Kong Ka Rrrrrreeeee!
“Kong-ka-Ree” is the call of the Red Winged Blackbird. This particular blackbird is the fairly resistant to cold weather – it summers and mates in Canada – and is the most common of the blackbird family.
It’s a good thing they are so common because they’re dropping by the thousands, particularly just north of the Gulf Coast and along the Chesapeake up to Cape Cod, where it’s a year-round resident. The other thing that’s happening in Gulf and in Chesapeake Bay is that the fish are also dying by the thousands.
Meanwhile, the Northeast is bracing for another forecast of snow showers that could have the potential for a blizzard. Even a brief look at the sea temperature and anomalies map will tell you why: the waters off eastern Florida and north from the southern Virginia border to Cape Cod are freezing. The temperatures are so far below normal that they’re off the chart. In the Cheaspeake Bay Area and along the South Jersey Coast in particular, the temperatures are actually very close to the freezing point. The Atlantic Coastline and its fish and birds are accustomed to the warmth of the Gulf Stream. But not this year. Any fish that expect to survive in those areas need to break out their parkas.
There are no reports of shorebird deaths yet; only this one variety of blackbird that also makes its home in these areas. Maybe the gulls have tougher feathers than the redwinged blackbirds.
Why none of this has occurred to the ornithologists, the piscologists, and the weather forecasts is the real mystery. Don’t they read each other’s maps? Well, I was at Emergency Preparedness Conference one year and I made the mistake of asking a geological question of the water experts that pertained, I believe, to rivers. They sent me packing with a mighty huff: that wasn’t their area of expertise.
After last month’s surprise blizzard, Northeast residents are now worried. The blizzard snow has only partially melted and now they’re telling us we can expect more “snow showers.” Which means people are panicking, raiding the stores for supplies to hold them over the expected period.
What would they have done in January 1780 at New Jersey’s Jockey Hollow, where the Continental Army was bivouacked for the winter? We were playing a variation on “Chester” at band rehearsal tonight. The conductor had visited Jockey Hollow during the summer. He remarked on the fortitude of the soldiers, and their determination to see it through.
“To think of the people on whose backs our country was built,” he said. “The strength they had. They were just country people but they just decided they were going to do it. ‘Bring it on!’ they told the British. There they were at Jockey Hollow, barefoot in the snow. Worse even than Valley Forge. We couldn’t do that today,” he said, shaking his head.
“Those people were amazing. As a teacher, I will never tell my students our country sucks. Not my kids. I’m not preaching,” he added, noticing some liberals in our group were getting testy. “I’m just saying…”
According to Wikipedia, on Oct. 17, 1779, the Continental Army bivouacked for the winter at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, N.J. Soldiers camped at this location until January, 1780, during which they endured some of the harshest conditions of the Revolutionary War. Jockey Hollow was a strategic location, several hundred feet above the British to the east. The mountainous range also allowed Revolutionary soldiers to spot British movement. In the days of horsepower, this was considered an impregnable redoubt. Another reason why the location was chosen was because the surrounding area held citizens that were sympathetic to the rebel cause That winter was considered the harshest of the war, including the one at Valley Forge the two years before. Twelve men often shared one of over one thousand simple huts built in Jockey Hollow to house the army. Desertions were commonplace. The entire Pennsylvania contingent successfully mutinied and later, 200 New Jersey soldiers attempted to emulate them. Several of the latter ringleaders were hanged.
The soldiers had to build their own huts, including surrounding trenches for drainage. The huts, made of log, were 14 by 16 square feet and 6.5 feet high. Twelve men often shared one hut. Inside the huts, soldiers had a fireplace for warmth and cooking. They packed the ground for an earthen floor. Soldiers also had to make their own furniture, including bunks and tables. Their bunks got covered with straw and each soldier was given one blanket. Soldiers’ huts were about 2 to 3 feet apart, with three rows of eight huts for each regiment. By 1780, soldiers had built about 1,200 huts in Jockey Hollow.
When the snow comes again – as we know it will – just think of the birds and fish who have been probably affected by Obama’s mismanaged Gulf oil spill and of the frozen, shoeless soldiers of Jockey Hollow in 1780, whose feet turned blue and finally fell off.
Be careful shoveling. Take your time. Then go back into your nice, warm house, have a hot cup of cocoa, and thank God for freedom and freedom fighters who made it possible for you to enjoy your liberty.
It’s a good thing they are so common because they’re dropping by the thousands, particularly just north of the Gulf Coast and along the Chesapeake up to Cape Cod, where it’s a year-round resident. The other thing that’s happening in Gulf and in Chesapeake Bay is that the fish are also dying by the thousands.
Meanwhile, the Northeast is bracing for another forecast of snow showers that could have the potential for a blizzard. Even a brief look at the sea temperature and anomalies map will tell you why: the waters off eastern Florida and north from the southern Virginia border to Cape Cod are freezing. The temperatures are so far below normal that they’re off the chart. In the Cheaspeake Bay Area and along the South Jersey Coast in particular, the temperatures are actually very close to the freezing point. The Atlantic Coastline and its fish and birds are accustomed to the warmth of the Gulf Stream. But not this year. Any fish that expect to survive in those areas need to break out their parkas.
There are no reports of shorebird deaths yet; only this one variety of blackbird that also makes its home in these areas. Maybe the gulls have tougher feathers than the redwinged blackbirds.
Why none of this has occurred to the ornithologists, the piscologists, and the weather forecasts is the real mystery. Don’t they read each other’s maps? Well, I was at Emergency Preparedness Conference one year and I made the mistake of asking a geological question of the water experts that pertained, I believe, to rivers. They sent me packing with a mighty huff: that wasn’t their area of expertise.
After last month’s surprise blizzard, Northeast residents are now worried. The blizzard snow has only partially melted and now they’re telling us we can expect more “snow showers.” Which means people are panicking, raiding the stores for supplies to hold them over the expected period.
What would they have done in January 1780 at New Jersey’s Jockey Hollow, where the Continental Army was bivouacked for the winter? We were playing a variation on “Chester” at band rehearsal tonight. The conductor had visited Jockey Hollow during the summer. He remarked on the fortitude of the soldiers, and their determination to see it through.
“To think of the people on whose backs our country was built,” he said. “The strength they had. They were just country people but they just decided they were going to do it. ‘Bring it on!’ they told the British. There they were at Jockey Hollow, barefoot in the snow. Worse even than Valley Forge. We couldn’t do that today,” he said, shaking his head.
“Those people were amazing. As a teacher, I will never tell my students our country sucks. Not my kids. I’m not preaching,” he added, noticing some liberals in our group were getting testy. “I’m just saying…”
According to Wikipedia, on Oct. 17, 1779, the Continental Army bivouacked for the winter at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, N.J. Soldiers camped at this location until January, 1780, during which they endured some of the harshest conditions of the Revolutionary War. Jockey Hollow was a strategic location, several hundred feet above the British to the east. The mountainous range also allowed Revolutionary soldiers to spot British movement. In the days of horsepower, this was considered an impregnable redoubt. Another reason why the location was chosen was because the surrounding area held citizens that were sympathetic to the rebel cause That winter was considered the harshest of the war, including the one at Valley Forge the two years before. Twelve men often shared one of over one thousand simple huts built in Jockey Hollow to house the army. Desertions were commonplace. The entire Pennsylvania contingent successfully mutinied and later, 200 New Jersey soldiers attempted to emulate them. Several of the latter ringleaders were hanged.
The soldiers had to build their own huts, including surrounding trenches for drainage. The huts, made of log, were 14 by 16 square feet and 6.5 feet high. Twelve men often shared one hut. Inside the huts, soldiers had a fireplace for warmth and cooking. They packed the ground for an earthen floor. Soldiers also had to make their own furniture, including bunks and tables. Their bunks got covered with straw and each soldier was given one blanket. Soldiers’ huts were about 2 to 3 feet apart, with three rows of eight huts for each regiment. By 1780, soldiers had built about 1,200 huts in Jockey Hollow.
When the snow comes again – as we know it will – just think of the birds and fish who have been probably affected by Obama’s mismanaged Gulf oil spill and of the frozen, shoeless soldiers of Jockey Hollow in 1780, whose feet turned blue and finally fell off.
Be careful shoveling. Take your time. Then go back into your nice, warm house, have a hot cup of cocoa, and thank God for freedom and freedom fighters who made it possible for you to enjoy your liberty.
posted by Belle | 7:07 AM
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