Good day for raking leaves and spreading mulch.

Mulch on the berry patch. Still three plants short, but weed free.

The witch hazel doing its strange thing—flowering just before winter.

Soggy. Chilly and gray. Leaves heavy to rake.

The ash trees and the locust and the sugar maple have lost approximately 99% of their leaves. The white oaks are at about 65% gone. The birch out front, 75%. Redbud and serviceberry 85% gone. However, Vi's soft maple is at 30%, and her Bradford pear at 0%. And, there is no point in clearing the gutters until her pear and maple have finished shedding. Also, remember, right across the street is Dr. Who, who also has a silver maple, and who only rakes his leaves when the wind is ripping them away from his property and onto someplace else.

Last night's neighborhood association meeting was almost interesting, what with the police chief and the city manager in attendance. Both the chief and the manager are good people, trying to make the best of a difficult situation. It was obvious that the chief was running on fumes as she told us about last week's murder—only the second in the town's history. After that, some discussion was devoted to the importance of keeping "Spring Splash" (a distiller and brewer financed drink-fest) out of Starin Park.

And, at the meeting, I got the impression that my idea of turning Starin Park into an educational arboretum is not quite dead.