And on the Seventh Day....

spider lilies blooming under the Texas cut-out our friend Jon made for us

.....of the government shut down, government workers continue to be locked out of their work, receiving no pay checks.  Instead of resting on the seventh day, Tom is sawing up and splitting the wood of the two water oaks we had cut down at the beginning of the summer. We're planning to put a wood stove in a fireplace currently modified for gas logs. This was something we had been planning for a while, but then the sequester (which so many Americans seem to have forgotten ALREADY slashed--and continues to negatively affect--government spending) caused even more budget cuts in government agencies, including the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service. We were worried that the cuts would mean more positions eliminated. Would Tom's position be one of them? We decided, however, to go ahead with our plans. If we have to move, we'll take the stove with us....maybe to a cabin deep in some northern woods where loons call from misty lakes. Nah, that's just a dream. We just figured that life was unsettled, anyway, and we may as well follow through with our plans, sequester or no sequester, government shutdown or no government shutdown. We have moved so many times as state budgets and federal budgets affected our jobs that we're experienced with uncertainty. That doesn't mean we like it, though. "Resilience" is our middle name, but we would prefer "Security" at this point in our lives as we move past middle-age.

 Meanwhile, fall has finally arrived in southeast Louisiana, if not rationality and good government. (Our own Congressman, Steve Scalise, is on this list of hardliners who caused the government shutdown: "32 Republicans who Caused the Government Shutdown.") Tropical Storm Karen has dissipated south of us, with its remnants missing our area and moving northeast to dump rain elsewhere. We're now experiencing clear skies and moderate weather, with highs in the low 80s and high 70s. The cool weather helps me remain optimistic even in this anxious time of overheated and ill-chosen demands on our democracy. Fall has always been my favorite season.

Locked out of the job that pays the bills, Tom finds other work to do--cutting up water oaks for firewood