PSoTD

Will 2007 be the year that Hawaii gets the gift of the German yellow-jacket wasp?

The birds saved from oil spills are just a fraction of the population that will be killed by them.

While hundreds of birds have been rescued from certain death, even more are expected to perish in this disaster. Jonna Mazet, veterinarian with University of California, Davis and an expert on oil spills, said for every one bird that is rescued, an estimated 10 to 100 other birds die at sea.

All the leaves are green, and stuck up on the trees...

THE NEW CLIMATE: LEGENDS OF THE FALL Seasonally adjusted trees staying green longer The Globe and Mail Ontario, Canada

Still, observers agree it's been one strange autumn, and the trees - some bare, some ablaze and others summer-green - tell the tale.

"I'm not an arborist, but I certainly have come to the conclusion that the colour-change season and the leaves on the trees are very different this year," said David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada in Toronto. "And I also know that it may very well be related to the kind of weather conditions that we've had this fall, because it's been very unusual."

October, with an average temperature of 14.3, was the warmest ever recorded in Toronto. The previous record high average for the month was 13.6, set in 1963.

"That's almost a full degree warmer than the previous warmest October," Mr. Phillips said. "I mean, in my business, we break records in 0.1 of a degree."

The normal average temperature for October is 8.9.

Further, there was no night cold enough last month to produce a killing frost, the key precursor to falling leaves, Mr. Phillips said. As of yesterday, there had been only five days this fall - one in October and the rest this month - on which the temperature dipped below zero.

"Typically, by this time of year, we would have 12 of those days," he said, including some far colder than we've seen thus far. "So we haven't had many frost days, it's been record warm, and that probably is answering at least part of the reason why we've had the kind of leaf situation we've had."

The fact that this year has been the driest on record also meant many stressed trees may have compensated by hanging on to their leaves for nourishment, prolonging the green season.

Mr. Phillips, who lives in Aurora, north of the city, is among the many getting antsy about whether his own leaves will drop in time for that city's last pickup, which looms on Monday.

I know the odds of seeing much tonight from the Leonid Meteor Showers are pretty low, but it's a good excuse to be in the hot tub later.

I'd definitely bookmark the Soakers Bible, which is a guide to hot springs and natural spas west of the Rockies.

Late falling leaves are a problem here as well. Hampden Township's last leaf pickup is next Monday. I still have deciduous trees full of green leaves. I'm going to be bagging in December (if there isn't snow) and in March (because eventually there will be snow). We're not alone - here's Roanoke:

It’s an unusual site, Roanoke using rakes and leaf blowers to try and knock the leaves out of the trees.

“You can't control mother nature,” said Gretchen Van Tassel.

She took the pictures of her neighbors and a quick look around her neighborhood and you’ll see why. This leaf dropping problem is widespread.

“At least half are still in the trees,” she said.

All of this is far from an exact science. Some trees are already bare with the leaf piles to prove it. Others are losing theirs right now. And still others haven't lost one.

But, why do you care? Well, if you're a homeowner you know why. Raking leaves is an annual chore, one most dread. But it's eased by a little help from the city and its huge, moving leaf vacuum.

Starting Monday it will come around on a schedule, sucking up the leaves and leaving behind a neat yard. It’s a great service so long as your trees are cooperating. And if they’re not, you can pay extra for a second visit.

It’s unfair to some like Van Tassel.

“We're all paying the same taxes so then why should some of us later have to pay a 40 dollar fee,” she said.

DWayne D’Ardenne Works for Roanoke City and is in charge of the service that picks up an estimated 2,200 tons of leaves a year.

“It's a lot of leaves,” he says.

D’Ardenne admits that this year “Mother Nature hasn't cooperated very well.”