Rain, rain, more rain....

... but at least it isn't snow and ice.

One of my cousins eMails me every day with the latest weather report for Long Island... horrible up there at the moment, and although I keep suggesting that my cousins are living in the wrong zip codes, none of them seem at all eager to move south.

The temperatures on the Island are below zero... they have mountains of snow, glaciers of ice, and everyone has just about had it with winter. So, here we are in the Hill Country with a day of rain. I promise not to complain too much.

After a few days of sun and summery temperatures, it's much cooler outside today than it has been over the weekend. And the wind has also kicked up, making it seem colder than the numbers on the thermometer. I'm sitting here with two sweaters on.... it's a game I play with the thermostat. Just how uncomfortable can I feel before turning on the heat?

Haven't heard the peacock in a couple of days... his mating-call screeches are just a memory now. The other night, however, we did hear what sounded like a cannon-shot going off on the other side of the hills. Our friends further up the hill heard the noise also, but we have no idea where it came from. Loud noise travels around these hills in a whirlwind pattern simply because there's not much to absorb the sound.... so a rifle shot from the next-door neighbor can sound as if it came from two miles away. That boom the other night.... definitely louder than a gun shot. One of the property owners way back over the other hill has a vintage cannon... he fires it every once in a while to keep it in good working order. So my guess is that the cannon made that loud sound the other night. Either that, or the country is at war and we just haven't heard the news yet up here in the hills.

The orange cat is back, after being absent from the porch for two days. He was meowing by the back door yesterday morning, purring and contrite, and hungry. Of course I put out some Meow Mix for that blasted cat. In thanks, he put one of his paws on my wrist as I placed the bowl on the porch... and wonder of wonders, he did not attempt to mark me with his claws.

A neighbor on the other side of the hill was driving around in her truck the other day, searching for her white pit bull. This isn't the first time her dog has escaped their property, but this is the first time she has told us all that the dog isn't friendly. Wonderful.... a huge pit bull with an attitude. Just what everyone needs. We were all very lucky this time... her pit bull was found up the hill on J&J's property.... they told the owner, who drove up there and claimed her unfriendly dog.

One of the other neighbor's chickens was found dead on the road last week.... not run over by a car because the hen was de-feathered but not squashed. Makes me wonder if that unfriendly pit bull tried to make a meal out of that particular chicken. Not exactly a happy meal....