Autumnal

The Question as posed:

What does Autumn stir in you?
How do you face into Autumn?
What do you do and feel about Autumn?
What are the promises and costs of Autumn for you?
What are your memories of Autumns past?
What are your hopes and fears around this transition into winter?

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It's always interesting to record the first thoughts upon beginning to consider a Question, and then to see what unfolds as the mind courses over the below-ground rabbit warrens, nosing into one hole after another, sometimes pausing to excavate, and sometimes hurrying on to the next opportunity...

After reading the Question, I walked to the mailbox ...and SMELLED Fall, just after a small rain and the air redolent with the first hints of leaf decay. The strongest sense-memory associated with that smell was of the New England pleasure of scuffling through oak and maple leaves, and jumping into piles of leaves, and the now-forbidden smell of burning leaves.

And I recognized that Autumn, or Fall, is a Progression, not a State: something that unfolds day by day, more or less the same from year to year. The winter's 2 cord of wood got delivered and stacked, and sometime in October the screen door is removed and tucked away for the winter (turned out to be today). The last crookneck squash was cooked yesterday, the flannel shirts and fleeces have elbowed the short sleeve shirts to their winter quarters, and the succession of leaf falls from the various tree species has begun, each in its proper turn. At some point the outdoor faucet will be shut off until Spring.

There's a cluster of Seasonal Ceremonies after the Equinox: Canadian Thanksgiving is Monday October 14th. The Happy Clam closes for the winter on October 14th. Used-to-be-Columbus Day comes and goes. And every 4 years there's all that uncertainty around The Election (which has always sucked the oxygen out of 'most everything else). And of course there's all the distraction of baseball, and football... and the progress toward Hallowe'en ...and Samhain ['Sa-win'], which is altogether a more authentic marker in the annual sequence. And Dia de los Muertos too.

We invite you to go on a journey within and take time to reflect on your journey so far.
What parts of you are you bringing in the darkest part of the year?
What guidance do you need from the spirits?
Which shadows are revealing themselves to you while you contemplate on their medicine?

We welcome you, Darkness, for you were never to be feared as you are our greatest teacher.

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(context)

...and then it will be November: there will be The Election, and then Remembrance Day/Veterans Day, and surely before American Thanksgiving the obligatory Christmas music will ooze into public spaces. And finally the Solstice will arrive, and Autumn will be done.

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The connections with my /Plantae project are many, and never more obvious than with the magic of color as the green chlorophyll of Summer is transformed. Bot how do the plants know it's Autumn? Phytochrome (the light-activated switch) tells them that, sensing that the nights are longer. Just how that works was worked out 30 years ago.

The cryptochromes Chentao Lin and Takeshi Todo Genome Biology 2005

Cryptochrome Science Direct

Cryptochrome Wikipedia

Ancient proteins shown to control plant growth Stewart Wolpert

From What a Plant Knows:

Circadian clocks developed early in evolution in single-celled organisms, before the animal and plant kingdoms split off. These original clocks probably functioned to protect the cells from damage induced by high UV radiation. (26)

Autumn leaf color Wikipedia

The Plants of Autumn Foliage Harvard Forest

Science of Fall Colors US Forest Service

Autumn Leaf Drop is a Living Process The Power of Plants

And here's Maria Popova, bless her:

A tree is a light-catcher that grows life from air—an enormous eye turned to the light of the universe.

Trees hungrily absorb red light—the longer wavelengths of the visible spectrum—but the neighboring infrared passes straight through them. Under the canopy where fierce competition for these wavelengths rages, red light is depleted and infrared dominates. Even though trees cannot absorb infrared, they, unlike humans, can "see" it with chemical photoreceptors called phytochromes. The ratio between the two types of light tells trees how much to grow and in which direction, with phytochromes acting as on-off switches for growth. An abundance of red light under uncrowded skies turns the switch on, signaling to the tree to spread its branches wide into any gaps in the canopy; in the crowded shade where infrared dominates, the switch turns off, reducing the growth of side branches and prompting the tree to grow straight up, reaching for the open sky above.

As summer recedes into autumn, cooling the air and dimming the light, the alchemy of transmuting light into growth becomes too metabolically costly for deciduous trees. Chlorophyll begins to break down, revealing the other pigments that had been there all along—the yellow of the xanthophyll, the orange of the carotenoids, the reds and purples of the anthocyanins, turning the canopy into an aria of color.

Meanwhile, the layer of cells by which the stem holds onto the branch is fraying. Leaves begin to let go—a process known as abscission. But as they denude the branches, they reveal the subtle nubs of the new buds that have been forming all summer, readying the next spring's growth> Skeletal and pulmonary, winter trees rise into the leaden sky, their skin a braille poem of resilience. (43-44)

{worth a look at Phyto- (October 2021) and of the Symbiotic (November 2022) and Resilience (Nov 2023) and Favorite Trees (June 2024)}

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Monday morning's hypnopompia brings a meditation on The Leaf Blower as Metaphor, still assembling in my mind and awaiting some googlement... which, duly done, gives us a lot to work with:

Leaf blower Wikipedia
The leaf blower originated in 1947 as a backpack fogger apparatus, invented by Japanese-based Kyoritsu Noki Company. Kyoritsu followed that design with a backpack/blower/misting machine in 1955. in 1968, Kyoritsu applied for a patent on a backpack blower mister design, and in 1972 established themselves in the United States as Kioritz Corporation of America, and is said to have invented the first leaf blower in 1977. The company changed its name to Echo in 1978.

The History of the Leaf Blower leafblowerguide.com

It is commonly understood that the leaf blower was created by unauthorized dismantling of crop dusters. The powerful engine was a perfect tool for clearing large amounts of leaves without exerting any manual labor. Manufacturers noticed the trend and responded by creating leaf blowers that we know today.

The leaf blower, a perfect American invention azcentral.com

Only a perfect American invention would burn fossil fuel, make noise and turn your problem into someone else's.

The Leafblower: The Worst Invention in History?

Three years ago I'd have said yes. Now it's a tie with the too-loud attention-whore novelty ringtone.

The Gasoline-Powered Leaf Blower as a Metaphor for Industrial Society resilience.org

The leaf blower replaces muscle-powered work, thereby increasing what economists call labor productivity. In this respect it's just like a wide range of other industrial machines. From the powered loom, which displaced workers in early industrial Britain, to artificial intelligence (AI), which now threatens the livelihoods of millions of information workers worldwide, new machines disrupt economic routines. They make life easier in certain respects, but in doing so they impose environmental and social costs that often eventually overshadow the immediate benefits.

The First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Leaf Blowers Margaret Renkl, NY Times OpEd

Nearly everything about how Americans "care" for their lawns is deadly. Pesticides prevent wildflower seeds from germinating and poison the insects that feed songbirds and other wildlife. Lawn mower blades, set too low, chop into bits the snakes and turtles and baby rabbits that can't get away in time.

First, kill all the leaf blowers Architecture Here and There

I hasten to add, in our ridiculous cancel culture, killing the operators is merely aspirational. Most of them should probably be deported instead.

The Los Angeles Leaf Blower Wars 99% Invisible

In 1970s Los Angeles, it was common for people to hose down their driveways. Homeowners, renters, and gardeners would wash dirt and leaves and whatever else out onto the street. But a serious drought in 1976 and 1977 spurred many Californians to start saving water, and stop hosing everything down all the time. It was at this moment that Japanese company Echo debuted what they called the "clean-up machine." Originally invented as a crop dusting device in 1947, it seemed to solve the problem perfectly: a drought-friendly way to move leaves and debris off your yard.

...The difference between failure and success for a gardener is all about speed. They get paid per lawn and the margins are already small. Using a blower instead of a rake means they can work a bigger circuit of lawns in a single day.

Leaf Blowers: Good or Bad? LSU Ag Center

Leaf blowers were introduced in Los Angeles in 1976 and their use was mandated by the City of Los Angeles to prevent gardeners from wasting water by using water hoses to wash down sidewalks and driveways. Now, Los Angeles residents face a $270 fine for using a gasoline-powered backpack leaf blower within 500 feet of a neighboring residence.

Local Action with Global Effects: the Saga of the Leaf Blower Our Towns

The seasons change; the leaves begin to fall. Fifty years ago, in yards and parks across the United States, the sound of this season would have been the whoosh and scrape of people with their rakes, gathering leaves into piles. Followed by the sounds of children jumping into the piles...

Best Leaf Blowers Ranked in America's Most Trusted Study Lifestory Research

Selecting the right leaf blower is crucial in maintaining clean and well-kept outdoor spaces. A leaf blower is essential for swiftly clearing leaves and debris from lawns, driveways, and other areas. It plays a pivotal role in enhancing outdoor environments' overall tidiness and visual appeal.

National Leaf Blower Day

July 26th... National Leaf Blower Day has become a time for leaf blower aficionados to come together and share their love for this powerful device. It's a day to marvel at the wonders of modern technology and revel in the simple pleasure of swiftly clearing away those pesky leaves.

Commercial Stand-On Blowers Ferris

Step up your turf clean up game with the Ferris line of stand-on blowers to ensure you leave behind clean, healthy lawns. Designed to provide maximum air flow and power for effective lawn clean up and debris management, the Hurricane signature patented Dual Air Flow System splits the air-stream for deep cleaning and blowing the debris to the desired distance.

Company history echo-usa.com

For five decades, ECHO has been a worldwide leader in the development and manufacturing of professional-grade, hand-held outdoor power equipment for both the commercial and homeowner markets. Today, the company sells its products in North America through eight distributors managing 6,600 independent dealers. An additional 24 Latin American distributors sell ECHO products through a variety of channels.

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(I need help decoding this)

As for the Hopes and Fears around the transition to Winter: SO MUCH seems to depend on what happens with the election and its aftermath, and we ignore the peril ...at our peril.

Just as with the succeeding weeks of the season, we're swept along by chance: will Hurricane Milton wreak havoc on The World As We Know It? Will Israel bomb Iran? Occupy southern Lebanon? Another October Surprise is always ...a probability, but arriving from what side, and on what vectors? And yes, we'll probably get through whatever, and arrive at the Solstice once again, and wonder OMG what next? Just like always.

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Calendrical Songs includes The January Man, and has these Autumnal elements:

..September man is standing near to saddle up another year
And Autumn is his bridle
The man of new October takes the rain and early frost is on his shoulder
The poor November man sees fire and mist and wind and rain and winter ere
December man looks through the snow to let eleven brothers know
They're all a little older

from Lonnie Glosson's Arkansas Hard Luck Blues

I've been red crossed, green crossed and double crossed, folks,
I've been asked to help the society of John the Baptist,
The G. A. R. Women's corpse, Men's Kiwanis and relief corpse,
I've worked like heck and been worked like heck, foIks,
I've been drunk and got others drunk,
Lost all I had and part of my furniture.

Because I won't go around now and spend what I earned,
And go beg, borrow and steal,
I've been cussed and discussed,
Boycotted, talked to and talked about,
Held up and hung up,
And I'm doggoned nigh ruined.
The only reason I'm sticking around now, folks
Is to see what the heck is a-gonna happen next.

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