Flash

For the first time other than during a large meteor shower, I have seen two meteors in the sky at the same time. In fact, they were both in the same part of the sky. One was moving rather slowly toward the southwest, when a faster one came from the southeast and crossed the path of the first. Had the second one been a bit earlier, their light trails would have made an X in the sky. It was impressive, even at that.

The high temperature here yesterday afternoon was 83^o! That is another rare event. I even saw a bee buzzing around the sourgrass. It might be even warmer today. It's as though I never left Los Angeles, aside from the whole nothing-much-to-do-here thing. It would have been a great day for the beach, but (alas) the Pacific once again failed to inundate the central valley. Where is the ocean when you need it?

Maybe it is the unseasonable warmth which is making me groggy. On the other hand, it might be the extra beer I drank. Whatever, I'm going to crawl into bed with minimal covers early tonight. Things are clearly out of whack. October is going by too fast. I'm getting dizzy.

Ramblings

We got off easy yesterday. Sacramento had a record breaking 93⁰. Fortunately, it didn't get hotter today. There are some nice cirrus clouds drifting about, providing occasional soft shade. I raked all the brown leaves from the back lawn, leaving the few acorns for the squirrels and birds. A group of daddy long legs spiders have spun their web next to the porch. I let them be. Maybe they will trap a mosquito carrying the west Nile virus, which now has a foothold in California. My attitude toward all spiders other than those which might bite me is live and let kill.

The cats are enjoying the mild weather, napping in shady spots, barely rousing themselves to look at the birds pecking in the lawn or the chattering squirrels that run along the fence. The landlord of the house next door wants to replace that wooden fence with one of chain link. The squirrels won't like that, and neither will I. Chain link brings back unpleasant memories of being stuck in a fenced schoolyard on pleasant days when I'd rather have been out wandering about the shady streets and sunny fields. If it gets built, it will have to have something planted along it that will eventually conceal it.

There already is a bit of chain link in the back yard of this house. It is low, and almost entirely covered by jasmine. The previous owners of the house kept dogs, and built an "L" shaped fence in order to confine the beasts to the back half of the back yard, which is covered in gravel, and a narrow run along one side of the yard, leading to a gate giving access to the street, for when the dogs had to be walked. The animals seem never to have been allowed anywhere there was a lawn or a flower bed. It couldn't have been a very good life for them, particularly in the winter, when their only shelter was a small aluminum shed. I know just how they must have felt, looking out through the confining wire at the tantalizingly inaccessible places. I always suggested to my parents that they remove the superfluous fencing, opening up the yard and improving its appearance, but they never did. At least the jasmine conceals most of it.

Lacking any ambition after raking all those leaves, I'm heating a frozen abomination to serve as dinner. It came from Safeway, and claims to be lasagna. We shall see. Someday, I hope to muster the energy to make a real lasagna. We shall see.