The Vacuum Cleaner Squirrel Phenomenon

I emptied out the vacuum cleaner yesterday.  We have one of those whole house systems that has a big bin in the garage that I empty out every quarter.  I do this regularly because I forgot once and it got over full and it sounded like it was going to explode.  So now there's a quarterly reminder on my calendar and for that, I'm grateful.

There's a lot of junk in the bottom of the bin that I dump into a trash bag.  There's also a filter that usually has lots of fluff stuck all around it that I have to pull off while holding my breath.  Once I can get to the filter I take it out and carefully, without jostling it, take it outside and bang all the collected dust and dirt in the wooded areas around us.

Only wait, there aren't any wooded areas around us any more.  We have neighbors finally.  And for that, I'm thankful too.  So I trudge down the hill in our back yard and commence banging the filter on the hard ground while fluff and dust flies in all directions.  And yes, this is what you're suppose to do.  You don't have to replace the filter at every cleaning.  You do have to take a shower afterwards though to remove the dust from you.

So I'm looking at all the fluff and dust and how it's interleaved together into these nice mats and pillows and it's all the same color I'd label as, "Squirrel Gray."  How did it get gray?

We don't have gray carpet.  Dirt, is black or brown or more commonly from around here, orange red.  I do have some gray hairs, but not enough to fill a bin and besides, we all know I highlight it.

When you mix a collection of colors together you usually get a result that's something like an ugly brown, not light, squirrel gray.   And it was like this in my last house and the one before.   Is there some sort of vacuum dirt color magic I don't know about?

The Big Boy Update:  He heard me say to daddy that he needed a haircut and he offered up, "I need a haircut!"  So we went this morning and he was excited to get it cut.  He sat so calmly and quietly that I wondered if he was going to go to sleep but when the stylist, Anan, asked him questions he would answer her with enthusiasm.  He looks handsome now.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:   Two.   They work on numbers at school but I haven't expected much from yet on the counting front yet, but she's asked for "two" of something (usually grapes or pretzels or crackers) several times now.  Or maybe she's just saying "food." 

Someone Once Said:  The purpose of any government is never to do any good, but simply to refrain from doing evil.