We’ve hit a whole +3C today!  Gosh, it feels so warm.

Of course, in a couple of months, the same temperature is going to feel cold, but hey, I’ll appreciate it while I can!

It was a great day to meet with family in town for a birthday brunch for my older daughter.  Unfortunately, my husband was in too much pain to join us. :-( We got to see my older brother and his wife, plus my nephew and his wife, whom I haven’t seen since I came out for my father’s funeral, almost 2 years ago.  My older daughter hadn’t seen them since my youngest brother’s funeral, about 8 years ago.  Yeah; the only time we’ve been seeing family has been for funeral related events.  We weren’t even making it to weddings.  We had lots to talk about!  Thankfully, the restaurant wasn’t busy, because we sat there for over an hour, lingering over coffees and talk.

In the end, it was probably a good thing my husband didn’t make it.  He would never had been able to stay so long.  No amount of medication can keep away that level of pain.

After, we spent some more time chatting in the parking lot about the car my nephew was driving; he’d salvaged it out of one of the car graveyards here at the farm and got it going again – he even left the moss growing in the Bondo cracks.  It seems one of the front tires was separating.  Did he have a spare?  Of course.  He had two full size spares. That’s my nephew!  :-D

So they were maybe going to go to where the boats were parked, where there was more room to change the tire, which I thought was great; that’s where we go to play Pokemon Go, so we’d meet them there if they did.  My daughters, meanwhile, walked to a Timmies to get more coffee, and they would meet me there, too.

When my nephew didn’t come to the parking lot, I thought they decided not to change the tire, but then a lure showed up on the Pokestop.  Looking around, I finally saw this familiar knit jacket that I had been admiring at the restaurant; my nephew’s wife had walked over to play Pokemon Go.  Which was perfect, because once my daughters joined us, we had enough people to do a raid. :-D

It turned out they had gone to another parking lot with boats in it.

Yeah, there’s more than one boat parking lot in town.

I completely forgot about the one by the marina.  It has a much more “private property” feel to it than the yacht club parking area we were at, which is next to a public park.  I don’t know that I’d call any of the boats there “yachts”, but there IS a sign… :-D

When we got home, my husband was lying down, so it was strange to find a business card tucked into the door.  Someone from a scrap metal company had come by while we were gone and left it.  Probably going to all the farms in the area.

We’re hanging on to that card!  Unlike my nephew, we are not in a position to start salvaging the many vehicles lying about.  We have neither the skills, nor the resources.  Nor the desire! :-D  Then there are the old fridges and freezers all sort of ancient metal things lying about…

Once things are clear of snow, I plan to do a walkabout with my brother so he can tell me the status of various things, including all the … stuff … lying around, so I know what I can get rid of.

Being away as long as we were, it meant we missed seeing the deer.  I’d put the cat food and deer feed out earlier than usual, and I did get a couple of cats come by.  Butterscotch even let me touch her.

Which is how I discovered a strange patch on the back of her neck.

Eventually, as she went from going to a food or water bowl, to winding herself between my legs, I was able to make out that it was a wound.  It looks like a bunch of fur has been torn out.  It looks raw, but it’s not bleeding, and when I had inadvertently skritched the area, she did not react in pain.  My older daughter had noticed something odd about the fur yesterday, so it’s been like that for at least that long.

Cat fight?

Most likely.  No way to know, though.

No deer pictures, but we did get some cat pictures…

Eunice the Scary Snowman is starting to look like Eunice, the Sad, Tired Snowman!

Not that Beep Beep minds, while sitting on a warm spot.

We weren’t able to get a photo of Beep Beep and The Hand, batting at each other while they were sitting like this.

They love that stone cross!  So do the squirrels.

I am so looking forward to the snow being gone.

The Re-Farmer