I love looking at the old maple tree in our neighbor's yard. Our backyard borders five other yards (two on each side, one on a perpendicular street, and two on the cul de sac behind us), and this tree stands at the back corner of one of them. When I stand in my kitchen window and look straight back, this tree is the first thing I see.

It heralds the changing seasons and has provided many a great photo op. It's so big (and older than me, I'm sure), that when the sun shines on one side, the other side of the tree is in shade and the whole thing looks ethereal. Gorgeous.

I love that tree. The day it gets cut down (not that I've heard of any plans in that direction) is the day we start making plans to move!

All this talk of fall leads me to my next harbinger of the season: the hobo spider. Ugh. I truly dread them. You can read about our previous run-ins with the little beasts here:  Creepy Crawlies x 2  and here: A Spider is a Spider is a Spider...Unless it's Poisonous

So, all year, every time I see a hobo spider, I smush it. Yes, smush. Like smash, but with less force. Thankfully, every hobo I've found so far this year has been small. And every time I smush one, I say, "Thank you, Jesus." Really! Why? Because I got 'em when they were little, instead of toddler hand-size like our earlier friends. Just the other night I found one on my wall making a beeline for my bed. That one became acquainted with my slipper. Smush.

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In other news, real news, Sarah Palin, who's been parodied twice now on Saturday Night Live, will be on the show herself this weekend. Of course, if you miss it, it will be uploaded to YouTube by hundreds of people (who don't seem to realize that other people have already done so). I think, however, that everyone who can should tune in on Saturday. For me personally, it's a great way to show Hollywood -- or in this case, New York -- that I support Governor Palin. I never watch the show, but for this I will.

I'll post my thoughts on it next week. And maybe, in the meantime, I should go over to YouTube and get caught up on Tina Fey's impersonations of Sarah. I'm hoping that this time around, Sarah will get to impersonate Tina. Now that would be funny.

Tina Fey, by the by, said if McCain and Palin win the election, she'll phase out her impersonations of Palin. Fey remarked that if they win, she's done, as in "leaving earth."

We'll miss her. ;-)