Autumn 2015

So, This Happened...

Just as it was with his visit with Fidel Castro (but not with Castro's victims), Pope Francis's visit to the White House will be spun in ways favorable to President Obama. That's how these things work, despite efforts by the Pontiff's publicists to deny it.

Still, it was particularly shameless of the President to say during his greeting that
"You remind us that people are only truly free when they can practice their faith freely."

See Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.

"Irony much, Mr. President?"

See Amici Curiae brief in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Burwell.

"We second that emotion!"

Soggy Morning

View from my patio at 8:05 AM

If you look closely, you can see a gaggle of birds under the nearest tree. They had been on my patio until I stepped out there to take this picture...

First Day of Fall

Technically, it happened in the wee small hours this morning, but today is basically the autumnal equinox, one of two days each year when the amount of sunlight and darkness (day and night) is almost exactly the same (the vernal equinox being the other; the terms are reversed if you live in the southern hemispere).

"Admit it...you haven't got a clue about what that diagram means."

No one was talking to you...

Yogi Berra, R.I.P.

When I first began paying attention to baseball as a young boy in the early 1960s, the best years of Yogi Berra's career (including his three American League MVP seasons) were already well behind him, but he was still a popular and beloved figure in the game.

Although the Yankees were never my team, it was hard not to like Yogi. Just like his contemporary Ernie Banks, Yogi had one of those cheerful dispositions that could put a smile on your face just listening to him.

Requiescat in pace, Yogi.

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

When it is raining hard like it is this morning, it isn't unusual for my avian customers to just hang out on the patio railing as they try to stay dry. Quite a few of them are doing that this morning, although it is difficult for me to get close enough to get any good pictures. I was able to get a shot of a few of them huddled just off the edge of the patio...

Until I opened the B&B I had never really had much of an opportunity to observe these kinds of birds up close. It has been a real education. Today I learned that they look pretty funny when they're soaking wet!

Now that fall is officially here, it won't be long before I have to make some changes to the B&B to keep the food in a less-exposed location. Working on ideas for that...

Pumpkins!

Nothing says "Fall" quite like the explosion of pumpkin-everything, everywhere you look. I'm surprised someone somewhere isn't offering pumpkin-scented gasoline.

As I have mentioned previously, locomotives painted in BNSF's orange-and-green livery are referred to by railfans as "pumpkins," and just this morning BNSF had a nice photo of some on their Twitter feed (@BNSFRailway). The shot was taken in Glacier National Park by professional photographer Patrick Bennett. It features a parade of "pumpkins" heading an eastbound intermodal freight train..

Until Next Time...

In July of 1964, The Beach Boys released All Summer Long, their second album release that calendar year (Shut Down Volume 2 preceded it). It produced their first No. 1 hit,
"I Get Around," but it also marked the end of the band's "sun and surf" focus. In many ways, this album marked the beginning of "autumn" for the band's creative career.

Today's send-off is my favorite song from the album, "All Summer Long." It seems like a fitting way to say farewell to Summer 2015. Enjoy...