October 13, 2025
It’s a chilly Monday morning, still half-dark around 7:30 am. More fog over the river valley. The air has a weird unpleasant smell that I’ve always associated with some kind of pork or sausage factory. This city is known as “Porkopolis” after all. It could also be coming from a local brewery. In truth, I don’t really know what it is, but I know I could do without it.
More Osage oranges have fallen, littering the street. It’s also that time of year when the sun is still hot but the air is cool. So you’re cold early in the morning, but sweating by afternoon. Yesterday, we drove about 45 minutes north and saw a few hints of orange color in the trees. I think it will be a couple more weeks until I see any signs of fall foliage in my area. That means it will be almost November before it will really look like fall. Thank goodness seasonal coffee flavors aren’t impacted by the weather!
October 16, 2025
Fairly chilly start to the day. The few early clouds have gone, leaving behind a clear sky. It’s gotten too cold for me to sit comfortably outside and write on the balcony. Consequently, I have not done so since before I got sick (about 3 weeks ago). In fact, I’ve not gone outside much in general. We didn’t make it to the park this past weekend either because we went to the Pumpkin Festival instead. These things happen, nothing is perfect, and life is always a work-in-progress.
Image from Unsplash.com; Photo Credit: Yichen Wang
The sumac trees below the retaining wall are showing a bit of reddish-orange color on some of the lower leaflets. While I am not overly fond of this plant, at least it is a native species, unlike the similar looking Tree-of-Heaven (host of the Spotted Lanternfly). It is likely Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) but I am not 100% sure, as the fruit is out of season now and I don’t see any persisting berry clusters.1 Fun fact, this plant is edible! Have you tried it before?
October 19, 2025
I watched the trees dancing in the wind last night. You could tell that rain was coming by the smell of the evening breeze. The first soft rain drops started to fall around 3 am. Then it began to rain in earnest around 4:30 am and has continued with varying intensity ever since (no idea why I was awake at this hour, taking note of the precipitation). It’s good, we need the rain since there has been a bit of a drought.
Dark clouds cover the sun, disguising the hour of day so that I have lost track of the time. As I go up and down the stairs, my ears inspire me to momentarily pause. I like to listen to the raindrops from various places in the house and notice how each spot sounds different. The open bedroom window is a bit loud, as the fat drops drip from the roof into the box gutter, making a steady, “SPLAT…SPLAT,” that’s enough to keep you from falling asleep at night. Then there’s the roof hatch, which is metal, so the rain makes a, “ping, ting” pattering noise. However, it’s the open front window that’s the most gentle and pleasant, with the sound of rain hitting the leaves in the trees and the street below. All in all, it makes for a soothing melody.
- U.S. Forest Service – https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/rhus_typhina.shtml
Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhus_typhina ↩︎