Fall really arrived with a vengeance yesterday. We were lucky to be able to spend Thursday introducing old friends to the farm. We toured the house, took a long walk, then enjoyed a leisurely lunch and coffee and conversation on the front porch before they had to head down the road. Lovely and then, yesterday, we woke to cold winds, cloudy skies. It rained through the night and I bundled into the storm slicker and wellies for the early dog walk. The barn yard is flooded, and it’s too muddy and wet to walk the edge of the field. So Bob entertained Spot with a truck drive since he won’t be getting the usual long walks today and he does have a bit of energy.
We’re battling fleas. We started the summer with flea collars and all seemed well until mid-August when suddenly the dogs were scratching and biting like crazy. The discount priced flea poison we tried had no effect. We’ve waited the required 30 days with Bob doing a lot of combing and spraying and are ready to apply the name brand stuff that has been successful in the past. I haven’t looked to see if they have the same ingredient but I’m hoping this is one of those times when we get what we pay for. The name brand promises a 12 hour turn around. Tina has had her dose and now Spot is drying after his bath and waiting for his application.
Spot hates getting a bath and I thought about that old pet monologue that had circulated some time ago where the dog just loves everything and the cat is plotting evil and mayhem. But I remembered that there was a line about the dog getting a bath. Probably a take off but I can’t find it. Did I just imagine it?
Here’s a funny thing about these blog posts: I wrote the title with the plan to tell you all about my bread baking and our transition to a more plant-based diet. But somehow the change of season caught my attention and my fingers just moved along almost without guidance and you’ve gotten caught up on the mundane aspects of our lives here at the farm. I’ll save the bread story until tomorrow: not surprisingly, it includes a book and as the title suggests, instant yeast.
There are also a couple book reviews to write: Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom and Joseph Ellis’s His Excellency: George Washington. For now, I’m heading upstairs to do some organizing and moving while I try to decide what to read next.
