The eastern U.S. was so cloudless last week due to a massive high pressure system that you could actually see fall colors from space.

I'm no weatherologist, but I think those may just be temporary.

They've been in a drought most of the summer. But ya, also the crops have been pretty much all harvested before this picture was taken.

One of the things I definitely do like living in Indiana is all the trees. In L.A., where I lived for a decade, it was mostly palms and conifers, and then Joshua trees further out. And they're not all that attractive to me in comparison. Our house used to be surrounded by giant oaks that it was built around. Unfortunately we lost some in recent storms and others were too sick to not be a danger. We still have, I think, 5 of them left and a persimmon tree. We also have a playground that we're going to dismantle and replace with another tree. Something local that grows relatively rapidly. Maybe a pawpaw? Not sure yet. Terre Haute, where I live, is famous for its sycamores (to the point that it's the ISU sports team is the Sycamores), so that's an option, but they're kind of boring trees IMO.

It is harvest season and most crops are brown when it's time to harvest.

Because they're always there, haven't you gone to the edge of your county and looked at the lines? My favorites are the ones that run right through man made stuff like streets and farms.

I messed around with listening and decoding NOAA satellites at home and depending on the satellite they decode with the states outlined like this. It's a fun hobby that uses one of those digital antennas,some copper wire and some open source programs.

What do you mean? Those lines aren't really there? But they are crucial to electing the president. And the one at the very bottom is important to keep the brown people out. How could they not be real?

In terms of the visual beauty of it, I agree. But the grid does help people familiar with the U.S. orient themselves.

I agree. You could get some amazing vistas from the top of a cliff or mountain or high hill. It makes me what distance the visibility was.

They're always beautiful here in Indiana, but they sure seem more vibrant this year.

I just hope that's not some sign of something bad. It seems like every time something seems good like this it's because of climate change or something.

Same in Colorado where we usually only get Green and Yellow (aspens). This year red is vibrant. I miss that having grown up in Virginia with its gorgeous fall colors.

It's not the politics, its. the geography. The counties that seem chaotic make perfect sense on the ground where the lines follow natural features in the land such as rivers and mountains.

I'm afraid it's not that simple. I'm up north in Indiana. It's very much a red state. South of us is Kentucky, which is mostly red, but it's governor is a Democrat. East of us is Ohio, which is sort of a mix, but Republicans mostly control it. West of us is Illinois, which is really only a blue state because of Chicago. Most of the rest of it is red. Finally, north of us is Michigan, which is a blue state but also full of crazy right-wing militias, a group of whom got caught with a plot to kidnap the governor. Not sure if they have been convicted yet.

You do know that voting district lines and County lines aren't the same thing, right?

I'm surprised no one has brought it up so far. This is from way back when the US was still expanding east to west. Land Ordinance of 1785

It was literally just a means of dividing up the land to make it easier to manage. This is why much of the plains states follow such rectangular county/state lines between water geography.

Edit: States that had their counties/borders established before this act will have more organic geography following boundaries. Counties/States settled after 1785 will display this grid-like pattern.