The skies are a very welcome gray this week. We're finally getting some substantial rain thanks to a tropical storm which came ashore south of us and is spreading rain over the area. We're far enough away that there aren't any heavy winds, just rain on and off so that lots of it is soaking the dry ground.

The cats' dust baths have ended. They're still going out to play, but they come back with rain spattered damp coats and bathe vigorously to fluff their fur. They're a bit grouchy from spending so much time finding a dry spot to watch the rain when it starts again, and I've had to separate a few fights that got out of hand. Mischief loses his high-strung temper easily when his playtime is thwarted, and that's not a wise thing when Rascal is irritated at having his snoozing time thwarted when he finds that his favorite hiding places are muddy.

The new irises are settling in well and some have new leaves growing already, the tips showing above the blunt cut foliage. So far I'm resisting the rest of the gardening sales offering new plants, since they would only be in the way of mulching the beds to add more chopped leaves and paper before frost hardens the soil like concrete. It would be nice to put in a few more ornamentals some day to replace all the lost ones, but the soil needs more work before they would do well.

We had a gardening tragedy this week when the paper shredder growled its last and died. It lost its reverse gear some weeks back, and now only a wretched hum emerges with no activity at all when in forward. We're looking for another cheap shredder. I could kick myself for not getting another one when my favorite discount store had them on sale, but I was hoping to get one marked down even more after the rush. They're going to reorder, so I'll have to get one then. I'm keeping an eye on the office supply store ads, too, but most of the sales were during the back-to-school rush.

I got enough shredded paper in Baby and Rapunzel to get them started on another load of compost. The weather is past the compost peak temperature range, but it is still pretty warm and they are both heating up well. I still count them a definite gardening plus, even if I have to deal with the occasional fit of compost constipation when I've put in too much paper for the amount of kitchen scraps and weeds. Paper that is being tumbled without enough nitrogen to encourage the microorganisms to break it down just balls up, even cut into thin strips and nicely moistened.

The tomatoes are still ripening enough fruit to keep us in salads. The wildlife and I have come to an understanding about raiding tomatoes. As long as I set the hose out to make puddles and go away so they can drink, they'll largely leave the tomatoes alone. The neighborhood sticky fingers have also been leaving the tomatoes alone. They may have decided that it wasn't worth the risk to sneak into the yard when the summer heat wave caused a temporary crop failure.

The peppers are also ripening a few fruit now and then. I picked two nice red ones this week and chopped one into a salad. The other one is slated for a salad tonight, and there are several more ripening on the plant.

I'm still waiting to see how the sweet potatoes will do. The vines have grown around the edge of the tomato plants and are making pretty violet and white blooms. They won't be harvested until frost threatens. I've been giving them feedings of tumbler juice and a little compost as well as some fertilizer, hoping that the husky vines are feeding lots of sugar into plump roots beneath their bases.

I finished one child's sweater from the Coats & Clark yarn. It is a size 8 made from a skein shaded from buttery cream to dull antique gold with the garter stitch edging done in a matching antique gold skein. I started a size 4 sweater with the antique gold skein and should have enough of the shaded yarn to combine on the top with a cream skein to stretch the yarn.

I weigh yarn on the kitchen scale and figure the largest size I could get from the yarn, then drop down one size to make sure I don't run out. I can always use small amounts of leftover yarn in a pattern stitch or Fair Isle type pattern to make a decorative panel across the chest of another sweater. Larger amounts can be blended together in all-over pattern stitches.

It is an interesting challenge to make the best use of the yarn available to produce an attractive sweater, the knitter's equivalent of figuring out a quilt pattern for the fabric at hand from other sewing projects. The first sweater is the project, then come the challenge sweaters with additional skeins as needed.