I returned late afternoon from a magical three day adventure into three different Indiana state parks: Brown County State Park (only minutes from here; we walked two new trails and I ate a fabulous lunch in its Abe Martin Lodge; Clifty Falls State Park the next day (two hours away), where we spent five hours wandering trails and again, I ate lunch, this time at the Clifty Falls Inn which sits high above the Ohio river, and is back dropped by three enormous smoke stacks. I wondered what in hell they were, and saw a sign.

It belonged to the coal plant there, on the river, with coal arriving on barges, the smokestacks pouring 24×7, and powering a city of one million. No discernable odor in the air, nor was the air at all murky.

Though the “environmental activist” part of me is, of course, concerned, what are our alternatives, as long as the fabled “free energy” is no where in sight? Nuclear is even scarier; both solar panels and wind farms are expensive, carry massive embedded energy, and with life spans of 20-25 years, end up in land fills. Plus, solar panels degrade over time, and wind power kills birds and uses up otherwise nutrient producing land.  I’ve got solar panels here; wouldn’t do it again.

I’ll put up more photos tomorrow, but meanwhile, here’s one more, from a wetlands in a tiny section of the third State Park, Versailles (about 1.5 hours away). Both the subtle coloration and the textures in this photo entranced me.

Meanwhile, we have entered a triple whammy time. Spring Equinox, yesterday, when Sun entered 0°00 Aries; New Moon at 0°49′ Aries today, and finally Pluto enters 0°00 Aquarius for a three month preview, March 23. Here’s Laura Bruno, talking about first the New Moon, and then Pluto’s entry.

For more from Laura on these subjects go here.