Diminished and Disheartened

America, what have you done?  Millions of my fellow citizens have given power back to convicted felon, a rapist, a grifter, a con man, a fascist authoritarian who will do everything in his power to destroy democracy.  His Project 2025 is a blueprint to our undoing.  

I weep for America.  I weep for my grandniece, who will grow up with few freedoms and greatly diminished health care.  I weep for my nephews, who will suffer the insults of this president and his sycophants. 

I weep for immigrants and asylees who will be denied a safe haven.  I weep for climate refugees with nowhere to flee the coming disasters.  I weep for Eastern Europe, Ukraine, Gaza, places where despots will now run unchecked.  

I weep for a climate that will not survive four years of his denial.  I weep for a natural world that will be lost.  

Dark days are before us.  The rule of law is untethered with a Supreme Court already beholden to the felon.  Our flourishing economy will be sold to billionaires.  The poor will be driven further down.  Our health system will be undermined.  Our public lands will be despoiled.  

Sad times are upon us.  Selfishly, I am saddened for an old age that will no longer be easy.  We may die of a disease easily prevented by a vaccine that now never comes.  Friends and family less well off than I will suffer terribly when health and social safety nets are removed, destroyed, or sold to profiteers.  

I do not recognize the mindset of my fellow Americans.  Are we living in Germany 1933?  How long before war envelopes the world?  When the deportations begin will I be able to speak up?  A friend with overseas family connections is talking about getting dual citizenship.  Should we leave while we still can?  Where would we go and who would take us?  

At least, for the moment, I live in a blue city in a blue state.  But how long can New Mexico resist? 

Species

There's been a lively e-mail discussion going on between a number of us at the BioPark.  Marla at the BioPark office has been publishing a "What's Bloooming" piece for social media every week.  This week she chose the colorful Zauschneria in the beds either side of the conservatories.  

As it turns out, our plants were once considered Z. canum, but research in recent years has shown that it really needs to be treated as a species of Epilobium.  

That said, this brings up the whole question of what is a species.  A recent online piece ducked the issue by going with "segments of separately evolving metapopulation lineages."  True, it defuses the tricky problem of what features or collection of differences are significant enough to define a species.  This definition also allows for the use of different feature sets depending on the taxa involved and the research in question.  

Good to know that the species question is still open even 50 years after I took Dr. Spellenberg's Plant Biosystematics class in the spring of 1975.

Winter is Coming

Tonight may be first frost.  We've dug up and transplanted, brought in, and protected in the plastic greenhouse whatever can't withstand 31°F.  The canas have been moved from the greenhouse into the garage.  Their place has been taken by a couple pots of asters and daisies.  Later (when temps get below 25°) they'll be joined by the Ponderosa pine bonsai.  

The old Ginkgo out in the side yard has turned a glorious lemon yellow.  

Two others, living in the shade of the Chinese pistache, are still green.  

I note with interest that the British tree-of-the-year has been selected.  Looking forward to voting for the European champion, whenever that competition begins.  

 

 

The End of Summer... finally

After another above-average month of temperatures, including at least two record breakers, a wet cold front moved through and dropped a half inch of rain.  Now, at long last, nighttime temperatures are falling below 45°.  The turtles are in their bunkers.  Fluffy the feral cat is sleeping on her heated pad under the table.  

Summer is finally over.  

 Fortunately, we had tidied up the garage in preparation for moving the hardiest of the tender plants in there when the nights grow colder still.  We had set up the little pop-up green house and filled it with the cana lilies.  The truly tender plants like the croton and the Meyer's lemon had been moved into the sunroom.  

All is well in the garden, with the late-season flowers hanging on for the late-season bees and butterflies.  There's still more to do, but for now, all is well. 

Now if we survive the election, two weeks away.  If Harris loses, the climate, biodiversity, public lands, education, all will suffer, perhaps irretrievably.  

COP15 is underway in Cali, Colombia.  While at times it seems like just so much political posturing, recent disasters are bringing home the reality of climate change to many.  Maybe this time real progress can be shown.  Maybe the combined threats of a warmer, more dangerous world and impoverished ecosystems will finally be recognized as something more than academic concepts.  

Maybe positive changes will happen.

Fall in the Garden

It's been in the 80's all month, and in fact, it was 92° as recently as September 30.  However, the inevitableness of the changing seasons is finally catching up with us.  While today is forecast to be 81°, tonight will see the first 40-something low since last spring.  Tomorrow may struggle to reach 70°.

Last Wednesday I cut back the summer's heavy growth in the turtleariums and cleared out the bunkers.  The very next day the boys were down in their safe winter spaces.  They haven't dug deeper in yet and later I'll be mulching the entrance tunnels for a little extra winter protection, but it's obvious that they are getting ready for their long annual snooze.  

Also a sign of the season, we put out the heated kitty mat for Fluffy, the feral cat in the backyard.  It's under a garden table that we cover with a plastic tarp for protection from rain and snow.  The first night that we turned it on (at the lowest setting), Fluffy spent the wee hours of the night on the heating pad.  

I'll put the camera trap out a couple more times to make sure the habitat isn't attracting anyone else (other cats, raccoons, skunks).  For now, here's glimpse of Fluffy waiting for breakfast. 

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

Last night the clouds broke just right and the comet was visible after 7:00.  I got calls from Ty in Chamita who was having a great time viewing it.  We had about 6 neighbors stop by for our impromptu astronomical party.  

 

Weather forecast is for even clearer skies tonight. 

Home Again, Home Again... Jiggity-Jig

Got home after 22 hours of travel.  Did quite well until Seattle.  Then miles of walking followed by 2½ hours in a hard, non-reclining commuter aircraft seat finished me off.  Sciatica.  

Now, 2½ weeks later, I'm fairly functional for short bits and I get by with just a lumbar brace.  My quadriceps tighten up at anything more than a short walk.  

I've got a preliminary cut done on photos and a crude video created for streaming to the television.  Or the telly, as they say in Britain. 

Last night the Kp values were off the charts, so Ric and Terry joined me for a drive out to the Highway 6 exit.  Indeed, faint waves of red were visible, more so to the camera eyes.  

Looking NW through broken clouds