Autumnal Equinox

Fall begins tomorrow; the autumnal equinox will occur at 9:49 a.m. (MDT).  It's been cooler here in the morning - today I wished I had either a sweater or light jacket while I was out and about, travelling between houses at 5:30, an hour before sunrise.  But we bounce back into the 70s and 80s in the afternoon, and I'm back in shorts and a T.  The kits are happy that I'm home tonight; they run outside, and then run back in, meowing, and jump up onto my lap.  They are sweeties.  I made a lemon pound cake last night, using a natural sweetener that, supposedly, has no calories; at least it tastes good.... I kept the equivalent of 3 small slices, gave the majority to Kathy, Jim and Mike, and also gave slices to Bernie.  I left six slices at Alexy's for her and Patience to eat.  Luckily, I well remember how to cook and bake without sugar, thanks to my hubby....
   The house where I'm staying during daylight hours has an infestation of yellowjackets, which I'm allergic to.  The owners have placed plastic over the window that the insects are "oozing" through, in hopes of keeping them out.  I killed 11 of them today; in the first two days I killed 28.  I think they have nested in the wall of the house and are coming in through the window's soffit. They then fly into the kitchen, where there is a sliding glass door; some manage to get out, the rest I kill with a fly swatter.  I have been startled by a couple of red flickers at the house - I was reading during my first day there, and someone knocked on the front door, three times.  I ran downstairs - the house is built on 5 levels - and opened the door.  No one was there, or even in sight in the yard or street.  It took me three trips downstairs before I realized it was a flicker "knocking" on the door jamb.  And I was able to see him do it the next time.  Then I had the back sliding door in the kitchen open; I kept hearing what sounded like one of the cats picking with its claws at the screen door - but both cats were with me on the sofa.  I finally managed a peek, and saw a red flicker clinging to the screen, and eating the yellowjackets that were on the outside of the screen.  The only problem was that the flicker ate the 8 bugs on the outside, and was then trying to grab the bugs on the inside.  I had to shoo the bird away.
   College football tomorrow!  I'm happy!