Musings

The election is Tuesday, and today is the last day, according to the city website, to drop your absentee ballot in the box. Interestingly, the ballot envelope indicated we could do that on election day. We chose to believe today at 7pm was the real deadline, thank you Republicans.

We looked at the list of drop-off locations. For the whole of Atlanta, and this is a sprawly city, there were about eight. The Guru chose the nearest location, up in Buckhead perhaps six miles away. Again, thank you, Republicans.

So we slogged through rain and traffic, past construction areas occupying a lane here and there to further obstruct the flow of vehicles, and avoided the latest out-of-service bridge from a vandal’s fire beneath (as I recall). And now we are once again good citizens.

Posted at 6:57 PM | Comments Off on We voted

I have been noticing the daylight becoming shorter. Also, I found backlighting beauty.

Posted at 9:31 PM | Comments Off on Pulchritudinous thorns

Without doubt, the most beautiful part of today was the extended morning fog, caused by the sun after our overnight frost. A friend says this, our first frost, is perhaps six weeks later than average. That’s a huge discrepancy. Anyway, we’ve been enjoying the relative warmth.

Usually the sun hits and doesn’t climb very long before most of the fog dissipates, leaving a few lingering wisps that then disappear. Not today; the fog was uneven on our property and hung around for quite a while.

We did two big(?) chores today. This morning we did laundry, which had been delayed because the “dro” was closed on Friday when we intended to do it, and the sign indicated it’d be closed all weekend. And the other dro has no change machine, so we had to wait until Monday, that is today, to return to the first choice dro. Got the wet clothes hung out for the sun to dry, and then trimmed barberries, two wheelbarrow loads worth of errant branches removed. As the sun started dropping most of the clothing was still damp, so I distributed it around the sun porch with its abundant solar gain (and a ceiling fan). It looks like the aftermath of a clothing explosion. And now it’s mostly dry. One triple load’s worth.

Posted at 7:18 PM | Comments Off on Quotidian tales

We had another gorgeous morning here in the North Woods, or maybe the North Woods and Fields and Lakes.

I set my goal with prepping a new bed for two rhubarb crowns that are being smothered and otherwise slowly snuffed out in their current location. I hope this will work, otherwise I’ll be transplanting them again.

In my recollection, I spent the most time and energy on moving soil and combing through it to remove roots and rootlets, so as to reduce competition by quack grass and other floral familiars.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I’ll attempt an actual transplant.

To finish up the narrative of the day, the afternoon weather became dicier, with overcast and some raindrops, so I made a large pot’o’chili, which we greatly appreciated as we watched the sun fail to warm the sunporch sufficiently to allow opening the doors to let warm air enter our main living space. If that makes any sense.

Posted at 8:26 PM | Comments Off on Onward, phased

Enjoyed a glorious sunny, lovely morning, as if it hasn’t been raining off and on for days.

Even the playhouse looked inviting.

However, overcast had returned by the time I walked in mid-afternoon. I took a detour along the back edge of the pine plantation, and discovered the tree guys have been busy.

Here’s the detail on how the rootballs are wrapped and prepped for shipping. They used to use burlap for the wrapping, and this fabric does look like burlap, but I’m guessing it may have some artificial fiber incorporated (polyester?). Ages ago when I worked in the plant nursery world, trees prepared this way were called B&B, for balled and burlapped. [Nobody even cracked a smile.] I never saw the metal frame way back when; seems like a smart improvement.

Posted at 6:21 PM | Comments Off on Pretty + trees ready for shipping

Today was gloomy throughout, with on-going mist and drizzle. The swamp endures.

Even this mullein is tolerating the near-continuous moisture. Rain is better than a hard frost, I suppose.

Overall, we’ve had a warmer-than-average fall.

Posted at 9:19 PM | Comments Off on Enduring, tolerating

Most everywhere I looked today outdoors I saw the mark of autumn. Leaves on the picnic table we feasted around on warmer, sunnier, summer days..

Tomatoes with that late season look from anthracnose and I don’t know what else.

And wind bringing down the leaves from the Uncle Dave Maple, and the brown, withering fern leaves by the back door. I haven’t cut them because I’m still trying to figure out where I’m going to put them…I think I’ll transplant a rhubarb crown and put the leaves atop it for winter protection. We plan to return early enough in the spring to remove them before they inhibit growth.

So, it’s not enough to see signs of autumn, I find I’m looking toward winter and spring…already.

Posted at 6:45 PM | Comments Off on Seasonal timelines

Pretty sure this a stand of young basswoods leaning toward the light. Like the silver-grey bark and that the trunks are mostly parallel. Bummed that a glimpse of blue tarp nudged into the shot…covering crap at an empty new hunting camp…

Yes, it’s milkweed pod-and-seed season. Note that the sunshine lasted perhaps two hours before retreating to leave us basking in overcast again. We enjoyed ye when ye were here, MrSun.

Posted at 9:25 PM | Comments Off on Autumn no-leaves

We had rain during the dark hours, then today was just plain damp and overcast. After all, it is autumn. Warmer than normal, including overnight, seems to me. I am NOT complaining. [Photo just as dusk is approaching.]

Posted at 9:08 PM | Comments Off on Placid lake

Today had a foggy morn, and I walked earlier than usual, so I got to see it change and spread and contract in different places than just from the cottage. Here’s a somewhat over-browsed pasture, with fog obscuring the distant treeline. Also, it was very quiet except for the odd crow.

A side benefit is that the spiderwebs sported glorious droplet-gem jewelry.

Posted at 6:39 PM | Comments Off on Fog variations