FALLING LEAVES 2023, Episode 7. We start with the usual deck view of our pond.

This week the pond is much more visible, mostly due to the ground cover (brush) having died out. In the trees, the green has gone.

The fire pit view is similar; the green is gone almost entirely. And it hasn't been that cold - mid-50's at night, mid-70's in the daytime.

Even on the other side of our road, leaves that were red last week are brown today. Leaves that were brown are mostly gone. In some places the road itself has disappeared under the leaves.

Here are the 'lasts' around our house: the last red leaves,

and the last yellow leaves. The pond, protected as it is, is still colorful. Here are a couple of views:

And finally I leave you with our cat Martha hiding blackly in the leaves, and the last remaining flower in our garden

Until next week.

A DAY LATE, A DOLLAR SHORT. FALLING LEAVES 2023, Episode 6. Apologies for lateness; it's been a helluva week. We start with the usual pond from the deck picture.

The green in going, going, almost gone. Trees are almost all yellow-brown, and the ground cover is mostly gone. Only the tulip magnolia has retained its color so far.

My usual fire pit picture is finally showing signs of fall. The elephant ears are dying, the tomato plants gone, and the trees have yellowed with some reds showing in the background.

Across and along our road, fall is evident. The big trees have mostly lost their leaves, and the smaller ones under their canopy are rapidly changing colors.

The two dogwood trees along our south side have finally given up for the winter. The berries have dropped, the leaves have turned yellow and are now dropping. I expect both to be bare in the next week or so.

Finally two views of the pond, both from the stairway leading down to the pond. Even as protected as it is in the valley between two ridges, it's finallly showing signs of succumbing to the coming winter. Lots of reds and yellows this year. The brush on the slopes is still there, but it too is finally surrendering.

Until next week (hopefully on time)....

RANDOM THOUGHT: Leading Republicans is akin to herding cats; leading Democrats is akin to herding lemmings.

FALLING LEAVES 2023. Episode 5. This week begins with the usual pond view, taken a little downhill from our usual deck view. There's still a lot of green throughout the trees but the brush is dying out now so the pond is getting more visible.

Across the road from our house, we're beginning to see quite a lot of reds in the trees. Here's an example.

The dogwoods on the south side of the house have begun to turn. They were in full green last week. If I hadn't watched the painters on that side of the house I'd say they had a sprayer misfire....

Here's the usual fire pit view (with the barn now fully painted). It's still mostly green to our north, with only the tops of the taller trees showing any real leaf loss. The ground cover, however, is mostly gone and the elephant ear plant next to the walkway has almost completely gone dormant.

Finally we return to the pond for a second view. Lots of reds and a few yellows down there as all the deciduous trees have gone dormant but not yet begun to drop significant numbers of leaves.

Until next week....

KURT SCHLICHTER: I cannot care more about blue cities than their voters do.

Nor will I vote to pay for their problems.

THE BACKLASH IS BEGINNING:

Billionaire hedge fund manager doesn't want to hire Harvard students who blamed Israel for Hamas attack. (HEH: He has support.)

REPUBLICANS URGE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION to stop delaying major gas pipeline project.

PROTESTORS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY for vandalizing table at Riley Gaines' speech at Penn State. To my chagrin, I actually attended Penn State for a short while before I figured out it was not in my best interest.

ANOTHER HEH: Sen. Tommy Tuberville refers former CIA head to Capitol police. Unfortunately, nothing will happen.

AND YET ANOTHER HEH: White House (!) roasts squad Democrats for their repugnant comments.

And it's about time.

IT HAS EVERYTHING WITH EXHIBITING THEIR 'VIRTUE', it has nothing to do with rescuing black children.

Now get back on the plantation....

SHOW THEM THE CONTEMPT THEY SO RICHLY DESERVE: Black Lives Matter doubles down on their pro-Hamas tweet.

OBLIGE THEM. How does Israel fight savages who want to die?

AND HE'S EXHIBIT #1: John Fetterman [D(umb)-PA] thinks America isn't sending 'best and brightest' to DC.

A NOT QUITE SO RANDOM THOUGHT: Civilized societies euthanize rabid animals. The members of Hamas are rabid beasts in human form; they should be erased from civilization whenever and wherever they appear.

FALLING LEAVES 2023, Episode 43. I start with the usual pond view from the deck. There are still plenty of leaves, but they're all lower down. The tall trees, mostly those at the top, are all beginning to bare.

And the one in the foreground, just off the deck, is almost completely bare.

This (nearly fire pit view} highlights our newly (almost) painted barn. The other two sides haven't been done yet. As with last week, the trees are still mostly green, but the green is fading and the one in the background behind the barn has started to bare.

< The trees on our west side along the road are fading fast

They were damaged by the late freeze last spring and are really showing it. A couple are probably dead; hopefully the others will fully recover next spring.

Next a couple of photos taken along the western edge of the pond, where the red colors are beginning to show

and at the northern edge brown is beginning to show. I'm expecting to see yellows and reds there soon, maybe as early as next week

Finally, we've had near freezing lows for the last few days, and the mushrooms didn't like it.

Until next week...

RIVIAN LOSES a huge amount on every vehicle it sells.

But they make up for it in volume (that's an old -- my age -- Texas Aggie joke, by the way).

SEEN ON THE INTERNET:

Seems right to me....

A QUESTION FOR PROGRESSIVES:

It should be easy to answer; they're self-anointed math whizzes....

OF COURSE SHE'S NOT THE ONE NEEDING IT: Hillary Clinton calls for 'formal deprogramming' of 'extremist' Trump supporters.

Over time I've found that the easiest way to identify a bigot is by the 'D' after its name.

UPDATE: Red State has more thoughts.

POWERLINE: Our illiterate college students.

It is depressing to contemplate the intellectual level of most of today’s young people. On the other hand, there is a bright spot: fewer of them than before are going to college. The decline in college enrollment continues, post-covid shutdowns. Let’s hope that trend continues, as it can only improve the intellectual capacities of our youth.

Going to work works; going to college doesn't.

PLEASE ENJOY THE SPECTACLE of Joe Biden going full Orange Man Bad.

WE SHOULD BE SO LUCKY. Solitary confinement sounds good to me.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE [R-GA] explains fire alarms to Rep. Jamaal Bowman [D(umb)-NY].

TODAY IN CONGRESS

Add the White House and you have a three-ring circus....

MAYORKAS: We're building a border wall, but it's not a wall.

And we're waiving 26 federal regulations to expedite (not) building that (non)wall....

SHUT THE WHOLE DAMNED GOVERNMENT DOWN: DC's revolving door is swinging briskly for the eco-green eyeshade people.

And for God's sake, don't reopen it.

NOT FOR THE DOGS AND CATS: Adoption of vegan dog and cat diets could have environmental benefits.

Unless you believe killing them is an environmental benefit....

IF ONLY: Nation votes to vacate all 535 seats of Congress.

It would be a good start.

THERE ARE ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi evicted from her private office in the Capitol by interim House speaker.

Apparently so has former Senate Leader Steny Hoyer.

DIESEL IS NOW GREEN: Largest EV charging station in world powered by diesel-powered generators.

In California, no less.

THERE ARE ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES. Pelosi evicted from her private office in the Capitol by interim House speaker.

POWERLINE: Our illiterate college students.

It is depressing to contemplate the intellectual level of most of today’s young people. On the other hand, there is a bright spot: fewer of them than before are going to college. The decline in college enrollment continues, post-covid shutdowns. Let’s hope that trend continues, as it can only improve the intellectual capacities of our youth.

Going to work works; going to college doesn't.

YES: "Our ruling class suffers from less-than-mediocre ability and inflated self esteem."

The quoted excerpt is from a podcast conversation and as a result is a bit garbled. Go read the whole thing.

SALENA ZITO: Mike Rowe is on a mission to reverse the unspeakable stupidity of devaluing work.

THE TRUTH OUTS: Evidence-based policy making has been replaced by policy-based evidence making.

Enjoy the comments, where the troll(s?) are roundly beaten up and have chosen to disappear.

FOREVER, I HOPE. How long until retiring Gen. Mark Milley is on the board of Raytheon or Boeing or some other major defense contractor?

But the smart money is on 30 days or less....

DONATE THEM TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WANT OR NEED THEM INSTEAD: Don't throw these items in the trash.

But I'm reliably informed by Hillary Clinton that cell phones are considered trash after being smashed with a hammer.

VOTING IN CALIFORNIA: Is it really worth it?

No. The Democrat party will vote for you, whether you want them to or not.

IT IS CHILD ABUSE to send your child to a public school.

It isn't (yet) but it should be.

ANOTHER REPUBLICAN IN THE MAKING? Congressman Henry Cuellar [D-TX] carjacked at gunpoint in DC.

FALLING LEAVES 2023, Episode 3. This week I mostly return to my traditional format with the view of the pond from our rear deck.

The tree is the foreground is entirely without green leaves and I fear is mostly dead. We'll probably have to have it taken down over the winter. It isn't clear from this picture, but many of the trees in the background are losing leaves as well.

Skipping for a moment my usual fire pit photo, I look across the road to the west where winter is clearly setting in. The larger trees are mostly dying, a result of last spring's hard freeze, and even the more hardy smaller trees are already losing their leaves. The grass and roses along the driveway and road seem to be thriving, though.

Some good news on the south side of the house -- the dogwood trees appear to not only have survived, but thrived. They're green, turning purple with the cooler weather and plenty of berries to pass on to the squirrels (of which we have plenty).

Going down to our pond, it's still mostly green, but there's obvious browns showing in the canopy. It's somewhat surprising that the leaves are turning this early, but the pond in protected somewhat from the weather so I don't expect much change over the next few weeks.

But then maybe I'm too optimistic. This picture is of the trees along the back side of the dam, and while they do change sooner than along the opposite side above, are now a dappled light green/yellow. Maybe it will yet be a harsh winter (for Georgia).

Finally on the brighter side I return to the fire pit/barn. The grass is gone due to the colder weather and lack of rain, but the trees are still almost entirely green.

Until next week.