Wonderful day!

Now that TS Lee has come and gone, the weather here is just wonderful!  It was 60 degrees last night and although the sun is shining and there's not a cloud in the sky today, it's supposed to go up to a high of only 85 degrees!  Fantastic!    And we're told that's going to be the case for the whole rest of the week -- or until the NEXT tropical storm, anyway.  Even the weather forecasters are happy - check this out: 

What a wonderful weather morning throughout southeast Louisiana and southern Mississippi!! In fact, for metro Baton Rouge, we were within only 1 degree of tying the record *low* for today...the previous record of 56 degrees has stood since September 6, 1934! Finally, in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee we can enjoy a preview of autumn weather - and, that should continue for the rest of this week - with daytime highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s - overnight lows ranging from the mid 50s to the mid 60s!! Plus, we'll be able to dry out (that will, indeed, help area rivers).  No mention of rain is in the forecast through the early part of next week. However, it does appear that another tropical system will be forming in the southern Gulf of Mexico. This area is quite unsettled and is at the southern end of that stalled cold front - so, it looks like all the ingredients are there for a disturbance to develop. Once that happens (and it likely will) the question becomes "where does it go"? Obviously, we'll watch this very, very carefully - as we will another "area of great interest" in the eastern Atlantic!

It was cool enough last night that I slept out on the sleeping porch for the first time since last spring.  Lovely!  Because the ground is still so wet, there were what sounded like hundreds of frogs out there in addition to the usual crickets and nighttime birds.   I just love listening to those sounds as I fall asleep out there.   

These pictures were taken a couple years back right after Mark screened in the back porch for me -- before the horse fencing went up and while the wrap-around porch was getting added to the barn.

But you can see below just how close the barn is to the sleeping porch.  When I woke up this morning, I sat up and looked out and Duke was standing there at the fence looking directly at me!  He knickered.  I LOVED it!

That's Gracie girl in that picture - it was the summer before she died of cancer.  I miss her.  She was such a sweet girl. 

Can't wait to go home today and enjoy the nice cool, sunny day.  Wish I could go out and groom the horses, but I'm reminding myself not to do anything that could delay the healing of that hip.  We're making progress!  Best to keep it that way.