fossil fuels

October 2026: Garden Joys and Climate “Adventures”

/ Chris Thaiss / Leave a comment

Purple Mums to Red-Pink Dahlias in our tiny community plot, cool, bright October 8

Fall colors on the east shore of the lake, sunny October 26

In this month’s blog:

Garden Joys and Climate “Adventures”
Garden Update:  Colors Galore and Fall Plantings in a Brilliant October
Climate Log:  El Niño Hits the California Coast and Record Utility Costs Plague the Country
Climate Log 2: EV Sales Bloom Worldwide (Except in the Stymied US)
The October 2026 Photo/Video Gallery

Bumblebee feeds in our Wild Blue Asters, our garden, October 23

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Garden Joys and Climate “Adventures”

Red-Pink Dahlias still going strong in our community garden, on a bright and breezy October 23

I was bemoaning last February the 3 solid weeks of sub-freezing temps and immovable ice (“snow-crete”) that covered our region. I was bemoaning through this summer the disappearance of our local turtles and many of our bird species from in and around our hot, humid, algae- and smoke -polluted lake. But, all things considered, I live in a mostly congenial climate here in Northern Virginia–very different from other places on our continent and across planet Earth that are being ravaged by the disasters caused by humanity’s 200-year  addiction to coal, oil, and gas.

An addiction that some humans still consider a blessing, a cash cow, or even  a grand prize. An addiction that most of us in this country seem to be resigned to and have little will power to overcome, even though affordable, renewable ways to defeat it  are right in front of us.

Our smelly algae-thick little lake on a humid, rainy August 5

Here in Northern Virginia, a month like this October has been indeed a weather blessing, as the temps cooled, the humidity dropped, some much-needed rains came to dilute the algae, and our little garden in the community plots bloomed with early fall flowers in a brilliant color display. So we are very lucky here. Though it would sure be nice if our birds returned to be as plentiful and varied as they were, as I’ve reported in this blog, in other recent Octobers.

Elsewhere? Climate Adventures (a much more pleasant term than the “disasters” they are)

But our pleasant October here should not fool us into thinking that it’s like this everywhere, nor that this nice weather here means that Earth’s climate is not steadily collapsing. The Climate Log (two sections below) this month focuses on just 2 of the many ways that we US humans  are suffering from our fossil fuel addiction.

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Pink bloom on huge Hibiscus amid deep blue Wild Asters, brisk, sunny October 19 morning. On October 23, we added a second large Hibiscus, Yellow, that we hope will be as hearty and successful as this one has been since this 2026 spring.

Garden Update: Colors Galore and New Plantings in a Brilliant October

Viewed toward northeast,our Broccoli, Cauliflower, Romaine, Wild Blue Asters, Purple Mums, Petunias,Impatiens, and small Purple Asters on a cool, bright morning, October 8

Atop the fence beside our garden community, a resident Song Sparrow in mid call, cool morning, October 28

The end of September meant our clearing out most of the spring/summer annual plantings that had been so successful and productive: the 5 cherry tomato vines, the mild and hot peppers, most of the herbs (mint, oregano, nasturtiums, tarragon), the resplendent marigolds and zinnias and cosmos,  chives, and the volunteer grasses (AKA “weeds”) that had thrived among the veggies, including Speedwell and Crab.

Fall Perennials and New Plantings

But once these retired annual plants and the trimmed back grasses were dispatched by us to the community compost piles for recycling of their nutritious ingredients, it was time for October planting and nurturing.

The Two Queens: Purple-Red Chrysanthemums  and Wild Blue Asters

The Royal Purple-Red Mums and Wild Blue Asters,attended by Pink Hibiscus, October 23

These two are the stars of the October garden, perennials that bloom now after being green and spreading through the summer. We’ll see how they hold on to their blooms as it gets colder. But this is their time to shine and keep attracting the pollinators, before they rest over the winter.

Bees feed on our stunning Wild Blue Asters on this brisk, bright morning, October 28

New Plantings

The newly planted veggies this year are 4 Broccoli, 2 Cauliflower, and 2 Romaine Lettuces. The Broccoli and Cauliflower we’re planting again this year after the snow-crete in February stopped all growth in early 2026. Here’s hoping for success. The 2 Romaine are a first timer for us. All the new veggies have now been in 10 days and are already double in size (see below). We have our fingers crossed.

And just this weekend (October 24) we’ve added Pansies to our display. Winter willing, these will keep blooming into next year.

Newly-planted Pink and Yellow Pansies, October 24

Newly planted Yellow Face Pansies in garden October 28

And one more perennial herb, our rugged, aromatic Rosemary, whom we planted in early 2025 and who has thrived through two hot, humid summers, stays strong now as we head into the coming winter.

Lush aromatic Rosemary in our garden, into its third year, October 28

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Waves from El Niño crash into homes in Long Beach in Los Angeles County, October 10

Climate Log:  El Niño Hits the California Coast and Record Utility Costs Plague the Nation

These two articles about Long Beach (next to LA) and about San Clemente in Orange County (October 20) are among many from the Los Angeles Times that from September onward have been and will be illuminating the intensifying challenges posed by the Super El Niño that formed in the Pacific in late summer and that moved on to the shores of South and Central America.

Reporters Ian James, Fedor Zarkhin, Hannah Fry, and Noah Haggerty are among the many journalists covering the escalating effects of climate collapse in the West, with James the most prolific of these journalists, through a series of videos as well as articles since 2023.

The winds and waves from the El Niño have now been moving steadily north, eroding beaches and destroying homes and coastal infrastructure from Southern and into Central California. This El Niño may become the most devastating on record because its  intensity has been magnified by the heat dome over the Pacific and across the US resulting from the fossil fuel addiction. So far, this entirely preventable  climate collapse has included

  •  the ongoing drought across at least two thirds of the continent (see map below),
  • record wildfire damage in Canada, in the US Northwest, and across the Plains states,
  • shrinkage of the Colorado River basin to its lowest levels in recorded history,
  • the shut down of farms and ranches in Texas and the Southwest,
  • and almost complete elimination of the mountain snows in the Rockies and other Western ranges (as this blog has reported periodically over the past 2 years).

US Drought Monitor map, October 22  https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

That these devastating effects get relatively little attention in places like ours in the East is a perfect illustration of “out of sight, out of mind.” Because thus far our weather patterns here in the East have just not been as extreme as those in the West and Midlands, we just don’t pay attention.

Moreover, as I’ve noticed in the four years we’ve been living back East since our years in California, sources like the Washington Post and the urban (New York) based media just don’t pay attention to climate patterns in most of the country. In addition, the current President’s persistent denial, defunding, and mocking of climate science and warnings has had a severe dampening effect on the public’s knowledge of what has been happening elsewhere–and that is becoming more dangerous for all of us.

Are We Next? An effect of climate collapse that we do pay attention to: the skyrocketing utilities costs.

New York Time’s report on the causes of record high utility bills, October 19

While the US population has been rightfully blaming the rising costs of gas-powered electricity and HVAC on the President’s invasion of Iran and the subsequent closing of the Strait of Hormuz that has led to both shortages and record high costs of fossil fuels, what’s gotten a bit lost in the turmoil is how the record heat of this summer has greatly driven up the use of air conditioning and its costs.  This New York Times article by Eli Sastow (Oct. 19) focuses on the particularly great suffering of families in Oklahoma, where summer temps routinely were over 100 degrees, and where the utility bills–often over $1000– are putting these families in danger of losing their utilities and potentially their lives.

The Climate Collapse Double-Whammy. These heat-driven utility costs, as the article points out, are affecting American  homes everywhere, and it’s the double-whammy of the fossil-fuel-caused heat records–and the US reliance on fossil fuels to power cooling systems–that is fueling this intense and widespread suffering.

But Here’s the Good News. US folks, at least in some places, are suddenly paying attention to the vicious cycle of reliance on fossil fuels. Even states like Texas and Oklahoma, the traditional centers of oil drilling in the country, are waking up to the dangers of the addiction.

In fact, according to articles in Governing.com and the San Antonio Express News Texas is now leading the US in installation of new solar-powered energy plants, even out-performing California in building these renewable power sources, though CA  still leads by far in solar already installed.

Texas, if you can believe it, now exceeds California in installation of new solar energy plants (Governing.com, June 12, 2026)

Now, for some more good news…

Climate Log 2: EV Sales Set Record Worldwide (Except in the Stymied US)

According to international auto sales journal Elektrec (Michelle Lewis article, Oct. 15), almost 600,000 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) were sold in Europe in September, doubling the record sales reported in June. Globally, September 2026 sales of BEVs were 2.15 million, an increase of 17% over a year earlier.  “The UK, France, Spain, Portugal, and Finland all set new monthly records,” with France’s 80,000 in September sales an 81% increase year over year.

The record heat waves of summer 2026 across Europe killed an estimated 50,000 people (Raymond Zhong, New York Times, Oct. 22). This horror, in addition to the fuel shortages and rising costs as a result of US President Donald Trump’s February invasion of Iran, no doubt intensified the commitment of Europeans to turn away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy, including electric vehicles, and so led to these record EV sales across Europe and Asia. European, Chinese, and other Asian automakers continue to lead the world in innovative renewable technologies and sales, as US automakers are left behind by this anti-business Administration.

Not surprisingly, lagging far behind the rest of the world in adoption of EV technology is the US, where, because of his fixated devotion to the fossil fuel cartel,  the President’s elimination of the tax credit for EV sales led to a 44% sales drop in EV sales in the US since 2025, the last year of the $7500 tax credit. So,  while the rest of the world moves forward to adopt renewable energy vehicles and saves money on fuel costs,  US drivers are stuck in the fossil fuel past and must pay the higher prices for gas and diesel brought about by the Iran catastrophe.

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American Crow flies above the colorful north woods beyond the lake shore, October 28

The October 2026 Photo/Video Gallery

First Fall Colors, More Wildflowers, and Returning Turtles (including a Snapper!) here, plus Views of Oktoberfest and Seneca Creek State Park in Germantown, Maryland, another beautifully-maintained part of the Maryland side of the Potomac watershed, where we visited this month. 

Are these two posing? Grey Squirrel and House Sparrow by our neighbor’s feeder, east side, cool, breezy October 30

Colors in view southeast down lake toward downtown, with Red Maple in foreground, October 26

A dozen Canada Geese swim gently in the southeast cove of our lake, cool, sunny October 17

Mallard pair, our first of the season, rest on the log in the southeast cove, cool October 28

Tiny blooms of Hairy Asters, east shore of the lake, October 21

Purple-red Mums and Pink Asters, our garden, cool morning, October 28

Bumblebees feed on our Wild Blue Asters, in our garden, as BlueJays call, breezy October 23

A flock of our ubiquitous House Sparrows are silhouetted on branches along the southeast shore, October 21

Fall colors in the north woods, October 26

Small flock of European Starlings with iridescent russet hues in the grass west of the lake, October 21

Cardinal male hides in California Bay Laurel on the west shore of the lake, brisk, sunny October 17

Gray Squirrel stares at me from grass by the northwest corner path, sunny, clear October 22

Lone Cormorant, yellow-orange and brown, on the log in the southeast cove, beside a Willow Oak and the green lake, cool, sunny October 16

Strange sighting: one of our Snapping Turtles on the north path after a heavy rain. Never seen before out of the lake, October 12

12 Rock Doves relax on the power tower west of the lake, sunny October 22

View of north shore with 3 Red-bellied Cooters on log and Boneset and Red Maple color, on a cool, cloudy October 15

Oktoberfest in Germantown, Maryland, October 10: the parade begins

Ukrainian dancers in Oktoberfest parade, Germantown,October 10

Mexican dancers in Oktoberfest parade, Germantown, October 10

Seneca Creek State Park, Germantown (Md), panorama toward lake and turning trees, October 9

Cardinal male amid Dogwood leaves in Seneca Creek State Park, October 9

Bluebird pair amid branches, Seneca Creek State Park, October 9

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker explores American Elm, Seneca Creek State Park, October 9

Pumpkin display, Lewis Orchards, Germantown (MD), October 10

Pumpkins and Mums display, Loudoun Farmer’s Market, Lucketts (VA), October 10, part of our trip to Maryland

Amur Honeysuckle, berry profusion, east bank of our lake, October 22

Red Maple in fall coat, southeast bank, October 12

Blue Heron, with deep blue feathers and bright yellow eye, watches from north shore, October 26

Mallard pair on log in southeast cove, with fall colors across the lake, October 28

Mile-a-Minute with blue berries, northeast shore, October 16

House Sparrows and Chipping Sparrow at neighbor’s feeder, October 15

12 Red-bellied Cooters on log, north shore, October 16

Fall-colored Cormorant scans the lake, then dives, October 16

And on to November, in hopes for more good news and with so much to be thankful for…

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2025: “Just So Darned Beautiful”

/ Chris Thaiss / Leave a comment

Statuesque pose of this Double-crested Cormorant where Sugarland Run enters the Potomac, September 23

In this month’s blog:

The Shenandoah During the Shutdown: Fall Colors as Heartfelt Respite
Climate Log: More Wilderness Taken for Fossil Fuel Extraction, But…
Our Garden: Summer Success Turns to Fall Hopes
The October 2025 Photo/Video Gallery: Birds, Wildflowers, and More Colorful Travelpics

Surprise at Algonkian Park: Eastern Rat Snake emerges from den at mouth of Sugarland Run, September 23 (See more pics from this park in this month’s Gallery) 

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Skyline Drive morning mist: Ridges toward the south in the Shenandoah National Park, October 15

“So Darned Beautiful!” The Shenandoah in the Shutdown: Fall Colors as Health and Inspiration

As the news out of Washington became more and more alarmingly bizarre, quite a few of us, it seems, took to the road this month to immerse ourselves in the annual festival of the trees: the sun-painted  purples, reds, oranges, and golds of the autumn leaves. In the midst of the federal government shutdown–in which some of our relatives and neighbors were furloughed (and feared being fired)–we expected that the officially-closed Shenandoah National Park, just 70 miles west of us, might be off limits, or at least sparsely visited.  Imagine our surprise when, at 8:30 AM on October 15, we discovered that the 31 twisty miles of the northern final stretch of the Skyline Drive were liberally peppered with visitors as hungry as we were for the exquisite scenery and valley vistas. As one of the other visitors we met exclaimed, “It’s just so darned beautiful!”

As Red Sumac waves in the foreground, we scan the western ridges toward the Shenandoah Valley and the Alleghenies beyond, early morning, October 15

As we drive, we come upon tree after colorful tree in sunlight and mist, October 15

The wind sings in the rushes, as the sun washes the nearby ridges, the Shenandoah River valley below, and the far Alleghenies, October 15

The Drive moves from deep shadows to sudden bursts of color as we go north, October 15

To our surprise, even the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, near the northern end of the Drive in Front Royal, was open–staffed during the shutdown by unpaid volunteers from the regional Friends of the National Parks. The Center was packed by visitors asking for information and buying the books on history and nature science that we had been worried would no longer be available from this federal location, just as agency websites and federal climate records have been scrubbed since this Administration took office in January.

Bright colors in this nearby ridge as we look north along the Drive, October 15


Early morning mist shrouds the canopy as we drive, October 15


Red Sumac and Maples in foreground; ridge upon misty ridge beyond as we look south in the Park, October 15

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Proposed road would penetrate Gates of the Arctic (J Marshall, New York Times, Oct. 6)

Climate Log: As Most of the World Moves Toward a Greener Future, US Feds Double Down on Fossil Fuel Extraction

On October 23, as the New York Times reported, the Trump administration has now opened portions of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling. An earlier Times article (Joselow and Friedman, Oct. 6) described a second approved project (pictured above) that would build 200 miles of roads through lands and across fragile rivers to more undeveloped sites.

 Those for and against. The plans for this latest incursion into protected lands, which environmental and Native-American organizations say would “significantly and irrevocably” damage land, air, water, and wildlife, as well as Native communities, were halted by the Biden administration for those reasons. But now these incursions have the full-throated  support of the Trump regime. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in fact proclaimed that these approved projects embody both “drill, baby, drill,” and “mine, baby, mine,” as the White House wants companies who lease the lands to explore for a wide range of minerals that might be used in the competition with China for energy, military, and industrial dominance. 

But will anybody want the leases? One irony of the project is that it is not clear if any fossil fuel companies plan to buy the leases to drill for oil and gas in the region. Millions of acres of earlier-approved leases have gone unsold, because of the prohibitive costs of development and the intense, widespread opposition to the environmental destruction. Potential lenders to the companies have the same cold feet. 

And what if the future is green (or at least non fossil)? It’s also not clear if oil-and-gas drilling have the same attraction across the rest of the world that they have to Trump, Burgum, and their disciples. Also on October 23, an article by Claire Brown in the Times asked if there might be “A U.S. Nuclear Renaissance?” While she noted the 2 nuclear power projects in development in the US (Including the one in Georgia pictured above), she described the 13 now under construction in China–and the 33 (!) already approved for future construction there. China, it seems, and the nations that share its goals for renewable energy are much further ahead of the US than we’d already suspected.

And all this nuclear activity is occurring in addition to the thousands of solar and wind projects in operation and development throughout the rest of the world. 

Bottom line? Here, where we’ve been prohibited by the President and the fossil fuel cartel from even mentioning “climate change,” and where scientists are de-funded, universities are punished, and agency personnel are fired and their records disappeared, it’s easy for us Statesers to believe that all cars are petroguzzlers, all the higher-and-higher-priced utilities run on gas, and EVs and heat pumps were a momentary California dream now gone for good.  But not so! There is hope, and it may just require us to stay strong–and learn as much as we can from our friends in the sane world.

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Prolific Wild Blue Aster is the star of our garden plot between the summer and our hopeful autumn, October 24

Our Garden: Summer Success Turns to Fall Hopes

Eastern Bluebird scans the garden plots from the high fence, noon, sunny October 24

October is the month of transition for our little Northern Virginia garden plot.  On October 5, we harvested our last veggies:

Final summer harvest of green and red tomatoes and spicy burrito peppers, October 5

On October 6, we celebrated with a tomato-y, pepper-y Mexican “3 sisters” stew:

And that night saw, fittingly, the October harvest moon over the lake:

In the garden itself, we devoted the first week of October to digging and hoeing out, plant by plant, the exhausted tomato vines, pepper plants, chard, and herbs, plus the now-faded marigolds, zinnias, cosmos, and other flowers no longer in bloom. We also pulled up or hoed out a good portion of the “weeds,” like Blue Speedwell and Crabgrass, that had thrived all spring and summer. We did all this in prep for the fall season–including for whatever we decided to plant for that abbreviated time before winter.

Our garden association had chosen November 15 as the water shut-off date, but until then we could water our new plants as needed. There were also the piles of mulch and compost we could shovel on to our ground to help with prep for fall and for the overwintering yet to come.

The New Plants

Fall plantings phase one, flowers in southwest corner: Magenta Mums, Purple Asters, Snapdragons, Vinca. We put these in October 13–with mulch

 

Fall plantings, phase 2, northwest corner: 6 Broccoli seedlings (left) and 6 Cauliflower (right), which we put in October 13, with mulch

At the local Home Depot, we’d decided on some fall favorites for our flower section and for our veggy section, the varieties listed with the photos above. We’d be planting only the west half of the garden and letting the east half lie fallow, perhaps with the mulch for enriching.  From the flowers photo, above, you might notice that a few plants are carryovers from the summer–3 Swiss Chard and one very healthy Rosemary, a perennial. We’ll see how they do as the cold comes.

As for the Broccoli and the Cauliflower, we tried them with some success last fall in our earlier small plot–so let’s see how they do this year. It all depends on how quickly the cold intensifies.

Oh, and the brilliant Wild Blue Aster plant in the center row? This magnificent Virginia Native did almost nothing all summer–but for the last month it has been its own fireworks display. We’ll keep track.

As you can see, we are having a ball experimenting and growing. You might say our garden plot is our own special Ball-room. And we didn’t have to destroy anything to build it.

Eastern Bluebird scans the garden as a Blue Jay calls, October 24

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Fall colors in the woods northeast of our lake, morning, October 20

The October 2025 Photo/Video Gallery: More Birds, Wildflowers, and Autumn Travelpics

Besides our trip to the Shenandoah National Park, we also went to the local Algonkian Potomac River Park in late September and enjoyed more colorful sights in the Potomac watershed in rural Maryland and Virginia early in the final week of October.

And, of course, our own little lake offers us too many marvelous fall color and floral/faunal gems to ignore.  In fact, with the return of a substantial rain on October 30, more birds returned to the lake at the very end of the month–and we are able to show some of these species to you in this entry.

Michaelmas Daisies and Late Boneset, south end of our lake, October 20

Mockingbird on branch, north end path by our lake, October 20

Atop Maryland’s South Mountain, morning, October 23

Eastern Wood Pewee, in Paw Paw tree, Algonkian Regional Park by Potomac, morning, September 23

Magnificent Zebra Swallowtail on White Snakeroot, Algonkian Regional Park, September 23

In its den near the mouth of Sugarland Run in Algonkian Park, we spy the Eastern Rat Snake before it emerges, September 23

Downy Woodpecker on Black Cherry trunk, Algonkian Regional Park, September 23

Double-crested Cormorant preens on the boundary rock where Sugarland Run enters the Potomac, Algonkian Regional Park, morning, September 23

Acadian Flycatcher on branch, Algonkian Regional Park, September 23

Bumblebee and Honeybee on tiny Grass-leaved Goldenrod on ground, Algonkian Regional Park, September 23

Aphrodite Fritillary on Wingstem leaf on ground, Algonkian Regional Park, September 23

Chipping Sparrow hunts seeds on ground at our feet, Algonkian Park, September 23

European Starling brightly lit by morning sun atop Dead Oak, east bank of lake, October 20

Evening Primrose, Late Boneset, and Burning Bush by south end of lake, October 20

Blue Mistflower thicket along southwest shore of the lake, October 20

Grey Catbird moves through dry grass, north end path by our lake, October 20

Maryland’s Catoctin Mountain, along I-70, October 23

 

Pumpkins and Mums display, Luckett’s (VA) farm market, October 23

 

Fall colors, Breaux Vineyards, Hillsboro, VA, October 21

 

Farm along Rte. 211, Washington, VA, east of Skyline Drive, early morning, October 15

 

Swamp Milkweed, silken seeds ready to fly, south end of lake, October 11

 

House Sparrow closeup, edge of balcony east of lake, Oct. 11

 

Six Canada Geese in flight past fountain, south end of lake, October 11

Seven Canada Geese swim in the east lake, as Crickets sing, October 11

Rarely seen Savannah Sparrow feeds happily in the dry grass below the dam, early AM, October 25

 

Teazel and Boneset in field below dam with view of full color north woods, October 25

Song sparrow chirps within a Silken Dogwood on the southeast shore of the lake, as a Blue Jay calls, early AM, October 25

West path canopy of colors, in the early morning sun, October 25

 

Mist rises and leaves glow: the outlet pool below the dam, early morning, October 25

 

Panorama toward downtown with full colors along the lake, morning, October 25

 

Mist rises in the lake, as full colors glow in the north woods, early morning, October 25

 

Dark-eyed Junco–first sighting of the fall–feeding in the field below the dam, early AM, October 25

 

Pine Warbler–our first sighting here!–amid Greenbriar on the southeast shore on a cloudy morning after rain, October 30

 

Three Rock Doves on the stanchion west of the lake, cloudy morning, October 30

 

Blue Jay above the inlet stream on a cloudy morning after rain, October 30

 

American Goldfinch, winter colors, in Red Maple, north end path, morning, October 26

 

Grey Squirrel munches amid acorn cluster, on the southeast path, morning, October 26

 

Yellow-Rumped Warbler in Red Maple, southeast bank, morning, October 26

 

Cardinal female in Tulip Tree, north end woods, morning, October 26

Great Blue Heron stands atop dead Oak on the east bank and scans the domain, early AM, October 25

And so we move toward November, the month of Thanksgiving, with so much already to be thankful–and hopeful–for…