One season, there was like the march of the caterpillars, over my back fence, across the lawn, across the patio, up the stucco wall, down to the rim of the over hang and went into cocoon phase.

Then when they came out, they left this red fluid like a car steering or transmission fluid dripped on the patio. Disney didn't show that part. They were dark brown with yellow borders commonly seen here. The next year they did not come in nearly the same numbers and I used a broom to sweep them elsewhere in the bushes on my hill. They have not come back since then.

Something is biting me this humid summer. I get these little bites on my hands and arms but, not my ankles where the fleas would go. It does not happen after cat activity and I have treated them with both Capstar tabs and Frontline Plus. It has generally been a very itchy season with minimal redness and bite like bumps. I cannot find offending arthropods anywhere. I looked and checked the bedding.

Hopefully the cure is in the weather. Today the breeze was fresh and the sun light soft.

I am envious of rain. But, no one had a good storm? Soon we will be able to dust off the blizzard thread for another season of sharing by those blizzard affected members. It should be a tempestuous season from early indications.

Are the squirrels looking extra wooly?

How about the avian migrations south this Autumn compared to last.

Moi

The last couple of Summers were the Summer that didn't happen until Autumn.

This Summer has not been my desert by the sea. Nor the Summer that didn't happen.

Muggy, tropical, blow over from South Arizona's monsoon season. All Summer.

Great White Thunderheads can commonly be seen beyond the mountains over the deserts. Usually a rare sight.

But, by the coast we never get the relief of the cloud burst. Just the muggy weather.

Summer was never my fav Season. And this Summer sure dragged down my opinion of the Season.

It better be nicer in '13 if it wants more respect from me.

My garden boxes were failures after spring time and my tomatoes rotted on the vines.

Multiple arthropods are taking it out on me. I suspect lice and fleas and mites, with the occasional spider bite.

I triple treated all cats, treated myself to Nix shampoo and creamed over night with Rx'ed insect killer.

I've lived the last couple days with skin saturated with lotion and skin plus clothes saturated with DEET.

And of course washed all linens, mattress pads, and sprayed the mattress and blankets with bed bug + killer,

which I also used on carpets.

Not a pleasant Summer at all. And it slogs on to this day.

Moi

Autumn. Bring it on.

Turning off cold here. Frost warnings tonight. Early for them here....

Hard to believe that hardly 3 weeks ago, it was 100F+ here. Now it's frost warnings, and a freeze perhaps tomorrow night.

Yep here too, someone flipped the switch. I could enjoy another month of hot before it starts to cool but 30's, I put Nelly out this morning and she could not wait to get back in the house under a blanket. Her little feet and ears were already cold. I guess my tomato's are done, I may be able to get 2 or 3 more maybe but not a great year.

Now I guess I wish it would just freeze for a week, the pollen is driving me nuts. Got up this morning because I could not breath, eyes puffy grrrrr.

River

Yesterday's forecast called for temperatures in the upper twenties last night across much of the state. Except for the urban heat island in much of the Twin Cities region which was expected to stay well above freezing. We did not have frost last night at my place, in the fairly close in southern 'burbs. I suspect, though, that the more distant arboretum had a hard frost.

I took a long walk around a nearby lake an hour before sunset Saturday. Most of the trees there and in surrounding neighborhoods remain totally green. That will change soon.

The calendar sez Autumn but the Weather sez

"Nyah Nyah!" tauntingly.

Our too brief a reprieve from Monsoonal humidity is ending with 90F scheduled for

L.A.'s beaches. 90F at the beach is most unusual. And not even a Santa Ana dry wind. Just this monsoonal crap.

I do not know how the tropics ever rated as good as the desert by the sea.

But, I have not visited a tropical land.

I may vote for Romney if Obama's weather service can't do better by me.

Trees have changed a great deal here in the last few days. We had some patchy frost, and almost a freeze. The persimmons that survived the drought are ripening and falling now. Hog heaven!

It's just the last three to four days that our leaves started dropping; yesterday, my yard was covered in them. I love my trees, but man, what a mess!

However, while last week was chilly (lows of 5 Celcius, highs only about 10), this weekend has been 24 C right through with no wind. Beautiful !!!

Four weeks or so ago we were breaking record highs almost every day. Then, suddenly, we're breaking record lows. I'm beginning to wonder if the wobble of the planet is getting a bit out of control?