October 17, 2016 A Mild Storm & A Skunk

Jesse in his favorite place -
our bed.  If I don't cover him
up on a cold day, he will
make a nest in the pillows
and blankets.

Laundry on Sunday,
thanks to the skunk!

Friday 10/14. Now has begun the time of bringing in firewood each day.  And of building a fire in the wood stove at least each morning and evening.  And now has ended the time of cold coffee.  The wood stove being our coffee warmer.

The sky became overcast and the rain arrived a little before 9:00 am.  There are two nasty storms in the forecast for today and Saturday with wind and torrential rain.  Sandy called and we had a nice long chat.  She said they just had a light rain.  Not the downpour they were warned of.  At least warmer temps are coming with the storms.

So it was a day for indoor chores, reading books and playing games that my son had put on my computer.  It will be his fault if I get nothing done this winter.  I did get out to take the old tarp off the top of the girls' house, making it quite bright in there.  The tarp was torn and flapping in the breeze.  This will allow any sun we have to warm up their hen house.

Our high for the day was 61 with off and on sprinkles.  Indeed warmer.

Saturday 10/15. It was 44 and overcast this morning.  The rain arrived a bit after 9:00 am and continued most of the day.  By the time for our morning walk, the rain was still rather light, so we went anyway.  Just after we returned from our walk, the rain increased and the clouds dropped, surrounding us in their fog.  And that is the way the rest of the day went.

So, another indoor day of books, computer games and a bit of cleaning.  We didn't get the wind that was forecast, although Elsie said it was quite windy in town.  Our high for the day was only 45.

Sunday 10\16. It was 41 and mostly overcast this morning.  The dogs got me up at 4:30 to go out and I was able to see the full moon begin its downward slide to the mountains.  Beautiful!

At about 8:45 am, I was sitting at the kitchen table, having just let the dogs out after their breakfast, when the nasty odor of skunk wafted in the window!  I ran outside to get the dogs back in, but it was too late for Jessie.  Now this was not a case of slightly skunked nor was he drooling from getting it full on, but he definitely needed a bath.  Wrestling 55 lbs. of dog into the tub who doesn't even want to go into the bathroom, is a job for at least two people.  Using the shower spray attachment to wet and rinse him is a job for at least three.  So both the bathroom and I got a good soaking during the process.  But I did get him clean.  Except for the top of his head, which is still a bit stinky.

Not a great way to start a day, especially since the lovely scent seemed to permeate the house.  I put two strong candles on the wood stove, rather than lighting them.  The main one is a lemon zest kitchen candle from Williams & Sonoma that I have had for years.  It's a bit pricey, but worth every penny.

I opened the windows and put another couple pieces of wood on the fire.  About the time the odor began to clear from the house, the clouds began to clear from the sky.  The patches of blue were such a welcome sight after the past few days.  Seattle days that I have had enough of for one lifetime.

Our morning walk was a bit late and it smelled like the skunk had gone up to the south ridge spraying all the way.  Oh well, at least it wasn't raining today.  But the patches of blue didn't last too long and we were overcast again by early afternoon.  Our high for the day was 47, but a dry 47.  JB said that the storm did not move as far inland as it might have which is why there wasn't any of the high winds and torrential rain.

Monday 10/18. It is 41 and mostly overcast this morning, but with some blue sky to the west.  Lots of new snow on the mountains.

Thought for the day: You fall down.  You get up.  You fall down.  You get up.  You fall down.  You get up.  You fall down.  You get up.  Life.