A few months ago I penned a column on our tremendous use and misuse of plastics. We are slowly trying to address this destructive waste. Using less plastic is certainly one way we can be better stewards of this planet.

I do avoid “political issues” as much as I can because my goal was/is presenting what nature offers to us and ways to know more about it. However, our warming earth is something I cannot overlook with some of its inherent effects on us.

I grew up along Main Road in East Weissport with a large backyard bisected by Tar Run, the stream that flows from the Phifer Ice Dams. We gardened as long as I can remember and much of the gardening was assigned to me and I learned to appreciate the effort and results. I cannot remember the garden ever having peppers, eggplant or tomatoes alive beyond the end of September. Frosts always occurred before that date.

The last 10 years or so I’ve recorded the first frost, the earliest was Oct. 18. This year we may not see a freezing temperature until after Nov. 5 or so. My point; obviously climate is changing, and fast.

We do learn some lessons from nature and we must continue to see the clues. When bald eagle, osprey and brown pelican numbers plummeted, we realized that DDT was the culprit. Nature clued us in before DDT had bigger effects on us. Lucky …

Today, our last frosts in spring occur earlier and earlier, and combined with later fall freezing temperatures, mosquitoes are now breeding six, seven or eight weeks longer than normal. This is directly correlated to the die-off of ruffed grouse who are being bitten, getting West Nile virus, and dying. The warming climate keeps mosquitoes breeding longer each year with more chance to infect more of the birds.

Occurring as I write this is a disease spreading rapidly among white-tailed deer; it kills 90% of those infected, and the vectors that carry this disease are midges. Midges are tiny two-winged gnatlike insects. They are most common south of Pennsylvania where deer that survived there have passed on much of the immunity to the deer herd.

This disease is called epizootic hemorrhagic disease. However, in this area’s warmer than usual summer and fall, these midges have moved into a deer population that has no immunity. It is killing many deer. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has confirmed from samples taken from our local deer that they died from EHD. I have heard reports of finding 7 or more dead deer on certain farms, in particular so far, southern Carbon County.

Deer display edema (swelling) of the head, neck and tongue and get a high fever. They lose their appetite, become weak, and because of the fever, usually head to a water source. Sometimes lying in the water. They seem to lose their fear of humans as well. Their tongue does swell and with a lack of oxygen, the tongue can look bluish.

This disease is not transmissible to humans and we are unaffected. EHD will have a huge effect on the deer herd numbers for many years and we have to hope that in the following years we have earlier frosts.

Again, nature keeps throwing hints to us about our earth-damaging habits and especially global warming. For the deer’s sake, let’s hope we get a freeze soon to kill the midges. For our sake, let’s get on the ball and try to preserve this earth for generations to come. It’s got to begin somewhere, learn from nature. We are the stewards of this earth.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: True or False: ___ Leaf color change occurs only after frosts kill the chlorophyll in the leaves.

Last Week’s trivia answer: Larches are conifers that lose all their needles each fall (happening now) so the answer is false, all conifers are not evergreens.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.