Question

[E7]

Another possibility: the Gypsy Moth

[E7]

This goes hand in hand with people that use 2-3 parking spaces.........although that is actually not illegal in many states.

The genesis of MOST of this type behavior is propagated by some inconsiderate/spiteful b*stard that parks beside a nice/new car and tries to see how deep a dent they car put in it's side. I'm not saying this justifies taking multiple spaces, but if some people weren't such total *ssholes, there would likely be less of this behavior. If I'm driving something I don't want dinged up, I park way out.....sometimes the gittes will follow you out there. That turns Mr. Hand into Mr. Fist.

But, generally most of the people that I see parking with the hazard lights are not of the younger generation; in fact, almost never. It's my own generation and I am at a loss with that observation.

Agreed! The only exception I make is if I have to load something REALLY heavy, and I am only there long enough to get the task done.

[E7]

Question:
Is there any chance Miley Cyrus will stop sticking her tongue out?
Second question, though related to the first: What is that tongue searching for? (I think I know but would rather not say on so polite a family-based forum as thisn.)

Put that one in the "Who Cares" file.

[Mitch]

Some people don't care a whit about their vehicle or anybody else's car. I've parked out in left field all by my lonesome to come out of the store and find a car parked right next to it. In 1979 we'd bought a brand new Caprice and I was sittin' in it waitin' on my wife to come out of the doctors' office; some lady pulls in on my right, gets out, and hits the right front door of our car. I'm sittin' in it, mind you! When she went in to the doctors office, I calmly got out, looked at the mark she put on our car door, walked around to the right side of her car, and with my knee, I caved in the door panel on her car. The wife came out, and we went home.

[E7]

Mitch, Makes one wonder what the H*ll some of these people are thinking, or if they even think at all. Maybe she got the message, but somehow i doubt it!

[MurphOnMillerAve]

Question:
Is there any chance Miley Cyrus will stop sticking her tongue out?
Second question, though related to the first: What is that tongue searching for? (I think I know but would rather not say on so polite a family-based forum as thisn.)

Put that one in the "Who Cares" file.

Duly filed.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

We had a fungus in the N.E. it was crushing pine trees. One by one you could watch them brown out Huge rows were dropping. Some Asian Bug would inject a fungus for it's hatchlings eat. It took about 3 weeks from first sight of brown needles to the chainsaw removing it. Tree surgeons would remove 2 healthy trees inline just trying to stop it from moving tree to tree. Nothing worked. Enter Mother Nature. She gave us a winter with a spread of 10% highs and -15% nights. Froze out that bug and it's breakfast fungus. All the pine trees are green and upright.

We still have it here in VA.

Do you think the completely defoliated and gray-looking trees in these photos are the result of blight or, simply, Autumn ?

Good probability that those are ash trees. Ash borer has basically wiped out ash trees. All of mine are dead now. We have been cutting them for firewood and I still have 6-7 more to cut around the house in PA. I understand that this has also led to a shortage of ash for making baseball bats.......

[rogruth]

It might become necessary to make baseball bats out of some other material like possibly aluminum. Maybe .

[MurphOnMillerAve]

I appreciate the responses to my inquiry about those denuded trees in Upstate NY and NE PA. Thank you, Roger; Roy; Wayne; John Webster; Robert; E7; Rufus.

Just yesterday, a newscaster mentioned that the leaves would "be at their peak," color-wise, during this week, in that area, but those trees are far beyond any "peak," if they even had one. That's a whole lot of trees looking unwell or dead. I tried taking those iPhone photos to provide as wide a panorama as I could to demonstrate the extent of the apparent damage in the landscape I was seeing along the west of Rt. 11, right next to me, but it continued on the east side of the road , too, for nearly the whole length of the road from Cortland, NY down to Clarks Summit, PA.

A concern would also be all that dry timber threatening the possibility of fires, it would seem to me. But even without considering the possibility of forest fires, that's a huge change in the treescape, if that is all death we are seeing there. Of course, given everything you gentlemen have said, it could be a combination of pressures on the forest. Let's hope that in the Spring most everything, at least, perks back up to full greenery.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

It might become necessary to make baseball bats out of some other material like possibly aluminum. Maybe .

Quite a few have been made of maple, and due to its brittle nature, more broken bats might be noticed.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

A concern would also be all that dry timber threatening the possibility of fires........

Was pretty rainy this past weekend in central PA and it's been raining most of last night into this morning in VA

Let's hope that in the Spring most everything, at least, perks back up to full greenery.

Those ash trees are not coming back and only now are the black locust trees making a comeback; lost a lot of those a few years ago, too.

Sadly, I need to get someone in to cut the big poplar out - thinning the forest and sell off some timber.

[Tom Dempsey]

I always liked a maple bat, my son and grandson didn't really care. Bamboo is apparently one of the latest woods to gain "?prominence?" for bat construction. It's spendy but according to the cognoscente it works really well.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I always liked a maple bat, my son and grandson didn't really care. Bamboo is apparently one of the latest woods to gain "?prominence?" for bat construction. It's spendy but according to the cognoscente it works really well.

I have one that my grandfather made -- willow. It's rather large but comparatively weighs very little

[rogruth]

I always liked a maple bat, my son and grandson didn't really care. Bamboo is apparently one of the latest woods to gain "?prominence?" for bat construction. It's spendy but according to the cognoscente it works really well.

That must be a different type of bamboo than is found in this area. It is like a weed here and once started grows like kudzu.
My daughter had some that grew through the bottom of her above ground pool @ five feet from the edge of the pool.
It also doesn't have sections long or thick enough to be turned to a bat shape.

[robert.]

It might become necessary to make baseball bats out of some other material like possibly aluminum. Maybe .

Deadly in the hands of a pro. Even the NCAA banned them. A ball flies off these bats so fast pitchers are defenseless