The Year Without A Summer

By Suzanne Norquist

Last month, I wrote about the Little Ice Age, a period of about 500 years from the 1300s to the 1800s with colder-than-normal temperatures through most of the northern hemisphere.

The “Year Without a Summer” refers to 1816, near the end of the Little Ice Age, when summer failed to arrive in the Eastern United States and most of Europe. Snow and freezing temperatures dominated the months of June, July, and August. Southern states also experienced unseasonably cold temperatures. China and India suffered from monsoons and the resulting floods.

This was before weather forecasts and atmospheric models. No one knew how long the cold would last. When crops froze, people tried to replant that summer only to have them freeze again. For all they knew, the winter could last for many years.

In 1815, Mount Tambora erupted in Indonesia, spewing ash into the atmosphere. It was the largest eruption in over one thousand years. This was after three years of significant volcanic activity worldwide. A fine layer of ash blocked the sun, lowering global temperatures.

At the time, many people blamed sunspots. Haze from the volcanic ash allowed for easier viewing of sunspots with the naked eye. People sought any explanation for the severe cold, and sunspots was as likely a candidate as any.

The ash created a red haze in the sky, particularly noticeable at sunrise and sunset. It shows up in paintings of the time. The coloring gave a hint of despair.

Many areas suffered from famine, leading to rioting and looting. Some regions didn’t experience food shortages, but prices skyrocketed everywhere because crops could be exported.

Food crises only lasted for a season, but the Year Without a Summer created some long term effects around the globe.

In China, widespread flooding caused the cholera bacteria to mutate into a more resilient strain. No one had immunity, and many died. This strain emerged in Asia, and by 1831, it had reached Western Europe. The following year, cases were found in America. Even today, it has not been completely eradicated.

In New England, the harsh conditions pushed westward expansion. Farmers searched for a more hospitable climate. More than ten thousand people moved out of Vermont alone. Who knows how long settlement of the United States would have taken if summer snow hadn’t prodded people to new territories?

Lack of feed for horses caused German inventor Karl Drais to design the velocipede, the precursor to modern bicycles. The human-powered device didn’t require animals or feed for them.

The dreary mood of the cold and red winter skies led to the creation of Frankenstein. Mary Shelley spent a Swiss holiday indoors with her friends, where they made up ghost stories while pondering the unrelenting cold and darkness. She drafted the Frankenstein story there.

Lastly, the Year Without a Summer increased the world’s supply of opium. In China, farmers needed more durable and profitable crops. They turned to poppies. This gave rise to the “Golden Triangle” of opium production.

The sky eventually cleared, and warm weather returned the following year, but the summer of 1816 left lasting impacts on the world.

So, remember, when you are slathering aloe on your sunburn, things could be worse. It could be a another year without a summer.

 

***

 

”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

 

The Little Ice Age

By Suzanne Norquist

How can an ice age be called "little?"

Apparently, it's little when it when it only lasts for a short period (approximately five hundred years), it doesn't encompass the whole earth, and glaciers don't cover entire continents. The Little Ice Age ran from roughly 1300 A.D. to 1850 A.D. and had the greatest impact on Northern Europe and North America. The early years of the colder temperatures caught people off guard, however the last half of the period was the coldest.

A famine from 1315 to 1322 is often considered the beginning of the Little Ice Age. It rained "without stopping" in parts of Europe, turning fields into swamps. Grain didn't ripen, and people went hungry.

Scientists can't agree on the cause. Some suggest volcanic activity. The catastrophic eruption of the Samalas volcano in Indonesia in 1257 could have started it. Three more minor eruptions followed in that century. Others suggest solar activity, a shift in the earth's orbit, or human population changes.

Northern and Central Europe suffered from poor crops and famine throughout this period. Glaciers expanded throughout the world. In France and Switzerland, advancing glaciers crushed entire villages.

Rivers and canals turned to ice during the winters. In the 1600s and 1700s, Londoners held Ice Fairs on the Thames River. The New York Harbor froze in the winter of 1780, allowing people to walk from Manhattan to Stanton Island. Even the Baltic Sea froze over twice in the early 1300's.

The rapid cooling caused erratic weather worldwide, increasing the number and severity of all kinds of storms.

Human responses varied. On the negative side, riots and civil unrest increased. Many attributed the weather patterns to supernatural causes. Witch hunts ensued. In an attempt to calm an angry God, governments enacted morality laws. For example, Germany regulated gambling and drinking. Priests performed exorcisms on advancing glaciers.

On the positive side, people adapted. Chimneys replaced open fireplaces to hold in the heat better. Fashions changed to include additional and heavier undergarments.

More importantly, farmers altered agricultural practices. They developed cold-resistant crops and fed animals grains that built up a better fat layer for warmth. They also created more globalized trade networks.

An increased level of urbanization and enlightenment are attributed to the Little Ice Age. Impoverished farmers flocked to the cities, where people shared resources, thoughts, and ideas. Scientific thinking, art, and culture benefited from this.

Antonio Stradivari produced his violins during the Little Ice Age. The cold weather may have caused the wood to be denser, contributing to their unique tone.

The Dutch society thrived more than others during this time, as they were accustomed to harsh conditions and very adaptable. The seventeenth century is sometimes referred to as the Dutch Golden Age.

Existing trade networks used by the Dutch ensured goods were available from other countries when they could not be produced at home. People had already moved to cities to work in industries engaged in trade, many of which were protected by dikes and sluices.

New wind patterns pushed Dutch sailing ships faster, giving them an advantage. Additionally, their ships were very sturdy. In places where ice covered the water, ship makers greased the ships' hulls or added runners or wheels so that they could glide across the ice.

By about 1850, temperatures had gradually increased, and the Little Ice Age came to an end. However, the adaptations made during the harsh conditions permanently changed societies.

The Little Ice Age was no little thing.

***

" Mending Sarah's Heart" in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah's Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn't need anyone, especially her dead husband's partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband's share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, "A Song for Rose" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and "Mending Sarah's Heart" in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

 

HERCULANEUM

Vesuvius’s Other Victim

By Mary Davis

I remember Sunday, May 18, 1980, the day Mount Saint Helens erupted. The winds were such that where I lived didn’t receive the downpour of ash like other areas immediately did. On the other side of the mountains, where my sister attended college, ash rained down. She called and asked how to get ash out of her church dress. So much collected in the college town that she could scoop it off her windowsill as a memory of this fateful day.

So why am I bringing up Mount Saint Helens?

Almost two thousand years ago, in 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted. When one hears the name Vesuvius, what pops into most people’s heads? Pompeii. But Pompeii wasn’t the only place destroyed. Pompeii lay south of the volcano while Herculaneum, west of the mountain, was given a far more lethal blast from Vesuvius.

Vesuvius first erupted at 4pm on August 24th, sending a cloud of ash, heat, and debris over Pompeii, burying it and its inhabitants. This is the popular story we hear so much about. But that is not where it ends. (Another source says the eruption had to have taken place on or after October 17th. Either date, the devastation was the same.)

Several miles to the west sat Herculaneum, a hamlet of some 4-5,000 residents. Herculaneum, though about an eighth of the size of Pompeii, boasted more lavish and larger houses. This seems to be where a wealthier class of people lived. When the first eruption happened, Herculaneum could see the several mile high cloud but it was traveling away from them, burying Pompeii.

Ruins of Herculaneum in the foreground,
Ercolano in the middle, and
Mount Vesuvius in the background.

Just after midnight, the volcano belched again out the west side of the mountain. It sent a wave of super heated gas, ash, and lava in Herculaneum’s direction at 160 kilometers an hour. This pyroclastic flow was far more deadly than the first eruption. Hot lava filled Herculaneum’s buildings, supporting walls and roofs as it encased the city. Herculaneum was buried under 20 meters of pumice, ash, and debris. (Pompeii was buried under only four meters of debris.) What all this debris did was preserve organic material that wasn’t found in Pompeii. Things such as wooden doors and support beams, clothing, and food, among other organic matter. Many of the frescoes and mosaics remain intact. All of these artifacts give a much clearer picture into first century Roman life.

Marble Inlay Floor

Statue recovered from Herculaneum

In 1709, long after Mount Vesuvius annihilated Pompeii and Herculaneum and generations had well forgotten there had ever been cities there, a man set out to dig a well. He found far more than he bargained for. This is the traditional story of Herculaneum being discovered. But city remnants were found in earlier earthworks. In 1738, regular excavations began and have continued off and on ever since. Workers would be hired by the wealthy to dig up treasures from the site to bring back to decorate their palaces.

As archeology digs took place in Herculaneum, unlike in Pompeii, bodies weren’t uncovered. It was assumed that, having seen the first eruption, the inhabitants had fled to safety.

Boat Sheds

In the 1980s, as more portions of the village were excavated, over 300 skeletons were discovered in the boat shed area (that is now inland). It is theorized that the people fled to the water in hopes of rescue. Their deaths would have been fast in the super heated gases that swept down from the volcano.
 

Today, still only a small portion of the city has been dug up. It is doubtful the whole of Herculaneum will ever be unearthed as the city of Ercolano sits on top of it.

 

THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) #TheDamselsIntent #HistoricalRomance #FreeKU #KU #ChristianRomance
Can Nicole learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?
   Nicole Waterby heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband, not realizing women don’t wear trousers or carry a gun. She has a lot to learn. Rancher Shane Keegan has drifted from one location to another to find a place to belong. When Nicole crosses his path, he wonders if he can have love, but he soon realizes she’s destined for someone better than a saddle tramp. Will love stand a chance while both Nicole and Shane try to be people they’re not?

Free on Kindle Unlimited, or $2.99 to buy ebook.

Get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Damsels-Intent-Quilting-Circle-Book-ebook/dp/B089DTXDCN/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=The+Damsel%27s+Intent&qid=1590863747&s=books&sr=1-2

MARY DAVIS s a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, Courting Her Amish Heart, The Widow’s Plight, Courting Her Secret Heart , “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection , and Courting Her Prodigal Heart . 2019 titles include The Daughter's Predicament and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-five years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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The Loudest Sound Ever Heard

Krakatoa and a Book for You

Susan Page Davis here.

The island of Krakatoa wasn’t large—just three miles wide and five and a half miles long. But when its volcanic peaks exploded in August, 1883, it produced the loudest noise in recorded history.

The island actually went through a series of eruptions and explosions that year, beginning in May, but the largest and final one was heard as far away as Alice Springs, Australia, 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometers) distant. Although not quite the strongest or most destructive of volcanic eruptions, it is the loudest we have documented.
 

Eruption at Krakatoa in 2008. By flydime [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

More than 36,000 people were killed in this eruption. About a thousand were killed by the rain of “hot ash” and debris that fell around Ketimbang on the nearby island of Sumatra. Most of the others killed were victims of the vast tsunamis caused by the eruptions.

In charge of the Dutch East Indies at the time were Dutch authorities, who recorded an official death toll of 36,417, but some sources estimate the actual losses at 120,000 or more people. Many settlements on nearby islands were completely wiped out by the enormous waves.

Many people who heard the sound of the explosions wished they hadn’t. Sailors on ships forty miles away, in the Sunda Strait, suffered ruptured eardrums. Thousands of miles farther off, people thought they were hearing cannons firing and the noise of a major battle.
 

Nighttime view of the 2008 eruption. By Thomas.Schiet (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Located between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java, Krakatoa had three volcanic peaks. The historic blasts obliterated two of them. The island is now about a third as large as it began that year. This was not the first seismic activity involving Krakatoa, but it was the most impressive, at least so far as is known in recorded history.

On May 20, 1883, steam began venting from the northernmost of the island’s three peaks. Ash eruptions reached an estimated altitude of 20,000 feet. A few weeks later, things quieted down. On June 16, loud explosions were heard and a black cloud of smoke covered the island for several days. When winds cleared the cloud away a week or so later, two plumes of ash could be seen. These were thought to come from new vents between the cones.

On August 11, a Dutch engineer paid the island a visit. He observed three major ash columns and nearly a dozen steam vents. A layer of ash about 20 inches thick covered much of the island, and all the vegetation was dead. He warned against landing on the island, and people stayed away.

Things heated up, and on August 26 the climatic action began. Explosions could be heard every few minutes. About one in the afternoon, a cloud of black ash seventeen miles high could be seen from great distances. Ships in the vicinity reported heavy ash fall. Pieces of hot pumice up to four inches across landed on their decks.

On August 27, four huge explosions occurred at 5:30, 6:44, 10:02, and 10:41 a.m., triggering tsunamis and throwing much of the island skyward. The one at 10:02 was the largest, and was heard in Perth, Western Australia, 1,930 miles away, and across the Indian Ocean on Rodrigues Island, near Mauritius, 3,000 miles away. People there thought nearby ships were firing their guns. 
 

This view was taken in1999. By Ian K Stephenson (I took this photo myself on a Ricoh RDC-4200) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The force of the blast was an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6, the highest ever assigned except Mount Tambora (more about that later). This is equivalent to 200 megatons of TNT, about 13,000 times the bomb that devastated Hiroshima in World War II. A pressure wave caused by the fourth explosion was recorded on barographs all around the world. This is the blast that ruptured eardrums of victims up to forty miles away.

Along with the flying debris and ash, the tsunamis generated by the explosions devastated nearby settlements. No survivors remained on Sebesi Island, about eight miles away. About three thousand people had lived there. No one really knows how many people died. Reports came in up to a year later of skeletons floating on rafts of volcanic pumice, washing up on the east African coast.

The tsunamis were reported at more than one hundred fifty feet high in some places. Smaller waves were recorded on tidal gauges as far away as the English Channel. Dutch officals said 165 villages and towns were destroyed and 132 seriously damaged.

The following year, the average summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were 1.2 degrees below normal. This was not as extreme as the year 1816, when temperatures averaged 5 degrees below normal, resulting in the “year without a summer” after the eruption of Mount Tambora. Record rainfalls in California fell in 1883-84. Weather patterns and temperatures did not return to normal for five years after the Krakatoa eruption.

The sky was darkened worldwide after the eruption, and extremely colorful sunsets were seen for several years afterward. Some were so bright that fire engines were called out in New York and Connecticut because people thought a structure was burning nearby. People reported seen blue or green moons, and lavender suns. These effects were likely caused by ash clouds in the air.

Much more can be read about the causes and effects of the Krakatoa eruption. The island was still steaming in October, but after that was quiet until 1913, when a major landslide from a cliff was at first reported as another, smaller eruption.

This map shows the current configuration of Krakatoa and nearby island, with area of the island before the 1883 eruptions shaded. USGS (CVO Website - Krakatau, Indonesia - Map) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

In 1927, steam and debris began to issue from the collapsed caldera. Within a few weeks, a small cone appeared in the sea nearby. It grew to a small island, which was named Anak Krakatoa, or Child of Krakatoa. It has erupted mildly several times. There have continued to be eruptions over the years. This site has a neat cycling map that shows the change in the shape of the islands: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Krakatoa_evolution_map-fr.gif

 

To enter a drawing for one of Susan's books, leave a comment. The winner will be announced by the end of the month and may choose the book she wants from Susan's book list. 

Susan Page Davis is the author of more than sixty published novels. She’s always interested in the unusual happenings of the past. Her newest books include River Rest, Heart of a Cowboy, and Mountain Christmas Brides. She’s a two-time winner of the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award, and also a winner of the Carol Award and the Will Rogers Medallion, and a finalist in the WILLA Literary Awards and the More Than Magic Contest. Visit her website at: www.susanpagedavis.com .

The Kilauea Volcano of 1924 – Cynthia Hickey

The Kilauea Volcano of 1924 – Cynthia Hickey

 

The Kilauea volcano, while always active, decided to start showing her temper in early April, 1924. The first concern was the draining of the lava lake within the crater. Small tremors are causing cracks in the island’s infrastructure

.

 

By May 9, the crater was so full of smoke, the bottom could not be seen, as noted by Oliver Emerson, Research Fellow of the Hawaiian Volcano Research Association. He also made note of the increasing heat around the area.

 

On May 10, a volume of dust clouds rose from the pit in increasing heights.

 

Just before 0800 on May 11, 1924, a national park employee visited the pit and reported small rocks being thrown out of the pit with the velocity that a man would throw rocks. He heard no explosions. By nine o’clock, the weather cleared, showing a smoke cloud of 7,500 feet above the pit. The sky south of the pit turned a deep purple, almost black.

 

Things got really serious by May 13. Rocks were being ejected 200 feet, some weighing close to 200 pounds. Explosions and avalanches were becoming common and frequent.       

 

 

 

On Sunday, May 18, Kilauea blew her lid. While one of the most violent eruptions recorded, only one man, a journalist was killed. A several ton rock fell on him.

 

While dangerous, the Kilauea volcano, which erupted the same week in May as Mt. St. Helens, it was far less destructive, due to the lack of lava and the small population of that time. Still, tourists flock to the area today to witness the continuous power of Kilauea.

 

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It is a shield-type volcano that makes up the southeastern side of the Big Island of Hawaii. The volcano rises 4,190 feet (1,227 meters) above sea level and is about 14 percent of the land area of the Big Island. The summit caldera contains a lava lake known as Halema`uma`u that is said to be the home of the Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele.

 

The volcano recently erupted again, causing many to be evacuated and destroying 200 homes.

 

There is a lot more information on this amazing display of power. Much of which I go into in my novel, The Rancher’s Dilemma. In my book, a daughter of missionaries, Lucy Dillow is in awe of the volcano’s power and against the wishes of a handsome local rancher, heads to the volcano every day to sketch the changes.

 

When the volcano blows, she must rely on the very man who warned her away.

 

The Rancher’s Dilemma, is the first book in my Finding Love in Disaster series.

 Multi-published and Best-Selling author Cynthia Hickey had three cozy mysteries and two novellas published through Barbour Publishing. Her first mystery, Fudge-Laced Felonies, won first place in the inspirational category of the Great Expectations contest in 2007. Her third cozy, Chocolate-Covered Crime, received a four-star review from Romantic Times. All three cozies have been re-released as ebooks through the MacGregor Literary Agency, along with a new cozy series, all of which stay in the top 50 of Amazon’s ebooks for their genre. She has several historical romances releasing in 2013, 2014, 2015 through Harlequin’s Heartsong Presents, and has sold more than 290,000 copies of her works. She is active on FB, twitter, and Goodreads. She lives in Arizona with her husband, one of their seven children, two dogs and two cats. She has five grandchildren who keep her busy and tell everyone they know that “Nana is a writer”. Visit her website at www.cynthiahickey.com