Arden poops and then he scrapes away at the grass or gravel just afterwards. I imagine that he does this because of some type of adaptation - a desire to cover up his excrement -- the smell I imagine. I read that dominant dogs and cats do not do this, they want their shit to smell. Advertising, you know.

But Arden is very dominant and every cat I've ever known does this, no matter their supposed rank, and Arden pees like a banshee on everything to mark his territory, so I don't buy it. But no matter, he does this. I can't make him stop it. He is never anywhere near his droppings. He's always two feet away, happily throwing dirt or grass into the air.

It makes me laugh because I know that he doesn't know why he does this. It just feels right. I often wonder how many behaviors I have that are just like that behavior - divorced from necessity by time or culture or what have you, divorced even from exigency, because it's done no where near the act that precedes it - the act that prompted it - the act that instigated it! And all of it unknown to myself.

I truly wish there were a God, simply for all the giggles that are left un-giggled, because there is no supreme all-seeing-one to witness them.

The bottom line is, I have to stand away from Arden as I pick up his poop to make sure I am not hit with a head-full of dirt or grass even though he is always well away from the scene of the crime.

This morning I was filled with a joy about the autumn here. It feels trite to say that fall is my favorite season. I have ached for fall like for a long lost lover. It's not the same visiting places where the leaves turn either. For me, it's the day to day watching the change. The trees that have one or two days of brilliance before they're gone. I love the familiarity of it, the astonishment at the changes which are small, but then surprise me with a shock of red.

In any case, I took my camera along this morning to take some snapshots of trees and paths that I like. Above is one that came out almost right. The truth is I can't capture it. The pictures I took at the water - at Lake Michigan, the end of my daily walk, look horrible. The water simply washes out the colors and I am not an experienced enough photographer to learn how to do it properly. And I guess too distracted to learn better, at least for now.

In any case, Arden relieved himself and I had to put the cap back on the camera before I fished around for a poop-bag. While this was happening I absentmindedly pulled Arden back towards his recent donation to the ground. You can probably see where this is heading. This is heading to Arden projecting a substantial amount of grotesque gooey crap all over my legs, all over my shoes and all over the bottom of my coat, narrowly missing the camera itself. You see? You take a moment to try to capture the beauty and you're dealt a shitty punishment for the arrogance.

The sin of pride, I think.

Penance: I'm doing laundry today too.