Finally a little Fall

It has been a really hot summer.  More days than usual in the triple digits. Fall has come officially and the weather in Merced has finally caught up a little with the label.

We have highs in the 80's and most of the day it is keeping us comfortable in the 70's.  The new whole house fan has seen some nice use this summer and fall.  When the air temperature outside is cooler than what we set the air conditioner, we use it to even out the difference.  If we leave it on all night only the rooms that have a window open equalize. Overall the house temperature drops to about 71 degrees. My friend from England found it interesting that they work hard all summer to trap the heat in the house and we work hard to get it out of the house.

The other signs of the fall are pretty evident.  Baseball is winding up and the local teams are both in single game playoffs called the wildcard.  Both the Giants and the A's are sort of limping into the games in their respective conferences with wounded wings.  The A's are suffering since the trade deadline just after the all star game.  They traded away one of their highest paid Cuban players, Cespedes, and immediately their offense and win making power seemed to drop.  The Giants have had a tough time generating runs and have taken to importing the strength of their farm teams fire power to ignite the old coals of a winning streak to take them to the end. Such firepower is not without liability in the defense. They really had not much of a chance to do anything else as their prospects for post season play dimmed when the overpowering pitching strength of the Dodgers took center stage. So we shall see. A single game will determine if either or both continue into the playoffs and have a chance to play and hopefully win in the world series.  As they look now, I wouldn't  give odds that either of them are balanced powerhouses that seem to be needed to win the October World Series.

Football is once again center stage. So many flags are being thrown that this sport has the chance to become another soccer where the analytic power of the referees and their marching orders to "change" the sport will take the sport out of the endeavor. This year there a a number of defensive backs that have resorted to using their hands into the face mask to slow down the progress of a pass receiver or running back. Pass interference is a very often called. The referees are checking that 5 yard limit of contact carefully.  What seems to have disappeared this year is the call on roughing the quarterback. This call was made routinely last year.  Overall I am pretty pleased to see that the NFL is getting serious with its play on the field. There were way too many concussive events that were allowed to go on without penalty in the past. I am less excited about the NFL's stance on domestic violence with its stars. There is still a chance to catch up so far this has ignited the conversation for the public. Good may eventually come out of this debacle.

In the meantime there are some really good chances to work outside and whip up the yards before the serious wet weather comes.... we all are hoping for some of that this year in this drought stricken valley. Hopefully next year there will be enough water to have a front courtyard annual flower garden. : ) Pat