Plan B Forum

It's over 100 here in Unpleasant Hill, CA.

It's 93 here in Redweird City CA.

An unseasonably warm 76 here in 'frisco....

-6 here last night. (In real money that is.)

It touched 80 here. Its 75 now.

yrs,
rubato

Around here it has been working up to above 90F for three days or so, then dropping back down to mid 80's for a few days and then pop up again. Seems like it has also been rainy. The heat and the rain mean the flowers outside my door look great. The gladiola are really nice this year.

But something strange in the apartment complex parking lot. Here in Northern Delaware, Sweet gum trees are almost weeds. Very common in undeveloped green space (as are Mimosa which are blooming like crazy right now). These trees produce globular seed pods about the size of golf balls with lots of tiny spines that really hurt if you step on one barefooted. But the crafty ladies like to spray them with paint and use them for various decorations. In the fall the leaves turn brilliant red, with the underside a nice pink color. If you walk around the many small streams in the area, the water will frequently look pink from all the Sweetgum leaves that end up in the water.

This apartment complex I am in is more than thirty years old with mature trees that are coming down. Particularly the Bradford Pear that looks great in the spring and grows quickly. But it also breaks up and falls apart if not pruned carefully and frequently--which commercial landscapers don't do; simpler to cut 'em down and plant something else, frequently locust or sweetgum around here.

The sweet gum tree in the parking lot straight out from my front door has started displaying red leaves. Now. Middle of July. But climate change is fake news.

snailgate

WINTER IS COMING!!!!


Tomorrow, in fact!

About 80 yesterday. 82 now, high of 88 today.

I'm going riding!

Burning Petard wrote: The sweet gum tree in the parking lot straight out from my front door has started displaying red leaves. Now. Middle of July. But climate change is fake news.

snailgate

As I understand it, the change in leaf color has more to do with the hours of daylight a tree gets, rather than the temperature or other climatological factors.

You're right Sue, although temperature plays a part as well. The loss of longer days results in less photosynthesis and eventually leads to chlorophyll breakdown, causing the leaves to change color. When a tree' leaves change color this early, it's likely due to some stress such as lack of water or other nutrients, although I would guess extremely high temperatures could be such a stress as well.

It is definitely the duration of darkness which signals color change. When we lived in Lauralhurst in Portland you could see that the leaves right around streetlights were later to change color. Based on "anonymous field research" I saw that flowering shrubs of a certain short-day plant required a minimum number of hours of darkness which is a similar mechanism but probably involves different chromosphères. The fact that différent trees change color at slightly different times argues for slightly different mechanisms even within trees.

One reason that the best fall color displays are in northern climes is that the rate of change of hours of daylight is much greater there; the amount by which daylight changes per day is greater because the difference by which longest day is more than the shortest day so you get a sharper "endpoint" signal.

Yrs,
Rubato

I went to visit my sister and.....................107 degrees in Brentwood!

No chance for any cool off for several days.

I'm going down to visit my dad where it has been 109, yesterday. Could have timed it better, yes?


yrs,
rubato

After too much heat and humidity, we have entered a lovely stretch of dry, pleasantly warm but not too warm weather - with nighttime temperatures that are cool enough for sound sleep.

Spring/early summer & late summer/early fall/fall are definitely my favorite times of year. School started today and I'm looking forward to spending next weekend on the Cape, maybe taking the ferry to the Vineyard for the day. Still beautiful weather, but a shitload fewer people.

It is so hot in Hemet (and dry) that salt deposits appear on your clothes without you noticing that you are sweating.


yrs,
rubato

Hemet?

Man, that's in the middle of nowhere.

Got up to 86 here yesterday, supposed to hit 88 today...

That qualifies as a major heat wave here...

It's so chilly this morning I had to break out the cozy warm bathrobe!

Lord Jim wrote:Got up to 86 here yesterday, supposed to hit 88 today...

That qualifies as a major heat wave here...

Strip down to your boxers, LJ.

Forecasters say the 96 forecast for San Francisco Friday [today] is well above the city’s 90-degree record set for this day in 1950. At the same time, inland areas accustomed to the heat — Livermore, for example, could reach 115 degrees, tying nearly 70-year-old records.

I figured we were probably going to break into the 90s today...

It's only 9:30 and it's already 82...