It's RAINING?

 Here in Sonoma County we have not had any significant rainfall for how long now?  Two years?  We don't even know what rain is like anymore.  

Guess what.  It's raining and we are going to get a hefty amount over the next day or so.  Finally.  Still, this does not alleviate our drought by any means.  The good news is that any threat of fire is gone.  I think all of us hold our breath from July - November when everything is so bone dry.  Well, for the last few years we have actually had to hold our breath for said time periods as we have been choking on smoke and ash.  

The bad news?  My daughter's fiance's best friend is getting married today.  Both my daughter and her fiance are in the wedding.  It's raining.  The venue is outdoors.  Who would have thought we would actually have rain in late October?  

While I'm so happy we are getting blessed with Mother Nature's tears, I'm sad that it's raining on a wedding day.  

On another completely different note....

Our cat of 18 years died this spring.  It was horrible and sad.  Our cat had been sick and we knew that he was reaching the end of his life span.  Shortly after our cat died, another cat started coming around.  We named him/her Skade, who is a character in The Last Kingdom who was a witch.  

Well, Skade keeps coming around and we look forward to his visits and feed him.  We have asked those in the neighborhood if they recognize the cat and even posted on Nasty Door (ooops, I meant Next Door) if anybody knows where he lives.  Of course, the first thing we look for is a collar.  S/he does not have one.  He has a clipped right hear, which usually indicates that he is feral and has been treated by Forgotten Felines.  The Forgotten Felines organization takes feral cats, gives them a health examination, gives them vaccinations and sterilizes them, and then turn them loose in an area where they are likely to thrive.  The organization clips the ear to signify they have been treated.  

Bottom Line:  I think Skade has adopted us.  If Forgotten Felines thought our neighborhood would yield a bunch of suckers who would take in a stray cat, it worked ;)  

Here is a picture of Skade.  S/he is a thing of beauty.  I have a special soft spot for black cats with green eyes.  I love that black cats embrace the whole Halloween vibe - which is one of my favorite holidays. Skade is skittish, so we don't force ourselves upon him.  He needs to learn to trust us and bit by bit he's getting more and more comfortable around us.