Harking back to yesterdays post: The berry season is not looking good. I have never seen such a dearth of blackberries, usually they are the most plentiful but this year very hard to find any.
Red berries are very small and still in the white stage.
Blue are about but not in quantities of past years, and they are not quite sweet enough yet.
And on the seismic monitor; There are numbers of earthquakes all up and down the coast on a regular basis, usually out to sea. And yes, the rocks around here are very old indeed.
I think the bigger issue for the town is the land that the town is built on. How do you build on what is mainly glacial till interspersed with light silty soil with any degree of stability in the longer term?
I don't think anyone has really taken good look at that question.
The three photos give a very good cross section look at the soil conditions. These are up at the lot where the new NG Department of Health building is going up.
The height of the cut away is about 12 feet. The lightning bolt points out an underground stream, one of many that run all year round.
This type of soil is a living thing, it becomes particularly unstable when disturbed by construction and installing water and sewer lines.
After being dug up, the some what stable glacial till is usually replaced by sand like fill. There is plenty avaible and it is the most cost effective-in the short term.
Long term it is the least cost effective; water courses are changed and with freezing and thawing buildings move, some to devastating effect.
One example is the Moravian Church. The front of the building is sitting very precariously at odd angles. This was caused by the water and sewer line trenches that ran close to the building some years back.
Underground water courses were changed, the large deep trench was filled with sand making the land at the front of the church very unstable.
Some of these old practices are changing, but not at the pace they should be. And if the people responcible for all these public and private projects relaxe their vigals then old practices are easier and cheaper to go back to. It is happening as I write.
4 comments:
Also hearing that strange story B about the berries. Hardy Bush too. Also hearing that the Char are still out and about. Weird Man. Haven't heard much on the earthquake thing. Only shakes I feel are from my Hangover.
Curious, as noted erosion is a potential concern when helping with water project in 2008, is seismic part of strategy to monitor this??? Does NG/Community Gov have anyone noting differences in drainage channels, etc. Again something that other coasts have already experienced...check West coast northern communities that were relocated back from shoreline...basically eroding into the sea. Real change is happening....just hope the right people are paying attention;)
"Does NG/Community Gov have anyone noting differences in drainage channels"
One has to suppress a laugh, there would have to be a dramatic sea change in attitudes @ NG/NICG for anyone to notice anything like that.
Too sad, seems erosion is concern from water quality/construction perspective as well as otherwise...spring thaw happens quickly eroding those loose sands...morhardt hill way (spelling may be wrong) significant when I went there...
Guess quality of land is low priority concerned to other agenda items...
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