On The First Signs of Autumn:

Autumn has officially arrived at my house. I know this to be true because although the leaves are still green and bugs still abound, the birds have not flown south, and the days are still warm. The nights are getting cooler.

This causes a shift in the way we do things. We like our little animal friends collect food for the winter and find a warm place to sleep. We sleep much better on these cooler nights and get more done in the days. With the exception of last night for as I said it is official. It is the first of Autumn at our house.

This occasion is marked by first a noise then a great flurry of excitement. The noise is not large but distinct, a small scratching followed by our dog Lady Long’s growl. We have a mouse in the house.

Now I don’t begrudge the mice of the world finding a nice warm place to stay for the winter. Nor do I stand on chairs until the extraction of them from my house has taken place. But they are germy and must go.

Lady Long is a proud hunter. She does not fancy herself a cat. No she fully believes she is a people. A princess people in fact. But in her heart of hearts she is a hunter. She is a very good hunter and hunts all things scaly and furry. She will defend her hearth and home from such things. She is a mouser extraordinary!

The mouse is in my closet. The one with no door just a curtain across the opening. The large walk in place with all the clothing and shoes and crafting stuff and storage. Are you getting the picture here. Stuff lots and lots of stuff all crammed in. And there is scratching and dog growling and hunting and it is night time and we want to be sleeping.

I sit here tired and bleary eyed after a hard night. I was up if I shut the bedroom door and kept the dog out, as Lady Long scratched and barked at the door. I was up if I let her in and she growled at the mouse and whimpered for me to help her extract the stuff from out of her way in the closet. No, I didn’t clear the closet in the middle of the night. I left that for the morning listening to the hunt all night long with my head under my pillow.

The mouse will be caught today. Mountain Man will fill the breach so none of the others can follow suit. And then I will take a nap. After I put everything back into the closet again so I can find my bed again from under the pile of stuff. Happy Autumn first everybody.