Autumn Has Arrived

...overnight! They say it is the shorter hours of daylight not cold temperatures that cause trees to change color and begin dropping their leaves. That must be true because it was certainly not cold today. The high was 92F (32C) today, and it was quite breezy this morning. John came in from getting the paper and announced that it was 'raining leaves'. A glance out the window confirmed this. I tried to catch a picture of the leafy fall, but found it impossible. Instead, I captured the piles of leaves collecting under a chair on our porch.

John used to make fun of our neighbor who spent hours and hours blowing her driveway, which is very long, and all the planted areas around it , but now that her house is gone John seems to have caught the fever. His rake and leaf baskets can be seen at the ready behind the railing. I think he should at least relax about the leaves that fall on the ground under the oaks and elsewhere, but he says he's worried about the fire danger. It keeps him busy, although Spike hates the sound of the leaf blower and barks and howls when he hears it, often before I do. It is a battery operated one and not nearly as loud as the obnoxious gas powered ones, but there's something about it....

There was a national test of the emergency phone alert system scheduled to take place in the middle of Pilates class today. Much hilarity as everybody tried to figure out how to turn off their phones. The grating alarm sound is designed to override the sound on the phone, even if it is turned off, so the whole phone has to be totally turned off. I left mine in the car. One or two still went off but it wasn't nearly as loud as it would have been if they all had gone off at once. That happened to me once when an unannounced evacuation alert sounded when I was sitting in a crowded coffee shop. An audio reminder of the fact that everybody has a mobile phone.

None of this did anything to alleviate the general sense of PTSD in this town which has suffered so many catastrophic fires at this time of year. Fortunately the humidity is still relatively high following last weekend's rain.

I've started on Will and Chloe's quilt which I think will go together quite quickly, unlike the one for our bed which is still awaiting return to the quilter following a fix to the backing to make it  big enough.

I am refraining from comment on the childish antics of the Republicans in the House of Representatives. Instead of concentrating on the many pressing issues facing them, they are taking cheap shots at the Democrats. Is there any hope at all that these people will grow up?