The maple tree in our front yard.

It must be a consequence of growing up in the West, amidst a forest of evergreens, but ever since I moved to a part of the country blessed with colorful autumunal transition, I've been fascinated by the changing leaves. I'm thisclose to being an actual Leaf Peeper. So what a joy to discover that our new neighborhood, and our block in particular, is lined with brilliantly transforming maple trees. There is a large specimen in our front yard, overhanging the entire left side and it is now a molten gold, with fiery crimson descending from the top. The light shining through the leaves suffuses the bedrooms with a warm glow. There will be much raking to come, but the tree is forgiven in return for this fantastic show.

Thanks to Kevin for pointing out this article from the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, "Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Competence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments."

"People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities in many social and intellectual domains. ... Across 4 studies, the authors found that participants scoring in the bottom quartile on tests of humor, grammar, and logic grossly overestimated their test performance and ability. Although their test scores put them in the 12th percentile, they estimated themselves to be in the 62nd."

Must resist urge to make election joke ...

The days I go in to work are for my brain. The days I'm at home with Julia are for my heart. And the days I work at home while watching Julia are often hare-brained! But I hope she grows up knowing that women can be successful as mommies and at careers and that we all play many roles throughout our lives -- mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, friends, employers and employees. Right now I am #1 urp cleaner, diaper changer, milk producer and baby carrier, to name but a few.