Monarchs and honeybees and more

A dozen or so monarch butterflies were seen in Mack's yard on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (20, 21, and 22 October). The honeybees continue to be numerous among the Bright Lights cosmos. There are two little plants of some sort of wild aster that came from somewhere to bloom along Mack's fence. Yesterday, between morning and night, sprouts of paperwhite narcissus appeared everywhere. We've closed all the transoms until spring..

Collections of images that don't exist, but should

In years to come, they'd say something about this period in time:

1. Angela Merkel in the close-up company of other world leaders, particularly Sarkozy in his day; the two-person close-up photographs of congeniality and rapport are very entertaining.
2. Molded plastic stacking chairs, usually with arms, ubiquitous around the world, so inexpensive, light in weight, and handy: on ferryboats in China, in teashops, in all sorts of expected and unexpected contexts.
3. Photographs of women holding gigantic handbags, some half as tall as they; these are in fashion magazines in both editorial content and in ads

Because it's now autumn

Despite the rains, it appears that the grass has stopped growing and will be dormant soon. Milkweeds are in full bloom again and so are four o'clocks. Tithonia flowers have made a surprise appearance. Honeybees are especially attracted to the Bright Lights cosmos. As soon as the buds on the loquats open, the bees will move their attentions to them. Every day is a beautiful one.

Bookstores: a list

Have any been overlooked? The name of the establishment on Red River where Stubb's is now located doesn't come immediately to mind, and it took a while for the Living Batch to be recalled.
Lavender's
Three Arts
Doubleday
Scribner's
The Living Batch
Scrantom's
Grok Books
Half Price Books
Garner & Smith
Congress Avenue Books
BookWoman
Watson & Co.
Adventures in Time and Space
Europa Books
Bookstop
BookPeople
Domy Books
Resistencia

And here's a little list of  books on the shelves (bookx) as of 2006, not updated since then. Other than some comics, a very few items from used-book sales (e.g., Chambers's Encyclopaedia, 1860, at a quarter a volume, and still smelling fiercely of woodsmoke), childhood books, and gifts along the way, books in this household came from one of the above establishments.

After the rains

Now that the ground is cooler, there are volunteer seedlings everywhere, many of them Bright Lights cosmos, sweet peas, nasturtiums, and hyacinth beans. Anemones have been visible for a couple of days, now, sprung up overnight. Lantanas are covered with flowers and so are hyacinth beans. Fennel plants are sending new shoots. The spider plants that didn't bloom this year (lycoris radiata) are sending up clumps of leaves everywhere, preparing for next year. We still enjoy morning glories, cosmos, and torenia, now renewed. It was a surprise this morning to find tithonia (Mexican sunflower) blooms in a neglected corner of the yard.

Just wondering

Why don't people seem to know the difference between cobblestones and pavers? Anyone who has ever seen a cobblestone could never confuse one with a paver.

Oxblood lilies are tapering off

But we still have some fresh ones each day. Garlic chives have gone to seed. Newly with us this season are spiderwort and pink oxalis. Turk's caps, lantana, and four o'clocks have been refreshed, thanks to the slightly cooler weather and the bounteous recent rains. There are a few new serrano peppers. Hyacinth beans are beginning to bloom. Morning glories, Bright Lights cosmos, and milkweeds have been refreshed and are producing more flowers. Two days ago, we saw a half-dozen monarch butterflies.