Summer

Whisper this, but it would appear that we may be getting a summer. For the last couple of days, we have had warm temperatures and intermittent brilliant sunshine, although today, the sun did disappear leaving a sultry morning followed by a lovely sunny afternoon. The humidity is a little high though, and last night one of the cats decided it would be fun to sleep draped over me. Warm temperatures, and a furry scarf just do not mix but try telling him that.

I have had a week off, and am back at work day after tomorrow. Naturally, I have not managed to get done all the things I intended, and the week has passed in a blur.

Time flies so quickly. Whether this is a sign of ageing or not I don't know, but a year seems so much shorter than it used to be. We are, not so merrily, hurtling towards Christmas and we have not seen a summer yet. The nights are drawing in. As I write, it is just after 8.30pm and dark is falling, and I have the light on, and this morning I heard geese. The geese gather twice a year on a field around the corner. In spring on their way north, and autumn on the way south. They can both perk up and dampen the spirits.

The shorter days herald the cold, grey skies and snuggling in front of the fire, but they also bring with them the the blue period (and I don't mean Picasso).

I hate the winter, it makes me feel like staying in bed all day. My body does not cope well with the cold and feels like it is seizing up, my brain goes sluggish and I can't remember anything, and my mood heads into a deep blue abyss. I only start to come out of the mood when the days are perceptibly longer.

Ongoing

Operation repel flea is ongoing and I am fed up with it. The problem is nowhere near as bad as it was a couple of weeks ago so hopefully as far as the house is concerned, we are winning.

The cats are a different story however. I have been using a spray which acts as a sticky trap - spray the cat, wait for it to dry and brush out the horrid little bugs. Simple. Well no, not when the cat concerned washes off the spray as fast as I apply it, or the cunning little feline spots you sneaking up on them and does a runner. Said cat also wriggles just at the precise second I am about to grab a flea, so we have a near miss. I did manage to spray the brush today and get some of the flea debris off, but I need to remove the creatures causing the issue.

Then I discovered a flea comb, and we really started to make headway. As long as the cats are relaxed, they let me run the comb through their fur removing numbers of fleas, eggs and flea dirt. I am going to have to give in on the natutal remedies and make a visit to the vet for some flea treatments though. As fast as I vacuum the house, the cats go running around replacing what I have just got rid of.

When I spoke to the vets this week, they told me that they are selling flea treatments at an unprecedented rate, and we agreed that it must be the weather. We have had such a wet year that it has obviously provided the perfect breeding conditions for fleas.

The weather has not improved much. Today was one of those mixed days of sunshine and heavy rain. It is as though the weather gods cannot decide what to throw at us. It makes it difficult to know what to put on in the morning - sandals or wellies, coat or no coat. Perhaps we will have an Indian summer.