Rory and I started our morning on the back patio but we got chased indoors by sudden rain. I’m peeking outside now and it looks like it may have stopped. I think I’ll stay inside anyway – I do NOT want to get the iPad wet! I checked my weather app earlier this morning and it looks like we may be in for a lot more of the wet stuff. There’s a front heading north from the Gulf and unless it breaks up before it gets here, we should get a good storm by this afternoon. Let’s hope, anyway!

The anticipated rain storm never really materialized but by mid-afternoon we had some straight-line winds that shook the house and may have downed a few tree limbs in the back yard. I haven’t yet been outside to check for damage but from the windows off the kitchen I can’t see anything amiss.

Meanwhile, the ongoing battle with the neighborhood deer continues and is beginning to heat up. Rory planted some sweet little shrubs along the driveway that are SUPPOSED to be deer-resistant but the damn vermin don’t even give the poor things a chance to become established before gnawing them in half or, in two cases, pulling them out of the ground entirely. We’ve actually begun looking more seriously at BB guns or air rifles to scare the creatures away. I don’t want to kill them, just to make them think twice about coming into our yard. Rory found a pretty nice air pistol on Amazon but at over $200 it’s quite a bit more than we want to spend on a simple deterrent. Paint ball guns, maybe? Nah, too obvious. One of the neighbors in the area who feed the cursed creatures might take offense and track us down after noticing a few colorful splatters on deer hide. Damn four-legged nuisances. C’mon, coyotes, get to work! I don’t know if they would actually be able to pull down an adult deer, I don’t think they hunt cooperatively like wolves, but it sure would be nice to see a few less deer roaming about (and eating our plants).