how far off, I sat and wondered

Thursday night, I was awakened by... nature sounds?  In my grogginess, I thought maybe it was raining, and I was hearing soft drips from the backyard trees.  Then I remembered it was cold outside and our windows were closed.

Upon further awakening, I concluded the sounds were coming from the cat.  He was cleaning himself.  But then... he doesn't usually clean himself so loudly, so moistly. 

At that point I debated on whether I even wanted to know what he was doing.  But yeah, of course I needed to find out.  I flicked on the reading lamp.

Ew.

He was eating a mouse. SH*T!

We've spotted some mice lately, running around the yard.  It seems they've infiltrated.  On the one hand, I was all, "Yay, the cat's doing his job!".  And on the other hand, "Ew".

We had a similar awakening on Friday night.  We're sure he's catching the mice somewhere in the house, then bringing them to our bedroom as trophies.  Yeah, no.

Thankfully, last night was mouse free.  I'm hoping the others, if they exist, have gotten the message.  And I'm thinking it's highly likely there are more than just two, because when there are two... there are never just two.

And yes, we have mouse traps now.  And also, for this reason, I've deemed that we will always love and care for employ a family cat.  Napolion's badass.

it burns

Heard about those new glass coffins?  Think they'll become popular?

Remains to be seen.  *SNORT*

Okay, sorry for the dad joke.  I think I need coffee.  Or maybe I'm just thinking destructive thoughts.  Several wildfires are now burning in Colorado as typically happens this time of year.  One of the fires is about 40 miles from us, and the smoke is thick and irritating

SOURCE

We had to deal with some smoke while on vacation in the mountains last week, but it wasn't too bad.  

Skies were relatively clear, thankfully.  And breathing wasn't a chore.  

Now, I've seen a few photos online from the bike park we visited: 

SOURCE

A new fire has cropped up near there.  Not very nice... I'm glad we missed it, but geez, sad sight.

While there, Magnum and I chatted with a woman who came from out of state with her husband to spend a month in Colorado's mountains.  She's a school teacher, and with all online school, they figured they can go anywhere (don't know what hubby does).  So they booked an Airbnb to hang out and mountain bike.

I saw that the area where they are staying was evacuated yesterday.  Bummer of a vacation.

I think the fire near us is in a pretty wild area, so difficult to fight, but also low risk for structures or inhabitants.  Still, it'd be nice to have some way to clear out the smoke.  Always something.

As we were talking with the vacationing school teacher while waiting for our guys to complete their final runs, we were hanging out at the base of the mountain that featured a "bike wash" station.  Nice idea, I took my bicycle, Lily, for a much needed shower.

Lily before.

Lily after, Aaaaaaaaaaah.

And I certainly wasn't the only one partaking.  I found it interesting to observe several rough and tumble, young "biker dudes" stopping to give loving washes to their bicycles.  I was thinking that their bachelor bathrooms likely don't look so pristine.

But then, who knows?  Maybe the TLC given their various gear spills over into other areas.  In fact, the more I thought about it, the more sense that made.  It's likely a good sign to see someone take care of their possessions - a sign of their priorities.

Any good relationship requires routine maintenance.  Agree?

you had a hold on me right from the start...

The prompt this week for Illustration Friday is "Fire".


I had a somewhat busy morning, followed by a blissfully unbusy afternoon













I was feeling sorry for myself because my boob rib hurts and my shoulder hurts from losing a fight with the ground yesterday while doing an extreme sport:  walking home from Kum & Go.

So I did ink and puppy therapy, and now I feel better.

How was your Monday?