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Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

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This is dead girl, live boy, a goat, two wetsuits and a dildo territory.  oh, and pink furry handcuffs.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson is the bland and smiling face of evil.

DeSantis transforming Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

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In my day, never was longer.

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Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

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You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Very Exciting Tree News

Very Exciting Tree News

by | 64 Comments

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I am very excited to report that the maple out front, in the last 24-28 hours, has had its leaves change, and I can look forward to many years of a deep majestic red tree:

I am so excited for it to grow big and tower over everything.

In other news, I remain consistently horrified by the random thoughts that run through my head. I saw a pumpkin today and my thought was “Oh god when do those little fuckers dress up and come mugging for sweets I need to get candy bars in 50 years I don’t want to be remembered as the guy with the shitty candy.” I can do nice things and pretend to be civil but the monster on the inside is terrifying to me.

Speaking of terrifying, I just finished reading the Taylor intro that Adam linked to. Jesus christ.

Reader Interactions

64Comments

  2. 2.

    sukabi

    I’m looking forward to many years of a days worth of deep appreciation for the leaves colors followed by weeks of bitching about the raking of said leaves. ??????

  3. 3.

    kindness

    I learned a valuable lesson one Halloween. Don’t buy the best candy evah. One year I did. All the kids told all the other kids and soon I had some of those lil shits coming back 3 times. I had high school kids in no costume knocking on my door. Costco bulk since then. Better than Grandma candy but not a whole lot better. That and I moved to a nicer neighborhood.

  4. 4.

    The Fat Kate Middeton

    My landscaping husband says you need to start thinking about trimming those bottom branches. The earlier the better (and the easier).

  6. 6.

    JPL

    @kindness: lol That happened when I decided to buy peanuts for the squirrels too. I was tired of them stealing all the bird seed so I hung a gallon milk jug filled with peanuts. Of course, they had to be organic and unsalted and the f..kers told their friends.

  10. 10.

    Mary G

    Yay!

    The town of Eureka, CA has officially returned Duluwat Island to the Wiyot Tribe. The Island is sacred Wiyot land and was the site of a massacre by settlers in 1860. The tribe led environmental clean ups of the Island & uses it for a World Renewal Ceremonyt.co/ddlHuccDb5— Rebecca Pierce #BlackShabbat (@aptly_engineerd) October 22, 2019

  11. 11.

    Skepticat

    Lovely tree; one of my favorite colors, especially if there’s a nice golden-leaved one nearby. Enjoy it.
    I spent a fair amount of time on the phone today with someone I need to take down a huge pine tree threatening my house on the island in Maine. They had 60 mph winds this weekend, and I figured I was about to lose a second house in two months. My nephew went over today and found the top half of the tree next to it had come down and landed parallel to the house on the deck. One destroyed home, one cat in renal failure, one cottage in peril, and one country totally in the toilet—where did I put that vodka?

  12. 12.

    trollhattan

    Nice maple! You should name it Marla.

    Our yard makeover is rounding into fall 2 and there have been successes, deaths and stuff sitting there still deciding. The evergreen Asian pears we planted on the west for afternoon shade have been brilliant while the Valley oak on the north, intended to eventually become a heritage street canopy tree, is sending out “meh” vibes. Hope it makes it because they make magnificent trees some kid born next decade will treasure.

    Drip irrigation remains a mystery.

  14. 14.

    patroclus

    Chris Hayes just did a great mash-up of all the lying Republicans saying “no quid pro quo” right after summarizing Taylor’s testimony describing the obvious and explicit quid pro quo.

  16. 16.

    HumboldtBlue

    I do not participate in Halloween and have never given out candy as a single adult. I have also never had any kids come knocking on my door because we don’t have any kids in the neighborhood and haven’t in the 12 years I’ve lived here.

    What lie of Trump’s lies has been the most bothersome?

    The answer

    I think that strikes a chord in a lot of the folks who frequent this joint, I am convinced that somewhere above 90 percent of the commenters here have sworn allegiance to this nation while being sworn in for one duty or another.

    I’m not one much for oaths but when I have taken them — Pennsylvania Army National Guard, U.S. Air Force, sworn witness — I at least take them seriously and have never dishonored them in any shape or form.

    The fucking GOP needs to be targeted as a direct threat to the security of this nation.

  18. 18.

    jl

    Beautiful tree with beautiful fall red leaves. Thnx for treepix.
    Looking forward to blissful Cole posts on the joy of raking leaves.

    I do however remember some commenters insisting that all of Cole’s trees are too close and/or too far away from various items, and complete disaster will ensue.
    So, i am hopeful but wary.

  22. 22.

    geg6

    We have a Japanese maple in our grotto that just makes me smile every time I look at it in the fall. It is spectacular!

  23. 23.

    ?BillinGlendaleCA

    @opiejeanne: Photographer I met at Leo Carillio a few months ago went up the the Sierra foothills above Bishop and got some nice fall color shots.

    ETA: I was at The Huntington yesterday and no color changes there, then again, it was 102 here today.

  24. 24.

    chris

    Nice tree, Cole, and someone will love you for it. I got all my winter hardwood from the backyards of two friends after Hurricane Dorian. All planted 35-40 years ago. Let that be your legacy.

  27. 27.

    opiejeanne

    @JPL: We were putting out black sunflower seeds for the small birds. Some fell to the deck and we spotted towhees and a little squirrel picking them up from the deck. A friend identified the squirrel as a Douglas squirrel. They’re less than half the size of a healthy gray squirrel, and now that we’ve been putting the seeds on a plate every morning both he and the gray squirrel are showing up, but if Douglas sees Mr Gray he chases him across the yard and over the fence. It’s hilarious to watch.
    Today we set out some peanuts and the gray took some, but we think they’re too big for Douglas.

  28. 28.

    trollhattan

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    Backpacking a couple weeks ago in Emigrant Wilderness, the aspen were in full color. Gorgeous, although not nearly the large stands that exist on the eastern slopes. With no meaningful storms it should be a fine season for fall colors.

  32. 32.

    chris

    @Skepticat: Damn! If it weren’t for bad luck… I hope things get better for you soon.

    I was in southern Maine last week when the storm came through. ‘Twas airy as we say here in Nova Scotia. Thursday morning CMP was reporting 170,000 customers without power. Fortunately my aunt is in assisted living with a big generator.

  35. 35.

    Mike in NC

    I planted three Japanese maples out front shortly after we moved here, 10 years ago. One of them by the driveway is now 9 feet tall and gorgeous.

  37. 37.

    Mary G

    @raven: @opiejeanne: Both beautiful pictures. I’ve tried to take sunset on the beach photos to post here with my digital camera made in 2006 and my $100 cell phone, but they never come out well. I had a red Japanese maple at my house in South Pasadena, but was never spectacular. There’d be half an hour of maroonish leaves, then they fell off.

  38. 38.

    opiejeanne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: In that heat you’re likely to just see dead leaves and skip the fall colors.

    That Japanese maple in my picture was cheap for what it was. $29. I’ve got a more expensive one that isn’t doing as well and probably needs to be repotted. Autumn Moon. It has pastel fall colors most of the year, but no flaming reds and yellows and oranges.

    This no-name maple needs to be planted in the garden bed on the north side of the deck, and I’ll go and buy another cheapie.

  40. 40.

    Mike in NC

    Terrific movie streaming on Netflix called “The Laundromat” with a stellar cast headed by Meryl Streep. About insurance fraud and worldwide money launderers. Features Russian mobsters and Mexican cartels and I’m waiting for them to introduce Jared and Ivanka.

  42. 42.

    opiejeanne

    @trollhattan: Our birches are a bright yellow wall right now, except for one holdout that’s still green (the previous owner planted a mixed collection of birches, probably because they were cheap.) I keep trying to photograph them but we’ve had so much wind and rain this week that I’ve had no luck getting a good shot.

  43. 43.

    Jeffro

    Taylor should be all 24 nails in trumpov’s coffin, but as always with the GOalPost Movers, we’ll have to wait and see.

    Meanwhile, file this under “if a moron sees the right thing coming for the wrong reasons, it’s still the right thing…but jesus she’s still a moron”: Why The Senate Might Actually Remove trumpov

    At this point, it’s clear Trump is going to be impeached. What’s open to question is whether the Senate will remove him. For a long time, that answer had seemed equally obvious: Of course they wouldn’t. There would be a quick trial amid complaints about “lynching” and similar rhetoric, and Trump would stay in office. That’s still the conventional wisdom — but allow me to outline why I think it might be wrong.

    Ok, McMegs, you’ve been on point so often before…

    Start with the fact that congressional Republicans don’t much like him. They defend him mostly because they are afraid of his loyalists. It’s hard to know how numerous those voters are, but here’s one reasonable proxy: On Super Tuesday 2016, when the Republican primary race was still hotly contested, Trump failed to garner 50 percent of Republican primary voters in any of the 11 states.

    This is easily one of the dumber things she’s referenced, ever. Megan, once he was the nominee, 110% of Repubs closed ranks behind him.

    Nonetheless, GOP senators need their support to win. While most of them would like to get rid of Trump, any individual who stands up to him faces a backlash from the Trump loyalists — and while they could probably prevail if they all shifted at once, so far, they haven’t been able to coordinate a collective action.

    Wait…is…did…did she lament lack of ‘collective action’?

    Perhaps because they understand that coordination problem, Trump loyalists interpret any criticism of the president, however mild, as an attempted countercoup by resentful elites. And hence for three years we’ve watched congressional Republicans treading gingerly between loyalists who demand obeisance, and Trump-skeptical moderates who want independence.

    They’ve been able to stay balanced on that tightrope mostly because Trump’s approval rating has been so stable — 42 percent, plus or minus 4 percentage points, for virtually his entire presidency. But any movement among the voters could upset the Senatorial equilibrium, and that’s not necessarily as unlikely as it currently looks. Humans are fundamentally herd animals, even (perhaps especially) when it comes to our beliefs. A few bellwethers breaking away at the right time can lead the herd in an entirely different direction — and much more rapidly than you might think, as the opponents of same-sex marriage discovered not long ago.

    Yes…that was all about ‘herd mentality’ and not people waking up to realize that Teh Boogeymanz of gay rights wasn’t quite so scary after all.

    With Trump, such a scenario might start with hearings that expose the public to his administration’s internal decision-making processes, at length, and not filtered through anonymous sources and a left-leaning mainstream media. Embarrassed and outraged, Trump starts lashing out more vehemently and unpredictably — say, by whimsically authorizing Turkey to slaughter a bunch of Kurds who, among other things, happen to be guarding thousands of Islamic State fighters we would like to stay locked up.

    As Trump’s ill-conceived outbursts start generating undeniable real-world consequences rather than eliciting fuzzy complaints about “civility” and “norms,” they could cost him his more weakly attached voters. More and more Republicans hear from previously Trump-loyal friends that that’s it, they’re through. That opens up emotional space for them to consider rejecting him, too.

    Did she say “opens up emotional space” in regards…to…trumpov voters??? For real?

    With Trump’s numbers worsening, it will then become harder to maintain the illusion that Trump is somehow immune to normal political rules. By the time the poll numbers for removal inch up to somewhere in the range of 55 to 58 percent, it becomes clear Trump will almost certainly lose in 2020 — and worse, take the Senate down with him.

    Ok, totally on point here, gotta give her pr…

    Now his support really begins to collapse, particularly among evangelical Christians.

    …oh whoops, never mind. McMegs, those folks are riding this one ALL the way in.

    A hard core of Trump supporters, perhaps a quarter of the electorate, will stick with him to the bitter end. But he relies on another big chunk who don’t like him yet rely on him for regulatory and judicial protection from the social justice warriors.

    Ok, now I’m hacked. “Regulatory and judicial protection from the social justice warriors”…please proceed to explain that in great detail, Ms. “Libertarian Person”. GREAT detail.

    Such transactional support might evaporate if Trump alienates so many independents that even his more tepid supporters conclude that come 2021, Democrats will be appointing all the judges. At that point, what’s the benefit of another year of Trump?

    No one in the GOP thinks that the Dems will be appointing judges in 2021…they are ‘all in’, dear. And they’ll do whatever it takes to try and make that happen.

    Anyway, a whole lot of over-analysis, most of it bad, from everyone’s favorite op-ed lottery winner. Things will continue to spiral downward for trumpov, and the GOP, until things crack. There is no sign of it getting better and plenty of signs of it getting worse. So rather than parse 2016 primary voters or talk about trumpov/benefit analysis, maybe McMegs could just…uphold the principle that crooks should be booted out of office and go to jail?

  44. 44.

    opiejeanne

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I know a woman who spent a couple of years there. Fraud, embezzlement. She preyed on friends of mine and was very involved in a dance studio in Riverside where my girls were when they were little. Her own girls were in HS and the dad was out of the pickture, but she presented a massive list of demanded goodies to people who were trying to be good to her.
    Sociopath.

  47. 47.

    Aleta

    Asha Rangappa @AshaRangappa_
    Bill Taylor confirmed today that the release of aid to Ukraine was contingent on a *public announcement* that Ukraine was investigating the Bidens. As I wrote here*, this was an attempt to push a covert propaganda op on the American public, which is ILLEGAL

    * gen.medium.com/running-covert-propaganda-against-americans-is-illegal-trump-tried-it-anyway-c324133b…
    Running Covert Propaganda Against Americans Is Illegal. Trump Tried It Anyway.
    The whistleblower stopped a covert psychological operation against the American public dead in its tracks

  49. 49.

    opiejeanne

    @Aleta: And they keep trying to pretend that because they didn’t threaten Zelensky, they didn’t try to coerce him, they just asked (we know they didn’t just ask) that it isn’t a problem, EXCEPT that the act of just acting is just as illegal as the threat.

    Also, they withhold funding from countries/people/groups/states on the basis that there is CORRUPTION there. HUG knowingly held back most of the money allocated for relief for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, BECAUSE THERE MIGHT BE CORRUPTION!

    corruption, everywhere except the WH, is their battle cry.

  51. 51.

    Enzymer

    Beautiful tree. Be sure to water it if you have a drought in the next few years (you probably already know that, but we’ve been losing young trees in NC). Buy some Mexican candies for Halloween. Easy here in Durham, NC. Lots of delicious but spicy treats. My hispanic trick or treators are delighted by them. The others, less so. As leftovers the chocolate/chili & the spicy/hard candy are nice.

  55. 55.

    Aleta

    @opiejeanne: they withhold funding from countries/people/groups/states on the basis that there is CORRUPTION there.

    Good point. And didn’t Trump and Giuliani, or whoever, first try to claim that their reason for holding back the authorized aid was so they could … look into corruption in Ukraine. Yes, they are the guardians working to keep US $ out of impure pockets.

  56. 56.

    phein60

    @Skepticat: In the freezer. That’s where you should always keep the vodka.

    Oldest daughter’s car crapped out on her on the highway between Rockford and Chicago this afternoon. Will need new one over the weekend.
    Middle son took a dive on his bike and broke both forearms, including two fractures to left ulna, this morning. CT scan on Thursday.
    Youngest son had fencing accident at college; afraid to find out full details, but if he’d lost an eye, I’m sure they would have told us.

    Vodka in freezer in garage. Mixes well with lemonade.

  60. 60.

    stinger

    That is a gorgeous tree and will be magnificent in another 10 years. Wishing you those and many more of sitting in its shade, listening to the birds in its branches, raking its lea…. oh wait.

  61. 61.

    dww44

    @phein60: Wow. I wouldn’t wish your luck on my worst enemies. Hope that middle son recovers nicely. H e is gonna definitely need a lot of help. I had a cousin who broke both her wrists while walking in the wee hours of the morn.. A widow who lived alone, she had to hire helpers for a time.

  62. 62.

    dr. luba

    @HumboldtBlue: Those are residents and fellows–graduates. Not students. Doctors in training. And good on them. They do so much of the work in many hospitals and get crap wages. At least their hours are better than in my day.

  63. 63.

    lee

    Don’t forget to remove the bottom branches of the tree soon. Yeah it is going to look scrawny again but you will appreciate it when you are able to walk under it when it matures.

  64. 64.

    glory b

    @kindness: I don’t mind the teenagers. In my community, if they want to hold on to childhood for a while longer, I’ll play along.

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