This has been a really pretty day, at least the afternoon was. It took a while for the sun to make it through the clouds and except for a few very brief moments of weak sunshine, the morning was overcast. Things dried out a bit and Fred was able to get the lawn mowed. This summer with all the water, the grass has grown like crazy, and it was hard to find a day dry enough to mow it so when it did get done, it looked more like a freshly cut hayfield. I'll be needing lots of it in my vegetable garden in a few more weeks, and will have no shortage of clippings.

I've had several inquiries about the closing of the beach in West Danville. It's been closed since Hurricane Irene messed things up so much around here. I don't know exactly what the count was, but the test is done for coliform bacteria and that can be from all sorts of things. (Here's a link that explains it: Coliform and Swimming ) We have put a notice on home page that the beach is closed, and as soon as we get word from Health Officer Mert Leonard that it's ok, we'll let you know there as well as here on the blog.

Just looking at the water you can tell it's still dirty. Not a great way to end our summer. Speaking of ending the summer, the temperature is supposed to get into the 40's tonight, I believe. Right now it's 54 degrees. Cold nights will cool the water down pretty quickly. I'm watching the leaves turning around our house. I think this must have been a very stressful summer even for the maple trees - but the good news there is that we are likely to have a better foliage display this fall.

Woody has been following me around all day. He's spent lots of time snoozing on the desk near my computer. I was concentrating on something, not paying any attention to him this morning, and suddenly he reached out and touched my ear with his paw. And yes, his claws were out, but just enough to let me know he needed some attention. He's really a gentle sort - the only time I have to be wary is when I'm weeding in the garden and he's hiding in the plants and goes for my fingers. I've learned not to engage him in any play time when we're outdoors; for him, being outside means everything that moves is prey, whether it's a mole, squirrel or my fingers. He just came in and is curled up on his pink rug beside me again. He's changed over the few years we've had him. When he first came to live with us, he made our lives miserable if we didn't let him outside as soon as it got dark, and he wouldn't come in until the wee hours. Now, he's in nearly every night by 10:30 or so. His adolescent years are behind us, I guess.