@enhydra lutris for every one of us, especially us more mature adults.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying your vacation.

here, not much to say and tempus is fugiting, so I gotta vamoose.
have a great one.

@QMS to you too, QMS!

most have already headed south. care more to travel alone. couple flutterbyes stopped by. quieting down now that fall is here. see orion in the am. means for a change of season. happy equinox all!

@smiley7 Glad to be of help. I assumed you might have had something come up. I just wish I had noticed it sooner. Cheers!

Drove down to a cafe in Banner Elk this morning to use their wifi and the hostess said, "yes we have internet," waitress came, i ordered then began to open my laptop and waitress said "Oh you won't get the internet. it's out from here to Linville." Well i didn't feel like driving the 30 minutes into town to go online.

Anyways, i thought about times before this invention and about reading a book.

I think it's back on to stay, good. Better this simple problem than being down east and having your home and belongings under water.

Cheers again, gg!

@eyo

Slow and steady grape harvest to stretch past Halloween

After nearly a month of picking, the 2018 North Coast grape harvest remains slow but steady because of cooler summer temperatures than past years, likely resulting in a crop that will not be wrapped up until the first week of November.

Overall, Sonoma County growers have picked 15 to 20 percent of their grapes, mostly fruit to make sparkling wine and rosé. Those grapes are harvested at a lower sugar level, said Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrowers trade group.

Now, winemakers are primarily focused on Burgundian fruit such as pinot noir and chardonnay used for still wine. By the end of the month when harvest should peak in the region, they will turn their attention to late varietal reds such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot. The height of the annual harvest is easily recognizable by the trucks hauling bins of grapes in the early morning to local wineries.
...
The major downside to a longer 2018 season is the risk of significant rainfall, which occurred in 2011 and resulted in a much smaller crop as a result of fruit rot. Thus, wineries and growers invest a lot of money in meteorological software to track long-range weather patterns>. The near-term outlook for the region is for mostly clear skies. The arrival of autumn brings a higher probability of rain.

---
Marijuana merchants, growers squirm as state gets into seed-to-sale tracking system

California will soon have one of the world’s most tightly-regulated marijuana markets, as the state in the next few weeks launches a long-awaited digital tracking system intended to follow every plant grown and sold through the licensed cannabis industry.

Many licensed marijuana business owners are applauding the so-called “seed-to-sale” tracking system as a way to cut down on competition from the state’s still-massive black market.

But many also say a lack of information about how the new tracking system will work — and the abrupt shift from what has been a fairly lax attitude about tracking product — is causing chaos in a fledgling industry that’s reeling from hefty new taxes and regulations.

CHOOSING A SYSTEM system system system...

In June 2017, Florida-based Franwell beat out four other software companies to win the contract for California’s track-and-trace system. Franwell hit the pot-tracking jackpot, with a contract valued at up to $60 million for the first two years.

ka-ching!
PIRATES

Thank you for posting the OT gulfgal98. cheers

@dystopian @dystopian Here in the lower elevations of the Appalachians, we get the first of the ruby throats around the second week of April, but during a significant part of the summer, they seem to nearly disappear. My guess is that they must go to the higher elevations and further north. Then we start seeing them in good numbers in August.

The latest I have seen a hummingbird at my feeder is October 10, but most will be gone within a week. My rule of thumb is to leave the feeders up one week after the last sighting.

I have seen pictures in Texas where many birds are feeding at the same time from the same feeder, but that is not the case here. They still fight over the feeder with the females appearing to be more aggressive than the males. The aerial battles are spectacular.

For those in the east half of the U.S. Ruby-throated is THE hummingbird. Other types are rare and generally found at feeders in the east. The west has lots of varieties, and has some year-round CA and AZ in particular. Ruby-throat migration is peaking. Here about 75 mi. W. of San Antonio the last week they have blown out. We had about 500 last weekend, and lost a hundred a day or so over the week until this morning there were a couple or few dozen. The first fall front hit here today with northerlies and they took off on them to get the extra free 15mph tailwind. They are diurnal migrants. To figure out how many you have multiply the number of ounces of fluid consumed in a day by FOUR. A gallon of fluid (128 oz.) daily means you have 500 hummers. They weigh a quarter ounce and can do their weight daily in intake (wouldn't that be fun?). Normally 90% of their diet is small insects they "gnatcatch". Lifespan can be 5-7 years, which is higher than many small birds, interesting considering their high metabolism. They go into torpor overnight so they don't starve to death, a type of temporary hibernation. They are in the same family as swifts, like Chimney Swift. I tried to put a couple pix here but the thing isn't working, there was no "send to editor" as usual.