Should there be rain soon, and in sufficient amounts, there might also be frogs. If the rain is delayed until the cold weather begins the frogs won't emerge, but when rain comes early enough in autumn there will probably be a frog season, however brief. There was one last fall, and it would be nice to have one this year too. I'd much rather hear the pleasant croaking of the frogs than the irritating buzz of the small crickets.
The last time I was outside, a few minutes ago, Shorty, the black feral cat, was sitting on the porch, and from the darkness I heard him make one of those loud, unfriendly warning meows he sometimes makes when a raccoon approaches. I turned on my flashlight and instead of a raccoon I saw one of the skunks. It's been several days since I've seen one. It was coming to check the food bowls for scarps, but a raccoon had already been by tonight and finished them off (and dirtied the cats' water bowl, which I then had to change.) The skunk scurried away, thankfully without spraying me or the cat.
Tomorrow is shopping day, of course. My sleep schedule has been so odd lately that I'm a bit worried about getting enough rest tonight, and then getting up early enough to get ready to go without being in a rush. If I don't get enough sleep I'm bound to forget stuff (more than usual) and likely to impulsively buy something I don't really need. Shopping is pretty annoying even under the best circumstances. I ought to have saved some of the brains I used to have, so I could use them for tasks such as this. Alas, I squandered them on Internets and such. Now it's too late to do anything about it.
Because it was quite cool today and will get quite chilly tonight I'm expecting that the furnace will be coming on for the first time in several days. It will probably continue to do so for the next five or six nights, at least. After that we might get another warm spell and I'll be able to capture enough heat by day to keep the house warm all night. But even if that proves to be so, it could be the last time it happens this year. I suspect that furnace season is truly upon us. Hello, gas bills. Goodbye, money.