Sustainability
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I opened the door to the garage and turn signals on my car were flashing. It was the first time in the garage yesterday and I feared having left something turned on, depleting the battery charge. I put the key in the ignition and it started. At an undetermined point in the night turn signals… Read more
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The store manager from the home, farm and auto supply store phoned Sunday afternoon to ask me to work on Monday. The colleague who assumed my full time job last spring was visiting family in Nebraska and bad weather closed roads across the state, including Interstate 80. She couldn’t make it back in time for… Read more
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This weird weather is unsettling. Wild variations in temperature made it a damaging winter… it’s not over. The driveway buckled a few feet from the garage door because of temperature swings. Water must be trapped underground with inadequate drainage before refreezing. The buckled pavement is directing rain under the door, flooding the car park. Everything… Read more
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More than at any previous time I feel a goal line was crossed when I left full time work last spring. So what’s next? I don’t anticipate buying a fancy television with new, matching easy chairs to put in front of it. My late aunt and uncle had that. When we visited their Alabama home… Read more
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Editor’s Note: Originally posted on Nov. 4, 2011. I live in the country, in case this is the first time you are reading this blog. In economic tough times, we have to multitask any resource use, so when I drive to the county seat, I try to combine tasks. I book events and meetings then… Read more
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Ice turned to mush as rain fell Thursday morning. The surfaces of Lake Macbride and the Coralville Lake appeared to remain frozen as I drove on Mehaffey Bridge Road. When I arrived at the home, farm and auto supply store it continued to rain. By the end of my shift a layer of ice had… Read more
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Seems like I’ve been hunkered down and bunkered in since apple season. I’ve been thoroughly funkified. With 45 days left until spring I’m restless to get out of my lair. The number of indoor places I spend time is limited: the chair or couch in the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the laundry room,… Read more
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The ambient temperature is 45 degrees, a 73 degree swing since early Thursday morning. Warming is part of the polar vortex, just as the cold was. Temperatures are forecast to return closer to normal after tomorrow. I had planned to prune trees today but am concerned about rapidly changing temperatures. If the sap starts flowing… Read more
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Editor’s Note: This email was sent to members of our home owners association at the beginning of the polar vortex of 2019. As I write this note, the outdoors ambient temperature is 26 degrees below zero and one person in the county seat has died from exposure. Member, As you likely know, ambient temperatures are… Read more
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Images depicting ambient temperature reports have been ubiquitous on social media the last few days. According to the Weather Channel, temperatures plummet to 25 degrees below zero by Tuesday thanks to a polar vortex. It’s what I’ve been waiting for to prune apple and pear trees as sap flow is halted by the temperature. Considering… Read more
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