In the process of cleaning the old house in Ryan, then hauling home some of the relics, Abby and I are now suffering from congestion in our throats and sinuses. Initially I was attributing it to mowing after we got home yesterday, since I drove the riding mower through some areas of last year’s poison ivy. But since Abby didn’t mow, and is also congested, we think it might be a reaction to dust and mold stirred up from the old house.

Sidebar: while I was mowing I spotted two Rottweilers who were looking at our goats not as charming playthings, but as tender and delicious delicacies. I shouted at them and got them to leave, but they returned. I asked Abby what to do, so she yelled at them, and they did not return. Moral: Abby is all-powerful.