It’s Thursday, and at last there’s some sun in Dobrzyn after a few days of overcast and cool weather. (As I write this at 8:30 a.m. in Poland, it’s 15°C, or 60°F). Today I plan a long walk to the adjacent village, whose name in Polish is Bachorzeno, literally meaning “The village of bastard children.” I’m told that many Polish villages have similarly funny names, and I’ll put up a list soon. Meanwhile in Dobrzyn, Hili, who hates snow, is dreading the next season:
Hili: Easter is coming.
Cyrus: But winter comes first.
Hili: Let’s try to sleep through it.
Hili: Idzie Wielkanoc.
Cyrus: Najpierw będzie zima.
Hili: Spróbujemy to przespać.
And a monologue from a lazy Leon, whom I’ll meet on Saturday when we go to his home in Wrocklawek and then take him for a walk (on his leash) in a nearby national forest. We may see elk!
Leon: Another minute at it will be enough with exercising for today.
Bisob bonasus?! How exciting! This may interest you then…
Defecation rate in captive European bison
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3786090
They are res[ponsible for a lot of seed dispersal, which just goes to show how returning large species to an ecosystem can improve the overall biodiversity.
I was misinformed. It’s elk, not bison that we might see, though bison do exist in Poland.
http://www.zubry.com/zubr-w-polsce-i-na-swiecie 🙂
There’s been some similar research into how reintroducing wolves into parts of North America has actually moved rivers across the map.
b&
“reintroducing wolves into parts of North America has actually moved rivers across the map.”
I recently saw a PBS program on the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone. The wolves did not literally move the rivers. What they did was reduce the deer and Elk herds which allowed more trees to grow along river banks, thus stabilizing the soil and slowing the erosion that causes rivers to meander. In other words reduce the movement of rivers. In general the effects were to create a more diverse and well balanced ecosystem.
As I recall, it was more than simply slowing erosion; the new vegetation, plus beavers, and the other changes in the ecosystem caused accumulation of new material along the banks that changed the course of the rivers. But this is from recollection…I could be worng.
The upshot, of course, is that the wolves are good for the environment. We would do well to learn that lesson and reintroduce them to more areas, along with other predators like jaguars.
b&
“villages have similarly funny names”
I just can’t wait for some traveler to come out with a memoir titled, _I’ve Enjoyed Fucking and Have Been to Hell_.
Go ahead. Look them up.
Googling that first name is not likely to give one useful results.
I too am not looking forward to shoveling snow off the roof and keeping the driveway clear.
“I warrant, her rags and the tallow in them will burn a Poland winter”
At least by now I know who your apt quotes are from. 🙂
er, whom