This Week in Nerdom

I took down the red, white and blue bunting we leave hanging on our front porch all summer long, retiring it to the basement until we're ready to pull it out next Memorial Day.  As I walked past the big pot of dahlias I keep at the head of the driveway this weekend, I noticed some of the stalks browning slightly, and started to curse myself for not watering them enough when I realized that, yeah, it's getting to be that time when the plants and flowers start to turn in for the season.

We...