You can see good black shales on Glasco Turnpike near Mt. Marion. Other black shale strata are seen along Route 209, north of Kingston. Visit either of these locations and see the dark color and view the laminations. Uniformitarianist geologists find sediments resembling these at the bottoms of today’s deep seas.
We are all finding new ways to have fun at home. Naturally and predictably, I’m recommending you step into your backyard and simply look up around dinnertime, just as darkness falls. So happens, this is a most extraordinary time to gaze at the heavens. Halfway up the western sky you’ll see an unbelievably bright “star.” This is of course the planet Venus, also known as the Evening Star.
Here’s one happy truth that may help us all: Being on “lockdown” when the adversary is a microorganism that inhabits human hosts does not necessarily mean staying indoors all the time. We can take walks, so long as we stay more than six feet away from other people and avoid touching surfaces that get touched a lot. We can celebrate the upcoming Vernal Equinox, Arbor Day and Earth Day by hugging a tree; it won’t get sick.
“In the case of coronavirus, which we’re all experiencing very intensely right now, scientists had been warning that certain species were more likely to harbor viruses that could jump to humans, and some of those species were being housed in optimal conditions for such jumps to occur.”
In the “current affairs” department, no other topic could be explored on this page right now. You wouldn’t think “germs” and “astronomy” would ever share the same headline or news story, but it has happened three times.
Governor Andrew Cuomo did it for New York State on March 7; county executive Pat Ryan did it for Ulster County on the 12th; and this Sunday, March 15, town supervisor Marybeth Majestic declared an official state of emergency for the town of Gardiner. On a local level, this might, for example, allow the municipality to purchase lifesaving equipment or supplies without waiting for the usual bidding process, in order to save precious time.
In a “tele-town hall” meeting conducted via phone and listened to by approximately 10,000 people, County Executive Pat Ryan and
Overlook, our holy mountain, is looking over us, a mostly silent witness to our wintry travail.
If Lactarius peckii is present, it means that the forest is healthy. Passage of the bill would make New York one of only three states to have an official state fungus.
I’ve been fielding a lot of e-mails and texts expressing concern for my family’s health this past week. I’ve also
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