Other bad news is that the forecast has reduced the chance of rain next Monday. Yesterday it was above 50% and now it's down to 38%. But it has added a 39% possibility of rain a week from Thursday. I hope this won't be one of those autumns when rain gets repeatedly predicted but never materializes. I could end up irrigating the plants clear into December. Longer if we also get a dry winter.
But at least the forecast is still saying it will get cooler on Saturday. The leaves are accumulating rapidly, and I need a couple of cool days for raking them. The yard is looking bigger than it used to. I think I must be shrinking. If I get small enough I can eat a lot less and save a lot of money on food. But I don't look forward to using the keyboard by jumping down onto it like Archy the cockroach. The process is tedious enough already. Also I have no idea if Portia would be as tolerant of a cockroach-sized creature as Mehitabel always was.