Dad calls this raccoon Scout. Scout comes early in the morning, before light, to see if any food’s around. Typically, there isn’t and Scout goes quietly his merry way elsewhere. Later, after light, when a food bowl is set out for visiting neighbor cats – Lloyd, KeeKee (Mr. MewMew), or the Berries, Scout often returns, alone. He’s a polite raccoon in that he never polishes off the entire bowl of food, always leaving at least half for the next visitor. That said, he is of a good weight going into this time of year. He ought to do well when our cold weather hits.
Pia thinks she may have heard an ant, Tessa on the chair watches the morning sunrise, and Viola decided she wanted nothing to do with photography today. We still see your cute bunny butt, little girl!
Okay, quick show of hands! Who knows where that other cutie is? Quint, are you in your fleece fort?
A typical fall Friday around here entails Mom working toward putting the garden to bed – moving pots, stacking and covering patio chairs, rolling up an outdoor rug that raccoons threaten to shred each autumn, clipping old flowers, and spreading even more outdoor ant barrier dust. This year has been particularly ant-laden for us indoors and out. A neighbor tore down a huge rotting deck and we’re pretty sure half the ant colonies in our county lived underneath it. They’re still spraying for ants at their place months after the fact and we all know that means the ants simply move to the next house. Hello Colehaus!
Quint’s a good ant spotter. He doesn’t eat them, unlike his sister Pia who loves nothing more than to snack on half-poisoned ants, which brings us to our next typical fall custom – cleaning up after Pia’s upset stomach. Truth be told, all the Colehaus Cats go through a change-of-season stomach upset of some kind and well, the season here is going from warm to cool. We’re stocking up on paper towels and wipes. Now that we think of it, that’s a typical fall event for us, too.
When not in her island box, Viola sits in a window soaking up all the warm afternoon sunshine she can get. Usually, she sits there to watch Mom working in the yard and like Mom, probably wondering when those tall sunflowers are going to stop blooming (hint: cool nights promise not much longer).
Tessa, ever a spring and summer fan, refuses to recognize that fall is here with autumn light that slants differently in the rooms she prefers to nap in. Promises of snuggles during this, the start of snuggle season, do nothing to soften her heart. Oh Tessa. We’ll start bringing out the blankets for the couch soon and set up fleece-lined boxes in your usual nap spots.
It seems the daily visiting white and tan dove has moved on. It’s been gone for about a week. It came from somewhere back in early August and perhaps, found its way back home. Someone probably missed it. We will, too, but are thankful not to have the worry about a neighborhood cat getting it. Thanks for visiting, pretty bird. Visit us again some day. In its absence, a few native ring-neck doves have been strutting around late each afternoon, pecking at seed fallen from the bird feeder tray just like the white dove learned to do.
No sign of our Canada geese friends flying over yet; a true sign of fall here, but that should happen any day now. Only then, with a hot mug of Constant Comment tea, no ants in sight, and a purring kitty nearby, will our typical fall day be complete.
