The Colors of Autumn

I was struck by this scene yesterday morning as I walked across the hotel parking lot to my car. Autumn had arrived and with it the green colors of summertime have already begun to change to gold. 

I had seen this field of sunflowers on previous trips and I was struck by the green foliage and the large flower heads of gold chasing the sun as it traversed the sky. 

Now, however, the greens were already fading into brown and the scene was becoming monochromatic. The mountains provided a stunning backdrop set against the blue sky--but the scene was still mostly yellow and gold.

Perhaps the colors were accentuated just a bit by the golden hues of the rising sun, but I think that it only served to highlight the scene.

On previous trips, I have had this view out my hotel window and been able to enjoy the openness, but on this trip my window faced a different direction with a different view of the just as stunning sunrise.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Denver, Co

Sunrise to Sunset

With the available daylight down to less that 12 hours per day (from sunrise to sunset now counting twilight) it is fun to see the different sights along the path of the day. 

Yesterday, I saw sunrise over the Baltimore Washington International Airport, or BWI as we affectionately call it. It was pretty looking out of the terminal while walking to my gate for my flight. The dawn was breaking over the field and it made me stop for a few moments. The field was already alive with activity as planes were arriving and departing. People and equipment were everywhere in the predawn light going about their business on the first full day of autumn.

And then, later in the day, I was walking into my hotel and I spied a small rabbit--totally terrified, less than six feet from me. It did the usual rabbit thing--it froze. The rabbit sat there, terrified, while I got my phone out and snapped his image.

I didn't snap an image of the sunset--although I probably should have. But, then, I really didn't get to enjoy it.

Another travel day filled with transient memories captured digitally.

-- Bob Doan, writing from ?

Monday Musings - September 23, 2013

1. Autumn has officially arrived, even though it has been around for weeks already it seems.

2. I am feeling the hope of baseball season slip away as the Orioles continue to lose critical games. It may all be over except for the math.

3. What do you do about a driver in another car driving with no lights on at night? Scary!

4. Birthday season is in full swing with the arrival of Autumn!

5. Why does the NFL start football games involving east coast teams 8:30 PM? Who watches the end of these games anyway? The only time I see the end of those games is when I'm traveling in a different time zone.

6. Rain, when needed is a wonderful thing. Rain in excess is a catastrophe, like the rains in Colorado right now.

7. Why can't we as a society understand that some people will always be operating outside the established norms?

8. Some people like the cool autumn days. I long for the warm days of summer and the smells of the fields baking in the sun.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Season of the Pumpkin

Autumn begins today at 4:44 PM EDT (8:44 GMT) and with its arrival, summer departs leaving only its memory behind.

The season of the pumpkin has already arrived. Yes--called Autumn, or Fall by many people, in my house it is actually the season of the pumpkin. I mean, think about it--pumpkins are everywhere. Even in front of my fireplace (or should I write, hearth?).

Pumpkin Muffins Straight from the Oven

Before long, pumpkins, real and artificial, will be everywhere. I will be strolling through cornfield mazes with grandsons, buying pumpkins, eating pumpkin pie, and making jack-o-lanterns. Just this morning Chris made pumpkin muffins for breakfast to celebrate the first day of autumn.

We celebrated the last night of summer by heading out into Baltimore for some evening enjoyment. And it was awesome. Even with the much needed rain complicating the traffic patterns, we rang in the autumn and the family the birthday season which sees a continuous stream of birthdays from now until mid-April.

After yesterday's rain the morning has dawned bright and crisp. Autumn is definitely in the air and swimming in the pool had become a memory of the summer passed. 

The season of the pumpkin has arrived and the season of the surf and sun has departed.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Here Come the Rains

Rainstorm over Stuart, FL

Sitting here this morning listening to the weather report, I was encouraged about the prospect of rain before the end of the day. Unlike some areas north of us, we have been in drought conditions since early August and things are getting really dry.

We need rain--even if it is going to fall on the weekend. I remember the daily afternoon rainstorms while I was in Florida earlier this year. They were little more than a nuisance--but a necessary replenishment of the water that we have seen little of here for more than the past month.

Things are very dry--everywhere. I think the significant stream behind my house had gone nearly dry which is why the wildlife is encroaching on my lawn more and more. 

The woodchuck paid an extensive visit to my yard to eat acorns yesterday. I considered loosing the dogs to chase it away, but decided to deal with it another day. What would I do if they actually caught up with it anyway? That would be a strange situation. And, if the woodchuck eats the acorns, I don't have to clean them up from the yard! 

Bring on the rain!  Maybe the lawn will green up and I will have to mow again.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

More Congressional Inaction

Another fiscal year is coming to an end--on the 30th, and Congress has yet again failed the American people who elected them by not doing their job. For the I don't know how many years in a row the fiscal budget year will end and there is no budget. The country is racing towards its debt ceiling and there is no action there, either.

 USA Today reports, in the article titled House heads to showdown over budget. Obamacare, that "President Obama will not sign the bill funding the government through Dec. 15 because "it advances a narrow ideological agenda that threatens our economy and the interests of the middle class," according to a statement from the Office of Management and Budget."

The threat of a government shutdown looms large, yet again. It should't be that way. It is not what is supposed to happen--Congress is holding the country hostage while attempting to implement policies professed by a minority of people. 

The article concludes with the following: "Treasury Secretary Jack Lew cautioned this week that waiting until the eleventh hour to raise the debt ceiling "could be very dangerous" and warned Congress not to "gamble with the full faith and credit of the United States of America."

Gambling!  Interesting thought.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Moon at the End of the Street

 After enjoying a heated 5-year old game of organized flag football last evening and then retrieving one grandson from soccer practice as evening fell too early it seemed, I paused for a moment and noticed the moon hanging at the end of the street. 

It definitely seemed to be a harvest moon--but maybe that is because it is September. 

But there it was--in the sky at the end of the street, laughing at me it seemed knowing that it was only about 7:20 pm and already darkness was beginning to envelop my life as the day slipped into the past.

I had noticed the trees along the roadside beginning to transform from the summer green into the golds and reds of autumn the other day. I snapped a quick image just to remind myself of the scene along my drive home before the trees lose all of their leaves in preparation for winters cold. 

I feel it will be a hard and cold winter this year. I want to remember the scene, before the green is whisked away from view, hiding until the springtime heralds its return to dominance.

That harvest moon though, it just seemed to laugh at me as I looked at it. It seemed that it was telling me to just go with it and find the joy in each season and not continually try to find a way to live in perpetual summer.

I don't know--traveling from the northern hemisphere to the southern to experience springtime followed by summertime then springtime again does not sound so bad. Maybe I could then laugh at the moon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Autumn Evening on the Deck

Under the stars next to the fire table eating dinner with a jacket on to protect me from the chill. Although autumn doesn't start until Saturday, last evening it was definitely here.

The air was crisp, there were no mosquitos and sadly no bats flying overhead either. Sitting together, Chris and I, with a glass of wine just enjoying being together was a perfect ending to a hectic day. 

It was fun to spy satellites passing overhead in the small chunk of sky that we can actually see from our back deck. The trees are still full with leaves, although I can already see signs of the coming autumn as the canopy is thinning. I could see the moon shining through where before its cold light would have been obscured.

I felt summer's grip being lost on the season as autumn exerted its strength and the temperatures began to plummet. During the morning, I had noticed Orion's return signaling the beginning of the dark season.

The season is changing.

Life goes on.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Another Senseless Act of Violence

It happened again yesterday--another senseless act of violence designed to strike fear into the hearts of law abiding Americans. 

I find it hard to believe that it is happening agains and that 12 patriots are dead at the hands of a fellow citizen. It is a crime--and it should not happen. Yet, it does. The city was closed, civil liberties were abridged, and a manhunt was underway to find accomplices. 

And now, in the aftermath, instead of comforting the victims and the families of those who died, the hand wringing will begin afresh to "do something." As if something could be done to bring back those who died and who are forever scarred by the experience.

Worse, the media will begin dissecting the life of the now confirmed lone gunman looking for reasons which are clear in retrospect, but hidden with his personal demons in realtime and not easily discerned. As a result of the actions of the "do gooders"--more individual freedoms and liberties will be abridged in the name of public safety, when in reality it is a societal breakdown and systemic failure which may have contributed to the senseless act of violence to begin with. 

Now is a time to mourn, to pray, and to help the victims and their families reconstruct their lives. It is not a time to profess political agendas.

I pray for the victims and their families that they may find healing and peace and hope. I pray for our leaders that they may lead with wisdom. I pray for our country and our society that we may find hope.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - September 16, 2013

1. The second half of September has arrived. Wasn't it August just yesterday?

2. Football Sunday's mean that precious little gets done around the house while the games are on.

3. Baseball is still king--some very important games are being played every day. The Orioles finally won a series again beating Toronto in Toronto. Maybe there is still hope for the post-season.

4. In a perfect world, I'd be driving under this sign, right now.

5. As the available daylight gets shorter, why does it seem that there is more than needs to be done.

6. Why do estimates for repairs sometimes seem to be for more money than a whole new item could be purchased? Chris and I were considering redoing the pool and for the estimate we received, we could dig a whole new pool. Back to the drawing board.

7. My yard is blossoming with wildlife--most of it unwanted. I have seen numerous squirrels gathering acorns, four deer eating my foliage, and most recently a woodchuck has taken up residence in the area. It is doing a lot of eating, too.

8. It is amazing how nice a freshly mowed lawn looks, especially during the late season when it started out strewn with leaves. 

9. Why does the completion of one project make the start of another seem imminent?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD