Fall color to relax by

TPP can feel the tension in the air this election day especially after the previous post. You wonder if the woman in the red sweater is making a political statement or just wearing school colors?  OK that's the sort of thing that can really bring people down, my bad.  So vote, then take a deep breath and relax; plenty of time to get nervous later. To help you here's the leaning back, upward view from our patio (image from yesterday); now just sip your mint julep (mint variety is Kentucky Colonel).  Better? You get ugly when stressed. 

German news paper headline on USA election day

Hmm, wonder if the Germans have had some experience with this type of candidate?  Clearly there is enough concern in Germany that the USA election is headline news, (and this was always a very cool movie poster).  When TPP saw it this AM, the sound of helicopter blades could be heard (really! A medical heli-pad is on the next block) and it seemed like there was a whiff of napalm in the fall air (or some leaves burning).  The Phactors voted last week and it was rather heartening to learn that early voting in the USA accounted for more votes than the entire election in 2012, so a lot more people are voting (except in places like North Carolina that still brags about actively suppressing minority voting). Hopefully there is enough concern in the USA too that a bigoted demagogue will not become president.  Unfortunately this compaign was such that the many good reason for supporting HRC were seldom mentioned (so who investigates the FBI?).  It still puzzles TPP  how so many southerners can convince themselves they would be well served by voting for a rich, NY yankee?

Friday Fabulous Flower - white snakeroot - Last of the season, sort of

It's November, and it's been a long season, early spring to late fall.  This is absolutely the last plant to flower in our gardens, white snakeroot, Actea (formerly Cimicifuga) simplex, the first flower opened on October 25th, although it has flowered as early September 21st.  Black snakeroot, A. racemosa, flowered in mid-June. Beware because other plants share this common name, so if buying this, check the name carefully.  The plant grows quite well in shade, as does the almost as late flowering monk's hood.  Actually another plant might flower still, but it's a witchhazel and they almost prefer winter; November flowering is not unusual for witchhazels.  Right now the white snakeroot has a dozen or so bright white inflorescences set off by a bed of sugar maple leaves. This is one of those flowers whose showy parts are largely stamen filaments, not uncommon in the buttercup family.

Holiday here in Cubsland

According to Bill Murray today, actually yesterday because the game did end before midnight, is officially a holiday, the day the Chitown Cubs won the world series after 108 years of frustration!  Now please do not get snippy about the "world" thingy, if your country has a baseball team then send them over and we'll see how it goes.  Actually with normalized relations with Cuba becoming likely, there may be another country that could be a contender.  It was an amazing game the 7th game of a series tied 3 to 3, and this only after the Cubs were down 3 games to 1.  Baseball can be a bore, a snooze, but in games like this when a lot is on the line, they become very tense affairs where every little action can affect the outcome.  This game was tied at the end of the regulation 9 innings, so they continue playing because baseball has no time limit. But some rain delayed play for only about 20 mins., but at 11 pm TPP didn't know that. In the 1st extra inning the Cubs scored 2 more runs and the Indians answered only with 1 run, so the game ended. The Indians did win a consolation prize: they inherited the title of team with the longest streak without a world series title (68 years). TPP brings you this information in case you have been living in a cave somewhere. So fans celebrated into the wee hours (bars generally close at 2 am).  Thank you Bill the day off will be appreciated.

Does everyone have their own facts?

TPP is not a great fan of Hillary, but the FBI's non-gate email non-revelation has actually made me feel considerable sympathy for the woman.  The right wing has hounded this woman for decades, bored us to death with endless hearings about emails, Benghazi, and everything but the real ingredients in Cheese-whiz. And it sounds as though Congress will keep obstructing her should she win the presidency, as they did with Obama, but worse.  Basically a witch-hunt that has kept coming up empty-handed; and now allowing for one more Trumped-up accusation, an investigation of emails that she didn't send and didn't receive, all derived from a who-cares investigation of a known pervert, former congress critter who used to be married to a decent woman who works for HRC (see the logical thread?).  Of course the revelation was timed to do the most harm to HRC electorally especially when facts that will be presented come from an alternative reality.  It has taken awhile to understand that when T-rump says he always tells the truth, it's from the perspective of his own reality where what he wants to happen happens even if only in his own mind.  Worst it allows him to campaign negatively with nary a word about policy or how he will accomplish our greatness.  But trust him. The word delusional comes to mind, and it does not seem to be a quality that is becoming in a presidential wannabe.  TPP shivers to contemplate such a thing as T-rump creating his own reality with the power of the presidency, and even with all his baggage T-rump is coming way too close as it is, and to date none of his supporters has uttered a single good reason for their support. Some woman on talk radio said she wouldn't feel safe if HRC were to become president?  OK this is ruining a very nice day.  If you are reading this from outside the USA lucky you. 

A rare November oneth

Today is a warm (mid-70s) breezy fall day with lots of fall color around.  It may be warm enough to set a new high temp record. TPP was feeling so good he voted, early, but not often, and not certain that the electronic ballot disappearing into the electoral void was altogether satisfying. However it was one of those nice days to be on a university campus. The diversity of wardrobe being sported around campus was impressive, some leftovers from the night before (Halloween), many clearly aseasonal cosumes (very summery), many over dressed expecting a cooler day.  People were handing out battle of the bands fliers (no thank you; I outgrew them.), a fund-raising booth where you could push a whipped cream pie into the face of the candidate of your choice (all the lines looked pretty busy), a booth providing health/contraception advice, and an ancient hippy holding a sign saying "Cannabis cures cancer".  Strangely no religion or politics being offered, but otherwise a totally normal day. 

Fungus amongus - pays to pay attention

Fall is an excellent time for fungi. So while checking on the condition of this blue spruce (no improvement; no surprise), this handsome orange-brown bracket fungus presented itself. First reaction, the quite familiar "turkey tail" bracket fungus (some species of Trametes)(gray-brown), which had been growing on this particular tree stump.  The rich color was attributed to recent growth, i.e., fresh. Ah, then you notice the "growth" rings seem rather pronounced, and you know how it is with IDs, sometimes it's best to check things.  And, wow, instead of the tiny pores that were expected, there was a mini-labyrinth of ridges, so ID is now not turkey tail. Some genera in this group have been renamed, and TPP's fungal taxonomy is way out of date, so this bracket fungus is what TPP would call Lenzites. Any name updates?  The only species TPP knows is L. betulina. This is pretty common in the upper midwest, but maybe not so further south and west. The last image shows the underside of the two, the tiny pores of the turkey tail (typical of polypores) are just visible. And this how the spruce gets recycled.

Friday Fabulous Flowers - Mums the word

 Fall color basically comes in one of two forms: tree leaves and chrysanthemums.  Of all the seasonally correct flowers mums are one of TPP's favorites.  They come in so many bright colors, and so many different bloom forms, they are hard to resist. The modern non-hardy varieties can be grown to form a massive mound of flowers that last for a reasonable amount of time. They can be used to fill in fall garden beds with bright masses of color until a fatal freeze comes along. These are the non-hardy type so don't try to save them. This year has been a warm fall, so things have persisted; window box petunias are still in flower and it's October 28! Here's a garden bed from our "uptown" and it's just plain cheerful.

Joys of gardening - late fall edition

It's late October here in Lincolnland, and lots of trees are still green because this has been a late fall. The low temps have only flirted with a frost, and petunias in the window boxes are still flowering. TPP thought that he had finally triumphed by catching a wary groundhog that had been living under the garden pavilion all summer (the second one). Fencing had been installed around the base of the pavilion, except in one area, which was exploited, and a second small breach.  After the relocation of the groundhog, the fencing was fixed and completed to prevent or minimize future colonization. However much to his dismay, there is now new evidence of another egress! Groundhog number 3?  This was not pleasing news, and to add insult to injury, TPP got a few new chigger bites.  Never had them remain this late in the season before, which promises more good things to come from climate change. Hope some rain last night and today is enough to ameliorate the mild October drought.  Farmers have really loved the dry weather and most of the maize and soybean fields are harvested; good yields should yield lower prices emphasizing the you-can't-win nature of modern farming. Finally decided to start bringing the tropical plants (orchids, cacti, bromeliads, gesneriads, a croton, the bonsai trees, etc.) inside.  Everything appears to have done well this year.

Election? What election?

For the first time since the conventions, T-rump did not appear on the front page of our newspapers or in news feeds here in Lincolnland, and it's because something more important and more Earth-shattering is taking place. And since everyone is suffering from election fatigue anyways (I sort of admire how the candidates manage to keep plugging along.), it's good to have a distraction. The Chi-town Cubs are in the World Series (something most of the World doesn't know or care about) for the first time in 71 years. Interested parties will have to look up the billy goat curse themselves.  The only sad thing is that the Cubs will be playing the Cleveland Indians, a team almost as long suffering and forlorn as the Cubs.  Everyone is pretty excited and it gave the college students a good excuse to raise a ruckus on a Saturday night.  Unfortunately it's only a 7 game series, so the baseball season will be over before the election, but still it's a relief to have a distraction even should the other guys win, an unthinkable outcome, and hopefully more likely than another unthinkable outcome.