November 4

Goodness!! It has been a while since I posted anything. Here it is--day before Election Day. The campaigning has been heavier than usual here. Our mayor of 16 years has opted to not run again though I could bet he would have been re-elected if he had decided otherwise. He has done a good job. The man from his party (Republicans) who is running to succeed him touts his close association with the soon to be former mayor but I am not convinced that is enough reason to vote for him. And I don't see much difference between his platform and the Democrat. However, the challenger is basically running on a "time for change" platform which given the last sentence means not much change. Also he doesn't specify what needs to change (besides the party in office) and what he means by a city government that works for all. Again--not much inducement to vote Democrat. They only strong feeling I have on the matter is that alternating parties is--generally--a good thing. I guess I will wait til I have the ballot in front of me to see how what ever spirit moves me. Given what I have seen of the campaign signs in yards I would place a small bet on the Republican.

The weather has turned decidedly colder of late. It feels like someone (or Someone) flipped a switch taking us from 70s and 80s to 30s and 40s. We had snow on Halloween. Along with hard rain and heavy winds. I think the snow and low high temp on Halloween threatened a record that had been set in the 1880s. The garden is pretty much gone now even though the chives, spearmint, peppermint, dianthus are still hanging on. I have done as much clean up as I intend to do and what plants are left will remain as a protective cover on the soil. The hard rains we have had over the last few years tends to splatter mud all over.

I haven't planned much on the gardens for next year. All I know for sure is that I am striving for one that provides max enjoyment and least work. And which can withstand what has become a brutal summer, partly because we are having more 85+ days and partly because heat tends to concentrate and magnify on the patio where the temperatures can be as much as 20 degrees higher than our official temperatures.

I don't write about politics much and I try to limit my exposure to a lot of what passes for political news nowadays. Some amusing thoughts have passed through my not-quite-fried brain. So many of the talking heads talk about Biden as the candidate votes think will reset our society and politics to something they consider "normal." I think they are living an illusion. Too much has been broken over the last 50 years and the last 3 under #45 are just the tip of the iceberg. Ain't no way we are going back to anything like what we once considered "normal." Finally, this morning on Morning Joe Pete Budiguige (a.k.a., Mayor Pete) said that though in a softer, kinder way. Evidently, according to the pundits, Wall Street is really scared of the prospect of a President Elizabeth Warren. Why escapes me.  After all being elected is no guarantee that she will get her various "plans" enacted. I am glad she is running and that her various criticisms of our current bastardized "capitalist" system are getting more discussion than normal. I still wish Bernie and Joe had decided to sit this one out. Several of the lower tier candidates deserve more than a chance to issue a sound bite. Elizabeth and Pete are the only ones who have been able to get any attention from those two.

I will let this end for now. Just thought I would let the world know I am still here.