Emergent Seedling

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 3, 2023

We had little to no rain in June, very cold temperatures (it was Juneuary!), and the smoke from the fires in Nova Scotia and eastern Canada turned our skies here on Nantucket to orange-sunned haze.


When I wrote this, it was June 12. I planted these pole beans you see in the image on May 29. That’s a long time for them to emerge. What makes me take a step back and think is that fires like these would have – and did have in some cases – a far worse effect on people in earlier times. While they were not necessarily climate-change created or fueled, they were just as detrimental. What I think most about is how they dealt with the shortages of produce and the effects on livestock as the smoke-haze blocked the sun or they confronted Juneuary or a late spring killing frost when seedlings were emerging from the ground. They relied locally on their food – not like many of us do today – which is a catch-22 – as bringing produce from another continent in January has created some of the climate mess we are in – and thus the wildfires mentioned above.   


On a lighter note, I did not notice the small insect when I took the photograph of the seedling – now I’m wondering what little insect is eye my seedlings as their lunch!


JNLF


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