I’ve been concerned that there was something wrong with our cat, Ed. He’s the one named for Edward Scissorhands, thanks to wicked claws.
Ed is an indoor-outdoor cat. During the summer he’d like us to acknowledge that he is an OUTDOOR cat….but we compromise on the subject. Generally we let him out from whoever is awake first in the morning, until about two o’clock in the afternoon. Most days he tests his freedom, by asking to be let in and then back out a dozen times. Finally….close to 2:00, we get tired of the game and refuse to open the door for him. That’s his cue to slink off and take a nap in the safetly of the house. Other days, he refuses to return until much later in the day, as if to say “I’m in charge here; I’ll do as I please!”
So, last week, I finally made an appointment with the vet. I was concerned that Ed looked as though he had lost weight, and thought maybe he needed his quarterly visit to be wormed.
Normally Ed is a tough cat, but when we get to the vet’s he becomes a sissy. This trip, he pushed his face between my arm and my hip and hugged my body. I think he figured if he couldn’t see the doc, she couldn’t see him.
The doc was surprised at how he looked, and that made my heart sink. But, when she weighed him, he hadn’t lost any significant weight since August. Because we were both disturbed by his appearance, she decided to do a bank of blood tests on him. We’ll find out the results tomorrow night. If there had been anything serious, they would have called us on Tuesday.
I hate to admit it, but Ed is about 64 now. It doesn’t seem that he’s been with us that long, but he’s about 12 in human years. The chart I was reading says that makes him older than I am. Perhaps what we are seeing is the result of a well lived life. I certainly hope it’s nothing more!

Well, we are two thirds of the way through Fall. We’ve had the most amazing season this year. I’m still waiting for the frost that will do in the last of my plants. I take heat every day from my mother, who wants me to go out and kill off living plants that have grown out over the sidewalk. The brick holds the heat of day and staves off the lighter frosts. These plants clearly understand the benefits of decorating the brick with their arms. You have to be careful where you place your feet as you come up the walk.
Last week we moved a bale of straw to the covered entryway, and set a mum and some pumpkins on it. We also cleared the containers of spent plants and moved some of them to storage, swept the sidewalk, and generally tidied everything. The entryway is ready to welcome visitors, unless we have our killing frost in the next week. Unfortunately, I can see myself outside doing yard work the day before Thanksgiving!
It’s been a dry year. We had plenty of rain in late Spring, and then gradually things dried up. We’d have a week of gray days, but no rain, and then we had unremitting sun for a month. Finally, this week, we are getting the gentlest of rains. It isn’t enough, but we’ll take what we can get. I hope that the trees and shrubs get enough to drink before the ground freezes.
So, I’m still thinking in a Fall palate. I want to dress my tables for Thanksgiving in rich pumpkin colors. I have teasel and milkweed pods and cattails to use as part of my floral decorations. My candles smell like pumpkin pies rich in cloves and ginger. Let’s hope the weather holds just a bit longer until we “gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing.”

My beloved SUV had to go in for repairs this week. When I turned on the heat, the entire dashboard shuddered. I suspected I knew the problem, but I wanted to be sure it wasn’t something under warranty.
When they opened the hood, they found one of our free-loading mice had made a home in my air filter. Of course, now I have to check our other vehicle, for the same problem.
The paradox came when I traveled through the dealership to pay my bill. A long hallway connected the section where the repairs are done, and the sales area where the cashier resides. Halfway down the hall, there was the loveliest scent in the air, and then petroleum odors closed in again. I thought I had imagined it, until I retraced my steps. In the midst of all those “manly’ smells, the three women who worked there had made a little oasis in the ladies room.
The door was ajar, and I could smell either the scent of the soap, or perhaps a hand lotion. What made me smile, was that the door was directly across from the parts department, and the men were lined up, sitting on leather stools, waiting to get the parts for their repair jobs.
I wonder if they were taking their time because they liked the lovely scent wafting over them, or if they needed a break from all those “manly” smells!?