Category: Nature

General observations, generally during dog walks

The perils of doing the “ecological” thing

metalsmith, Uruguay

Here you see the local herrero, installing the metal gate posts he promised 3-4 months ago. He has a good sense of humor, and we have a running joke about his never getting anything done on time.

I stopped by his shop the other day and spoke with his wife. He wasn’t there. I mentioned there was no hurry, since since several months had passed, though the rotting wooden posts were getting worse.

The next day he showed up, and the day after that the job was done. I know who I’ll talk to the next time I need a response 😉

What you see in the foreground are the “ecologically” treated fence posts, that lasted (in sandy soil) perhaps three years.

Dunes, doin’ their dune thing

I’ve mentioned before the boardwalks from three years or so ago: here and in a picture here.

One I walk almost every day has the odd distinction of being at ground level near the road, where it is rotting away and creating opportunities to fall that would inspire lawsuits in the Untied States of Amurka. Yet where it crosses the dune, at a level based on wind erosion, the protected dune has regained its normal height.

Which is almost to the height of the handrails of the boardwalk.

In which I fail a simple technological challenge.

Returning from the beach, I thought I’d use the video on my camera to catch the “mewing” sounds of the frogs. I turned it on, heard better sound further along, turned it off, started it again just in time to catch a raucous call, and a loud bird landing next to another overhead in a dead tree.

When I got home, I discovered that I had turned it off when I thought I was starting it, so missed all the good stuff.

So anyway, here’s the bird:

Warm!

warm

No sooner do I witness heavy frost and order a ton of firewood, than the temperature gets positively balmy outside. Remember, July 27 here is the equivalent of January 27 in the northern hemisphere.

Yes, I did polish our car’s scratched windshield with cleaning wax, as I mentioned earlier, and it worked! Reduced the glare probably 90%. Much safer now.

Cold!

frost

Morning sun makes quick work of the heavy frost on the roof of the car, while the temperature hovers in the low single-digits Celsius. One more day I won’t be using my new polisher to get scratches off the windshield, I think.

¡Que humedad!

First time we came to Uruguay from Mexico, we were amazed to wake up to passport covers curled by the humidity. Where we lived in Mexico,  March was so dry it might have been called Parch. It was refreshing; our skin felt moisturized.

It has a down side, though. In many parts of the world, locals build houses adapted to the environment. Not in Uruguay: a typical house is a single wall of brick, stucco, and no insulation, as if the objective were to grow mold. Ironically, now mostly-eschewed traditional building with adobe rarely has problems with moisture, as long as the walls are protected.

Today, the temperature is almost balmy, but the humidity continues to be incredible. They’re reporting it at 88%, which I’m tempted to disbelieve. I delivered the bases for some kitchen cabinets to the chacra, and almost got stuck just inside the gate.*

humidity

I’ve never had this happen before. Our mason has had a tough time the last few days; each coat of paint on the kitchen light fixture I’m making takes a couple days to dry.

* Called a potera; were I to bring that gate 10km to town, it would become a portal. Go figure.