Vapor

The sky was obscured by clouds last night when the first of two brief meteor storms was expected. An hour later, it cleared. I want out again, a half hour before the second storm was expected, just before two o'clock in the morning. The night was still very clear, and I expected that I might get a good view. After returning indoors for only a few minutes, I went back out. From nowhere, a dense fog had appeared, and the last of the stars vanished even as I watched. I saw no meteors, of course, but the fog was very nice, if very cold. I still have no idea where it came from so suddenly, nor where it went, as when I checked again just after three o'clock, the sky was once again clear. It was quite the strangest thing I've seen here in years, almost as though something intended that I should see nothing of the sky this night but still and distant stars.

Breezy

The cat, excited by the gusty breezes, spent the afternoon chasing leaves across the yard until, tuckered out, she came in and curled up to sleep on my couch. This is only the second time she has chosen to sleep in my room, even though she has been the only cat in the house since last April. The most reticent of cats, she has been reluctant to challenge the territorial dominance of her vanished rival, who had claimed this room for years. It was only a few days ago that she slept here for the first time. Seven months is a long time to fear a ghost.

I have allowed the mulberry leaves to accumulate, and the front lawn is now a green and yellow carpet of them. They will have to be removed soon, lest the grass turn brown from lack of sunlight, but for now I am enjoying their bright tapestry. As no rain is expected anytime soon, I don't need to worry about having to rake them when they are wet, which is one of the most unpleasant of tasks. Tomorrow, in fact, is expected to be fairly warm, and might be a good time to get the job done. I'll only have to miss them for a while, as there are still an abundance of leaves clinging to the tree.

A warm day will be a pleasant change. This has continued to be one of the coldest Novembers I can remember since coming here. Though the chilliness is quite bracing, I won't mind a break for a day or two. And it would be nice to relieve the bed of the great weight of blankets with which it has lately been laden. It is, in part, to that encumbrance that I attribute the strange dreams I have been having, from which I wake in a state of agitation, though I remember but bits and pieces of them, and those soon fade. It is a strange time. I'm waiting for something to happen, and I have no idea what it is.