On the inflation front, a key development over the past year has been the steep run-up in the price of oil.

NPR: Economic Swoon to Continue, Bernanke Says

And there are mounds of gravel, and holes in the sides of the basin where gravel has been taken out, and high up in the steep sides there are little holes that are the little front doors of the little sand-martins' little houses.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Five Children and It'