february filldyke

The old country description of this month is 'February filldyke'. A month of rain. The difference this year is that we have had the wettest start to the year on record. Hmmmm. The hottest 13 years on record have occurred in the last 14 years. There's something happenin' out there and yet we have a government who appoint an Environment minister who is a climate change sceptic. What is there to be sceptical about? The climate is changing. Do something about it!!

My heart goes out to those poor people affected by the flooding and the short-term thinking of successive governments.

Here's Carlyle's five point plan:

1. Reduce carbon emissions. Fund home insulation. Say no to fracking!.
2. Change subsidy payments to farmers to encourage landowners to plant more native trees on our hill and mountainsides. Trees enable water to be more readily absorbed into the ground and slow the rate of run off.
3. Manage our watercourses so that increased rainfall can be accommodated. Meanders and ox-bow lakes are good. Designate areas as flood plains and fund landowners to manage their land in this way. Reduce canalisation. Increase wetlands. Reintroduce beavers!!
4. Consider carefully how sensible it is to allow building in flood plains. In Holland they have moved vulnerable communities away from the highest risk areas.
5. Continue the 'managed retreat' policy of allowing tidal areas to flood.

Here,  at wet Cordwood our crude pond is filling well in the deluge. The water is collected from our roofs and is piped to our pond.

We have taken up Adam's suggestion and added oxygenating pond weed and await our first local frogs and toads.

NB It is best not to transfer frogspawn or frogs and toads to new ponds due to the risk of transmitting disease.