October surprises

Hello white stuff!





It's not a total surprise. We'd been warned. Still, in October??






Not that it's not pretty...






But my gosh, hold off a little! Can't we save it for Christmas Eve??
 




Guess not.

Of the eleven cats we appear to have hanging out here, only two -- Dance and Stop Sign -- have seen snow before. They can't love it! Still, it's a sunny day. Moods improve greatly in sunshine!

The morning belongs, too, to the birds. It's as if they have to hurry up and dig in now that winter's almost upon us.

(Can you find the bird in each picture below?)















Yes, a morning for the birds! In all shapes, sizes and configurations.






For us -- well, it's the last breakfast together for a while. (Unless plans go awry and Ed returns within minutes of being gone.) So, it's sentimental.


 


Still necessarily, we talk about the cats. Not out of attachment to the topic, but because we've encountered a hiccup in all this cat care and placement. It seems that Ed is quite allergic to the seven (or some subset of them) inhabiting his sheepshed (which does still serve as a workshop for him). He has tried fans and filters, but the cats are obviously everywhere and they don't do him any favors. The guy is wheezing and sneezing in ways that are not good.

The current thinking is that we're going to work on finishing some part of the interior of the writers shed and transfer the teens and Dance there. It's not as convenient -- there's no running water and we'd have to put in a heating unit, but at least Ed could breathe normally again.

But that's a project for later. Right now I'm trying to remember all that I need to know for the month ahead. He'll be completely out of touch with the landlubbers like me. It's now or figure out all those unfamiliar systems for myself. Or find people to help me make needed adjustments. Like an old car, this old farmhouse is constantly in need of an adjustment, or two, or more.


In the afternoon I pick up the kids again.


With a bunch of disc and vertabrae issues going strong, I am  prodding and pushing Sparrow to use his nearly acquired walking skills. Sometimes he's really into it. Other times  -- he wants the hug and hold.





 We manage.






Back home, the story line, as spun by Snowdrop,  gets to be complicated. Sparrow listens to see if there is any mention of cats. Cats make the little guy very happy.






And then they retreat to their own home and I plunge into our own story here which, right now, surely is complicated. Not uninteresting. But complicated!