Rain and pumpkin spice, autumn wakes softly

We woke up to rain again this morning.
Luckily, it stopped long enough for Turtle to do her morning business.
We’d barely gotten back inside when it began to rain hard.
It stopped again before we headed out to town.

The last town day of September is over and done with.
We got our groceries, but we’ll have to go back Saturday for Cowboy’s chicken feed and Badger’s refill.
The people at the store said it was too early to process it, even though she picked it up August 26th-and she’s nearly out.

We grabbed lunch from McDonald's.
We eat out way too much, but it's faster to get take-out than cook on Thursdays.
I finally found a place with pumpkin spice coffee I can actually taste.
Of course, I asked them to add extra pumpkin spice.
Ever since I got sick twice last year, my sense of taste has been unreliable-some flavors come through, some don’t.
Some days I can taste everything.
Some days, only certain things.

We got home and did the usual-you know, groceries carried in, put away, chickens fed, eggs gathered, dinner eaten, and Cowboy off to work.

Heron grabbed his dog and headed to Seven Islands.
When he got home, he said to keep an eye on Lady-she’d chewed on a stick.
She’d gotten a piece of it wedged in her teeth and was fussing until he helped her out.
He left her resting and headed to the gym.
I’ve kept an eye on her, and so far she seems fine.

Badger took Turtle and headed outside to sit in the she shed.
They weren’t out there long before another round of rain hit.
It came down hard for a good while.

We watched TV until it cleared up again.

Badger was able to go back outside-she was practicing her hobby.
She lost one of her favorite pieces.
We both looked, but it just-poofed.

I was working at my desk. 
I knew there was a spider on the ceiling.
I figured if he stayed on his side of the room and I stayed on mine, we’d be good.
Nope.
He swung himself down onto my office chair-yes, the one I was sitting in.
I took that as a violation of our silent agreement and grabbed the water bottle.
The one I keep filled with vinegar and water to squirt the cats when they misbehave.
My chair is wet, slightly pickle-scented, and the spider is...unaccounted for.

The only spiders I let live are Charlotte spiders.
Heron got bitten by one-probably a brown recluse.
It landed him in the hospital, where he had to have surgery to drain the bite.
That turned into staph.
Cowboy’s brother was bitten by a brown recluse. 
He had to have skin grafts from his groin to his ankle.
I just don’t mess with spiders anymore.

Heron heads out for Colorado in the morning, with a stopover in Texas.
I’m hoping for a smooth, quiet trip all around.
He’s still a little uneasy about the flight.

Cousin goes in for surgery tomorrow.
I told her I’d do my best to get down there by Sunday.
She won’t know until she wakes up whether they had to reroute things or were able to reconnect.
Best-case? 
No extra gear, everything working like it should, and a quicker recovery.

Cousin’s an athlete. 
Always has been.
Not being able to compete in marathons and her Spartan races has been hard on her.
She’s hoping the doctors can put things back together-so she can get back to doing what she was built for.

It’s been two weeks since Smudge had her dental work done.
We’ve kept her crated in the living room.
She’s back to her old feisty self, and things have settled, so she’s heading back to the laundry room tonight.
She’s going to be one unhappy cat.
I think she liked being the center of attention.

I need to check in with Peacock and see when he’s coming back for Turtle.
She’s fine here, but three dogs is a lot.
Turtle and Lady aren’t exactly social-they’re cool with Duffy, but that’s about it.
I guess he’s family. 
They’ve all grown up together.
It’s the unfamiliar dogs we have to watch.
Lady’s already a handful when it comes to keeping the peace.
We don’t need two dogs with that kind of energy.

I don’t know how 9 p.m. got here so fast.
I’ve still got dishes to unload, then I’m calling it a night.
Cowboy was the one who woke me at 6 this morning-not a dog for once.