Their secret is out

I've been noticing that the trees near water are retaining their brilliant color longer. All summer long they've been secretly sneaking ground water while the poor trees higher up from the watershed were coughing up sawdust, it was so dry. Those unfortunate ones are past peak now; pale, bald versions of their former selves. In fact, the Fall color map shows that you have to drive to Iowa now to see significant peak color.

Tonight, the garage is organized, clean, the patchlet of weedy lawn has been mowed, leaves and millions of maple helicopter seeds have been bagged, the grill, largest ceramic planters and fire pit have been stowed. Big push tomorrow for cutting back tall grasses and anything that can make snow shoveling harder by falling over into the paths. I hope my body rebounds, it is ridiculously sore and tired.

Perhaps by telling you the following, the universe will grant me some leniency and not take away all my karma points. Tonight, while watching an episode of Spooks, we heard a racket outside in the dumpster/skip in the street. A fellow was dumpster diving for dimensional lumber that he could haul off. It's considered stealing but that wasn't what pissed me off and I actually don't mind the concept of fishing through dumpsters for reusable things. Because I had worked my ass off in the yard (not his fault, my choice, I know) I was deeply irritated that he showed no respect for my property and plants and dumped a bunch of heavy wood right on my sidewalk plants and was stepping on them, grinding them into the ground. I wasn't polite when I marched out there because I thought he might talk back but instead he just shriveled back and apologized. Jeez now I feel like a poo. A large, adult male blue whale poo. Oh well, I'll sleep it off and by morning I'll only feel like a little teensy goldfish poo.