Random 3 for August 13, 2023 – Birthdays, fall, weeds

Just a short version today. My heart is on vacation at the beach. Unfortunately, my body isn’t.

Happy birthday Dad! – This week is my dad’s birthday. He’s been gone 65 years but I still remember. I was a child when he passed. My memories of him are happy ones. That and a few pictures are all I have but I always celebrate his birthday.

Is that fall? – It’s still very warm but there is something different in the air. The nighttime temps are cooling down. Even the “hot” isn’t so hot. Maybe it’s all in my head but I can feel fall coming. I like fall. What I don’t like is the long cold winter that follows. I’m still enjoying summer! Note to self: Buy watermelon!

That was dumb! – This week our road crews sprayed herbicide on the sides of the roads. They have a contraption that mows along the side but they sprayed instead. It’s ugly because not only did they spray the weeds but the bottom limbs of trees are all turning brown. Maybe it’s cheaper but it’s not healthier. Not for us or the wildlife that lives out there.

So how was your week?

51 thoughts on “Random 3 for August 13, 2023 – Birthdays, fall, weeds

  1. Happy birthday to your Dad! Mine has been gone a few years now – I miss him. Glad things are cooling off somewhat at least! Boo to herbicides! They really should just mow, if they must. Or seed for wildflowers along the roads.

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  2. My husband lost his dad when he was young, too, and it’s amazing when you add up all the years between what you remember as a child and today. Such a big loss. So yes, “happy birthday” and remembering.

    It sure does seem to me there could be a better form of weed abatement than what you describe, Kate. They have their reasons, but we’ve all learned through the years that common sense doesn’t have to be factored in anywhere. Yuck!

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  3. Happy heavenly birthday to your Dad. I’ve noticed two trees now that had small patches of golden leaves mixed in with the green leaves has greeting me over the past week or so. Maybe it is a sign that more temperate weather is coming. A nice long Indian Summer would be most welcome.

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  4. Yesterday I pointed out to my husband that I thought I saw leaves changing to autumn colors on two trees. But it’s been hot here and not much cooler overnight. Then again, I’m not a fan of any temp over 80, so it may be a matter of perspective.

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  5. I always remind myself to buy watermelon and then for some reason don’t when I get to the store. I think it’s because I’m too lazy to get a whole one, and I’m always never happy with the packaging of the cut-up ones! – Marty

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    • I bought one today. I’ll probably cut it all up tomorrow. I like watermelon. It’s my favorite melon but even the seedless round ones are big for me. My husband isn’t a big fan so he won’t eat it unless I “decorate” his plate with a few pieces. I’m never happy with the cut up packages either but at least you can tell if it’s ripe.

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  6. We have a few trees with leaves going brown (the horse chestnuts always get in there early), but nothing else. The air is still as humid and gross as ever. Those of us who have black fur are, erm, sunbathing outside in the hottest part of the garden, at the hottest time of day.

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  7. I agree, we have tall hedges lining the front of our house and the city sprayed them once, killing the bottom branches of all the hedges. Now, our hedges are half green, half brown sticks jutting out. They never grew back. Makes me mad.

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  8. Sixty-five years is a long time … I am glad your memories of your Dad are happy. Our weather has not felt cool – we are having a torrential rain and Biblical flooding event tomorrow and early had severe weather last Friday and a E-1tornado in Perry, just 85 miles away. Fall cannot come fast enough for me, even though it precedes the dreaded Winter. Now, with climate change, it’s often hot way into Fall anymore. That was dumb to spray that herbicide – you’d think everyone would use caution with that stuff, especially after the Roundup illness and lawsuits.

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  9. My dad died almost 46 years ago. Hard to believe. I was already in my 30s, so I’m grateful to have had him that long. Still, losing him was hard. It’s good to remember their birthdays. His is in December.

    We had near-perfect weather for a couple of weeks while my daughter and family were here–mostly in the 70s. Now they’re back in DC, and our weather has jumped up to the 80s for the next few days. It’s been a great summer, though.

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  10. I love it when there is a hint of fall in the air. We don’t feel that for some time. Getting through August is still a challenge. I hate it when they spray like that – so ugly! Your dad was a handsome man. Was he in uniform there? Almost looks like a white naval hat. Have a good week!

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  11. It’s hard to believe that they are still using harmful herbicides. I wonder if some like-minded citizens could get together and bring their concerns to the local government to change that practice (hint, hint)? If left unchallenged, they’ll just keep doing whatever is easiest.

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  12. Happy Birthday to your Dad! Ah, yes, fall which is my most unfavorite time of the year, but it’s coming. One of my blueberry plant’s leaves are turning and there are some leaves falling already. Mass spraying of weeds is really bad for all the reasons you and others have mentioned. Our town has been apparently spraying between the sidewalk and the road so as I drive along various streets there are some signs – please don’t spray.

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  13. The way we treat the Earth (and its flora and fauna) is short-sighted, for sure.

    Happy Birthday to your dad! Maybe he and my Great Aunt Edie will get together for a wee celebration!

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  14. Not a fan or the herbicides or pesticides, especially used indiscriminately. It’s gotten to the point where I won’t buy flowers or plants from nurseries that use them. Which means almost all of them. So we germinate ours from seeds, which can be a lengthy process. But we have lots of birds and pollinators and aim to keep it that way.

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    • I agree with you. These areas are pathways for squirrels, deer and other critters and it looks gross. Can’t be healthy. I remember DDT and all they found out about it after they used it indiscriminately.

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  15. I think of my father on his birthday. He died when I was 15 so I don’t really remember him as an adult, but think of him as a daddy. I’m pleased to know that someone else looks back like I do, even this many years later.

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  16. That’s really ugly about the herbicide. It is way overused, and kind of a lazy way to manage things, methinks. And Fall is definitely coming. Little by little. By and large our summer hasn’t been as hot/humid and unbearable as some in memory. At least we aren’t dealing with 110 degree temps for a month.

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    • Overall the summer has been pleasant. There were just a few times I had to water. Mostly we had sufficient rainfall. The herbicide thing is annoying. It’s all over the township roads. Lazy and probably deadly.

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