Little Things

Yesterday, along with burning through a bunch of streaming CLE videos – 15 hours completed over the past two days, 9 hours to go – I was excited to look out the window while clearing out the dryer in my laundry room to see my murder of crows descending on my backyard

where they scavenge the Wheat Thins crumbs,

left behind by Claire and Honey,

who are completely amenable to sharing the wealth here at Casa Claire.

It’s hard to believe, but these wonderful mules can burn through five Party Size boxes of these tasty snacks throughout the day, eight of the Family Size – may I remind you it has no artificial flavors or colors – but since they consume the crisp and toasty whole grain and slightly salted crackers like Cookie Monster, there are tons of crumbs left over for their corvid cousins.

Even the dogs love the crumbs.

Nothing is wasted here at Casa Claire.

Since it is beautiful Fall weather here in NoCo, and the cats only use their indestructible heated bunkers at night, I placed a couple of fluffy cat beds in distant corners of the JTS Grotto for the cats to curl up in during the daylight hours. One such bed, tucked around in a corner under an eave just outside Lisa’s office, has become an afternoon haven for Smokey the cat.

who seems to enjoy this spot that is completely inaccessible to the Beagle Brothers,

and completely away from the front porch feeding area, a spot where there is the most family human traffic and where our next-door neighbors’ dogs like to regularly visit numerous times daily to clean up whatever cat food has been left behind.

As I mentioned, nothing is wasted here at Casa Claire.

Speaking of the Beagle Brothers, it was nice to see them playing Paddy-Cake in the comfort of one of their many throw beds, this one in my now spotless office, while I listened to the greatest legal minds of our generation brilliantly drone on, about information I had no interest in retaining.

I was also thrilled to learn that while I was glued before the computer screen, that after three plus days Carbonite had fully restored 40 years of data back onto the far greater memory of my new computer.

And just to show you that an evolved male can multi-task, while the legal band played on, I managed to create and purchase my latest Private Property Sign for the front fence to whimsically warn all intruders that should they manage to avoid the more common and patent threats of patrolling Mules and Dogs, and our free exercise of Second Amendment rights, there remains a final layer of inescapable and eternal bad juju that await the uninvited.

I’m hoping it arrives before Halloween.

Well, that’s it for yesterday. A bunch of little things completed to clear the path for my next creative project. I am adamant that I will not be disturbed or detoured from my writing after Samhain. So, I have to keep checking off the little things on the To Do list between now and then.

Saturday is finally upon us. You fine, five readers finish your weekend errands and go enjoy some brunch, Mimosas, and the lovely fall colors. Then find a local haunted house or corn field to race through to get you in the proper Halloween spirit. I’m hoping to drag the Grans through a local haunt before November arrives.

Maybe watch a scary movie or two. Halloween 1 and 2, The Exorcist and The Craft are annual October staples. 30 Days of Night, 28 Days, World War Z, and The Jason and Freddy Krueger film series will raise your pulse rate. And any of the Walking Dead related series are a failsafe. Controlled fear is a wonderful experience.

If you want something lighter in the Halloween related film genre, The Harry Potter, Twilight and the Wednesday (Addams) Series on Netflix are enjoyable. Season three of Wednesday is right around the corner.

I’m also going to check out the Anne Rice based Talamasca series on AMC+ which looks interesting. I’ve read all of AR’s books.

Did I ever mention that my daughter Jackie was called back to audition for the role of Claudia in the 1994 film Interview with a Vampire?!

Anyway, Saturday has arrived with its outdoor chores that include Pitchforks, Wheelbarrows and lots of mule muffins, plus a week’s work of indoor food prep. No rest for the wicked.

Oh, and the Collins’ Clan baby Alexandra remains in contention for a Wildcard berth for the Baby of the Year contest, so please click on the free 2 for 1 vote today and tomorrow. Every vote counts.

https://babyoftheyear.org/2025/alexandra-f852

But no matter what we get up to, let us make today a great one.