Gray

[rejectomorph]

It remained overcast most of the day, and I almost expected unexpected rain to fall, but the delightfully sombre mood was broken an hour before sunset, when the western clouds dissolved and gave passage to brilliant sunlight. I sneezed. Squirrels were out in great numbers all afternoon, running up and down the increasingly exposed branches of oak trees. There were also many acorn woodpeckers about, and at times their chatter was loud enough to rouse my lazy cat, who would give them the stink-eye before returning to her prolonged nap. She finally went out for a while at dusk, then had a snack and has now gone back to sleep. She's already slipping into her winter pattern. I wouldn't mind falling into that pattern myself, but there is too much needing to be done-- increasing numbers of leaves to be raked, for example, before the lawn dies from having its sunlight cut off. One would expect the bracing seasonal chill to energize me, but so far its mostly just making me want to curl up in front of a fire and doze.

In the news:

Hang down your head, Tom De-Lay,
Hang down your head and cry.
Hang down your head, Tom De-Lay,
Poor boy, you're bound to lie.