I completely forgot today was the first day of autumn!
It certainly felt like it, this morning.
We got rather chilly night. A light rain started during the night and continued through the morning. At about 7:30am (sunrise was at 7:14am today), I quickly went to feed the cats outside, and could hear thunder in the distance as I did it. I wanted to make sure they got fed before any potential storms hit us.
We were at about 12C/54F at the time, but the humidex made it feel like only 7C/45F, which I think was our overnight low. Our long range forecast has changed and changed again. We went from not expecting frost until the end of October to now expecting overnight temperatures below freezing about 10 days in, with colder nights and potential frost before then.
I’m really hoping that holds off longer!
The thunderstorms didn’t hit us, but since we were getting some rain, I didn’t do my morning rounds until the afternoon. The fluctuating temperatures and humidity was really messing with my body. Lots of pain and stiffness. Add in the overcast skies and rainy weather, which always makes me feel sleepy, my morning was completely unproductive.
The fluctuating conditions have been very hard on my husband. He describes himself as “crunchy” these days. Every time he moves, he can feel things crunching in his lower spine, where the damage is worse.
By the afternoon, though, the sun came out and it warmed up a bit. We’re at 15C/59F as I write this, and are supposed to reach 16C/61F eventually. Tonight’s low is supposed to be 7C/45F. We’re still supposed to warm up again for the rest of September, particularly with the overnight temperatures, but even one colder night like last night will slow down ripening in the garden.
I am quite happy we got the vinyl wrapped around the eggplant and hot pepper bed. It’s held up so far, and I think it is making a difference in keeping the plants warmer during the night.
When I headed out to do my morning rounds in the afternoon, I spotted this big guy, enjoying the catio.
He’s got that permanently sad expression on his face!!
I’m happy to say that horrible wound he had on his face seems to be healing really well. He never let us get a good look at it, but it seemed like the skin of his entire cheek was torn open, with a flap of skin hanging down. Over the weeks, we could see it was healing, and the skin flap dried up. It hung on for a very long time, though, so we’d see him walking around with this black, dried up thing hanging off his face, and could do nothing about it. While I did sometimes manage to touch him while he was eating, he would not let me see that side of his face. We just got glances of it from a distance.
As it healed, though, he got less skittish again and, recently, he actually let me briefly see the injured side of his face. There’s a bald spot of fresh, pink skin. No sign of infection. What a survivor!
If he’s getting comfortable in the catio, I wonder if we’ll finally be able to get him into a carrier and get him fixed? I hope so.
After sneaking a picture of Sad Face (aka: Shop Towel), I was going to continue my rounds, but was followed by a herd of cats and kittens, getting under my feet! I had intended to feed them when I was done, but they convinced me otherwise.
They really, really like the new kibble!
I managed to get a photo of the most adorable tongue blep on Hypotenose!
The feeding done, I could continue my rounds without tripping over cats, every step of the way!
We had a triple harvest yesterday, so I wasn’t expecting to find much in the garden today. There was still a bit, though.
One more melon was ready to pick, plus a couple of tomatoes, and I found a couple of G Star squash – including a mutant one! It’s two stuck together, but there’s only one stem.
I made sure to check on the winter squash I harvested yesterday. Mostly to make sure no cats knocked them off their makeshift shelf in the garage. All was fine! They are drying up nicely. I grabbed a smaller one with a bit of moisture damaged skin, where it had contact with the board or brick it was on. I figure we can try it with supper tonight.
Today, I finally remembered to change a headlight bulb on the truck. I bought the replacement bulb more than a month ago!
With our van, changing a bulb required removing the entire headlight fixture. They were designed to be easily popped off and on. The truck is very different.
I checked the User’s Manual, which wasn’t as helpful as I expected. It’s generic, and not for specific models like the one we have. It said you can just reach the bulb through the engine compartment to remove it, except on the passenger side, which had something in front that would need to be removed first.
I took a closer look under the hood – not particularly easy for me, as the truck is taller than our van was, and I’m short! I could see where the low beam bulb that needed replacing was, but couldn’t see how to reach it. The neck of the washer fluid reservoir was in the way, as was a wire and part of the frame.
After much fiddling around, and even trying to see if the fixture could be removed (it couldn’t), I finally just fought with it. Maybe if I had smaller hands, it would have been easier, but not by much! I could just barely reach it with my fingertips. Certainly not enough to grip it and turn it so it could be pulled out. I ended up having to use a pair of pliers to turn it. To top it off, there were so many things in the way, it was hard to see what I was doing. I also had to bring out the stool we keep in the truck, so I could reach and see better.
Once it was out, getting the old bulb off was a pain, partly because of reach, partly because it just wouldn’t unclip the way it’s supposed to, and I really didn’t want to risk snapping something. I got it off, though, and putting the new bulb in was not at all an issue.
It did, however, have to get put back at just the right angle, or it wouldn’t go in. I had to resort to using the pliers again, trying to get it positioned just right while having to move my head back and forth so I could see around part of the frame, a wire an the neck of the washer fluid container.
What a pain in the butt!
But, it’s done and tested. With the days getting so much shorter, this was not something to keep forgetting about!
That done, I decided to see what I could do with that clear plastic I hope to use on the cat isolation shelter. The frame around it came off easily, which was nice. I was afraid it might have been glued in place, but it was held in place by just friction.
I made sure to find a place to store the pieces, as they are quite reusable.
I laid the sheet over a couple of large wooden crates my brother gave me, then took some measurements of the areas on the isolation shelter it needs to cover. The front will be the biggest piece, at 2′ x 46″ The side pieces need to be about 16″ wide, and at least 21.5″ long.
After measuring and marking the sheet for the large piece, there rest of the length will just need to be cut in half, and I’ll have pieces large enough to fit over the side openings.
I still haven’t figure out the best way to hinge them as doors.
Or maybe I can still find a way to turn them into sliding panels, which is still my preference.
Either way, I’ll be able to get the three pieces I need, and still have a small strip left over.
The question now it, how to cut it. I was thinking to use the jigsaw, like I did with the roof panels, but it’s flexible like the roof panels, too, and that means lots of vibration. I don’t want to do that again!
We don’t have the right kind of blade to use the circular saw.
We might be able to set up the table saw in the sun room and use that, though.
I’ll need a daughter to help out with that, though.
So for now, it will wait. I’d rather delay getting it done, then risk damaging it by using the wrong tools.
At this point, though, I think we can start putting on the wire around the rest of the bottom half, and install the door/ramp. There is nothing else inside that needs to be done. We could probably even attach the hinged roof support pieces. The roof panels will wait until the upper level is enclosed, though, as any overhang would get in the way.
Little by little, it’s getting done!
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 