Aspen Leaves and Apple Trees

Fall is nearly here. The aspen leaves are turning yellow, the apple trees have dropped all their fruit, and Grizzly Bob's daily mice kills (from the fields behind our house) have dropped considerably.

From the Bozeman Chronicle today comes an interesting statistic concerning growth here in the Gallatin Valley: in 1987, the city approved 16 new homes for construction ... and by July of this year, the number for 2007 stood at 526. (But don't tell that to the cows grazing down the hill from our house, mowing the grass for the fire station.)



In the larger world today, our president is still bent on pursuing a mistaken war that cannot be won, and Congressional Republicans, wielding veto power, are likely to continue to support the president despite the failure of the war and against the will of the American people. It is my hope and prayer that before my little girl is old enough to understand what is going on in the world, the U.S. will have acknowledged the folly of the war in Iraq and brought home our troops. I would rather her read about grizzlies and wolves (frequent front page story material in the Chronicle and the Billings Gazette) in the daily news than the Iraq mess.

Of more encouraging news is the state of Vermont's victory to cut automobile emissions. Perhaps by the time Elizabeth is old enough to think about cars, we will be driving electric autos. A Tesla Motor roadster would be nice, although impracticable in Montana for much of the year.

I close with this little gem from a recent local police report: "A woodchuck was stuck underneath a vehicle on West Koch Street."