Changing seasons

The seasons are changing at this time of the year and some of the changes are more apparent than others. The sun is lower in the sky, mornings are cooler and Daylight Savings Time ends soon. October’s colors are spectacular and the foliage of the trees and vineyards are the most visible reminders of the changing days ahead.
Other seasons will be changing soon as well. These include a possible El Niño season, the holiday season, an open enrollment season for Medicare, an approaching full-year 2016 election season, a new season all about marijuana, a returning season of winter homelessness and possibly other seasons yet to announce themselves.
Looks like we’ll be staying busy. Each new season requires preparations, like cleaning out our rain gutters, setting back our clocks and girding for the real political races coming our way. And, what is this new marijuana season, anyway?
Daylight Savings Time ends at 2 a.m. on Nov. 2. Don’t ask us why we still mess with our clocks twice a year, but we’re ready for it not to be so dark in the morning, even if it means a winter of shorter days.
We are promised a season of El Niño, with above-average rain totals to help replenish our groundwater and reservoirs. Let’s hope Mother Nature is not too generous and brings us too much rain too soon. Vineyard owners and others already are prepping for erosion control. It’s time for the rest of us to “winterize” as well.
Current El Niño forecasts include a normal start to our rainy season by mid-November with wetter months in December, January and February. It’s too soon to tell, but next spring may be late arriving and wetter than local farmers would prefer.
The approaching winter is also when county officials mark a new “homeless season,” opening emergency shelters, updating official homeless counts and coordinating community efforts to deal with this vexing social problem.
This is also Medicare open enrollment season (Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.) There are almost 70,000 Medicare-eligible people in Sonoma County, with that number expected to double by year 2030. This is becoming an important season for the majority of local households.
Open enrollment is when everyone should review their benefits and supplement plans. Each year, premiums go up and coverage changes. Before you start your holiday gift lists, you should finish your Medicare shopping first.
Speaking of the holidays, there are just 63 days until Christmas. We know this because the gift catalogues are already clogging our mailboxes. Just remember, please, do your gift shopping locally. Maybe give smaller gifts with bigger meanings. And be gentle on your credit cards.
Not this year, but next year there may be some new “greenery” for the holidays, if California voters approve recreational use of marijuana. The Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform has launched a voter petition drive to get its “Control, Regulate, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2016” on the November 2016 ballot.
That is when we also will elect a new U.S. president. The likely passage of the Cannabis Act will change all our lives far more locally than the choice of a new president.
Of all the changing seasons, the legalization of everyday use of marijuana promises to be the most transformative. Much more than mind-altering, we will see unparalleled changes to our local retail scene, happy hour routines, cash markets and tax debates. Major new discussions about pot use and personal health will ensue and worries about marijuana access for our youth will be heightened.
All we can say is that every changing season demands our attention. Sometimes it’s just about the weather. Other times umbrellas and rainboots aren’t going to be enough.
— Rollie Atkinson