Thanksgiving

I blew right through last Sunday's posting as we were flying from Boise to Tampa. Because of our Thanksgoving trip I'll be posting a week later. Until then, happy Thanksgiving!

In a Rut... uh... Rush. Yeah... In a Rush!

This entry is a quickie to let everyone know that I'm still among the living. I've got to be down in Boise around 10 AM to see my mother for a little while, go out to breakfast and then at 1 PM I'll be helping our union fold, label, stamp and stuff envelopes for our regular mailing of ballots this time of year.

For once I'm not on the ballot, and will not be editing the newsletter for the next term (or hopefully ever again).

It's the middle of November... I haven't put the postal shorts away yet. With sunny days and temperatures in the 50's, why would I want to start wearing "cold weather" pants yet?

And th... th... th... that's all for this week folks!

We've Fallen and We Can't Get Up!

Leaves are falling all over Boise. People's lawns have disappeared under blankets of fallen leaves, except for those yards who have perfectionists tending to them 24 hours a day. They so much as hear a leaf scream as it lets go of the tree and they're out there with a rake a leaf sack to capture the intruder.

The streets sometimes disappear as well, when all the leaves seem to let go in unison. And they always manage to get in the storm drains and clog up the works. The city has regular crews that have to go around in a truck that has a high pressure hose that they run down the drains to clear out the blockages.

Soon the leaves will be gone, and winter will set in. Instead of the colors that were so predominant just a couple of weeks ago, we'll have skeleton-like branches clawing toward the sky in hopes of finding the sun, which is often hidden under a flat blanket of clouds. The greyness gets a little old sometimes, but when springtime finally gets here and the flowering trees and bushes come rushing back to life with a palette of springtime hues, it always makes the wait through the cold months seem more worthwhile.

Sometimes living with four seasons can be inconvenient, but the true beauty of life's cycles just can't be matched living closer to the tropic zones. I guess I'll just have to mumble through the cold days when the snow flies, because with the snow-pack comes the water needed for the other three seasons and the beauty that makes each one distinct and vibrant.

A Change of Season

It snowed once in early in October, and then the weather rebounded with temperatures in the 60's... often the upper 60's. We've had our little resurgence of summer, and now the season appears to be changing just as fast as the leaves are falling. In the photo that accompanies this entry, there were green, yellow and red leaves all on one tree -- due to the overcast conditions the photo didn't do the colors justice!

Yesterday afternoon it started to rain. It continued to do so on and off throughout the night. Today the clouds look like they've won the battle and any hope of blue sky making an appearance has been dashed. The temperatures are supposed to hit the 50's today, and possibly tomorrow before they slide into the 40's to finish the week off.

Rain is predicted for most of the week. We knew it had to happen sometime, and this year we actually had decent weather longer than normal, so... I guess it's time for a change of season!