One last rant - Fall Colors and winter prediction

[rurallib]

Well - here it is the first week of November and the leaves are finally beginning to mostly fall. About 3 weeks to a month late.
My little city used to quit vacuuming up the leaves on Halloween. That was until about 5 years ago when irate citizens raised hell because most of the leaves were still on the trees. Now they don't even start vacuuming until @ the last week of October - no need to.
My neighbors red maple which used to be buck nekkid by the middle of September is just now finally losing it's leaves. My oak is still very gree, my maple is finally turning yellow. Tomatoes that used to stop growing in September finally bit the dust a couple nights ago.
I feel like I have moved about 500 miles south without moving.

Now for a bold prediction - no snow this winter, at least in SE Iowa. I think it will be just to warm. We have come close in the last several years to being snowless. One year it was late January before we had snow, then late February and a couple years later it was near the first day of spring before it snowed. Call me crazy but I think this may be our first snowless winter.
This ain't good folks. Cold and snow are part of our environment and have a purpose.
As for western Iowa, blizzards until King is gone. Sorry.

[youthere]

1. Expect BIG insect problems come springtime..

I'm not talking about Steve King either (he's our year-round insect problem). Frigid winter temps help to kill invasive insect species. It's not going to be nice.

[progressoid]

3. I lost three pine trees to the pine beetle this year.

My uncle in Colorado said they are wiping out entire mountains because it doesn't get cold enough to controll the population.

[Hardrada]

7. I suppose we'll have more pitched battles here over which

which species will run our kitchen. We have it out with the carpenter ants every spring but it seems they are more becoming more persistent with the warmer weather, you see.

[Cairycat]

2. A warm winter would be a godsend

for the less affluent among us, regarding the heating bills.

But you are right, it's not right, not good for the ecosystem here. I remember many Januarys with sub-zero temps for days on end, now they are rare.

A green Christmas followed by a green January - it's not right. But I think we will will see a little snow this winter, I hope not a blizzard on Jan. 3!

[progressoid]

4. I think people are finally starting to get the idea that this is a problem

But that won't keep the RW from making bogus statements like, "it's just a natural fluctuation".

[Capn Sunshine]

5. well, Iowans are used to getting fluctuated by the Right wing.

Just more of the same.

[IA_Seth]

6. Eh?

We've done pretty well against the right wing actually... with an exception and request for forgiveness for Steve King anyway!