Earth hour

Last Saturday evening was Earth Hour. I'm not certain what, if any, relationship there is between Earth Hour and Earth Day. Is the former meant to be a replacement for the latter, or something else entirely? Has Earth Day been such a smashing success that it's no longer necessary, or is a case of readjusting overly optimistic expectations to accommodate our short attention spans?

Regardless, it is not hard to sell me on the idea of an hour by candlelight; as long there is enough light to read by, I'd happily spend every night this way. The biggest challenge, as far as I could tell, would be making it up until 9.30, because lights off at 8.30 is a powerful soporific.

After we put Sacha to sleep and played a few rounds of a color memory game by candlelight at home (considerably more difficult), we celebrated the auspicious occasion by...having a trash burning bonfire with our neighbors. The gods of bulk trash passed over their house last week, leaving them with a small ailing wooden patio set that they in turn, had scavenged from someone else's bulk trash many moons ago. We gathered around the fire, which burned in a large metal tub, as the kids played a few songs on recorder. I can't stand the sound of this loathsome instrument, but in this context, its wheezy honk was surprisingly apt. We played a round of If I Went to the Zoo, enjoying the smells of hot lead and melting blacktop mixed with woodsmoke. When all the wood had been consumed, the boys doused the flames by peeing them out.

Despite negatively impacting our collective carbon footprint, it was a lovely evening.