington, DC area, he didn't bother to wear an overcoat all winter for a few years until he got soft.
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I really like the story of Ray Lindeman, whose seminal paper systematized ecology, and changed the direction of people's thought. People realized for the first time just how completely organisms are dependent on each other. Everybody and every creature matters.
His paper was his PhD work, and journal editors refused to publish it, saying it was too outlandish and not well thought out. He revised and amplified it, but he was very ill at the time, and died at the age of 26, while the paper was in press. He didn't see the great enthusiasm that greeted it, nor how much it changed people's thinking.
Initial disbelief is a common reaction to groundbreaking research, and this presents a problem for the rest of us, non-scientists or scientists in different fields. How do you tell whether the latest newsworthy breakthrough, or some new theory that people are arguing about, is real, or misguided or crackpot? There's no easy answer except to be skeptical, look at the arguments closely, and wait for more evidence.
By the way, this chapter tells us how old Nelson is, since Lindeman died in 1942, and Nelson was one year old at the time.
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Yes, the story of Ray Lindeman fit the sense of this book doesn't it - I think that is what I am getting as I read this - how everything is connected - there is that proverb about the universe which can be envisioned in one grain of sand - Back later - class this morning and early afternoon.
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A treat folks - we have an email from Darby Nelson's wife - an amazing email that talks directly to a few of us who are posting - this is wonderful to learn the author is reading our efforts and wants to comment - here we go - I may brake it into more than one post...
Dear Barb and all the participants in SeniorLearn,
What a delight it has been to read your comments on For Love of Lakes and applications to your own lives. I read them every few days and share things with Darby that I know will encourage him. I didn’t sign in so haven’t been able to make comments myself, but know Barb will be happy to post some for me.
Your obvious enjoyment of the book is so gratifying. When Darby was beginning to write the book, he took some classes at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis. After one class his teacher called him aside and said, “Do you want people to read your book?” Pause, “You need to know that people want to read about people.” Darby did a 90 degree turn from gathering and presenting all the facts to creative non-fiction, and that has made all the difference. The power of personal story makes complex scientific material accessible to everyone—scientists and nonscientists alike.
PatH, many people have told us that they had to read For Love of Lakes slowly to savor the language and process small pieces at a time. A friend of mine told me that For Love of Lakes reads like a love story. She also read it twice, Barb, and then went back to her favorite chapters to read again. My folks read the manuscript before they passed away in 2011 and loved it, but, like you, didn’t understand everything. Unfortunately they didn’t have the access to the internet to look up explanations.
Ice Fishing discussion: I have to share the video of my dad’s 101st Birthday Party on ice. He fished Sweeney Lake almost every day after retirement and every weekend before. This video went viral and was broadcast on Good Morning America the next day. My cousin in Texas (of cockroach fame) saw her uncle that morning! You will see Darby and me as well.
http://archive.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=894032
Barb, your argument about water quality issues in the watershed on the re-zoning request warmed our hearts. Although Darby tried hard not to preach, that kind of activism was always a major goal of the book. Yeah, Barb!
Nlhome, Darby was advised to go to a different school to broaden his perspective as well, and you bet I’m glad he stayed in Minnesota—certainly not an inferior school, however! We met at the U of MN’s Itasca Biology Station over a leech that had 100 babies attached to her abdomen—a great story to tell our students when studying hermaphrodites (reproductive organs of both sexes in one animal, common in invertebrates).
Barb and Pat, Darby taught me to sit quietly on the edge of a shallow lake, stream, or pool for a number of minutes and stare into the water. After awhile the tiny creatures will become visible and you might see slow moving larvae or fast darters. Patience can be very rewarding!
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MKaren, it thrills us to hear that you learn something new on every page, but are sad that you hate wild rice! Harvesting is zen-like! We went ricing this Labor Day and the day after with Todd and my cousin, Louise. Todd is the only person who has dumped Darby in the lake while ricing. Last year neither Louise or I could go, so he and Darby riced together again. Twice Darby went in the drink. Todd leans way over with his long arms to get more rice, while I get only the rice that is close to the canoe. We don’t process the rice ourselves; there are processors who get very busy at this time of the year, especially in a good rice year like this one. We got 47 pounds of finished rice from 104 pounds green off the lake.
We certainly did get many a laugh when Darby was writing about Daphnia. Aren’t they delightful animals? Here are some pictures:
https://www.google.com/search?q=daphnia+pics&oq=Daphnia+pi&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0l5.11239j1j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8
The one with the blue background we use in our PowerPoint shows. I wish we could get all of you together to hear Darby speak! We have had 153 events with this book and have talked to over 9,000 people.
Barb, that you consider Darby’s writing better than Rachel Carson’s is a real compliment. Nlhome’s son and PatH’s husband, will be familiar with Aldo Leopold and his Sand County Almanac. The editor at Michigan State University Press called For Love of Lakes the Sand County Almanac of lakes, which blew us away. When we visited Leopold’s shack in Sand Co., Wisconsin, and viewed the mini museum there, I had to agree with her that Darby’s book expands Leopold’s Land Ethic to the water.
http://www.aldoleopold.org/AldoLeopold/almanac.shtml
JoanK, Darby often asks his audiences when giving lake talks, “How many of you live on a watershed?” It’s disheartening that many people don’t realize that we all do. You hit the nail on the head when you said, “We need to protect all water sources then: not just the biggest, but the smallest as well.”
Barb, thanks for the map of Hydrilla. I’ve saved it for use in future talks.
Thanks for your interest in For Love of Lakes. Your enthusiasm for learning is so inspiring!
Geri Nelson
Darby’s Paddling Companion for Life
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What a wonderful surprise! And I can see from the video that you are as enthusiastic in person as on paper. (And I can also see where you get it from!)
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The letter from Geri Nelson is so full of life and of positive connections to the lakes they know and the environmental community like, Aldo Leopold that is a sharp contrast to reading how home owners on Diamond lake, as home owners on many lakes, are wanting their concept of beauty. They remind me of someone who is anorexic - they will starve the lake of aquatic plants to achieve their inner vision of beauty that does not hold a foothold in reality, no different than the anorexic who no longer sees beauty in a healthy body.
The movie clip of Geri's dad ice fishing was for me a gift - Seeing a family enjoying themselves was a treat but more - it never occurred to me that there would be YouTube examples of ice fishing and here it is - what fishing in the ice looks like and how it is done - those were big fish that wriggle out of that hole - I wonder now what the temperature is of the water below the ice and what kind of fish can live 24/7 in that kind of cold - but then I really would not want to be in the cold to ice fish or live daily in the kind of cold that allows a lake to freeze over. To each his own...
Tomorrow we start the last section of the book - I did get behind this week and so I need to use the rest of the evening to catch up. So far, reading the book makes me want to find out more and more about the nearby lakes - with the drought and the usual, a city filled with folks who only see their needs, begrudging the rice farmers down river the water they need. Traditionally extra water is supplied by opening the flood gates for an annual spill. I am wondering if the rice is more than simply a group of farmers that according to some in this town are getting rich on the water needed in Austin or is there something more - is the rice actually what helps to keep the Colorado River healthy enough so that our lakes are a fit resource.
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Before we leave this section - learning the meaning of Limnology opens another avenue of research - Limnology: the scientific study of bodies of fresh water, as lakes and ponds, with reference to their physical, geographical, biological, and other features.
Somehow I knew Ornithology: the scientific study of birds. Not scientific but it lovely noticing the birds that visit the backyard - my friend Charlotte, who died in April had feeders attached to the big window she had installed in the Breakfast area where she spent most of her time at the table - she had other feeders hanging in the trees - a tiny titmouse visited and an array of humming birds along with the usual doves, cardinals, bluejays, black cow birds, and various vireos that would scrounge among the flower pots on the patio and the pile of leaves.
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But most enlightening was what happens if you ingest mercury - I had heard it was in fish and not good to eat but did not know what it did to the body - this was enlightening. And that Mercury atoms can ride the winds for a year before Landing!!! Holy Hannah... talk about the butterfly affect in the Chaos Theory where the air movement from a butterfly in Madagascar affects our weather here in North America.
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Right off the bat we are introduced to more geology in Shield Lakes Icon
The Precambrian Shield - also known as the Canadian Shield or Laurentian Plateau, covers about half of Canada as well as most of Greenland and part of the northern United States; an area of 4.4 million square kilometers
Nice web site
http://www.canadianshieldfoundation.ca/?page_id=39
And fun - here is a quiz based on the Precambrian Shield
http://www.glencoe.com/qe/scienceOLC.php?qi=7204
Based on the McGraw-Hill text for High School Students
Here is the section on Precambrian Shield
http://tinyurl.com/nqpcrm2
(http://glencoe.com/qe/images/earthgeu_olc/90_pcshld_gm_240p.jpg)
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Well learning now all about cold water fish and the difference between Bass and Trout - I won't even shop for fish in the market the same way after reading this book.
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Barb, Water in the winter lake is just about 32 degrees and never gets any colder. On a cold night, the temperature of the water just under the ice drops below the freezing point and more ice forms.
My dad never wanted a fish house because he couldn't move easily to where the fish were. One -20 degree day out on the ice a neighbor walked out to see who was crazy enough to be out in that weather! A compulsive fisherman, indeed!
Obviously, I was able to register and log on successfully to SeniorLearn.
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Hurray Geri - so glad to see you among us - oh this is just wonderful to see that you actually logged on - if you are a reader there are other discussion groups you may want to join - in the meantime we are so glad to see you posting here with us...
Geri you mentioned that you and Darby have completed many many talks - I'm curious although there was some outrageous number you shared like 9000 can you tell us where some of the talks were given - were there many in other parts of the country and did the talks come about before or after the book was published?
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Welcome, Geri! We at SeniorLearn are so proud to have you here. Even tho I haven't been posting, I do own the book, and have enjoyed reading it, and the discussion about it here SO much!
No matter what the stress of the day, I can pick up that book and almost be in another world. It's almost poetic. I wanted to at least say that much and how much I admire the way it's written and in reading your own thoughts here. And I've learned SO much from it.
Absolutely loved the DVD of your dad on his 101st birthday, thank you so much for sharing that with us. What a wonderful lovely supportive family you have. Just the most incredible experience for us.
Thank you so much.
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WELCOME, WELCOME, GERRI. I'm glad you like our little site. It's the best place I know for intelligent discussion with great friends.
32 degrees is plenty cold enough to give you hypothermia in seconds should you fall in. But I assume up there you all know the ice well enough to avoid that.
I now have a whole new respect for wild rice. How do you feel about those who want to find a way to grow it commercially?
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Haven't read the new chapter yet. Up to now, I've avoided thinking too much about plate tectonics. Since I've moved to California near the San Andreas fault, it's a scary subject for me. I've experienced a few mild earthquakes since I've been here: we are advised all the time to be earthquake prepared. (I'm more scared than the natives, who seem to take earthquakes for granted).
As I understand it, the earthquakes are due to the fact that we live in an area where two plates are grinding past each other.
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JoanK - the book is talking about the lakes created in the area of the Precambrian Shield and the fish in those lakes - so far I have not read anything about earthquakes and I am up to the chapter on Raindrops - so I think it is safe for you to read and not be reminded of what is uncomfortable or actually down right scary.
Having read a few other websites it seems the entirety of the North American continent is divided into areas that were historically formed during one of the named times in pre-history and they do not follow the plates but are a separate grouping of earth formation.
here is a nice website with a map showing the various areas that it seems if I am reading it correctly that each area came about because of the earth forming a crust after cooling and or because of the ice age and the glacier activity on the earth.
http://www.thisoldearth.net/Geology_Online-1_Subchapters.cfm?Chapter=8&Row=2
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this is another really nice web site about lakes within the ancient Canadian Shield which we know is another name for the Precambrian Shield
http://www.britannica.com/place/Canadian-Shield
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We have had 153 events with For Love of Lakes, all but two after the book came out. He has talked to 9000+ people. I've just reviewed our calendar of events and relived the great fun we have had with this book. We have talked to many lake associations and environmental groups, which we expected, but also to schools and colleges, senior and church groups, nature centers, libraries, book stores, service groups, book clubs, radio interviews (including MN Public Radio Midday program), and lake conferences in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as well as the North American Lake Management Society Conference. Wisconsin trains 28 Lake Leaders every other year and for the last two rounds, For Love of Lakes was required reading. We were able to meet with them at the first of three retreats and talk about the book and lake issues. What a high it was to see their enthusiasm for bettering lakes in Wisconsin!
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I've been traveling, so I'm behind both in reading and posting, but now I'm settled in my Portland hidey hole and can catch up.
Geri, thank you for joining our discussion, and sharing so much. Where to start?
I love the video of your father. His quality shines out, doesn't it. Makes a person want to know him. I was surprised at how small the ice hole is. Do you often catch a fish too big to pull through?
Those Daphnia pictures are gorgeous. I started out as a Zoology major, but switched to Chemistry, so it's been 60 years since I've looked at one. It's still fun.
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Wow Geri - you just wrote what needs to be included as a review in Amazon - That kind of interest from all those various speaking engagements is fabulous - it sounds like you are far more than a paddling partner and are equally involved in the work of educating folks to what is 'the' lake.
I wonder if the LCRA is part of or if there is a separate group that is part of the North American Lake Management Society. Since the LCRA is the caretaker of the chain of lakes, in fact the entire river from its source south of Lubbock to Matagorda Bay on the Gulf, I wonder what and how the affiliation. Hmm
The North American Lake Management Society website - http://www.nalms.org/
As an organization the Society is about 10 years old and individuals can join as Electronic Lake Leader Member with access to a Lifetime subscription to our monthly e-newsletter - at this level the annual membership fee is $40 - that is buying 10 years of newsletters as well as a year's subscription to the magazine.
Thought I would look to see if there was a group or society focused on Creeks. I did find there is a River Management Society and when I did not see Texas Represented one thing led to another and it appears the state is into Wetlands especially as it relates to Birds.
https://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_1691_07_11.pdf
Since most of the lakes we have talked about that are located near our home or that we remember from childhood are part of a river system, knowing more about rivers would be logical - the link to the River Management Society
http://www.river-management.org/
Reading further it appears the State of Texas legally owns all the waterways - I wonder if that includes wet weather creeks on private land? I also wonder if all the waterways in every state is public through state ownership? It did go on to say how some property owners are given various rights to the water. Too much legal to read now but I bet that gives a rancher rights to water that flows through his property. OH my a river of questions pop up - like during our often flash floods is the waterway running through a ranch covered by insurance or does the state step in - since all clean up seems to be either volunteer or out of a city budget - goodness this goes on and on doesn't it.
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PatH sounds like you are taking advantage of every minute to be with your family - Portland, talk about a river - the Columbia is some river - have you had a chance to drive into the mountains yet and to see the river stretched out. We never did get to the gorge - have you had the chance to see it? I am imagining lots of roadside stands on the way out of town selling berries and the fall crop of apples. Have the leaves started to turn yet?
Looks like Portland has 8 nearby lakes
http://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/2012/7/17/best-nw-swimming-holes-august-2012
The article includes a photo of the swimming area at 387-acre Moulton Falls Regional Park - it looks less manicured with two miles of trails along the Lewis River bank and get this, a 3 story high arch bridge used to jump off into the river. How much fun is that.
Hmm not sure of the 43 degree water temperature - think I will pass on that one at Opal pool in the Willamette National Forest - pretty but oh dear - I can feel the goose bumps and the shivers from here.
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/willamette/recreation/recarea/?recid=4212
Geri you just opened another flood of curiosities - and on another note I found this wonderment...
http://geology.com/lakes-rivers-water/texas.shtml
which is connected to
http://geology.com/
which is further connected to this great site - prepared for teachers but a way to learn having little knowledge of geology much less any of the earth sciences.
http://www.americangeosciences.org/critical-issues
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BARB: one of your sites deals with preserving wetlands. that is a whole different can of worms, and probably beyond this discussion. The issues are different: most wetlands (swamps, bogs etc.) are not useful to humans, as lakes are, so some developer always wants to drain them, with disastrous effects on all the wildlife that depends on them. The little marsh in my town has only been preserved with massive efforts by all the citizens. And THEN start all the pollution problems.
As a bird lover, I am concerned with this problem. I'm not sure, however, how draining wetlands affects the watershed.
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Thinking about what I wrote above, we hear a lot more about preserving wetlands than we do preserving lakes. In a perfect world, they wouldn't be in competition with each other, but we don't live in a perfect world: people only have so much time, energy, enthusiasm, and money.
I guess thinking that something might be completely destroyed (as in draining a wetland) packs more emotional punch than thinking that something (a lake) is slowly getting worse. And it gives a clear goal (save the wetland!) which can be achieved in a relatively short time, and celebrated.
We don't have any lakes in our town. We do have a very polluted sea shore. There are some citizen clean up efforts, but the problems are on such a large scale, it's hard to know how to get involved.
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Geri, welcome, thank you for participating. I loved the video of your father and the ice fishing - brought back memories. I fished with my dad when I was young, and he continue fishing on the ice until he died in his 80's.
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(http://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/lakes/isolatedlake.jpg)
For Love of Lakes
Author ~ Darby Nelson: Aquatic Ecologist, Prof. Emeritus
"Deep feelings of joy, of belonging, envelop me. Boundaries melt, I seem as one with water, rock, and lily, all part of a magnificent whole. ~ Darby Nelson
The spectacular fish is a memory of its past and a vision for a
desired future, an icon to stir human action on behalf of valued
and relatively unspoiled Boreal lakes. ~ John J. Magnuson
We are the landscape of all we have seen. ~ Isamu Naguchi
Welcome ~ Pull up your chair and join us.
Started September 23, we are reading the last section entitled -
Futurescapes.
If you would like to join us and do not have your book we found that most of the book available to read from the Amazon preview link: For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440820990&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210)
Link to, For Love of Lakes (http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lakes-Dave-Dempsey-Environmental/dp/1611860210/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440887777&sr=1-1&keywords=for+love+of+lakes#reader_1611860210) and tell us:
- ...about 'your' nearby lake? How clear is the water? Are there wigglies in the water or floating bits? Has algae fouled the water?
- Do you have memories of other lakes - what was special, how large was the lake and did you swim from a beach or fish from a dock or boat?
- What did you know of Lake Agassiz and Louis Agassiz?
- We learned most of our northern lakes and beaches were covered by an ice cap during the ice age. Water from a ghost lake, the ancient Agassiz surged and topped moraine dams, the result of glacier deposits and torrents of waters cut through the till... "huge boulders too large to be moved" accumulated and stopped the downcutting, forming lakes, ponds and rivers while altering the landscape we live with today.
- Do you ever remember drinking directly from a river or lake?
- Is there a quiet spot on your lake where you can hear the wind and the lap of the water?
Darby Nelson is a beautiful writer who adeptly weaves his cast of characters; insects, minuscule lake life, and rocks into a story of interdependence with his cast of birds and plant characters.
One, without the other is not possible and then, he enlightens us to the lake culprits that are draining the oxygen from our lakes, killing our fish and contaminating plants and birds. He tells the story as if a ballet, weaving and floating word pictures that show the beauty of these connections. His book would make a breathtaking movie rather than simply a documentary of facts and problems.
Rather than a list of focus questions, we are reading and sharing the words and information that strike us as well as, photos that further our understanding and enjoyment of the book (as Jane says, of reasonable size - need help with that please ask)
Let's continue to share 'our' lake stories and links to sites that make easy the lessons Darby Nelson, ever the teacher, is uncovering in For Love of Lakes
Helpful Links:
Dictionary of Glaciation terms with photos: Landforms of Glaciation (http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/10af.html)
A Glossary of terms: Glossary of Glacier Terminology - Text Version (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html#tz)
PDF~The Lake as a Microcosm (https://www.uam.es/personal_pdi/ciencias/scasado/documentos/Forbes.PDF) by Stephen A. Forbes (1887)
YouTube - Darby Nelson Tests Lake Water Quality (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6lX0VQkhwA)
librivox-Acoustical liberation of books in the public domain
Walden (https://librivox.org/search?title=Walden&author=Thoreau&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) by Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Futurescapes is the final section started on the first day of Autumn
Discussion Leader: Barb (augere@ix.netcom.com)
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Interesting JoanK because we do not hear anything about saving the wetlands here but then we do not hear that much about saving the lakes or the creeks either - here it is all about conserving water, keeping plastic out of the landfill and recycling. There is some interest in birds but only the select few who into bird counts and bird watching - the drought is the biggest issue - how to use rock instead of lawn and use native plants that take little water - its all about water, the aquifer, the cost of water, storing water etc. etc. etc.
I'm wondering if we only hear about the issue that catches the attention of some whose interest to protect what can be seen by the most people so they have a better chance for support.
I guess the third section, Mindscapes, that talked about aquatic plants and how home owners with waterfront property want to eliminate the plants so they can have an unhampered view of the lake reminded me of how the wetlands along the Gulf coast were being destroyed not only be folks building on the wet lands for the view and as a result leaving no buffer when Hurricanes blow in and also, how Gulf oil rigs periodically spill and destroy the wet lands. Then, whole swaths of land around Houston are wetlands with a lot of bird hunting - as Houston grows there go the wet lands - With Darby Nelson showing us how one thing is connected to the other my thought was as we learn about lakes we are learning about the plants and algae that also make up wetlands.
Yes, you are so right - there are so many good causes and we can stretch ourselves just so far - sounds like you are keeping up to date on the wetlands nearby where the birds have a sanctuary - do you keep track of the many kinds of birds in the area and is the area in a migrating fly zone? With the ocean so near what a glorious spot that must be to see the birds in the wetlands and the turn around and in probably only 10 or 20 minute drive see ocean birds dipping into the foam and I am imagining porpoise jumping and sea lions nearby.
I wonder the difference between a wetland and the 20 to 30 feet of thick aquatic plants along the edge of a stationary lake. Lady Bird is kept at a constant level - There are many places along the banks that are thick with aquatic plants - The shoreline is on a level with the lake and except for one condo project built back in the 1960s there is no building within 50 to 100 yards of the lake. A hike and bike trail completely encircles the lake - I think the trail is over 20 miles allowing a more natural shoreline
That kind of shoreline is not typical of Lake Austin or Lake Travis where the lakes wildly fluctuate based on the drought and the lakes are lower when the dams are opened to send water downstream to the rice farmers. Also, they are wider and deeper with rock cliffs as banks. There may be some coves though on Lake Travis with shoreline aquatic plants - something to drive around and search out.
nlhome so glad you saw the Youtube film with Geri's dad ice fishing - I bet it brought back memories - What kind of fish did you and your Dad typically catch? Seems to me you said early in this discussion but I forgot.
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Oh my - talk about how out of ignorance we changed the landscape and lake Michigan - read the latest post in the Erik Larson where the reference to an earlier discussion, Devil in the White City was made - oh oh - well the White City made Chicago but the heading for the book says, "wasteland of Chicago’s swampy Jackson Park into the ephemeral White City" - I am thinking the swampy land was probably wetlands that was labeled as a wasteland.
I guess any land that could not turn a profit was labeled as wasteland - looks like an ingrained attitude associated with the profitable nature of land and waterways will need to be awakened to their real purpose.
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WELCOME, GERI, TO OUR BOOK DISCUSSIONS! I hope you stay around for other books we have to offer.
I don't have a copy of this book, but have been reading a few of the posts and saw the picture of your father - wonderful that he was able to catch a big one and wonderful that he was still able to fish at 101 years of age. My husband and I fished for years on Lake Erie, great sport, wonderful memories, friendships.
My memory is faulty, but I believe, BARBARA, that some of the original land of Washington, D.C. was swampy and considered a wasteland.
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Yes, ELLA, you're right. When the founding fathers were arguing about where to put the capital, and every state wanted it, they decided to put it outside of all the states. So Maryland and Virginia donated this "useless" swamp that lay between them, and created this new entity "District of Columbia", governed directly by Congress (Only in my lifetime has DC gotten "Home Rule" and the right to vote.)
The swamp is gone, but we native Washingtonians know it was there from the muggy weather.
Back in those days there was still plenty of habitat for marsh dwellers: not so now. I guess I'm more aware of the problem because I'm one of those bird watchers.
Meanwhile, here in California, the draught has done to our local tiny swamp what the developers couldn't. It's been dry as a bone for a long time. The dozens of kinds of dragonflies and frogs are gone, as are the migrating and nesting birds (hopefully, some of the birds at least had a chance to find another place). And all the other things I didn't know enough to look for.
I don't know what will happen when the rains come back (as they're supposed to do this year, with an "El Nino"). Hopefully somehow the plants and animals will find their way back too.
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What did we catch when ice fishing? That depended on the lake, the part of the lake, the depth, whether using little jig poles or the tip-ups....but usually bluegill, crappie, northern pike, maybe perch. We ate a lot of fresh fish back then. Yes, that little video did bring back memories, especially bringing the fish up through the hole (and losing one now and then). Also made my fingers tingle from memories of the cold.
When it comes to protecting lakes, that also involves protecting streams and wetlands.
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My goodness nlhome had no idea that the lake, the depth and the kind of fishing equipment all determined the kind of fish that is caught. Unbelievable or at least to me - I did my fair share of fishing till my late teens but it was the same dock and the same few fish that I assumed were the only fish to catch in that area - but the idea of catching different fish in different parts of the lake or gulf or ocean should have been obvious and the need for different tackle and poles but, that would be continuing fishing as an adult or at least knowing some adult fishermen.
I have a new appreciation for sports fishing now to look up all the fish you named and see what they look like and how they are best cooked - ;) :D :-*
I wonder how many of these types of fish can be purchased at the fish market in town? Wouldn't that be something to have a meal with a different fish and taste the difference.
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Oh after reading about Darby Nelson's experience with a Texas cockroach or as we call them Waterbugs I was laughing tonight - either he would love it or hate it - I am thinking the later - anyhow the grass was so dry not having watered in over 2 weeks, the magnolia on the side of the driveway was loosing not only leaves but a couple of limbs will have to be cut down where they dried out - so enough - turned on the hose with a spray like sprinkler - very soon the water was seeping onto the driveway that is on a small hill toward the garage, forming a foot wide river about 5 feet from the garage doorway - going through my mind was the old song the Battle of New Orleans
Yeah they ran through the briers and they ran through the brambles
And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go
They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em
On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
About 20 of them, some small, others large, fat ones, some brownish, others jet black running from the trees and bushes and grass and a few from my garage and some dropping off the roof - it looked like miniature wildebeest coming in for their evening drink on a lake on the Serengeti as they scrambled for the water - they are so fast I knew I could not step on all of them plus I did not want all those dead bodies in my driveway so I took the garage broom and started sweeping them up the driveway and out onto the street - Those that did not land on their back waving their legs in the air, I am sure found their way back onto the lawn but I shut off the water after 30 minutes and hope I spread the seeping water thin enough they would not be slurping up their 'lake' then slipping into the garage finding some crack where the rubber meets the ground. At least we are past flying season.
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I get confused about where we're supposed to be. We're on the last section already?
I really enjoyed reading the story of the tullibee, sad though it is. It's fun to watch the logical progression of problem solving. It's sad to think of those poor fish, seesawing back and forth between too hot and not able to breathe. How did some of them survive? Were there pockets somewhere in the lake where the two needs intersected?
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I'm really sad that this discussion is ending soon. I feel I have learned so much, and everything I've learned makes me want to learn more.
On Thursday we move from lakes to the ocean, and the sinking of the Lusitania:
"SHIP AHOY!
The Lusitania is sailing again on Thursday! Come and board early, even if you haven't gotten your book yet. Meet the irascible captain who couldn't save her (should he have?), the men and women who took their life problems (and priceless manuscripts) aboard, the happiest submarine captain and crew (was he too ruthless? too kind?), the love struck President, and the British naval officer who lured the submarine to its position, and didn't tell the Lusitania (was it on purpose?)
And share your experiences with ships (sunken and floating), submarines, naval warfare, and the decade before the roaring twenties.
http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4811.0
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Yes JoanK I have to agree I do not remember reading in recent years a book on Senior Learn where I learned so much new information I had no idea about...
My hunt has been to learn more about Mercury - still have not nailed how it got in the lakes to begin with .
Did find this bit...
Like many environmental contami-nants, mercury undergoes bioaccumulation. Bioaccumulation is the process by which organisms (including humans) can take up contaminants more rapidly than their bodies can eliminate them, thus the amount of mercury in their body accumulates over time. If for a period of time an organism does not ingest mercury, its body burden of mercury will decline. If, however, an organism continually ingests mercury, its body burden can reach toxic levels. The rate of increase or decline in body burden is specific to each organism. For humans, about half the body burden of mercury can be eliminated in 70 days if no mercury is ingested during that time. Biomagnification is the incremental increase in concentration of a contaminant at each level of a food chain
Did not know, although it has probably been common knowledge it is just not something I paid any attention too - that Mercury affects the brain of humans.
Humans generally uptake mercury in two ways: (1) as methylmercury (CH3Hg+) from fish consumption, or (2) by breathing vaporous mercury (Hg0) emitted from various sources such as metallic mercury, dental amalgams, and ambient air. Our bodies are much more adapted for reducing the potential toxicity effects from vaporous mercury, so health effects from this source are relatively rare. Methylmercury, on the other hand, affects the central nervous system, and in severe cases irreversibly damages areas of the brain
Ah so - there is not yet even known the answer to my question
The exact mechanism(s) by which mercury enters the food chain remain largely unknown, and probably vary among ecosystems. We do know, however, that certain bacteria play an important early role. Studies have shown that bacteria that process sulfate (SO4=) in the environment take up mercury in its inorganic form, and through metabolic processes convert it to methylmercury. The conversion of inorganic mercury to methylmercury is important for two reasons: (1) methylmercury is much more toxic than inorganic mercury, and (2) organisms require considerably longer to eliminate methylmercury. At this point, the methylmercury-containing bacteria may be consumed by the next higher level in the food chain, or the bacteria may release the methylmercury to the water where it can quickly adsorb to plankton, which are also consumed by the next level in the food chain.
Somehow according to the book there is a connection between increased levels of Mercury and Global Warming.
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Wow that is a lot of paddling and hiking carrying the conoe - uphill mind you - sheesh 7 and 1/2 miles of paddling and a mile-long portage, uphill then, that is not enough there is a 20 minute hike. And they are still not finished on the way to Nellie Lake. This is not an exploration for the couch potato.
Here is a link to the whirligigs with a photo http://beneficialbugs.org/bugs/Whirligig_Beetle/Whirligig.htm
And another link of many red sundew plants http://tinyurl.com/nad8pus
So far cannot find a photo or even a description of Jackstraw white or otherwise - the best I could find was in a forestry glossary and it said -- jack straw - trees that have been felled in a chaotic fashion as a result of natural events.
As the heading of this photo says
The ridiculous blue waters of Nellie Lake
(http://boreal.catsden.net/killarney/IMG_9590.jpg)
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Oh so the trout will come back if a lake is made healthy again... interesting.
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In the first two chapters of this section we learnabout the lake trout--their danger from warming, smallmouth bass and overfishing--and acid rain--how it can turn a lake lifeless, and how some lakes can recover and some probably can't.
There's a tug of war in what people want in a lake. For swimming they want the clarity of a lifeless lake. But they want to catch fish, and enjoy the birds, so they want life. But they don't like the loss of clarity and the tangle of plants. And throughout, they are all too ready to ignore their own role in changing things for the worse.
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Barb, remember the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland? The expression "mad as a hatter" came from the fact that the mercury compounds used in the felting process caused neurological damage.
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hmm thanks - I do not know a felting process that includes mercury or any compound - the only way I know about felting is to take a knitted or woven woolen piece and agitate in a tumbler much as the ancients agitated the woven wool in a local stream - need to look into this 'process' - but I can see the connection to the mad hatter being affected by too much mercury in his hats that ended up affecting his brain.
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I am so enjoying the chapter on Waldon's Pond - the writing brings out the reverence those who have read Thoreau feel for this tiny spot - October - mid color for the Northeast - its been 60 years since I have seen that part of the country dressed in its fall colors - all the words are bringing up pictures of a lake surrounded by color and the warmth of the sun promising a comfortable warm mid-day. It always surprises me how quiet are the woods in Autumn - few birds chattering and even fewer animals about.
The swimming elders remind me there is a small group of elders who swim Barton Creek Pool - an area of the creek damed to slow the water but not stop the water so it spread out around some natural springs and everyday there are a few who come early for their swim before the ticket booth opens - there are a couple of hours before and after the ticket booth closes that folks can come and swim. I should join them and every year I seem to find something else more important - need to get down there next week - big garage sale in our neighborhood this Saturday that I am participating in and has me pulling all sorts of things from my closets.
Never heard the song Lake of Mercy - need to see if I can find it on Youtube.
Another new word - Eutrophication: noun excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.
a web site all about the Nitella http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/nitella/
and so we learn that Nitella is a good kind of growth that is keeping Thoreau's lake in good condition but an anti-pee in the lake campaign with accompanying porta-potties lining areas of our lakes - not exactly the scene I would wish for but then maybe there is a more attractive porta-potty - planting bushes around in this day and age only invites perverts - what a dilemma...
I can only imagine the lump in a throat walking away from Waldon's Pond and on a day blazing in color - must be like an Autumn sunset as the blazing red hot anvil called the sun descends and the gulf breeze, typical of the fall cools the evening.
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oh just beautiful - oh my... http://www.brethesla.com/downloads/lake-of-mercy/
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We learn in these last two chapters that Geri is a scientist - a loving wife but also a scientific partner - this is an amazing book that I hate to see it end - there are not many books I read a second time but this one I will - not only because I would like a smooth read after having learned the definition of words, geology, plants, fish etc. but to further enjoy the writing rhythm and the sublet way of making a point.
I am seeing a metaphor to most aspects of life explained by the observation while ice fishing - "Our inner voice sympathies. Let him be, it says, Let him be. The hunter's instinct says food, take food.
From what I have read and understood the Native Americans knew how to balance those two instincts. Maybe it is balance we need -
I see this play out in our neighborhood - some homeowners have a romantic Bambi view wanting the deer to populate freely - the deer have few natural predictors - these very neighbors do not like losing their cats and small dogs to the coyotes and yet, the coyotes that have returned after they were eliminated, do help balance the deer population.
And then, we have those 'hunters' in the neighborhood who would like to hire a crew from South Texas and eliminate all the deer - after all they say, we are a populated community and the deer dart out like 2 year olds crashing into moving vehicles causing accidents, injuries and higher insurance raters. They are the same hunters that see any land not used to its fullest economic potential as a cause to persuade the City Council to loosen the building standards so they can 'take food' regardless, what it does in time to the watershed and nearby creeks that flow into the lakes.
Puts it into perspective - no one is right or wrong - there is a little right and wrong with each of these opposite viewpoints - conflict it is... because I was uncomfortable with the sterilized care of Flint Lake - it was as if having a lovely tree in the front yard and a couple of young grandboys and telling them the could not climb the tree - hmm - that is not integrating but rather, separating man from nature and further, categorizing which aspects of nature can mingle with waterways - certainly not domestic animals or tree leaves - an exaggeration but, it felt like the third eye of God would bore holes in all humanity near a lake if man, animal or fish had the audacity to die in the lake.
Maybe it is purpose as well as, balance - to what purpose to mis-use so that a view will fit our perception of what entails a view but then, can we really wipe out all the landscape artwork that includes the artists vision of a lake clear of vegetation.
I still think a movie needs to be made from the book exactly as it is written, with canoe trips that will show the paddlers introducing the 'characters' in the story.
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" It always surprises me how quiet are the woods in Autumn."
love that quiet of the woods -- it's like no other. So quiet that if an acorn falls, it's a momentous event, worthy of our consideration. It must be the same in the middle of a still lake in a canoe.
remember too the man who was honored for rescuing people stranded after Hurricane Katrina. he rode along the streets in his canoe. Because he was in a canoe, he could hear cries for help too faint to be heard by the engine powered rescue boats.
Silence can be a blessing: one we too seldom get.
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Sorry not to be here for the last week as we were up in Ithaca, NY, attending the wedding of our granddaughter. It was held in Ithaca New Park which sits up from Lake Cayuga, the largest of the Finger Lakes. Beautiful grounds. Sarah came down the forest aisle with her two boys, ages 9 & 6 and Jesse met her with a huge smile on his face. He gained a wife and two sons all in one ceremony. The boys presented the couple with the ceremonial rings. I have photos which I will later try to put up here. Can't remember how at this time. We were chauffeured to and from Ithaca by our 20 yr old grandson, going, and by his mom, coming back. Just hate to be waited on like that. We were the oldest folks there. After the dinner, the new couple danced to tango music which is how they met. Later in the evening, the tango club from Ithaca arrived and did some nice dancing. 'Twas a gorgeous night and one could feel nothing but love surrounding it all. Best wedding we have attended in years.
I finished the book before we left and have really enjoyed discussing it and seeing all the links that have been shared.
I believe that I mentioned that we visited Alpena, MI last year for the International Underwater Robotics competition and were so impressed with Lake Huron which looks so clean and clear. Here is what goes on at Thunder Bay, on the lake, in Alpena:
http://thunderbay.noaa.gov/education/rov/welcome.html
I am going to the pre discussion of "Dead Wake" which I hope you will all join. Another book about the water, this time the Atlanta ocean.
Thanks for your wonderful leadership, Barb. You are one of our best!
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Anne sounds like a wonderful experience not just the wedding among friends and family but the setting as well - Thanks for joining the discussion and sharing what is a highlight in your memory bank -
Well I wish I thought to look for these earlier - cannot believe here it is the last day and only now finding them but a wonderful professional looking photo of Geri Nelson
(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZxlYNRNXUfPe9JTxsFWiwvWvQ_B7RwK2SVTM9RKCsCMa1zXfo)
The photo accompanies this Bio...
For over a decade Geri Nelson put her years of experience in science education to work for LWV Minnesota, developing curriculum and training voter service chairs and debate moderators as the LWV Minnesota Voter Service Co-Chair. She also served as the LWV Minnesota First Vice President (2009-2013), and is now co-chair of the BE: Part of the Conversation Campaign.
Geri taught for 25 years in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. In the 1990s she served on the Minnesota Science Best Practice Team and worked as a teacher on special assignment with SciMathMN and the Minnesota Department of Education to help write the Minnesota Science Framework. She was a member of the Minnesota Academy of Science Board as a Director of the Junior Academy of Science (1993-96), and in 1996 she received the Gordon M. A. Mork Award from the University of Minnesota College of Education and the Alumni Society for significant contributions in the field of education.
In 2002, Geri was honored with the Zilla Way Award for outstanding leadership to LWV Anoka/Blaine/Coon Rapids Area where she has been a member for 40 years, serving in many capacities including President and Voter Service chair.
Geri travels frequently with her husband, Darby, as he gives talks on his book, For Love of Lakes, and can be found paddling the Minnesota River in aid of research on his next book (on the Minnesota River). They have two children and five grandchildren. Through her church, Geri is active in partnering with schools to help homeless youth. She is president of the Philolectian Society, a women’s club in Anoka, and is a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, a society of women educators.
And then these two photos of both Geri and Darby
(http://www.nature.org/cs/groups/webcontent/@web/@minnesota/documents/media/minnesota-darby-and-geri-nelso.jpg) (http://www.bemidjistate.edu/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2015/05/v31n01-HelpingHands-Nelsons-02-657x423.jpg)
This site is about their living legacy to the Nature Conservancy
http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/minnesota/explore/minnesota-darby-and-geri-nelson-donor-profile.xml
And now that we have finished reading the book we can share the reviews written and published by others - this is a nice review with a photo of Darby Nelson, who is likened by the author to a modern day Thoreau.
https://www.minnpost.com/environment/2012/02/darby-nelson-modern-day-thoreau
In the sense that both wrote a book with a story that captured the attention of the reader providing us with quotable sentences however, I think Darby Nelson's writes more poetically as well as offering the reader a more scientific understanding of waterways than Thoreau's offering. I think part of the fascination reading Waldon's Pond is reading about a life experience that today is no longer possible in most areas and certainly no longer possible on the Pond/Lake in Concord Mass.
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Lake of Mercy was beautiful, thanks for sharing it.
Jean
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It was beautiful wasn't it Jean - I've never heard it had you?
Look what just arrived in my email - hurrah
2015 Lunchtime Lecture theme – The Geography of Rivers: The Nature and Culture of Flowing Water
· October Lunchtime Lecture: Waters the Land: Texas Rivers
· “We crossed the wild Pecos, We forded the Nueces, We swum the Guadalupe, And we followed the Brazos, Red River runs rusty, The Wichita clear, But down by the Brazos I courted my dear…” So begins the “Texas Rivers Song” with its refrain that “many a river waters the land” which accurately describes the geography of Texas. Many rivers cut their way across the Texas landscape searching for the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1950, Roy Bedichek pointed out that, “Texas has a river unity hardly to be found in any other state in the Union and in few foreign countries” with a general northwest to southeast drainage across the state. But he also pointed out that our river planning artificially dissects river systems into “upper, central, and lower” authorities ignoring the organic unity of river basins.
As Andy Sansom has more recently pointed out, current interbasin water transfers ignore the very boundaries of Texas river systems and threaten environmental flows for our rivers. Join me for an overview of the geography of Texas rivers and a history of human impacts on the many rivers that water the land.
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BARB: "I think part of the fascination reading Waldon's Pond is reading about a life experience that today is no longer possible in most areas and certainly no longer possible on the Pond/Lake in Concord Mass."
I couldn't disagree more. Don't misunderstand the nature of Thoreau's experience: he lived a short walk from town, and dropped in on his friends for dinner whenever he wanted. You don't have to go live in a hut you built in the middle of nowhere to experience the beauty and tranquility that he did: it is available to any of us anywhere if we seek it and open our eyes.
Who would have thought of Texas as a land of rivers? Find your "Walden pond" (it might even be in your back yard).
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I can't believe this is the last day for this discussion. I don't want to let it go!! Thank you, thank you Barb for suggesting the book and leading it. And thank you Gerri for joining us. Do come back when your busy schedule allows.
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In the final chapters I've seen even more clearly how interdependant all the factors of an ecosystem are, watched the Nelsons buy land to follow the development of a lake, seen how our perceptions interfere with realizing what we are doing to lakes, walked with Thoreau, and appreciated the irony that the way to save his lake may be to line it with port-a-potties.
Each lake has its own personality, showing its strengths and weaknesses, and I'm glad to have met them all.
Thank you, Barb, for choosing this book and leading the discussion, and thanks to Darby Nelson for writing the book, and to Geri for talking to us about it. It's been a great experience.
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Well it has been an eye opener reading For Love of Lakes and it was great having everyone share their input plus the treat of Geri Nelson coming to the site and sharing.
Not sure how many of us will get out in a canoe this fall but maybe a walk around our close by lake using our 'new eyes' to observe an ecosystem we had no idea existed. Happy trails as the song goes...
In October we continue on the water this time the Atlantic Ocean with the story of the sinking of the Lusitania. Hope to see you there. http://seniorlearn.org/forum/index.php?topic=4811.80