Mendocino County Today: Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022

Rain Possible | Earl Girls | Migrating Whales | Clark's Apples | Paint Out | Prosecution Statement | Candidate Forum | Pomo Laundress | Grant Deadline | Wackford Cafe | Skunk Suit | Ollie Lyta | Grange Activities | Fair Photos | Ride Wristbands | Panther Sports | Ed Notes | Kalevala Brotherhood | MTC Review | New Mural | Ukiah Trashman | Open Studio | Yesterday's Catch | Juden Poster | Live Small | Grazing Impact | Energy Plan | Pig Forum | Louis Borgna | Ganja Truths | Color King | Marijuana Measures | Resignation | Cruel Stunt | Eclipse | Favorite Foods | Cro-Magman | Undeveloping Country | Ambulance | Accents | Vitamin Pep | Western Civ | Trump Threat | Ukraine | Do Harm | Lose Lose | Butterfly | Welcome Autumn | Andromeda

A STORM SYSTEM will continue to generate showers, possible thunderstorms and locally heavy rain through mid week. Drier and warmer weather conditions are forecast to return late in the week and last through the weekend.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK for northwest California: Locally heavy rain will be possible with scattered thunderstorms this afternoon and early evening.

(National Weather Service)

WHALES OFF NOYO

I am pleased to say I had several whale sightings this morning off the Noyo headlands. Lots of blows and even a small breach, it was pretty exciting. I suspect they are humpbacks, so did the people at the Noyo Marine Center. Anyway, it’s always great to see whales and I love to share the news.

Chris Skyhawk

MENDOCINO ART CENTER'S MENDOCINO OPEN PAINT OUT

A Plein Air Festival, September 19-25, Free to the public.

The Mendocino Art Center welcomes more than 60 oil, pastel, watercolor, acrylic and mixed media artists.

More information & detailed schedule: https://www.mendocinoartcenter.org/mopo

DA DEFENDS PLEA BARGAIN — in footnotes to late August court filing.

From The August 29 “People’s Sentencing Statement And Statement In Aggravation; Points And Authorities.” Re: People vs. Kevin Patrick Murray.

HEALTH CARE DISTRICT CANDIDATES FORM

A candidate’s forum will help you decide who to vote for in the election of our Mendocino Coast Health Care directors.

Watch MendocinoTV.com to find out more about the four candidates vying for 3 seats: John Redding, Susan Savage, Lee Finney and Jade Tippet.

Another candidate, Dr. Dawnmarie Risley-Childs, withdrew; and Paul Katzeff is unopposed to fill the short term position.

The forum will be livecast on Wednesday, September 21 at 2pm, then archived for free viewing at MendocinoTV.com. 

Join in on the open chatline along with our select studio audience of informed citizens.

Register to vote by October 25. Request a mail-in ballot by November 1. And vote on November 7 like your life depended on it!

LAST WEEK TO APPLY FOR THE FIELD-OF-INTEREST GRANT PROGRAM

Field-of-Interest Grant Program Deadline: September 22, 2022 by 5:00 pm Field-of-interest funds are established to make grants in specified areas of interest (e.g., the environment or human services), specified geographical areas, or both. 

Field-of-Interest Grants Available funds: 

• Arts in the Schools
• Endowment Fund 
• Blood Bank of the Redwoods Legacy Fund 
• Community Resiliency and Preparedness Fund 
• Environmental Education and Conservation Fund Health and Human Services Funds 
• John and Sandra Mayfield Family Economic Development Fund 
• Releaf Tree Planting Fund 

Additional information, guidelines, and application: www.communityfound.org 

Grants range: $500-$15,000 Questions about the Community Foundation's grant programs? 

Call or email Meredith DeLucia, Program Officer. 707-468-9882, ext 103, meredith@communityfound.org 

Does your organization offer basic needs or mental health services within the community? The Health and Human Services Funds are available under the Field-of-Interest grant program. The Community Foundation invites requests from organizations that help meet basic needs or offer mental health services to vulnerable populations. Eligible organizations include nonprofits, schools, tribes, and special districts. Grant size has increased to $10,000 with $100,000 available. Watch the video below to see how the Willits Senior Center is providing basic needs to its community and making an impact. 

Community Foundation of Mendocino County 

204 South Oak Street, Ukiah, CA 95482 

CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION JOINS FORT BRAGG SUIT AGAINST SKUNK TRAIN OWNER

by Mary Callahan

The city of Fort Bragg has gained a powerful ally in its 11-month-old lawsuit against Mendocino Railway, owner of the popular Skunk Train excursion line as well as a large chunk of vacant coastal property in the town.

The California Coastal Commission is joining the suit, seeking to ensure that future development of the coastal land, part of the former Georgia-Pacific Mill site, complies with local and state permitting requirements despite the railway’s claim its rail-related projects are exempt from such regulation.

Until now, the legal fight had pitted a city determined to maintain its land-use authority over the 210-acre piece of coastal bluff seen as integral to its future against the ambitious owner of the popular tourist railway — with a growing stake in commercial freight traffic and real estate.

The Coastal Commission’s involvement escalates the legal fight and lends Fort Bragg, a city of less than 7,000, a partner with nearly unmatched regulatory power in California.

The agency is responsible for regulating coastal development under the state’s landmark 1976 Coastal Act, which calls for balancing economic development with public access, preservation of sensitive coastal and marine habitats and biodiversity, among other values.

In court papers filed last week on behalf of the commission by California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, the state says the railroad needs coastal development permits to proceed with ongoing building renovations as well as much more extensive plans in the works for the former mill site property it acquired last year through eminent domain.

The commission notified the railway more than a month ago of violations and fines related to what it said were unpermitted land activities, including replacement or renovation of a roundhouse and two other structures. The railway disputes the nature and scale of the work.

In addition to an injunction that would prevent further development, the commission’s lawsuit is seeking civil penalties that could total tens of thousands of dollars or more, as well undetermined exemplary damages meant to deter future violations.

Perhaps more importantly, the commission, like the city, is asking to court to find “that the railway is not a public utility,” a status that Mendocino Railway has used to claim it is exempt from building and permitting regulations — and a status it used to obtain the former mill site property in the first place.

Mendocino Railway President Robert Pinoli said Monday that those trying to rein in the railroad just don’t understand that federal law supersedes state and local law, adding, “The Coastal Commission, along with a whole host of others, didn’t do well in their civics classes.”

 “The railroad is in fact a public utility despite what some staff attorney puts in a letter,” he said.

The conflict has mounted over the past year, since the railway acquired the majority of the land left vacant by the Georgia-Pacific mill, which closed in 2002.

The railroad argues that federal law waives permitting requirements for projects related to Skunk Train operations, buildings and rail lines because of the railway’s utility status. It has recently filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Fort Bragg and the Coastal Commission seeking a declaration of its independence.

Pinoli has said repeatedly that the railway will obtain the permits it needs for any future development of housing, hotels, commercial or other structures. But he says everything done so far has been rail-related.

The commission, however, contends that current work, like the roundhouse and a storage shed, is broadly defined under the Coastal Act and under the land-use blueprint it requires of local governments, called a local coastal plan, that is certified by the state commission.

Moreover, both the city and state are challenging the railway’s claim of exemption as a public utility, given its primary use as a tourist attraction, particularly as the collapse of a tunnel 3.5 miles outside of town in 2013 has since blocked travel further east from Fort Bragg. Trains departing Willits on the Highway 101 corridor travel eight miles inland before turning around.

John Meyers, who owns property outside Willits that Mendocino Railway is trying to acquire, is similarly challenging the railroad’s status and was in trial over the matter in recent weeks.

The two cases appear to hinge on the same fundamental question: Is the Skunk Train a traditional utility with the same rights and preemptions from regulation as other utilities?

Among the evidence included in Meyers’ trial was an Aug. 12 letter from the California Public Utilities Commission to Mike Hart, president and chief executive officer of Sierra Railroad, owner of Mendocino Railway. It specifically said the railway “is not a public utility within the meaning of the California Constitution, the California Public Utilities Code, and the Commission’s orders.”

Meyers’ case is soon to be under consideration by a Mendocino County judge. But his attorney has filed a motion to reopen argument after he received another piece of evidence in the way of a much earlier, 2006 determination that Mendocino Railway does not qualify as an employer for the purposes of the federal Railroad Retirement Act or the Railroad Unemployment Act because of its provision of excursion services.

Pinoli said that the railway’s excursion rates and operations are no longer regulated by the public utilities commission and the federal Surface Transportation Board, which regulates railroad rates, mergers and rail line acquisitions, but its freight services and safety procedures are.

“The railroad is in fact a public utility despite what some staff attorney puts in a letter,” he said.

The city and the commission “are not going to succeed,” Pinoli said. “In fact, isn’t it funny that if we’re a railroad that isn’t a public utility then can somebody tell me why a few weeks ago we had nine CPUC inspectors out for a routine inspection? How are they going to regulate something that isn’t a public utility?”

(Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

AV GRANGE AT THE FAIR

All premiums paid to the Grange support our college scholarship fund. And we need your help.

Fair Float: Andy is contributing his drum car for a parade float, we need dancers to participate during the parade. Fruit and Vegetable costumes welcome. Contact Captain Rainbow (472-9189) or Andy (895-3020) for more information. Some costuming may be available via the Grange.

Feature Booth: we got a bit ahead and the wooden props are done-but we need:

A few good people at the Grange on Thursday @ 10 am, 9/22, to assist in loading out the props and going to the Fair Grounds to hang them and start the booth decorations.

On the same day a lot of people to bring their veggies to the Grange booth in the Ag Building at the Fairgrounds, all day into early evening. Any veggie will do, beauty is not an issue. if you could put them in a bag and include the variety of the veggie it would be great.

And a few people to help place the veggies.

Especially sought is lettuce, turnips, & beets.

Thursday afternoon and evening is the best day of the fair, come watch the entries come in, the corn dogs are always best on the first day and if you hit it right the Brewery booth supports those who are putting in entries with a toast of your own.

And Rainbow wants you to remember the Wacky Fruit/Vegetable competition. No prior entry required, just bring it by during the Fair to the rear of the Agricultural Building. Judging is Sunday after the parade. Award to wackiest entry is $100.

Anderson Valley Grange #669, 707-684-9340

PAST FAIR PHOTOS

FRIDAY FAIR RIDE TICKETS for a wrist band… where do we purchase these?

Got the tickets!! ($35 each). Thanks, Lemons Market!

ED NOTES

SUNDAY’S big rain was not quite a trash mover (Boontling), but it was met with relief and delight by everyone on the Northcoast, dropping from 2 to 3 inches of much needed moisture on the Anderson Valley. Con Creek, my personal rain gauge, had been dry for nearly two months, but as of Monday morning it was revived and burbling merrily along. As was I, walking around rapt in the sweetened air, gazing upwards as king sol dodged in and out of the parading great white cumulus fattus clouds. More! More, Rain Gods!

KING CHARLES THE THIRD. Very good on environmental issues, excellent on modern architecture, most of which he correctly considers an international abomination. But otherwise unappealing. He's the beginning of the end for the monarchy.

OUR ROYAL FAMILY, the Kennedys, came and went fast with the ill-fated Kennedy brothers, John and Bobby, with no heirs in sight, unless you're among the millions of blind, deaf and dumb who yearn for the Trumps.

TWK makes the best (and only possible) case for the disgraced former Ukiah cop, Kevin Murray. The DA himself seems to be making a retroactive case for his processing of the Peoples' prosecution on the nearly impenetrable County website. And it is unconvincing, as you can read for yourselves elsewhere in this morning's ava. A jury wouldn't have agreed, which is why we got a see-through phony plea deal that was a gift to the defendant.

WITHOUT rehashing the entire sordid mess, somehow, some way, Murray eluded what he had truly deserved — a tour in the state prison system. The recommendation of the Sonoma County Probation Department, to whom the Murray case was farmed out, thought the defendant deserved at least a year in a county jail. And the SoCo assessment of Murray was written without the knowledge of the DA's own investigation because the DA withheld it. Why? There's an X factor here somewhere, an unknown consideration that let Murray slide, with poor old Heidi Larson shoved up front by the DA to take the blame for the deal, a defeated-looking woman who looks like she goes home and watches cat videos.

BUT MAYBE MURRAY isn't an unrepentant sociopath, maybe he's grateful, maybe he knows he's gotten a major break, maybe the rest of his life will be lived as a human-type being. I don't know the guy, but based on his priors I'd expect more of the same from him.

MTC’S PRODUCTION — ‘IN A WORD’

A review by Marylyn Motherbear Scott

“My task, which I am trying to achieve is, by the power of the written word, to make you hear, to make you feel—it is, before all, to make you see.” — Joseph Conrad

Mendocino Theatre Company current production, in a word, is a provocative play that draws upon traditions of the comedic absurd. At one moment we laugh at things that, in their essence, may not be funny; at another moment we might squirm a bit in our seats, somewhat mired in a transient discomfort.

The main theme of in a word portrays the struggles of Fiona, a mom, played by Terilynn L Epperson. Terilynn proves her skill by taking on this difficult role. Fiona is both protagonist and antagonist; in some ways, her own worst enemy. Of course we want to like her; but, initially, she is hard to like, hard to identify with. 

Fiona is also a teacher. Words, the tools by which teachers, teach, are impactful. Words matter to Fiona as they matter to all. This character, Fiona, teaches the viewer in a dramatic manner. 

Guy, the dad, is played by Joel Ginsburg, I might say downplayed, and downplayed well. As much as I dislike saying so, Guy is just a guy. Assuming playwright intention as I do, his name is not just a pick-out-of-the-hat.

This is Fiona’s story, the story of motherhood in a society that does not offer support and does not respect it. Being a mom lands few laurels. It’s hardly considered a job, while being a teacher is credible.

Fiona and Guy are childless and have decided to adopt. Though not a clear choice on her part, she yields to her husband’s persuasion. Both are pleased as they stand before their adopted baby. The words are, in a word, poetic.

He’s perfect. He’s ours. He’s walking. He’s talking, He’s wandering.

This is a critical point in the play. The screw begins to turn in an opposite direction, creating hardship in an otherwise perfect life; at least a more perfect life. The child, Tristan, is autistic. Fiona’s notion of perfection becomes challenged. 

Tristan has difficulty following directions. Words are lost on him. Feelings, in frustration, burst out of containment demonstrating behavior that appears inappropriate in the moment, and is extremely difficult for Fiona to handle and to bear. At the same time, he displays a sweet and attractive rawness. In those secret places within, one might have moments of identifying with Tristan. He is the most authentic of the characters.

The talented (adult) actor, Jimmy Betts, is nothing short of amazing in the portrayal of Tristan, a difficult role at best. Not to be missed. 

There are seven other characters in the play. Jimmy Betts plays all of them — Kidnapper, Detective, Principal, Andy, Client, Photographer, Officer. This takes an undeniable, breathtaking, skill. We have seen Jimmy’s excellent acting chops in previous MTC roles; this goes beyond.

Eight quick appearances of characters, even in the flesh and under the best of circumstances, are hard to keep up with. In keeping with absurdist tradition, Jimmy offers portrayals of each in a terse and alienating tone. Brechtian in manner, the tone supports distance between actor and viewer. Some of the group of characters are less distinct than a conventional theater-goer might like. In the long run, the overlap does not matter. They are not meant to be distinct.

Award-winning playwright, Lauren Yee, one of the most produced playwrights in America, chose to cast the group of characters as one actor. Why? Because they are, in essence, all one person; projections of Fiona’s mind. All have a similar critical tone, the tone of the defensive ego, a somewhat strident, somewhat accusing, ego projection. 

Although the overall tone of the play’s language tends to overshadow its poetic qualities, as production ensues, and the actors settle into their roles, the poetic rhythm may reveal itself more.

I, personally, wanted the principal to be more kind, the kidnapper not so cocky, the detective more caring. Fiona, however, was hearing them speak, as we were, through her distressed need to survive in a world that no longer made sense to her. Self-criticism is often the harshest. These roles are all projections of the frail and suffering Self.

All the characters display a resistance that, in the long run, creates an emotional bankruptcy in themselves, as characters; and in Fiona, who is the vehicle for the audience’s connection to them. Thus, the audience may experience a similar emotional bankruptcy. 

Personally, on opening night, I ended up feeling confused, a bit out of sorts, alienated. Like Fiona herself. I wanted to be lifted up, to be given answers.. I wanted the play to make me feel better. No matter. It is not the play’s motive or goal. The vital goal of this play, and perhaps live theater overall, is to bring matters of import into our mind’s eye and emotions. It took time for me to reflect, to allow a less critical impression of what Fiona was teaching.

In her ending monologue, Fiona offers a more or less confessional poem, her inner truth. The poetic qualities of the language of the play can be heard in this heart-wrenching end piece, the heart of the matter —

“And sometimes I wasn’t even sure he loved me, not even a little…”

Guy, the husband, has a saving grace. He cares for Fiona; and, perhaps more so, cares for their ongoing life. Still, he’s just a guy. He wants to enjoy his morning coffee, have his sexual needs met, get out of the house to enjoy a restaurant meal. He is not good at listening nor taking personal responsibility. These aspects that may irritate in the beginning of the play, save us in the end. Joel Ginsburg’s performance gives Guy his resistance; and, at the same time, offers a constancy that serves us in the end. A subtle grace and unspoken forgiveness.

In a word puts us into dialogue with the self or selves, allows us to swim for a hard minute or so, in the sludge of a social political system that supports harsh judgements, estrangement, separation and isolation. The format of this play is not basically political. It is personal

But then, 

the personal is political.— Carol Hanisch

In a word does not offer a night of levity, it offers a reminder to love and be loved. It is well worth the experience.

Director, Ann Woodhead, came to us from Sonoma County in 2003. She has directed Opera Fresca, at the Music Festival, and at MTC as director and actor.. She has taken on some difficult subjects as both actor and director. Ann likes a theatrical challenge. in a word, isone of these. 

Ongoing appreciation to Stage Crafers: Scenic Design by Carolyn Schneider; Lighting and Properties by Dale Cohn; Sound Design by Scott Menzies; Assistant Stage Manager is Jordan Price; and head Stage Manager, Patricia Price.

In a word shows through October 9

Thursday through Saturday evening and a Sunday matinee

For Tix, call (707) 937-4477 or online: www.mendocinotheatre.org

LAUREN SINNOTT:

I’m painting a new mural as part of the Art for Alleyways project in Fort Bragg! It will depict one strand of Fort Bragg’s interwoven history: Finnish immigration during the late 1800s and early 1900s. These immigrants brought a strong tradition of cooperation for the common good. They wove a social network with plays, presentations, music and dance, labor organizing and enjoying refreshments together after a cleansing sauna. Check the pictures to see where, how, why I always trace a paint lid somewhere and what Suomi means. I know some of you know!

See why I'm better known in Ukiah here www.historymural.com but also know that I'm so happy to be working in the center of Fort Bragg, our wonderful, vibrant coastal city.

YOU TELL ME, DAO

HERE NOW

Awoke early, and following morning ablutions, bottom lined trash & recycling at the Building Bridges homeless shelter in Ukiah, CA. Later, walked south to Plowshares for a free meal, picking up litter along the way. Even later, dropped into the Ukiah Co-op for a cup o’ coffee. And then, got on a computer at RespecTech to tell the world all about it. I am identifying with the Dao which is prior to consciousness, and am ready to destroy the demonic and return this world to righteousness. Otherwise, what is there??? You tell me!

Craig Louis Stehr, craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

REBECCA JOHNSON: OPEN STUDIO 2022, two autumn weekends one in October, one in November

Expect an unexpected art experience in the rural hills of Northern California. My studio is an oasis by design. To speak the language of this land, to capture these moments in time, is the work of a lifetime. Contemplative and Contemporary ART about a place I call home.

My studio is in Philo, Anderson Valley, California. Celebrating 25 years in the Barn. If you are too far away to visit then see my website wwwRebeccaJohnsonArt.com. Also by appointment contact rebecca@rebeccajohnsonart.com.

I look forward to your visit. 1200 Highway 128, Philo, CA 95410

Rebecca Johnson

rebecca@rebeccajohnsonart.com

https://www.RebeccaJohnsonArt.com

CATCH OF THE DAY, September 19, 2022

BRITTNEY BOULEY, Willits. Fraud to obtain aid, alteration of a will, perjury.

JASSLYNN CRITCHETT, Clearlake/Ukiah. Stolen vehicle, attempt to keep stolen property.

KENNETH DEWITT JR., Ukiah. Failure to register as transient, parole violation.

LIZBETH GONZALEZ, Ukiah. Unlawful display of registration, failure to appear.

YVETTE ROCKEY, Willits. Domestic battery.

ANGELICA SMITH, Cloverdale/Ukiah. Paraphernalia, disorderly conduct-alcohol.

ALLISON STROUT, Clearlake/Ukiah. Narcotics for sale.

HATE IS ALIVE IN MARIN COUNTY

My sweetie and I were staying with friends in Bel Marin Keys last night after seeing Bonnie Raitt and Mavis Staples at the Greek. Woke up to find this racist screed distributed through out the area.

Charles Artigues, Fort Bragg

ON-LINE COMMENT OF THE DAY

I am a small cog in the vast machine but in my own way, yes, I helped to grow the beast. Managing the growth of mankind and population was never really possible until the advent of the technologies that exist today, and I for one believe that any such management can only take the form of genocide as we see in progress today.

No pat on the back. My arms cannot bend that far anymore. All I have ever done was to do my best to live small, never be greedy, and to always give back to my communities and the people around me. I continue to do this to my best abilities every day.

I am nothing special my friend, I am just another stupid man and one of me is more than enough for this world to bear. But by my example I hope that others may see value and consider doing their best as well to give more than they take, at least when it comes to people.

GRAZING IMPACT ON WESTERN WATER SUPPLIES

Below are photos illustrating the different conditions in grazed and ungrazed meadows on national forests in the Klamath Mountains of NW Cal and SW Oregon.

Please consider writing an article on the impact of headwater national forest grazing on streamflows and water supplies. I can supply science articles and more photos. One meta-study of the hydro impacts of grazing is attached.

This first photo is Young's Valley in the Clear Creek headwaters of the Siskiyou Wilderness early this September:

The meadow above was probably grazed in the late 1800s and early 1900s but they have been ungrazed since then. 

The following photo is of a similar dry and moist meadow in the upper Bear Lake watershed in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. The trampling also reduces the ability of these meadows to store water and release it to headwater streams. 

Are the impacts/costs to wilderness meadows, our water supplies, streamflows and fisheries worth the "benefit" to beef production?

I think the answer is clearly "'no" whether we consider the local, regional and national levels.

II'll work with you if you will write and publish on this subject.

Felice Pace, Klamath, 707-954-6588 

CLEAN ENERGY PLANS

Editor:

It is true that California needs a well-articulated plan to transition from fossil fuels to the clean energy economy of the future (“Heat wave exposes California’s green energy shortage,” editorial, Sept. 7). Elements of the plan must include more than just a call for “more green energy.”

Flex alerts are over 20 years old and are actually a vestige of a 20th-century approach to managing the grid. Opportunities exist today to automate grid flexibility and compensate businesses and residents who agree in advance to have their consumption curtailed during peak demand episodes.

Electric vehicles are not just more electricity demand on the grid. They are batteries on wheels, and when they are not being driven they can be used to supply power to the grid during peak episodes. With well over a million of them in California and more every year, the available capacity is already at the gigawatt (very large) scale.

The notion that the only option is to figure out how to get supply to meet demand is obsolete. We now have opportunities to have demand respond to available supply. This will be an indispensable part of any well-articulated plan for the grid of the future.

Woody Hastings

Fossil fuel phaseout manager, the Climate Center

WILD PIG FORUM (No, not the panelists, you fools)

The California Fish and Game Commission and California Department of Fish and Wildlife invite your participation in a public forum on wild pigs in California.

What: Forum on Wild Pigs in California

When: Thursday, September 22, 2022 – 9:00 a.m. to noon

Where: Webinar and teleconference

How: Instructions for joining the forum, an agenda, and background materials will be posted on the Commission Meetings webpage.

The forum will include panelists who will speak about wild pig impacts on the environment, the economy (agriculture, public/private property), and human and animal health (domestic and wild). Panelists will engage in a dialogue about potential mitigation measures that could be used effectively in California to address these impacts.

Please join us as we collectively explore ideas and educate one another.

Sincerely,

Ari Cornman, Wildlife Advisor, California Fish and Game Commission

https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2022

HARSHING THE MELLOW: You’d Never Know Legal Pot’s Downsides Reading The Features Pages

by Joe Ferullo

It’s a searing indictment from the Los Angeles Times — a scathing investigation this past week into how the legalization of marijuana in California has actually led to a boom in illegal pot farms, accompanied by fear, violence and worker abuse.

Yet, at the same time, readers of the LA Times and other newspapers from states where marijuana is legal continue to see a steady stream of light features portraying pot use as just another way to have fun with friends. It’s a head-snapping contradiction that some news media outlets appear reluctant to address.

The LA Times’ lengthy investigation is brutal in its details. As the article recounts, California voters in 2016 were promised that legalized marijuana would crush gangs, reduce crime, and begin to repair the environmental damage often caused by outlaw growers. Instead, the Times reports, “the law triggered a surge in illegal cannabis on a scale California has never before witnessed.”

Journalists for the paper travelled to rural Northern California and the Mojave Desert to uncover enormous illegal marijuana farms with as many as 100 quonset-hut style greenhouses. Locals in nearby small towns described lives lived in fear of armed guards who patrol the cannabis complexes. Late night gunfire is not uncommon. One Times photographer was threatened. Understaffed police units are overwhelmed.

The expose is beyond sobering. But in that same edition of the printed newspaper, in the lifestyle-heavy “Weekend” section, readers found a full-page guide to “clean weed” — healthy, organic cannabis, free of pesticides and chemicals. And, back in July, just two days after the Times posted an earlier report about the boom in illegal marijuana farms, the features section published suggestions for “what to pack in an ultimate weed themed picnic-basket.”

To be clear, the paper is far from alone in trying to blend these discordant tones. In the years since Colorado legalized pot, the Denver Post has done a consistently strong job covering the increase in ER visits linked to cannabis use — especially among teens and children. But, like several other news organizations, it also continues to offer articles focused on “cannabis friendly” activities, including something called “weed church.”

Other articles published by various news outlets include a guide to the biggest marijuana celebrations and tips on the best coloring book for adults who are high. Most reports do make sure to tell consumers they should purchase cannabis legally.

It’s possible this content clash exists because the news side and feature side don’t talk to each other often enough; each assigns stories and publishes them without coordination. But you’d then assume that editors of these sections read their own paper front-to-back and eventually find out what’s being reported. That alone should start to temper the tone of certain kinds of cannabis coverage.

The other possibility: Publishers may have made an uneasy peace with the contradiction. They may believe that pot-positive features are a good way to bring younger readers to their websites — and, therefore, need to continue.

There’s no debating that the push to legalize cannabis did have — and still does have — a strong moral imperative. Prisons in states like California were filled with people, usually poor people, locked up simply for carrying small amounts of marijuana. Over-restrictive laws produced generations of ruined lives, long after society began to see pot consumption as significantly less dangerous than other drug use.

But it seems this moral foundation needs to be balanced now with harsh realities coming to light. Investigative work by the LA Times and others clearly demonstrates the severe, often unanticipated, downsides to marijuana legalization. In many cases, law enforcement isn’t fully prepared; legislation doesn’t always consider potential loopholes. Federal anti-cannabis laws make it difficult for legal farmers and distributors to be successful, creating opportunities for the illegal trade to step in and supply an increasing demand.

And a follow-up LA Times investigation posted at the end of last week reveals a “corrupting flow of money” brought on by legal cannabis businesses, including a “torrent of campaign cash” directed at local politicians and demands for bribes by other public officials.

Many of these issues will most likely be dealt with over time; something of civic equilibrium will be established. State laws will be adjusted and rural police staffing increased. Prosecutors will charge and convict crooked office holders. But until these situations begin to improve, news outlets really need to adjust the character of their marijuana content to better conform with the hard truth their investigative teams keep uncovering.

Anything else just feels irresponsible.

(TheHill.com)

FROM GOVERNOR NEWSOM

Governor Gavin Newsom [yesterday] announced that he has signed several measures to strengthen California’s cannabis laws, expand the legal cannabis market and redress the harms of cannabis prohibition.

Though the state has made significant progress since the legalization of cannabis, local opposition, rigid bureaucracy and federal prohibition continue to pose challenges to the industry and consumers. The Governor is calling on legislators and other policymakers to redouble efforts to address and eliminate these barriers.

“For too many Californians, the promise of cannabis legalization remains out of reach,” said Governor Newsom. “These measures build on the important strides our state has made toward this goal, but much work remains to build an equitable, safe and sustainable legal cannabis industry. I look forward to partnering with the Legislature and policymakers to fully realize cannabis legalization in communities across California.”

The Governor signed SB 1326 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced), which creates a process for California to enter into agreements with other states to allow cannabis transactions with entities outside California. SB 1186 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) preempts local bans on medicinal cannabis delivery, expanding patients’ access to legal, regulated cannabis products.

The Governor also signed two bills to further unwind California’s failed history of cannabis prohibition. AB 1706 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) ensures that Californians with old cannabis-related convictions will finally have those convictions sealed. And AB 2188 by Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) protects Californians from employment discrimination based on their use of cannabis off-the-clock and away from the workplace.

These bills build on the Administration’s efforts to strengthen California’s cannabis legalization framework. As part of this year’s state budget, the Governor signed legislation to provide tax relief to consumers and the cannabis industry; support equity businesses; strengthen enforcement tools against illegal cannabis operators; bolster worker protections; expand access to legal retail; and protect youth, environmental and public safety programs funded by cannabis tax revenue.

To expedite policy reforms that prioritize and protect California consumers’ health and safety, the Governor has directed the California Department of Public Health to convene subject matter experts to survey current scientific research and policy mechanisms to address the growing emergence of high-potency cannabis and hemp products. The Governor has also directed the Department of Cannabis Control to further the scientific understanding of potency and its related health impacts by prioritizing the funding of research related to cannabis potency through its existing public university grants.

A full list of cannabis-related bills signed by the Governor can be found below:

• AB 1706 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta (D-Oakland) – Cannabis crimes: resentencing.
• AB 1646 by Assemblymember Phillip Chen (R-Yorba Linda) – Cannabis packaging: beverages.
• AB 1885 by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) – Cannabis and cannabis products: animals: veterinary medicine.
• AB 1894 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) – Integrated cannabis vaporizer: packaging, labeling, advertisement, and marketing.
• AB 2210 by Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) – Cannabis: state temporary event licenses: venues licensed by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control: unsold inventory.
• AB 2188 by Assemblymember Bill Quirk (D-Hayward) – Discrimination in employment: use of cannabis.
• AB 2568 by Assemblymember Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova) – Cannabis: insurance providers.
• AB 2925 by Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) – California Cannabis Tax Fund: spending reports.
• SB 1186 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) – Medicinal Cannabis Patients’ Right of Access Act.
• SB 1326 by Senator Anna Caballero (D-Merced) – Cannabis: interstate agreements.

For the text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.

IMMIGRATION

Editor,

This letter is responding to today’s Press Democrat article, “U.S. border arrests on track to break record,” Dianne Solis, the Dallas Morning News. As noted in this fine article, recent “illegal” (or not?) immigrants originating from countries which have broken diplomatic relations with the U.S.-Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

Cooperating governors, Abbott, R,TX and DeSantis, R, FL used their state taxpayer funds to load busloads of families and migrant individuals to dispatch, without warnings or preparations, to Chicago,IL, Washington, DC and Martha’s Vineyard, the island near the Massachusetts coast.

This most egregious, cruel stunt, engineered by DeSantis, brought Venezeulan families to Martha’s Vineyard, a refuge for affluent American vacationers. These Venezuelans, fleeing death and oppression, only sought new lives and jobs together with safe places to rest. In contrast to the two afore-mentioned power-hungry politicians, Martha’s Vineyard’s residents did whatever was needed, giving these new prospective citizens shelter and respite, often using own money to help these strangers to our land.

Once was, whomever attained a high office like state governor was a persons of highest character who would not stoop so low. Unfortunately, such is no longer the case.

Frank Baumgardner

Santa Rosa

FAVORITE FOODS

by Jonah Raskin

Not in order of importance and not all at once, please.

• Hot dog and sauerkraut with mustard.
• All beef hamburger, rare, with fries and ketchup.
• French onion soup.
• Foie gras and f—- the duck and the geese.
• Dim sum in a genuine Chinese restaurant.
• Ramen, increasingly a favorite.
• Pizza, of course, always popular with me, excellent at Arizmendi in the City and elsewhere.
• A Reuben on rye. 
• Tarragon roast chicken with roasted carrots and mashed potatoes.
• Garlic mussels steamed in white wine with fries on the side.
• Grilled cheese sandwich 
• Spaghetti with one meatball and red sauce, a dish introduced to me by the song “One Meatball” by singer Josh White. 
• Butter croissant with coffee.

THE UNITED STATES IS NOW AN 'UN-DEVELOPING' COUNTRY

The United Nations' latest annual ranking of nations by “sustainable development goals” will come as a shock for many Americans. Not only aren't we “Number One,” we're not even close. The top four countries are Scandinavian democracies. The United States ranks forty-first, just below Cuba (that's right, below our Communist neighbor). Countries that outrank us include Estonia, Croatia, the Slovak Republic, Romania, and Serbia.

The phrase “developing country” implies that there are countries that have achieved development, and countries that are on their way. It leaves no room for the possibility that a nation, once it developed, can “un-develop” itself. It's like saying that a “growing child” can become “un-grown.” And yet, that's exactly what is happening to the United States.

commondreams.org/views/2022/09/17/progress-obsolete-united-states-now-un-developing-country

ACCENTS, AN EXCHANGE, Dealing with scammer calls (Coast Chatline)

Obsidian Monarch wrote: Exactly What does being black have anything to do with anything and why worth mentioning at all??? [thumb-down emoji] — billy in Ingnk

* * *

Marco here. We all recognize accents and the sound of people's voices. And I appreciate when people just write a story— so few do. When I'm reading a story I see it and hear it in my head. The sound of the voices is part of the story.

You can say what a person sounds like in just a few words instead of a whole paragraph of reinventing the wheel every time. If someone says /a black woman on the phone/, I imagine the woman sounding like a bunch of Juanita's family in L.A., and I like it. It's warm, round, confident, canny. That's what I hear. There's no need to assume malice in the storyteller.

Here's Trevor Noah talking about accents in his experience: youtube.com/watch?v=yWI61kpFEAA

— Marco McClean

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

by James Kunstler

Do you doubt anymore that the USA, indeed most of Western Civ, is in the grip of demonic possession? You can’t quite medicalize the problem by calling it a group psychosis because the people demolishing social boundaries know exactly what they’re doing and are shoving it in your face maliciously for the purpose of goading you into humiliation and punishment — which is predicably what will happen if you object to being mind-fucked.

Case in point: a shop teacher styling himself as “Kayla” Lemieux, comes to work wearing a grotesquely outsized fake boob costume. You are meant to say that this is okay because, hey, it is just a form of “gender expression” — so said the Halton District school board in Ontario, Canada. Of course, you know it’s not okay. The School Board only pretends that it’s okay, because this nonsense is supported by the Canadian federal government under the Woke-Marxist Justin Trudeau, which holds the levers of law and can crush you, subject you to its courts, bankrupt you, ruin you, if you don’t play along.

Who knew that the glorious George Jetson future would tip into a neo-medieval religious frenzy and, more to the point, one deriving its dark energy from the demonic and Satanic? You are asked to swallow ever-greater absurdities, destroying your self-respect because you know that you are a coward for not standing up to this host of degenerates.

The USA’s Democratic Party of Chaos is behind all of this lunacy. It has gotten so bad that many no longer even follow the news of serial outrages by the regime led (nominally) by the empty vessel called “Joe Biden.” Millions of border-jumpers have crossed into Texas and Arizona the past two years. The New York Times / CNN axis of news doesn’t cover it because they want it to continue. Apart from the economic refugees coming across there are substantial numbers of demonically murderous people, many of them not Mexican, but from all quarters of the world, including places with a grudge against our country. Not a few of them are identified as international terrorists. Yet, in they come. The welcome mat is out for them — while our joke of a president rails against “white supremacist domestic terrorists” (another lie you’re supposed to swallow).

The open border issue only came back to the country’s attention when Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida gifted Martha’s Vineyard with a plane-load of fifty illegal immigrants. Martha’s Vineyard did not accept them graciously. The Island’s leaders arranged post-haste for Massachusetts’s governor, Charlie Baker, to call in the state’s national guard and hustle the unwelcome newcomers to a military base on Cape Cod. Nobody with half-a-brain left failed to notice what this said about the wealthy intellectuals who populate Martha’s Vineyard (including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton): You can change the demographics in Jefferson County, Arkansas, all day long, but don’t you dare change the social arrangements on our precious, special Island… not one itty-bitty bit. So much for all their lip-service to diversity and inclusion. They follow the maxim of the late Hollywood producer Samuel Goldwyn, famous for saying “Include me out!”

What is the answer when faced with a large-scale religious disturbance in society, especially one displaying all the earmarks of overt, archetypal evil? You call in an exorcist. That has been Donald Trump’s true role in this millenarian mega-crisis. He is seeking to cast out evil spirits afflicting this sore-beset national community and the evil spirits are frantic to stop his ministrations by any means.

He is, of course, a most untoward avatar in this war of good against evil. He came out of the infernal circle of New York real estate development. The assumption all along is that he must be tainted by dirty dealing with the mobs who ran the construction unions, but after six years of relentless investigation by the Southern District of New York and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the legions of hell came up with… nothing. How was this possible? Well, they tried their darndest, and now they’re trying again with some double-jeopardy maneuvers. The law, to these degenerates, is just an instrument of their own will-to-power.

Chugging toward the 2022 mid-term elections, MrP. Trump is out there giving moral support and focus to so-called “domestic terrorists” seeking to crush the Woke demonic religious persecution. He leads the substantial demographic of Americans who are determined to not play along with Woke absurdities, and they love him for it. Mr. Trump may or may not be the Republican nominee in 2024, but he is helping the country with a literal House-cleaning in advance of that, and it will open the door to a deluge of corrective truth-telling about what has gone on the past several years, in everything from the Covid 19 scam to the Green New Deal aimed at wrecking what’s left of Western Civ’s economies.

Americans, except for the very old, are not disposed to attending church, meaning they are not reminded at regular intervals, and formal rituals, that good and evil exists in all of us, and that we have a duty to our sacred consciousness to tend to the right side, to “the better angels of our nature,” Lincoln put it. Ultimately, the Left will choke to death on its many crimes and we can return to being a people who confidently know the difference between right and wrong.

UKRAINE, MONDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER

Russia’s Lavrov urges ‘additional contacts’ to resolve global problems

The Russian foreign minister has called for “additional contacts between countries” to resolve global problems.

Speaking at a briefing for heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Moscow before the 77th UN General Assembly session, Sergey Lavrov stressed that the UN was established to seek collective solutions to global problems.

“We are witnessing the accumulation of crisis processes, both associated with economic policy, with the policy in the field of energy supply to mankind, and processes that are directly caused by the undermining of the foundations on which the entire system of globalisation was based,” he said.

“High-level events are starting this week [in New York], during which tough assessments of various actions of various states will be made – there is no getting away from this.”

Russia’s Wagner trying to recruit over 1,500 felons for war: US official

The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, is trying to recruit more than 1,500 convicted felons to take part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, but many are refusing to join, a senior US defence official has said.

“Our information indicates that Wagner has been suffering high losses in Ukraine, especially and unsurprisingly among young and inexperienced fighters,” the US official told reporters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Backup power line at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant disconnected: IAEA

A backup power line used to supply the Zaporizhzhia plant with electricity for essential operations from the Ukrainian grid was disconnected on Sunday, but the plant remained connected to one of the main power lines restored last week, the UN nuclear watchdog has said.

“Last week, we saw some improvements regarding its power supplies, but today we were informed about a new setback in this regard,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement.

Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva comes under pressure

Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva is coming under pressure from Moscow after voicing criticism of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.

“These poets, harlequins and jugglers just need a chance to sing and dance, to make merry and to take vulgar smart-alecky s***,” the head of the Russian president’s human rights commission, Valery Fadeyev, said in a post on the commission’s website.

Pro-Kremlin Russian rap singer Timati also lashed out at Pugacheva, slamming her for lacking patriotism.

Zelenskyy says Russians ‘palpably panicking’

Zelenskyy has said Russia is “palpably panicking” as his country continues to mount a counteroffensive that has reclaimed towns and cities from Russian troops.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was “stabilising” the situation in the northeastern Kharkiv region, which is now largely back in Ukrainian hands.

“[In] Kharkiv region – we are stabilising the situation, holding our positions. Firmly. So strongly that the occupiers are palpably panicking. Well, we warned that the Russian military in Ukraine has only two options: escape from our land or captivity,” Zelenskyy said. 

— CNN

HALF THE HARM that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm, but the harm [that they cause] does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.

— TS Eliot

RUSSIA MAY HAVE LOST THE WAR, but that does not mean Ukraine will win it

by Patrick Cockburn

Pro-war Russian bloggers are scathing about Russia’s “Black Week” in Ukraine and are calling for mass mobilisation to stave off defeat. “Events in the direction of Kharkiv can rightfully be called a catastrophe,” writes one. “Signs of things to come were known long before. They were seen and reported on. But they do not fit into the format [of President Vladimir Putin’s Special Military Operation].”

Another critic is more specific about the shortages that contributed to the latest Russian military debacle, writing that “there are NO thermal imagers, NO bulletproof vests, NO reconnaissance equipment, NO secure communications, NOT enough copters, NO first aid kits in the army”.

Even a diatribe like this understates the crisis for Putin as he pays the price for a military campaign typified by a succession of avoidable blunders. The greatest failure took place within two or three days of Russian troops and armour invading Ukraine on 24 February. It rapidly became clear that the Ukrainian government and army would resist and Russia did not have the strength to overcome them.

Far too few soldiers

Putin’s great gamble was already doomed and he was not going to reconquer Ukraine, a land which Russia had held for most of the previous 300 years. Without it, Russia remains a powerful European state, but nowhere near recovering its status as a superpower.

The initial failure is irredeemable, but a succession of unforced errors made a bad situation far worse from the Russian point of view. Putin might have tried to recover by mobilising Russian manpower and resources, much as the Ukrainian government had done since the first days of the war. But he pretended instead that he was engaged in a limited conflict which was less than a war and full conscription was therefore unnecessary.

As a result, the Russian military has far too few soldiers to fight a long war in a country as large as Ukraine with a population of 44 million and allies prepared to supply it with weapons.

A dictator controlling information

Losses in trained manpower and equipment in the first abortive strike on Kyiv could not be replaced. Russian strategy was to engage in attritional warfare in Donbas, denuding the defences elsewhere. Michael Kofman, Russian military specialist at the CNA security think-tank, estimates that the Russians have between 80,000 and 100,000 combat troops available, ensuring that along much of the frontline they are too few to form more than a cordon sanitaire. Once this is broken, there are no reserves to plug the gap.

I am suspicious of the argument that Putin dare not risk full-scale conscription because he fears a negative popular reaction. Maybe this is the case, but he is a dictator controlling information and able to crush all opponents. More likely, he suffers from the occupational disease of autocrats, which is to be only told news which fits their preconceptions.

As a result, there were few regular Russian units around Kharkiv. Defences were manned by semi-trained militia and national guards who abandoned their tanks and heavy weapons without fighting. According to Kofman, the Ukrainian strike force was on the small side – only four or five brigades – but it swiftly sliced through the thin front line.

The attack was a surprise, despite signs that it was imminent, making it one more colossal failure by Russian military intelligence – unless they did inform the Kremlin and were ignored.

Bizarre and self-destructive

The Ukrainian military has the great advantage of operating on interior lines. The Russian army is all around them on three sides, but Ukrainian forces are in the centre and can move from the Kherson front in the south to Kharkiv in the north-east in a day or two. It would take a week or more for Russian troops to do the same, as they would have to move in an enormous semicircle back into Russia before returning to Ukraine.

Reporting from the Ukraine side has inevitably focused on their prowess and skill. Less emphasis is put on how far Ukraine has been aided by Putin’s disastrous strategy which has not only been unsuccessful but bizarre and self-destructive. After the Kremlin’s first failures, it came to believe that it could win a prolonged war because of its strength of will and superior manpower.

Had all Russian resources been thrown into the fight early on this might have been the case, as Putin’s pro-war critics now maintain. But they optimistically call for total war, wrongly supposing that the absorption of large numbers of untrained conscripts is easier than it is in practice. The Russian military simply does not have the experienced officers to train and command a newly raised mass army.

These weaknesses are for the most part self-evident, so why did the Russian general staff and officer corps not predict them? Almost certainly they did, but Putin and his inner circle paid no attention to their reservations about the Ukraine plan. It does not take long in any organisation – particularly in an autocracy where dissent and nonconformity are punished – for word to spread that it is useless or dangerous to inform those in charge about what is really going on.

A word of caution

I once asked the former Soviet charge in Baghdad, who knew the Iraqi leadership well, why none of them had told Saddam Hussein in 1990 that invading Kuwait was a disastrous idea. He replied that in the dictator’s innermost council “the only safe position is to be 10 per cent tougher than the boss”. So if Saddam Hussein asked his senior lieutenants, some of them intelligent men, if Iraqi troops should invade Kuwait, the safest course was to say: “Brilliant idea! And let’s go on and invade Saudi Arabia while we are at it.”

A word of caution here. Hubris is not the monopoly of autocrats. Premature triumphalism exacts a price, as Western political leaders should have learned in the Iraqi and Afghan wars. The Ukrainian army had close to a walkover in Kharkiv, but the same was not true of its offensive directed against Kherson where it suffered heavy casualties.

As Ukrainian forces were winning victories around Kharkiv, John Hudson from The Washington Post was interviewing Ukrainian soldiers who had been wounded in fighting near Kherson. “The soldiers said they lacked the artillery needed to dislodge Russia’s entrenched forces and described a yawning technology gap with their adversaries,” Hudson writes. “We lost five people for every one they did,” said Ihor, a 30-year-old platoon commander.”

Both Russia and Ukraine could be the losers in this war.

(CounterPunch.org)

AT SUMMER’S END, A MOMENT OF WILD SURPRISE

by Margaret Renkl

Then, just like that, the light changed, taking on the autumnal slant that turns dust motes into flecks of fire and deepens the color of songbirds’ feathers, so bright and new now after the August molt. Suddenly it is fall, whatever the temperature might suggest.

There are two ways of marking the change of seasons. Meteorological fall begins on the first day of September. Astronomical fall begins with the autumnal equinox, which this year occurs on Thursday. The disparity between the dates is owing to the specialties involved: Astronomers account for the changing seasons by observing the earth’s tilt, while meteorologists, it probably goes without saying, divide the seasons according to the weather. For meteorologists, summer is comprised of June, July and August, the three hottest months of the year.

In Tennessee, summertime temperatures have always persisted long past the first day of meteorological fall. Nowadays they persist long past the first day of astronomical fall, too. Often it is still summer here deep into October, even November. Sometimes there is no fall at all — we go directly from roasting to freezing, and the leaves drop from the trees without ever pausing to blush.

The planet is tilting anyway, and many migratory creatures take their cue from the changing light even as all the others are still panting in the shade.

This year we all got a surprise break. Early in September, a front rolled in from the north, bringing foggy mornings and cooler nights. The temperature dropped and the dew point dropped, and everything changed. It felt the way I imagine it might feel to be a troubled soul welcomed unexpectedly into heaven.

The break in the heat was never going to last. Nevertheless, “We must risk delight,” as the poet Jack Gilbert writes in “A Brief for the Defense,” and the loveliness held for longer than I had any reason to hope — day after day of blessedly cooler mornings, dewy mornings with the bumblebees in the balsam flowers sleeping late, waiting to be warmed into flight again. My dog Rascal stopped giving me the side eye when I invited him for a walk. I ought to have used the break in the heat to pull the invasive creeping Charlie and mulberry weed out of my flower beds, but I could only sit on our stoop with the skinks, soaking in the tender sun.

The wild creatures in our yard go about their business in all the usual ways of autumn, adjusting as they always do to both the changing light and the cooler temperatures. Our resident broadhead skink suns herself a little more often on the front stoop these days, sometimes joined now by a five-lined skink and a smaller broadhead. I had to stick a Post-it note to the storm door to remind myself to make sure it latched behind me whenever I stepped outside. I don’t want Rascal to get out and terrorize our skink neighbors.

Best of all, September ushered in the butterflies.

It has been a poor year for butterflies until now. I’d seen quite a few skippers, plus a few clouded sulphurs and a couple of hackberry emperors, but only one ragged gulf fritillary and not a single swallowtail or monarch. It has been a surprisingly good year for bees in this yard, and that’s heartening, but fate seemed to have other plans for the butterflies.

Then a female monarch showed up, followed by a tiger swallowtail followed by a black swallowtail. A few days later a second monarch arrived, this one a male, and stayed in the pollinator garden all day long. Another gulf fritillary found our native purple passion vine, and then another found it too. Before long I was seeing gulf fritillaries every day, and most were laying eggs. Now the passion vines are covered with gulf fritillary caterpillars. Soon the passion fruits will ripen and fall to the ground, where they will feed the squirrels and raccoons, skunks and foxes. I have a bumper crop of passion fruits this year, thanks to the industrious carpenter bees. It’s been a good year for bees in more ways than one.

In “Braiding Sweetgrass,” Robin Wall Kimmerer tells the story of her first-year intake interview at the university’s forestry school. When the interviewer asked her to explain her choice of major, she writes, “I told him that I chose botany because I wanted to learn why asters and goldenrod looked so beautiful together.”

I think of her story every year when the passion vines are feeding the gulf fritillary caterpillars, and the carpenter bees are pollinating the passionflowers, and the passion fruits are ripening to feed everybody else. The whole lovely cycle is happening just behind the place in my pollinator garden where the goldenrod and the asters look so beautiful together.

People ask me sometimes if I had to wait for my parents to die before I could write my first book, an account of my happy but complicated childhood. What they are asking, I know, is how my parents would feel to find themselves the subject of a book that doesn’t gloss over the family sadness that seems to be inevitable, even within happy childhoods.

No, I always say. My parents were humiliatingly proud of me, and they loved it when I wrote about our family. They would dearly have loved to see themselves in a book with my name on the cover.

But there is one sense in which the answer to such questions is also yes. My parents had to die, and my children had to grow up, before I could let myself settle into the sweetness of the earth again, before I could drop the vigilance of caregiving, the constant scrolling worries of caregiving, and be restored, if only at times, to the state in which I spent my childhood: unaware of time and its relentless, despotic unfolding.

I didn’t believe, back in the days of tending others’ needs, that I could give myself over to the pleasure of sitting on a front stoop in the morning sunshine. I could have — I absolutely could have done it — but it seemed impossible.

And yet, even then, time was passing. Summer was giving way to fall, year in and year out, and fall was giving way to winter. Gradually, without even noticing it, I began to surrender to the moments again — to the timeless time of sleepy bees and sunning lizards and nodding flowers and butterflies that float from aster to goldenrod all the mild day long.