One neighbour chats with every new acquaintance for a bit, then asks if he might request co-operation in talking about the turbines. Like most people he meets, I agree. He then continues to chat, while swinging his forearm around in a slow, regular circle, not very close to me, not directly in front of my face, but definitely in view. He keeps doing it, doing it, doing it… He farms a large number of acres hereabouts, notes he finds operating a combine under this repetitive shadow distracting. Seems to me it could be downright dangerous.

He doesn’t fancy the shadow when it crosses his kitchen table, either. I wondered about that, given the height of a turbine in relation to its setback. Then I realized that in our part of the world, the sun is rarely overhead, so a turbine’s shadow can be much longer than its height.

Details like these are best learned on the spot – I’m glad I’m here.

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