There have not been a lot of cats around lately, when I first come out!

I did see others as I went out and about, but nowhere near as many as usual. I think they are enjoying the lack of snow and drying ground, and heading out further afield.

There is a tabby that hangs out with Junk Pile and her kittens, snuggling so close together, I’ve found myself trying to see if there’s a second litter in there, and they’re sharing the parenting. It’s really hard to see in there; the windows are dirty on the inside, and we’re not going to lift the roof to clean them right now, or Junk Pile will move her kittens somewhere else.

I saw The Distinguished Guest walking around. I noticed him limping a while back, but now he’s not putting any weight on that leg at all, but hopping around three-legged. We won’t let me near him, so I can’t check it. Usually, if he starts eating in the kibble house, I can at least pet him, but he didn’t go for the food at all.

The snow is pretty much completely clear in front of the sign cam, other than what’s in the ditches. This spot here is where I spread the wildflower seeds. I am a bit concerned that the gravel and clay from the road that ended up over here will prevent them from germinating. That puddle is there because road dust pushed over with the snow had enough clay in it to form a poll that isn’t draining as it would if it were on just soil.

I broadcast the seeds quite widely, though, so I hope at least some of them will make it!

I did NOT do the walking to check on the flooded out areas. The water continues to recede, and we’re just waiting for the repair crews to get to them. I’ve been walking 3-4 miles total, every morning, for about a week now, and as much as I love the walking, my broken old body is telling me I need to take a break.

I might even listen to it.

Or I might do the walking later in the day. 😉

We’ll see!

The snow cleared around the yard enough that I could start picking up some of the larger branches. The smaller ones will wait until things dry up more, and we can go around with the wagon or wheel barrow.

I was also able to finally clear the broken canopy tent frame away from the BBQ and picnic table. I was able to collect the tent pegs, too, and the new BBQ cover is now properly pegged to the ground.

I still had to deal with this, though.

I was able to pull the leg part way out of the ground.

If you look at where the leg goes from dry to wet, that’s how much of the leg the fallen piece of tree pushed into the ground.

There’s still the base of the leg, which has a flat plate where tent pegs can be used to secure it. It was difficult to work with, because the rest of the canopy frame is still attached to it. I noticed the screws were standard Phillip’s head, so I got a screwdriver and was able to separate it from the rest of the frame. Unfortunately, while trying to wrestle it out of the ground, the leg started to bend. !! I didn’t want to break it off completely, and then have to fight with a much shorter piece, so I left it for now.

Once I realized how easily the frame can be taken apart, without the need for proprietary tools, I got pretty excited. We can take the whole thing apart and salvage the unbroken pieces. I’ve been needing stronger materials to use as supports in the garden. The unbroken pieces will work perfectly. And you can never have enough screws and bolts!

So that’s going to be a task for later today. Dismantling the frame, and seeing how much of it can be salvages. 🙂

It’s going to be a good day for working outside. We’re already at 16C/61F, and are expected to reach 20C/68F this afternoon.

There is a lot of work outside that we can finally get started on! I’m almost giddy with looking forward to it!

Okay, yeah, it’s still mucky out there, but I can still get things done! 😀

The Re-Farmer