From the immortal lyrics of Frank Zappa:
Movin' to Montana soon
Gonna be a Dental Floss tycoon
(yes I am)
Just me 'n the pymgy pony
As global warming gets worse, Montana's already extreme environment gets even more erratic. Our notoriously cold and wet winters have become dry and warm. While our springs have become wet and violent. The good news is that after last Friday's extreme microburst, the pygmy ponies are OK.
More after the fold.
More Zappa:
Movin' to Montana soon
Gonna be a mennil-toss flykune
I'm pluckin' the ol' Dennil Floss
That's growin' on the prairie
Pluckin' the floss!
I plucked all day an' all nite an' all Afternoon...
I'm ridin' a small tiny hoss
(His name is MIGHTY LITTLE)
He's a good hoss
Even though He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway
He's a bit dinky to strap a big saddle or
Blanket on anyway...
Just me 'n the pymgy pony
Over the Dennil Floss Bush
N' then I might just Jumb back on
An' ride Like a cowboy
Into the dawn to Montana
Movin' to Montana soon...
I moved to the cold desert we call Montana in 1979, not long after Frank Zappa's famous Montana song was released. Though I have never raised dental floss or rode a pygmy pony, I have survived many good natured jibes concerning both.
The weather over the last 25 years that I have lived here has become increasingly unpredictable and erratic, just like the global warming models have predicted. Tornadoes used to be almost unknown in the state, with one or two striking eastern Montana every two or three years. Today, Montana will typically have 3 to 6 tornadoes per year all over the state, a sign of the increasing energy pouring into our atmosphere. Global warming is not like raising the average temperature in a room by two degrees or so Fahrenheit in order to be more comfortable. It's more like tossing a gallon of gasoline on a roaring campfire while hoping to jump back in time to avoid being severely burned.
Getting back to the pygmy ponies. Last Friday evening we got back from viewing "War of the Worlds" with the giant tripods laying waste to humankind., after being activated by a huge thunderstorm. Sitting out on our back deck, I was astonished to see an immense similar thundershower striking the valley to the east. The next day, the local newspaper reported that here had been extensive damage from a microburst in the East Helena Valley, with several homes damaged and power knocked out for hours.
Today's local paper reports that the the pygmy ponies whose barn was hit by the microburst are OK.
There are a lot of unintended consequences from global warming. Frank Zappa is smiling.