Tuesday

It’s our water day. As I am moving the hose about to get ready to do my thing, I see a dead little rat lying pretty on the corner of the patio. My cats! It looked a little babyish. But close to adulthood. Such a long tail. At least the cats did not eat into it, which is saying something, because the nights are long without any food for them. It looks like an efficiently administered kill. Mom would have been so delighted.

Conspiracy Against the Human Race

To salve the pains of consciousness, some people anesthetize themselves with sunny thoughts. But not everyone can follow their lead, above all not those who sneer at the sun and everything upon which it beats down. Their only respite is in the balm of bleakness. Disdainful of the solicitations of hope, they look for sanctuary in desolate places - a scattering of ruins in a barren locale or a rubble of words in a book where someone whispers in a dry voice, “I, too, am here.”

-- Thomas Ligotti, “The Conspiracy Against the Human Race”

Life's Winter

I go to bed earlier and have trouble getting up until later. I tell you, my days are getting narrower, like it is the winter of my life.

Rain, hah!

There is a mention of a 40% chance of rain tonight. It's a sweet idea, but I cannot keep the cats inside on the basis of pretty promises alone. I cannot believe it. I am just hoping that a system might be developing and we will get some rain by the end of the week. It would have to be on Grocery Week, but we will take any rain we can get, and we will work around it somehow.

Pop

Pop has resumed his daily drinking habit. He's lonely and bored. Lorie has stopped calling and seeing him, again. Although Kathy still seems like a regular for the 'grocery weekends', they don't go out nearly as much either, nor even talk over the phone as much as they used to. I am afraid he is killing himself faster with the booze, but it is his life, and a little alcoholic buzz feels good, loosening you up, making life feel warmer and your problems lighter.

Cats and Weather

Unbelievable! Within minutes of letting the cats out, it starts to rain, and I mean a real rain. It is storming. Ash and Sammy came back inside readily enough. Yet, Coco somehow took the opportunity to scram elsewhere. Usually, when they are let out in the early evening, all three cats hang around the house for at least a good hour, as if to let the day cool a little more, but on this occasion Coco scrammed elsewhere. I'm not too worried. We have been through this a lot over the years, but I would be enjoying this rain so much more if all three of my babies were safe in the house with me.

* * *

2025

The weather has calmed, not a drop, not a rumble in the sky. I hope Coco is picking her opportunity well, because I suspect that the storm is going to start up again.

* * *

2030

At least Coco is back at the patio, but she is not eager to come in. I step out to encourage her, but she actually starts to go away, and so I come back inside, not wanting her to scamper off again. There's no food out there. It should be only a matter of time, an hour or two at worst, I hope.