Saturday Slight

We were supposed to get rain last night.  We did.  About five drops.  

Next, we're supposed to get wind.  We have wind, but it's supposed to get worse by late afternoon. 

It's a dirty, dusty time once again around these parts.  We need a good wash down.  

We also could use a good freeze to get rid of a few nasty bugs.  

I read in the paper this morning that deer are dropping like flies because of gnats.  

They're afflicted with a disease with the words "blue tongue" in it.  In fact, the paper featured a photo of an affected deer down in a residential area struggling to get up.

It wasn't the coolest thing to see so early in the morning. 

And, I probably haven't posted the coolest sight for my readers on this Saturday morning, but I'm betting a lot of readers have seen similar sights.  

We've had a build-up of stink bugs in the screen area of our sliding-glass door, and I've lifted a few from the floor or the counters in my house.

Has anyone ever noticed that stink bugs  are the ultimate cling ons?  

Not ever wanting to kill anything, except that nasty bee that pounced inside my ear the other morning, inflicting the mother of all stings, I tend to carefully remove stink bugs, using a paper towel. 

Then, I take them to the sliding-glass door to set them free into the outside world.  Stink bugs don't necessarily want to be free. 

Instead, they cling to the paper towel for dear life.  Takes me about three or four empphatic shakes to get rid of those sting bugs. 

I never do check to see if they land on their feet.  

I don't even want to contemplate the thought of how hard it will be to remove the herd of bugs from the screen where surely they're clinging with extra force in hopes of a good winter home. 

Yup, stink bug season is definitely upon us, and like the numerous deer which like to cling to every food source in the yard, the bugs are here in a big way.  

Now that I've talked about stink bugs, I must bring up a little toilet humor.  

Joe, the Plumber (Sandpoint-style and Bonner County's Best for 2105) has invented a better plunger---one that fits the bowl with ease.  

So, this week Joe, his wife Sally and I got together to plan for a video they'll be producing for GoFundMe. 

Joe has a provisional patent on his plunger prototype, and he's spent a lot of money on attorney fees to make sure no other plungers like his are out there.  

Now, he needs to move forward on tweeking the prototype for production and on paying more attorneys to make secure his permanent patent.  That will cost money---hence the upcoming GoFundMe site. 

To say that my mind has been in the toilet this week would be a really gross understatement.  It's not a pretty sight when dealing with a plunger, so you can imagine the images that have floated through my mind, only to be plunged out the other side. 

Actually, it's been fun working on wordsmithing, especially coming up with a catchy name for Joe's plunger.  One example:  No muss, no cuss Plunger.  

I doubt that moniker will be selected, but it gives you an idea----if you've had your own plunging experiences what Joe was aiming for when he built his prototype----that would be the hole in the bowl. 

I'll let you know when Joe's GoFundMe site is up, so you can "take the plunge" and maybe donate a few bucks to his ongoing efforts to get his better plunger on store shelves. 

Okay, enough toilet talk.

It has been a pretty week, at least before the smoke haze and the clouds returned yesterday. I'm afraid the big winds predicted for this afternoon may blow away a lot of our beauty, so I've been snapping photos to capture what we have left of our fall scenery.

I guess after stink bugs and toilet talk, it's nice to leave you with some local beauty.  

Happy Saturday. Remember that Hickey Farms Pumpkin Patch is open this weekend. That should be a purty sight, for sure.