Our first dog a cockapoo female, named BeBop was a great mouser. No need for a cat with her around.

The two poodles were good mousers, although neither would actually kill the catch. Think dinner party for VIPs and in trots a proud doggy who then drops a slightly stunned but very alive mouse at the foot of the guest of honor. That certainly livened a quiet dinner!

Trina's mom was a part-time barn cat who apparently was a prime teacher for her kits. Mice, moles, and voles (all dead, thankyou) would be exchanged for a tidbit of sauteed scallop. When no more critters were to be found in our yard, Trina would jump the fence and patrol the neighbors' yards. She was very fond of seafood and considered wild-caught mammals inedible, but worth the effort as trade goods. Since she crossed the rainbow bridge, I pour diluted PineSol around the perimeter of the house and sheds to discourage the autumnal influx of rodents -- so far that's been effective.

Jaz - I thought fall didn't arrive until 'your' tree dropped all its leaves in one day?

(Or am I getting that wrong?)

LOL, Sara! No, you have that exactly right. I expect the profanity-laden phone call from my father any day now...

A mouse got into the house and I'm the kind who goes Eeeek, hubby get the mouse. He managed to get the mouse isolated to where it got in in first place and I guess it got away, because I have not seen or heard anything since then.

DH is an excellent mouser, but I'd rather have a natural mouser with no questions asked.

Our little Iggy Tubby is an excellent mouser, and has killed two and mauled a third so far since the influx. My house is devoid of cats at the moment, and that situation has to be fixed some day. The chipmunks are out in full force now raiding the nut trees and oaks, and the poor dog is going bonkers since he is hard-wired to hunt rodents. He forgets to do his potty thing, after fighting him on his lead and bringing him in, then remembers shortly after returning to the house he has to go.

Our old Schnauzer Fritz was also a decent mouser, as expected. It was hard-wired into him as well. One night we heard a commotion and he and the siamese/tabby were on the floor facing each other with a mouse between them, and I think the dog and cat were so so intent on not letting the other have the mouse that the mouse got away that time.

Fall is also spider influx time. Snake influx time is over and this year I only had to remove one five foot rat snake from our foyer. My DH doesn't 'do' snakes and I won't let him dispatch them, so of course that meant I had to pick the serpent up by the tail and toss it out the front door.

No bats inside yet. No toads this year or newts. A couple of shrews, several wrens and a hummer. The most bizarre of the inside animal sightings were two young birds inside my towel drawer next to the kitchen fireplace, and a duck on the hearth of the living room fireplace. A ring-neck snake again in the foyer and one year about a hundred tiny toads or frogs on the kitchen floor next to the back door some of whom were floating in the dog's water dish.

My son has that one beat however. He came into his kitchen to find a hereford calf in his kitchen who had managed to get up his back steps, through his back door and was looking for humans as it was time to get his bottle. Cows can't climb down steps because of the way their leg joints are, so she had to be carried out. LOL.

My first load of firewood arrived today, he was able to chuck it into the pole barn, now it needs stacking. Linda volunteered Trevor for the job, hope she told him.
Talked to the vendor about wood rats and how hard they are on cars, and how cats will get one every so often. He said "well, if one dies, sixteen come to the funeral and stay"
Joann's house is being pelted by acorns, that big oak in her front yard is popping them onto her roof.
Mallards are visiting the pond, which is low but not a puddle this season, there were seven of them gobbling up duck-weed.
Still too dry, fire alerts are out, hope a little rain will happen soon.
Cats are suddenly developing a big appetite, don't care what the flavor is, just bring it on, they say.
It's mild and still mostly sunny, but definitely the season is changing.

We got a patchy frost advisory this morning but I don't think it will happen here. The rest of the week it is going to be warmer again. My cat eats too like she has to hibernate for 6 month, had to take up her dry cat food dish, which normally is out all day.
Besides spiders nothing entered the house yet, but the old giant neighborhood woodchuck is trying to tunnel unter the shed. Yesterday morning my old buddy, the handicaped racoon waited politely at the backdoor for his treat. I had not seen him all summer. No colorfull leaves this year. They are starting to fall and are brown. The lack of water since June affects everything. No rain in sight.