This post is brought to you jointly by the federal government shutdown and the pre-election low that comes for me every time.
The federal shutdown is doubly painful for many in Pennsylvania because we are also without a state budget, due to the State Senate (majority You Know Who) blocking the budget because they don’t want to fund public transit. School districts and other organizations are having to take out loans. As far as I know, there are zero negotiations.
Certain powerful people are just walking away from governing.
I’m convinced it’s all intentional. Pro-(cough)- ject (cough) 2025.
The ones that hold the federal reins of power could end it today
but they would rather make everyone suffer.
The immediate effect on me personally from the federal shutdown is that, although I am not a federal employee, my work hours are cut in half, because half my projects involve summarizing USDA reports. This change is not completely painful for me – last week I went door knocking 4 times. But it has caused a severe change in my ability to concentrate, and even to know in my inner being what day of the week it is. Is this a harbinger of what retirement will be like? Do only retirees use the word “harbinger”?
And then there’s pre-election mental churning. For every election, I become overly anxious about 4-5 days before the election. The best cure for this is to go door knocking but I haven’t had that opportunity so far this week. Another cure is to go across the country to a wedding, which we did 3 years ago on the weekend before the election, but that was not an option this year. Maybe I should just crash someone’s wedding. I could bring campaign lit as a gift.
To keep anxiety at bay, I’ve been forcing myself to get outside with my camera, or to do modest yard work. Here’s the resulting photo essay on autumn colors.
Shades of brown
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| Yesterday I forced myself to rake the leaves off the deck before the rain sauntered in. |
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| Love me some richly-colored coleus. |
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| After pushing the leaves off the deck into the yard, I then exerted additional effort and raked the leaves to the edge of the street, awaiting the Second Coming of the Leaf Truck. |
Orange to brighten our skies and our stoves
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| Tree-lined street seen while door knocking |
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| Suzanne's Sheet Pan Veggie Shawarma, before cooking. Hues of orange and white because I was too lazy / low to cut up the zucchini. |
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| Impulse purchase for the Veggie Shawarma |
Red to warm our hearts
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| Geranium. This was actually taken at the end of summer, on a day when I hauled out the "good" camera and practiced the bokeh effect. |
Yellow to cheer our souls
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| Mums seen while canvassing |
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| Do it! |
Pink and peach for sweetness and delight
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| Chalk drawing for Diwali, seen while canvassing. So delightful to see. |
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| Impatiens, curated by the Common Household Husband |
White and Black and Grey to keep us grounded
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| To the left, white flowers. To the left, black (dead) plant, which we decided to plant anyway, just to see what happens in the spring. |
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| Those white flowers were gone as of yesterday. |
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| Wild turkeys in the neighborhood. They refused to pose for a photo. |
Green to represent love and life
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| At the Pre-Halloween-themed Oct 27th rally. The person holding this sign was dressed as Mr. Rogers. |
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| It's always good to remember to look up. Many of our tree leaves are still green, and those that have turned colors seem less bright than usual. Autumn 2025 - late and muted. |
Blue for tranquility, depth, and sadness
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| Brilliant blue sky over the county satellite voting location on Oct 25th |
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| The Common Household Mom subtly exhorting voters to vote a certain way. |
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| Sadness for and yet resolve to support the ones forced to be silent. |
And coming full circle to the colors at our front door
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| At our owl's feet are stones I painted at a Pride Festival. |
