This post is just about a bunch of random thoughts and things going on.

First, as Rick mentioned, we find a tick on at least one of the dogs now on a daily basis. EWWW… I let Rick get them off. I hate the things. I have no clue what is going on all of sudden after finding ZERO up until now. Plus, the dogs have been Frontlined since before our move here. Granted, I stretch the time out a bit as I hate to over medicate the dogs, but still…you’d think it would be working. The ticks are not supposed to attach, but they do. So far most of them have not been swollen up, just attached except for one. Today I found another one on Bode. That makes 3 so far for him. One for Daisy; one for Hailey, and two for Sailor. I’m not crazy about this trend!

Johnny and I did the yard again today. GEEZ, this grass just keeps growing! When will it stop? Now the wild onions have decided they are going to come up again. We haven’t seen them since spring. Phew~! The stench from mowing over them was making me nearly sick! Are the ticks and the onions connected? Doubtful.

The leaves are changing a few at a time. No big color yet. I’m hoping that it’s not like a few scattered ones here and there change, then bang, they’re gone. The days are definitely cooler, although this past weekend was quite warm. Today was a glorious fall day! Summer here was pretty short compared to Colorado, but other than not being able to swim anymore, I welcome fall wholeheartedly.

The cicadas have basically given up. Once in a while they’ll start up at night, but they sound worn out. They play at half speed now. Rick and I sat out on the deck the other evening just before dark and watched the bats whirling over our heads catching bugs. I like bats, don’t know quite why. Maybe after my encounter with fruit bats in the Seychelle Islands when we vacationed there back when were living in Amsterdam. They were huge, friendly style bats. Not perceived the same as our bats here in the U.S., which most people associate with evil things and Halloween. Midway through bat-watching the cicadas started up albeit feebly. I fear they are not long for this world. Sad.

The pool is another sad story. It was like someone turned a switch the weekend before Labor Day. OFF: no more swimming for you! The temps plummeted and our courage failed. Somehow taking the plunge at less than the 68 degrees we started out with just doesn’t cut it for us. BRRRR. We so enjoyed our nightly skinny dips and my morning dips. It still looks very enticing with its crystal clear depths [now that Rick has gotten it back on track], but reality is something quite different. We’re having it closed in two weeks, plus having a safety cover put on. It’s costing a small fortune for the safety cover, but we’ll pay almost anything not to have to drain water off, or worry about the dogs possibly falling in over the winter. And considerably more attractive.

Now that it’s fall I’ve taken up my needles again, so you’ll be hearing more about my knitting projects. At least I hope you will. Local yarn shops are further away than in Ft. Collins, so it’s more of a day trip than a jaunt across town to My Sister Knits. Julie, wherefore art thou?? I’ve joined the Knitter’s Review Forum and made some great contacts, so time will tell. I do miss meeting Tammy and Kathy every Tuesday at Starbuck’s. So ladies, if you read this, treasure those moments!

Stay tuned for my post on our trip to the Shore coming [hopefully] by tomorrow!