Tag: autumn

Categories
Living in Society

Sunrise at Autumn’s End

Sunrise on the state park trail on Dec. 9, 2025.

Everyday I am out in the weather for at least part of the day. This December has been weird with heavy snowfalls coupled with spells of above freezing ambient temperatures. The talk on the trail is about how the trail surface varies with snowfall and temperature. We are all of retirement age so our concern is testing new muscles and stress on our ankles and joints. Thus far I have been able to navigate rough surfaces without mishap.

The outdoors temperature was 37 degrees Fahrenheit when I woke. By the time I was ready to walk on the trail it had dropped to below freezing. As I entered the state park, the wind picked up and snow began to fall. The trail surface had frozen unevenly around snowmobile, wildlife, and pedestrian tracks. I had to be careful to preserve my joints and ankles. I knew the weather forecast before I left home.

I’m not the only one who takes accurate weather forecasts for granted. My resource is the Weather Channel with its hourly forecasts and radar images. Mostly I seek short-term weather forecasts in order to do something like mow the lawn, take a walk, or work in the garden. Existing technology gives me accurate forecasts that facilitate what I want to do.

Hannah Ritchie is a Scottish data scientist, senior researcher at the University of Oxford, and deputy editor at Our World in Data, according to Wikipedia. Her work focuses on sustainability, in relation to climate change, energy, food and agriculture, biodiversity, air pollution, deforestation, and public health. She recently wrote the following about weather forecasting:

The potential for AI to improve weather forecasting and climate modelling (which also takes a long time and uses a lot of energy) has been known for several years now. AI models have been tested for one- and two-week forecasts with promising results. Scientists will often need to wait weeks for a complex, high-resolution climate model to run; AI might be able to do this hundreds, if not thousands, of times faster. (Email from Hannah Ritchie on Oct. 27, 2025).

Naturally, I asked ChatGPT about this, “When scientists like Hannah Ritchie say weather forecasting can be much improved with artificial intelligence, what do they mean.” As is usual for artificial intelligence, the answer was very long. Here is the crux:

When scientists say weather forecasting can be dramatically improved with artificial intelligence, they usually mean something more specific than “AI makes everything better.” They’re referring to concrete technical bottlenecks in current forecasting and the ways AI can overcome them. Hannah Ritchie, and researchers at ECMWF, NOAA, Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, the UK Met Office, and others, are all pointing to similar developments. (ChatGPT query result, December 2025).

More specifically, in explanation, the machine listed multiple bullet points:

  • Weather prediction is limited by physics-based models.
  • AI models can “learn the atmosphere.”
  • AI lets scientists blend physics and data.
  • AI makes weather forecasting more democratic. By that, it means cheaper and more broadly available than on expensive, physics-based computers.
  • AI enables longer-range and global risk forecasting: seasonal climate forecasts, agricultural and drought planning, energy-grid load forecasting, and catastrophe-risk modeling.
  • But: Scientists emphasize that AI is not a replacement for physics.

The machine summarized: forecast faster, forecast at higher resolution, run at vastly lower cost, improve extreme weather warning lead times, complement physics with learned patterns, and democratize forecasting globally.

According to the machine, consumer-scaled artificial intelligence models might be available by 2032. In the meanwhile, I’m just glad I didn’t turn an ankle on the trail this morning.

Categories
Living in Society

November Snowfall

After a November snowfall.

The storm was brewing while we were in Des Moines enjoying a meal on Thanksgiving Day. In Iowa, we have excellent storm system visibility as they develop. This one was expected to dump 8-12 inches of snow beginning the Friday after the holiday. We made sure to get on the road in plenty of time to beat the storm home.

Snow cleans up the landscape and muffles neighborhood noise. Everything looks pristine for a while. We need the moisture this snowfall brought.

I got a good workout of a different set of muscles while blowing the snow from the driveway. I dispatched the first 6 inches on Saturday as it continued to snow. That made it easier to finish the rest on Sunday after this storm had finished. Snow is welcome for the changes it brings to our daily routine. Snow removal can be one of the few forms of outdoors exercise during winter.

The change is welcome for the reminder it provides: it is time to buckle in and finish the book. The last five weeks have been a time of figuring out where I am with the structure. I now know. My first focus will be drafting the remaining eleven single-topic chapters. After that, the entire book needs review and a re-write, taking it from draft closer to the finished product. Winter cold and snow makes it easier to focus on this indoors work.

Snowfall reminds us we are heading into another winter. This year, I welcome it.

Categories
Living in Society

End of a Season

Last five fresh apples.

There are no more apples to harvest from the trees. I made applesauce from the last five on the counter, peeling, coring, and cooking them in a bit of apple juice. When tender, I took the potato masher to them and now I have fresh, chunky-style applesauce. It’s among the best dishes of apple season. There is not much, yet enough to provide a taste of summer.

Now we begin eating storage apples from a special drawer in the refrigerator. I checked them the other day and they are keeping well, even varieties not known to be long keepers. 2025 was a great year for apples, all around.

Woodpile from two dead ash trees.

It took about a week from getting a chainsaw, taking down the two dead ash trees, and processing all the wood. We don’t have a fireplace or go camping much, so this woodpile will be for someone else. I offered it to the neighbor who helped take one of the trees down yet he said he has enough for this winter. It is a beautiful thing to look at but I’ll need the space for the greenhouse in the spring.

Burning brush.

Burning the branches took most of a day. The process was straight forward with only a cut or two needed on each before putting them on the burn pile. Everything burned quickly, although there was a lot to burn. I enjoy burn piles and do one each in fall and spring.

Ash tree stump.

About the only must-do task outdoors is to mulch the leaves now that they have fallen from trees that shed in autumn. That takes about an hour and it should be done this week. After that, I’ll deconstruct what I can of the garden. I know where most of next year’s crops are going, although it is not an urgent fall task. Wildlife continues to enjoy the habitat.

Winter will soon arrive, yet not before we enjoy a few more weeks of autumn. Life at home is an escape from the rest of society. Sometimes we need that.

Categories
Home Life

Glorious Autumn

Leaves of deciduous trees on Nov. 4, 2025

Despite the lack of rain, this has been one of the best autumns I remember. It is a pleasure each time I step outdoors and take it all in. With everything going on in the world, we need that type of solace.

Autumn is the time to get the chainsaw out and clear dead trees from the property. A neighbor and I felled two ash trees killed by the Emerald Ash Borer. The occasion gave me a chance to wear the steel-toed shoes I got to work in a Kentucky steel mill back in the day. They even have metatarsal protection.

Steel-toed shoes with metatarsal protection.

I took the first tree down by myself. It took some time to determine where I wanted it to fall. I made a notch cut in that direction. It is important to take the time because as the old saw goes, measure twice and cut once. I made the felling cut and the bar and chain of the chainsaw got stuck. I must have done something wrong.

Hitch to the yard tractor.

I stopped and disconnected the bar from the motor assembly, and was able to pull it out. Not the chain. No problem. I went to the garage and got out my rappelling rope, tied one end around the tree about 12 feet from the ground, and the other to a carabiner attached to the rear of the yard tractor. I positioned the tractor on the cement driveway so there would be traction and gently tugged the tree until it fell over.

First ash tree felled on Wednesday.

My neighbor arrived and we worked together on the second tree. This one had grown with a yoke separating the two main branches. If I felled the southernmost branch the wrong direction, I might take out the neighbor’s fence. We positioned the yard tractor and tied the rope to the tree about 14 feet above ground. I made the notch cut and then my neighbor got on the yard tractor and put tension on the rope. As I made the felling cut, he increased tension, although he lost traction because of the leaves on the ground. No worries the tree fell in the intended direction.

Two tree stumps.

We felled the other main branch and called it a day.

This was the most difficult part of the operation. Going forward, I plan to spend about an hour a day cutting the trees up. I made a place for a brush pile and will salvage two relatively straight limbs to use to stack firewood outdoors and off the ground. I will burn the brush pile when conditions are suitable, and hope to find a home for the firewood. A lot of neighbors are flush with winter firewood presently.

It will take me a week or two to clean up the yard. That part I can do by myself. Autumn days were made for a fellow and his chainsaw.

Categories
Home Life

End of the Season

Lake Macbride on Oct. 24, 2025.

We have been expecting the first hard frost. I was awake when it hit in the wee hours of Friday morning. The average date is Oct. 13, so we are 11 days behind. Nothing to say about that other than that is where the day began.

It was chilly indoors so I turned on the furnace when I couldn’t stop shivering. I set the thermostat at 65 degrees and that took care of the shivers. When I went for my morning walk I donned my winter coat and needed it. I saw the sunrise light show from the dining room windows, yet had things to do and didn’t get out until daylight. The way light falls on the trail is always a show in its own right.

I felt like crap when I woke. It is likely the COVID vaccination on Thursday. By evening I felt myself again. The main accomplishment this week was going through clothing to see what I want to keep and what goes to the thrift store. I reduced the number of blue blazers to the one that fit best. I kept only one pair of slacks to go with it. The others will go into the back seat of the car with other clothing donations until I drive by the drop off point.

On the to-do list was fix the short garden hose attached to the spigot in back. For whatever reason the hose washers came up missing and I got quite a spray yesterday. I found two new ones in the first drawer I opened. Hose washers are not something for which to make a special trip to the hardware store. The main hose is stored in the garage until spring.

I aired the front left tire on the John Deere, stored the grass catcher for winter, and fueled. I mowed one last time for the season. It went quickly and looked okay when finished. That tire needs replacing so I backed the tractor into the garage so I can get at it, jack the front end up, and remove the tire and rim. The thrift store is not far from the tire shop, so I’ll put the old one in the back seat so it can be dropped off on the same trip.

Before sunrise I made a dish of enchiladas. I’m not sure when I will bake them, yet likely over the weekend. The refrigerator and pantry are full of food so there are plenty of meal options. Thank goodness my Social Security pays for most basic stuff of living.

Now that the garden is finished attention turns to the two dead ash trees. My chainsaw is kaput so I need to get to the hardware store and see about a new one. I noticed the Ace Hardware in Mount Vernon is a Stihl dealer. I’ll likely start there and see where it takes me. I hate the expense for a tool to use two or three times a year. However it is more expensive to pay a tree service to remove dead trees.

It has been quiet in the neighborhood. As if the whole world is preparing for winter and can’t be bothered. Days like this I notice my mobile device usage is pretty low. There is plenty of work to do as the season turns in the real world.

Categories
Creative Life

Friday Photos

Sunrise on the state park trail.

Some new colors this week. It’s garlic planting time and when Friday is over, I hope it will be in.

Making applesauce.
Lake bed is drying.
Bees and flies on an apple.
Rainbow on the trail.
Garlic plot is turned over.
On the state park trail.
Seed garlic.
Categories
Creative Life

Fall Photos

Pelican migration.

This week was all about the shift to autumn—putting up hot peppers, processing apples, and getting ready for winter. Add a high school class reunion on Sept. 25, and it’s already been a busy season. Here are some of the best recent shots.

Bur Oak acorns.
Gnarly apples make the best vinegar.
Moon setting at dawn.
The cayenne peppers keep coming from the garden. I dehydrate them, whiz them in the food mill and put them in jars for the kitchen and for gifting.
Part of apple sorting is putting the low grade ones in a pile for wildlife. By spring they will be gone.
Mist rising from the lake surface as overnight temperatures got into the 40s.
Making apple cider vinegar dominated my work periods this week.
Wild turkeys… likely aware hunting season is upon us.
A high school classmate took this photo of the venue for our class reunion. That’s the Rock Island Arsenal bridge over the Mississippi River in the background.
Sunrise on the state park trail.
Categories
Kitchen Garden

Hints of Autumn

Trail walking before dawn.

Ambient temperatures were in the high 40s as I made my way along the state park trail. The chilly air stimulated bare skin exposed by my short sleeve t-shirt. Even though it was before 6 a.m. three others were out running. Two had lights and one did not. When younger, I used to run five miles each morning in moonlight, so I never carry a light. I memorized the trail and know where the one tree root crosses so I don’t trip on it in the dark. Darkness dissipated as Earth rotated, bringing us into the light.

The weather has been perfect for about a week. It is the kind of summer weather we seek. Thursday the high temperature was below 70 degrees.

The garden is winding down, with only one or two varieties of tomatoes left ripening. There are also hot peppers which will produce until the first hard frost. Leafy green vegetables continue to grow but the freezer and refrigerator have enough to last until next year. I pick what we need to eat fresh and leave the rest. Apples are aplenty. I will end up leaving a lot on the tree for wildlife. Autumn is not here, yet we can sense it is close.

I made enchiladas for dinner on Thursday. I modified my standard ingredients, substituting fresh tomato sauce for the canned I use in winter. There are still garlic scapes in the refrigerator, so I used those too. It is an easy meal for after a long day of working with apples.

The garden garlic has been racked in the garage for three weeks and is ready for trimming and storage. I’m not in a hurry to get that done. Using a small fan to blow on it helped them dry more quickly and thoroughly.

I have five bins holding a bushel and a half of apples, sorted by juicers and saucers, downstairs near the furnace. I plan to fill the other three bins and then turn to sauce first, followed by juicing. We don’t eat much applesauce, mostly using it to substitute for an egg in vegan corn muffins. Once a year we make an applesauce cake. The refrigerator drawer can take a few more of the best apples for storage. This year has been a mad rush in the garden.

When I tear down the squash patch I expect to find a winter squash or two. That operation was ill-advised in that I couldn’t get to the vines and lost track.

The acorns on the Bur Oak trees are full sized. I expect squirrels will make quick work of them.

Such is my life in Big Grove Township. We live our best lives here… as best we can.

Categories
Living in Society

Signs Winter Is Coming

Pelican migration – October 2024

Apple season is winding down with farmers selling from their coolers. In the cycle of local produce, society and nature lay down such markers that winter is near.

There are signs of the change in seasons all around. Yesterday I noticed a gigantic flock of pelicans near the state park trail. They stretched for half a mile along the east-west axis of the center of the lake. As it is for migratory pelicans, it is time for us to refuel and move on.

While at the farm store last week, a woman told me that what I saw was the last of fresh vegetables. I bought a big bunch of kale and three bell peppers. We’re on to pumpkin season now.

Election day is always a sign winter is coming. In the even numbered years we have federal elections and in the odd, state government and school boards. I almost always have some yard signs up and as we approach election day, they become surrounded by the fallen leaves of deciduous trees in our yard.

It’s open enrollment for Medicare. I encourage my readers to ditch any form of Medicare Advantage and get on the real program. As we age, our health care needs increase as do related expenses. There is no reason to give a cut of this cash exchange to insurance companies. It costs significantly less to the government if we choose the real deal.

Due to lower overnight temperatures I added wool blankets for the bed. I am at two presently and a third stands ready for service in the closet. I brought two of them back from military service. Making woolen blankets for soldiers is something the U.S. Government did well. These will continue to serve as long as I have them.

I adjusted my Goodreads reading goal from 56 to 52 books this year. I took on some long books last summer, and am running behind. While the book count is lower compared to last year, the number of pages read is about the same. Last year, I read 69 books. I read more than 50 every year beginning in 2020.

Lastly, I’m going through my winter collection of sweatshirts to see what needs replacing. I’m unlikely to buy anything new this year. As a septuagenarian, my sense of style, or styling an outfit is minimal. I thought about making a series of brief style videos showing my daily outfits for a month or so. Frankly, my style varies little from day to day. It’s a choice of which jeans, which t-shirt and which socks for the most part. I don’t really accessorize at all. Not sure there is a market for that type of video.

Pelicans won’t stay here long. The next big project is to take up the second volume of my memoir after the election. I’m pretty sure the renewal of effort will drag on into December. I have a full year’s work to do to get the book suitable for publishing.

Whatever you do, if you are a U.S. citizen, be sure to make a plan to vote on or before Nov. 5. So much depends upon the outcome of the general election.

Categories
Writing

Season Shift

Past peak fall colors on the state park trail on Oct. 25, 2023.

Rain and thunderstorms are forecast through 3 p.m. We need the rain. On my trail walk yesterday the culvert where water runs off the watershed remained bone dry. If winter arrives, and there is inadequate rain, we will start the growing season behind the curve. That has consequences.

An acquaintance saw Rachel Maddow in Phoenix last night. Maddow is on her book tour for Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism. My copy is waiting in queue to be read. I delayed reading Prequel because I needed a break after reading Wallace Stegner’s intense history of the opening of the American West. With social media we all do everything together all the time. Books I recently read have a page on this blog, here. Do join in and try one of them!

I started the first task on a sorting table. The sorting table is a place in my writing area where I bring boxes and piles and lay them out so I can dispose of the contents. It serves a number of functions, the most important of which is doing research for the main creative work in progress. In addition to determining dates and ideas to be included in writing, the sorting table serves to identify books to be taken to Goodwill, books to go on the to-read shelf (which is now overly full), and documents and artifacts that need further sorting and contemplation or recycling. Today’s stack had a box containing mostly bookmarks along with receipts for events I attended and my military driver’s license. There is good stuff in the box yet it’s a hodge-podge of life’s detritus. Some of it is going in the trash bin after all the paper gets shredded to start brush pile fires.

There is garden work to do after the rain. For the time being I’ll hole up at my writing table and focus on getting a few things done. Thanks for reading.