where they know they're not supposed to climb

Which has stopped no cat ever. Some are just more polite. All my paper is secreted away else I will come home to snow. Loki cannot resist temptation, no matter what shreds of politesse he may posess.

Still so charmed you ended up keeping them.

We're dog sitting a corgi this week e nd who just came in with her lower half covered in swamp muck. Oops. (That makes three-for-three on dogs who've visited here. 0 and 1 for the home team, thank you miss priss Darby.)

The corgis are low to the ground.

Of course, as soon as I posted that construction noise started up beneath me from under the house where Darby is apparently constructing an extensive labyrinth of tunnels. Swamp Thing smells worse but long term I'm not sure I'm on board for a Minotaur.

Mr. Peabody killed a mouse in the middle of the night last week. He tore the sheetrock to get to it. He lets nothing get between him and the rodent he smells. I've seen him trying to chew through landscape timbers. Now I have your traditional mouse hole, and Mr Peabody has spent every night since watching it.

I'm sticking to the paper snow.

Loki cannot resist temptation, no matter what shreds of politesse he may posess.

Rosie can't resist envelope windows. I wouldn't mind so much if she only shredded them, but she eats them. And then pukes.

All of my lockouts have been at night, usually when I'm doing laundry or packing to leave town.

None of my cats are paper shredders, but the rabbits sure are. Also rugs. And tarps that are specially made to fit small animal enclosures. Fortunately they are mostly contained by said enclosures. Mostly.

I think I might have my front door set to lock automatically, but I have to throw the deadbolt just to keep it closed, so locking it is a fairly automatic process for me anyway. Keypad means never needing keys, though, so that's nice. Unfortunately I sometimes have guests who lock the non-deadbolt lock and that does need a key. On the upside I almost always have the back door wide open so Walter can go in and out as he pleases. I probably shouldn't post that on the internet. He's a big scary dog, potential thieves, and I do not have stuff worth stealing!

Ferguson update for those not glued to Twitter:

Police are firing tear gas at peacefully protesting families and children hours before the midnight curfew. Media are being threatened by police. Private autopsy report has been released showing that the kill shot came through the top of Mike Brown's skull.

They executed that child and don't care how many more people (mostly of color) they hurt, kill, or detain. This is not protecting or serving. This is savagery.

Captain Johnson, he of the Missouri Highway Patrol, who walked among protesters on Thursday is now arresting journalists for no cause. There are no good guys, no saviors out there in authority.