Where's the heat?

I am so spoiled with all the warm temperatures we've had...... and now the weather has been changing since the first of November. Bah humbug to that.

The temperature went down to 48 last night... and tonight it will be about the same or a bit warmer.  By the time the afternoons roll around, the sun has come out in force and it's nice and warm, but not even close to October's 80 degrees anymore. The best we can hope for this week is the high 70s during the day, which is called "sweater weather" in this state.  When I lived in NY, the high 70s would have been a miracle in the month of November.

One good thing about the weather change... I haven't seen a scorpion or a wasp lately. Hopefully, the colder temperatures have frozen them all and sent them to Insect Heaven. Who meets them at the Pearly Gates?  Saint Beetle? (Sorry... couldn't resist.)

Just one barn swallow is up in the nest by the back steps now... I have no idea what happened to the other little bird, which I'm guessing is the sibling to the bird that's still here. When I went outside to feed the cats this evening, just two little birdie-eyes watched me going up and down the steps.  When I got to the back door, the one little bird hunkered down into the nest to keep warm.  Maybe the other bird found a mate.

The cats.... Mickey spends his nights in the garage, where he has access to the fenced-in coop when he wants fresh air.  I can't trust Mickey inside the house anymore, so he's been an outside cat since this past Spring. (Gone are the days when I used to tolerate bad-cat behavior from an indoor cat.)  During the day, Mickey and our other outside cat, Gatsby, spend their time out on the property. Mickey used to explore half the property when we first let him outside, but now he's learned to stay close to the house, the garage and the cottage. The farthest he will go is to the barn, which is far enough, in my opinion.

On these colder nights that we've had, I've brought Gatsby into the house, gentleman cat that he is... I never have to worry what he'll do in here.  Actually, since the neighbors have seen both cougars and coyotes right close to their houses, I've been bringing Gatsby into the house every night for the past two months now.  I'd like to leave Gatsby in the garage with Mickey, but Gatsby is a bigger cat and he eats up all the food and sleeps in Mickey's favorite pillow-bed out there.  Gatsby may be a gentleman cat inside the house, but in the Cat Kingdom outside, his motto must be "Every cat for himself."

I worry about Mickey..... I know the garage is safe for him, and heaven knows I've created enough warm sleeping spots for him out there. Between the coop and the garage, he has chairs and pillow-beds, and tables with blankets.... all the comforts of home.  I keep telling Mickey he's "camping outside" for the night....... but I hate having him out there.  I guess I hate cleaning up cat-accidents even more because I'm not willing to let him in the house anymore.  Not to mention the fact that he doesn't even want to come in the house now.  Marco Polo Mickey has discovered the great big world and he doesn't want to give it up.