Nature Goes Suicidal and the First Day in October

[bunchofgrapes]

So I bought this fountain for the back patio. It's pretty and makes nice gurgly noises when the sun comes out because it runs on solar energy. I like it. Apparently, so do the slugs. A couple of nights ago I noticed the big bowl was skanky and nasty and smelled really bad. I take a closer look. It's full of dead slugs. I mean the big gray slugs too. I had to completely drain the bowl and then rinse it out and fill it up again. A couple of days later, it's full of slug bodies again but this time they're fresh and almost all the water is gone. I'm starting to wonder if maybe something wild is getting into the back yard and drinking the water and leaving the slugs as payment. After all, the cats left that huge, dead rat. I'm afraid to check the bowl tonight.

Unfortunately for me and the slugs with suicidal tendencies, I won't be able to fill up the fountain any more because the county I live in is in a moderate drought and we are under mandatory water restrictions. This sucks for so many reasons. I love rain. I love days when it does nothing but rain. I love the sound of rain hitting the windows and the little river it makes out on the common yard. I can't even remember the last time we had rain like that.

Yesterday was October 1st. That's a significant day in my history because it was 20 years ago that me and my old car pulling a U-Haul and my ex-boyfriend, Dennis, rolled into Northern Virginia. We would have been here on the 30th but we hit traffic on the Beltway. We pulled into my dad's driveway at 1:30am. I was only going to stay out here 5 years but the job I got just kept growing and so did the pay. There's no way I would have made this kind of money in Tulsa. My mother is still bitter about this move (she's never been out here to visit--not that I want her too) because she and my father divorced when I was 4 and she's hated his guts ever since. He, on the other hand, doesn't give her a thought.

Another reason why the October 1st is significant? On that day 4 years ago, I walked into a PetSmart to buy cat food for Emma, saw this brown and white medium haired kitten huddled in the back of a cage, said "I want that one" and named her Sophie right then and there. Except for one little unfortunate incident last week when Sophie got very angry with me and bit my wrist (she was scared to death), she's been the sweetest cat. I don't regret my impulsiveness one little bit and I honestly think there was a little bit of divine intervention at work. Of course I type all this as Tucker jumps into my lap, flops onto his back and goes to sleep. Yeah, I'm blessed.

Oh, and speaking of Tucker, he's 9 lbs and is as big as Harry now. And he's only 8 months old. I took him into the vet the other day so she could meet him (and shave his butt--still has/had poo issues) and the first thing she said? "Look at the size of those paws!" Yep, he's a kitten in a big boy body and such a total sweetheart.

Another good thing about October 1st? I won the football pool at work. I'm pretty good at these things so I usually win a couple during the season but this one had a nice, big payout. Oh, and my Cowboys are 4-0. How bout them Cowboys!

Comments

[tos-lover.livejournal.com]

Slugs really really are foul. My Nan used to go out at midnight with a flashlight and hammer and kill them. Yup, she was pretty anal about her garden.

I admit to never having stepped foot in Oklahoma, but the scenery you've got in VA is marvelous.

How bout them Cowboys!
Hmmmmm. Some of my fondest memories are of that beautiful team Bill Walsh built slugging it out with your boys. Congrats on the influx of cashola.

But I've always been more into baseball (save for last season for some reason...I'll put it down to hormones), my dad got me into the Red Sox when I was little in the UK, and the Sox start their series today. So am jazzed about that. We won't mention the Giants.

[bunchofgrapes]

Virginia really is pretty--when it's not in a drought. Our fall is going to suck this year--if we ever have Fall. The temps are still in the mid to upper 80's. Usually it's about 10 degrees cooler. The part of Oklahoma I'm from actually looks a lot like Northern VA--lots of trees, very green and a lot of lakes. The rest of the state? Not so pretty.

Usually the best way to kill slugs is with beer. Put some in a container and they will dive in and drown. I think they're just attracted to liquid. I also wonder if they're attracted to the water because it's so dry and they need to stay moist. Gah, I'm trying to rationalize slug behavior!

I like the Nationals but I loved Yaz (I wore #8 for him when I played softball) and Luis Tiant back in the day and I've stuck with the Red Sox ever since. But football and the Cowboys have always been my first love. I've been a fan since I was 5 and I've stuck by them when they went 1-15 and when Barry Switzer was the coach. Maybe I should get a star inked on my shoulder. And yeah, I remember those Bill Walsh days. Now that was a great rivalry.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think we have those kind of slugs here. At least, I don't see them. They are gross, though.

If you need rain, I'll send you some. We had an awful drought here this summer. We were starting to worry that our well would dry up. However, it has started to rain and now it won't stop. We got over 3 inches Saturday and Sunday. It rained really hard again last night. It was nice today, but starting on Friday it's raining every day through next Wednesday. The sad thing is, within the next 4 weeks or so, it will probably turn to snow. Sigh.

Are you going to the Lions game this weekend? You could loudly cheer against the Redskins. The Cowboys look good.

N.

[bunchofgrapes]

Please, please, please send us your rain! I will pay you for it. I think they said there's some rain in the 7-day forecast but I think they just put that in the forecast to placate us. And when it does rain, it misses my house. Oh, and with regards to your snow, it's still summer here. Highs have been in the mid to high 80's. Normal temps are high 70's. It sucks and it's making me really cranky.

I gave my tickets to actual Redskin fans. It's an early game and it's a pain in the butt to get to Fed Ex field so it just wasn't worth it to me. And besides, I actually prefer watching football on TV. Baseball is a different story though. Same for hockey. Love going to those games. And yes, the Cowboys do look good--thanks to Romo.

I'd never seen those slugs until I moved out here. They're kind of pretty--in a slimy sort of way. The gross part is when the cats go outside in the evening. The slugs can get caught in their hair and they bring them inside. Nothing worse than seeing slug slime across the carpet and this dried up gummy thing stuck to the fibers.