It took me forever to get this video done, a little at a time.
Which actually worked out, in the end.
This is a video of the isolation shelter build and, because it took so long, I was able to include files of it actually in use for the first time, at the end.
I hope you enjoy it!
The Re-Farmer
As I write this, with less than an hour to sunset, we are at 3C/37F. I was just outside, getting a few more things done, with no coat on, and it was awesome! The only down side is that, with everything melting, some things were a bit slippery.
I will get to that part in a bit!
My SIL had let me know last night that she and my brother would be coming out this morning to park their truck here for the winter. They expected to be here around 8:30 am, so at 7:30 or so, I headed out to feed the outside cats and do the morning rounds, and open the gate for them.
When I came outside with the cat food, there was a set of headlights at the gate!
By the time I put kibble out in all the food bowls, including the isolation shelter, and added some warm water, they were in the yard and my brother was parking the truck. He got a solar trickle charger for the battery, so he wanted to make sure the windshield would get the most light for as long as possible.
So I went to my SIL, who had followed in their car, and we had a nice visit. A rather longer visit than expected, as my brother kept finding one more thing he wanted to do before they left.
As I was walking to their car, though, I saw that my SIL had started it again, and moved it a few feet. An odd thing, since she wasn’t in the way of anything, and they weren’t leaving yet.
It turned out that our vandal had showed up, driving every so slowly as he passed the open gate at our driveway, trying to see what was going on! They’d been there less than 5 minutes! How did he know they were here? He lives nearby, but not THAT nearby!
As we chatted, with me standing in the open door of the car, we saw him again, coming back the other way. We knew he was coming before we could identify the vehicle, because we could see headlights through the trees, slowing down as they got closer to the driveway. By the time we could fully see his vehicle, he was driving at a crawl. I just stood there and openly watched him. I don’t know that he recognizes either of my brother’s cars, since both had to be replaced in the years since we moved here and he lost his mind. With the trail cams set up, he’s been behaving, but in the last little while, I’ve been seeing him more often. All of the activity that’s been going on in the past couple of months, from stuff being moved here to the excavation and repair of the expeller, must be driving him nuts.
When I had the chance, I called my mother to warn her, he might show up out of the blue again. She’s sick with a cold right now, so after telling him what’s going on here is none of his business, she can also tell him to go away because she’s sick.
Anyhow.
I had a good long visit with my SIL before they were finally ready to leave. I had to switch out the trail cam cards, so I went ahead of them to close and lock the gate behind them. On changing the card, though, I found that the new batteries we’d put in were at 2%!
So, after finishing the rest of my morning rounds, which included giving the isolation babies a can of wet cat food and getting more warm water to top up all the water bowls, I grabbed some fresh batteries and headed back to the camera.
I figured I could change the batteries there, since it wasn’t so cold that I needed to come inside while I was doing it. This camera has a battery case that pops out, but in order to do that, the camera has to be removed from its holder. I did that, took out the case, then set the camera on top of its post so I could have two hands to change the batteries out.
*sigh*
It fell into the snow, opening as it fell, and landed right on its innards. Even the memory card sprang out into the snow when it landed. When I picked it up, there was sticky snow all over the inside – some even got into the space the battery case goes into!
*sigh*
So I took that in and set it up where it could melt and drain. I had to quickly do something else, and my daughter was sweet enough to change out the batteries for me. After trying the whole thing off with paper towel as best I could, I left it while I had my breakfast.
When that was done, I put everything back together and tested it out. With no power for so long, the date and time had reset to default – 2022! – so I hit the menu button to reset it.
Nothing happened.
I tried again. And again. And again.
The menu would simply not come up. It was in set up mode, and I could see it was functioning. The screen was working find, and I could even see the seconds on the time changing. I just couldn’t do anything with it.
So I took the battery case out again and left it to dry longer, then headed back outside to get some things done.
The first was to fix the wind damage on the catio.
The first image in the slideshow above shows how it looked before I started. The vinyl tore at the cord that is wrapped around the whole thing, but that cord is also what kept it from getting blown off even more. In the second photo, you can see where, even in the back, the vinyl was torn loose from the push pins holding it in place.
I picked up some foam mounting tape, with double sided adhesive, to help with the repairs, and also had some clear Gorilla tape, to tape the torn section together. I removed a number of push pins, first, then added the mounting tape to strategic sections of the frame. The mounting tape won’t stick to the wood very well – especially when it gets colder – but the vinyl will stick to it. This way, when the push pins are added back, they vinyl shouldn’t tear away anymore, and it will still be easy to remove in the spring.
In the third picture, you can see where the mounting tape was used in the front and on the door, but I also included it at the back, where the sheet was torn loose from the pins.
Once the vinyl was being held in place by the mounting tape, I got out one of the dollar store dining table protectors I’ve been using for this and set it up right on top, starting at the door, pinning it along the top. It was long enough to just reach around the corner at the back, so that edge got taped to the old sheet. Once that was taped, the push pins were added back, then the excess vinyl on the bottom was tucked under the bottom of the catio. Then the cord was wrapped back around and tied off again.
I had to kick away the snow that was added along the bottom of the shelter, so the last thing to do was get a snow shovel and put that back. The door, one corner and one end now have a double layer of vinyl.
The cats were really, really liking it.
I took some video after I was done, starting from the back of the catio.
Stinky REALLY enjoyed being in there! The vinyl creates a pretty decent greenhouse effect inside, so it’s pretty warm in there, too. At least during the day.
The next thing to do was patch up some tears in the isolation shelter, from the cats trying to get in.
Before I started, I took advantage of the fact that there is now an insulation ceiling and lifted the roof to drain off the melting snow and slush. With how uneven the patio blocks are, the slow slope of the roof is pretty flat, instead, so it doesn’t drain much at all, and I didn’t want to take a chance of any water getting inside. There is quite a bit of overlap in the roof panels, but until we can properly seal the edges in the spring, water can still get in between and potentially cause problems.
Next, I cut away some of the more tattered pieces of vinyl and removed some of the pins. I then cut pieces out of another dollar store table protector to create the patches.
At one corner, I taped the patch in place, but ran out of tape, so I used the last of the foam mounting tape to hold the other patch in place. Then the pins were put back. There is still one tiny corner near the back that is torn, but I no longer had suitable tape to hold a patch in place.
I had to be really careful while doing this job, though. It was warm enough to melt the snow, but the patio blocks were cold enough that the water was trying to freeze again. Water on ice is not a safe combination!
The isolation babies were quite interested in what was going on. Especially Kohl.
I’m glad she’s warmed up to me again, because she wouldn’t let me touch her for the past couple of days!
Stinky really wanted to go inside and join them!
No luck touching the male, but he did sniff at my fingers!
Not that Kohl would let him get close to my hand. She really, really wanted attention!
That done, I decided to take out the cat bed in the lower level, since I’d seen Kohl had used it as a litter box, yesterday.
It looked like they used it as a litter box for the rest of the night, too!
I got it out and cleaned it off in the snow as best I could and set it aside. Then I changed the litter box by grabbing another one, getting it ready with pellets, then simply switching them out. The lest time the ramp door was open, the less chance the isolations babies could escape!
The litter box was well used, too, so they probably didn’t start using the lower level cat bed until it got unpleasant to use the litter box.
With today being to warm, we’re taking advantage of it to do laundry. My daughter and I replaced the leaking hose extension on the washing machine, then set it out the storm door window. With the washer already set up for laundry, I grabbed the cat beds from the shelf shelter, too. These were the ones we took out of the cat house and weren’t sure if we were going to bother washing them. The cats are using them in the shelf shelter, though, so I figured I may as well do a load of just outside cat beds, once our own laundry was done. The shelf shelter beds are getting pretty tattered, but they’ll be nice and clean and fluffy again, soon.
As I was finishing up inside and getting ready to head it, I spotted this adorable one, on the isolation shelter roof.
Someone is happy the snow was cleared from the roof!
I thought this was Magda, but it wouldn’t let me come close, got scared and ran off. Magda is a mostly socialized cat that lets us pick her up and cuddle her. So now I’m not sure.
I did get another chance to pet Kohl, though, and this time she let me pick her up and check her incision. It is healing very nicely!
As I was finishing gathering the supplies to take them inside, I started hearing something that sounded off.
Like someone driving really, really slowly at our driveway. So I tossed everything into the house, then went to check.
This time, our vandal was driving his tractor. Once again, very slowly driving past our driveway, staring down our driveway the entire time. So I just stood there, in the open, watching him as he finally turned his tractor around and drove off. He had the snow blower attachment on his tractor which is rather odd, since we don’t have enough snow to use something like that right now.
I checked the trail cam again after that, and its still not working right, so I switched up trail cams to make sure the driveway is covered.
I also went looking through my Amazon shopping list, where I have several solar powered cameras with battery back ups saved. After looking through them again, I ended up ordering two of a cheaper one that had a higher rating, and lots of very positive reviews by Canadians. Including some mentioning how well the solar panel was able to keep it powered, even in winter.
No idea when we’ll get them, though, since the postal strike it still going.
By the time everything was done and I got the cat beds in the laundry, I really, really didn’t want to go anywhere. I was supposed to go to the dump, then the feed store, but when I checked their hours I discovered the feed store had already closed for the day. They close really early on Saturdays!
So… no feed store. We’re still good with kibble for the outside cats, so a few days wait should be fine.
Tomorrow looks like it will be a quiet, indoor day for us. We’ve got snowfall warnings for 10-20cm/4-8in of snow, starting around noon and continuing through to Monday. It’s not a lot of snow, but I’d rather not drive in it if I don’t have to.
We’ve got a few milder days ahead of us, then a couple of colder one, before it starts getting mild again. We are no longer getting temperatures above freezing in the forecast for the week before Christmas, though, so who knows how things will change over the next few days.
For now, I’m just glad to have been able to take advantage of today’s lovely weather and get those outside jobs done!
Meanwhile… we have a fluffy kitten in the isolation shelter that needs a name.
Any suggestions?
The Re-Farmer
Yesterday, we had my husband’s prescription delivery and I headed out too early. It was cold, so I went into the garage to get out of the wind and started poking through the lumber and other left over building material my brother gave us while they were moving things out.
I struck gold.
I found a few pieces of plywood that looked liked they were the size I needed and brought them to the house, after the prescription delivery.
Today, I could have gone into the city to do our Costco shop. It is, however, Black Friday. I don’t know why we have Black Friday in Canada, since our Thanksgiving is in October. Truthfully, I was really confused about when the US Thanksgiving was, since these sales have been going on for about two weeks. Even so, this is the “big day” for sales which, for me, means, staying away from stores as much as possible! It’s not like we’d be buying anything different that we usually do, and that stuff tends to not go on sale.
I’ll be doing that tomorrow. Even shopping on a Saturday at Costco would be better than shopping on Black Friday!
So, today was a home day.
As I write this, we’re currently at -16C/3F, with a wind chill of -29C/-20F Our high of the day was supposed to be -13C/9F, but I don’t think we reached it.
With that in mind, I decided it was a good day to see what I could do with those pieces of plywood, and whatever else I could find.
What we have been wanting to do is build some sort of shelter over the isolation shelter opening. It’s a large opening and the winds can blow right in – and would blow in snow, as well. We needed something to keep the weather out. It needed to be easily moveable, but also heavy enough that it wouldn’t get blown away. The plywood I found looked like it would fit the bill for making a box that would fit over the ramp door.
All three pieces were exactly 2′ long, but one was slightly narrower. The narrower piece became the top. I made the 2′ the height of the box, since the bottom level of the isolation shelter is 2′ high. That does not count the pallet floor or wheels, though, so I knew I would need to keep that in mind, too.
The slideshow below is a couple of photos of the basic box shape.
That bit of a gap from the narrower piece would go against the isolation shelter. I didn’t take any measurements, so this was just in case it lined up with the top of the latch on the frame.
I had some lumber left over from making the garden bed cover frames, so I cut 2′ of that to join the bottom of the box and stabilize it. That is meant to go under the ramp door. I might end up removing that, though. The wood split on one side as I nailed it in place. I found a skinnier but longer nail for the other side, and ended up splitting the plywood.
As you’ve probably guessed, this entire projected was made with scavenged materials.
Speaking of scavenged materials…
I had found another piece of plywood with a perfect circle cut into it that would have made a great “door”, but it was too small to fit the front of the box.
I did, however, still have a panel of the old tub surround in the house.
So, I laid that down and used the box itself to mark out a piece large enough to cover the front completely. I decided I would use that to cover the front and make a cat flap door. You can see progress photos in the slideshow below.
One the front panel was cut out, I found the center, the marked off four inches on either side, then … I forget if I went 10 or 11 inches from the bottom. That got cut out to make the door flap.
I then cut about half an inch off the bottom, and less than 1/8th of an inch off one side. I didn’t measure. Basically, I had a piece of wood I was using as a straight edge to cut against, and it was whatever amount looked right. The main thing is that the flap had to be able to move freely in the space. With a gap on the bottom, I figured it would be easier for the cats to figure out how to use the flap, as they would instinctively snuffle at the gap to try and get in or out.
All I had to create a “hinge” for the flap was duct tape, though. So I secured that as best I could, while still allowing for the flap to freely swing in both directions.
The next thing was to attach it to the front of the box, and secure it. Slideshow below…
I had some smaller nails that were white that I bought for something else quite a while ago, and those were perfect for attaching the panel.
I used a lot of nails, since I figured cats might end up dashing out and bashing into the sides when startled.
Which is also why I added a cross piece above the cat flap on the inside. I was able to nail that into place at each end, but I also wanted to attach the panel to the cross piece, and for that I needed smaller nails.
After scrounging around through various buckets we found while cleaning the old basement, I found three short little nails.
They would do!
I’ve kept a chimney block in the basement because it’s been such a handy work surface for various projects, and it came in handy again. I set it up inside the box, under the cross piece. It was shorter than the height needed, but a piece of scrap 2×4 was enough to make the difference. The panel is now secured to the cross piece above the cat flap, where I figured it would need the most support.
I then spotted a potential problem. All of this exposed wood that’s going to be in the snow all winter. Even if we had paint, I wouldn’t have wanted to use it, as it would need time to dry, and I wanted to get this out as quickly as possible.
Tub surround to the rescue, once again.
I made a roof.
That could only be nailed down on the sides, as the nails I had are 1″ and the plywood is 3/4″, so I used quite a few to secure it. In the first photo of the slideshow above, you can see that I also used more duct tape around the edges of the panel at the cat flap, plus added another strip above the flap, just in case.
The next image shows how it looks on the inside, with the cross piece, and the last image from the back. I’d laid the top of the box to mark out how large it was, on the back of the tub surround piece. This piece has holes in it from the arm bars, which didn’t matter for the front panel, but for the roof, I made sure there were no screw holes. This time, when using the piece of scrap lumber as my cutting guide (I just used a utility knife to cut it), I lined it up with my marks, then cut on the other side of the wood, to create an overhang on three sides.
It was now done!
Next year, when we get more paint for the isolation shelter, we’ll paint the exposed wood on this, too, but there is no urgency on that, now that there is a roof in place.
At this point, I needed to get this up the basement stairs and outside. Between the unfortunate way the door is hung (it swings over the stairs instead of into the entry) and the cats, I commandeered my daughter for assistance. She helped me get it outside and set up over the ramp door, lifting it so I could slide that back cross piece under it.
I foresaw a few potential problems, once the box was in place. I’d hoped to avoid them, but nope.
In the first photo, you can see the first problem. The patio blocks are not level, and one in particular has been heaved by the roots of the elm tree in front of the house, quite a bit. It actually cracked the front panel at the corner. In the next photo, you can see that not only is it lower than the frame between floors, but not at all level.
What you can’t see is that the cat flap could only swing outwards. Inwards, it was hitting the ramp. The extra height the pallet floor and wheels added were causing this problem.
All I needed was a raised the box higher by a couple of inches. Leveling it was not going to happen, but it at least needed to be raised up and supported enough to not wobble or anything like that.
Bricks from the old wood burning furnace chimney to the rescue! I found four that had the least amount of mortar stuck to them.
It was enough. The flap can now freely swing in or out. The bricks provided a stable enough lift that there is no wobble at all, even though it’s still not level.
In the future, we need to rip out this patio and redo it so it’s level again, but there’s no point in doing that until we get rid of the tree in front of the house. Not only is it lifting the patio blocks, but there are cracks in the basement wall.
While setting up the box over the ramp, there were several cats inside the shelter, very interested in the goings on. Others had already dashed out as soon as we started fussing around the shelter.
For the cats inside, it would be an easy thing for them to figure out the cat flap. What we need to watch for is if they can figure out they can push against it to get in. If it seems that this is an issue, we can prop the flap open, or even remove it entirely. That would allow some of the weather in, but it’s far enough away from the entrance that it should not affect much more than the ramp itself.
When we have cats isolated in the shelter, we’ll need to move the box away completely and close the ramp door. Once that is closed, the box won’t be needed to keep the weather out. There is enough space beside the shelter to store the box until it’s needed again – where it can double as another shelter for the cats. We already have a small food bowl beside the shelter for cats that aren’t willing to go inside it, but it’s completely exposed. Even if it’s for just a couple of weeks while there are cats recovering from spays inside, that would be useful, as long as it doesn’t block access to the sliding door we use to refill the kibble bowl in the second level.
What I’ll probably do in the spring is add legs to the box to raise it up a few inches, so we don’t need to use bricks. The bricks we are using now will be just fine for this winter, though.
When we first moved out here and started cleaning up around the yard, it amazed me just how many bricks I was finding, all over the place.
Now that we’ve been here a few years, we’ve found those bricks incredibly handy, and I even find myself thinking, we need more bricks! 😂
So that’s one more job done for the isolation shelter. Hopefully, the cats will be fine with it, because it will make a big difference in the conditions inside during the winter. Especially when we get hit with winds from the south.
I’m rather pleased with out it turned out, and really grateful for all that scrap wood my brother gave us. The pieces may have been too small for projects my brother needed to work on, but they are perfect for small projects like this!
The Re-Farmer
First up, a great big Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours in the US. I hope you have an awesome day with friends and family and lots of delicious food! You have much to be thankful for, this year. 💕🦃
My daughter has not been able to get much sleep for the past couple of days, so she asked me to do the morning rounds today.
I got to indulge in kitties this morning!
Of course, there is always stuff to do, and this morning I did a bit of shoveling of paths and clearing of snow.
The first photo above is the little solar panels for the motion activated lights inside the kibble and food bowl shelters. They were completely covered with snow.
There isn’t a lot of snow on the ground, but enough that I made paths to the shrine and the catio. In the second photo above, you can see how some snow was piled up around the bottom of the catio. We tried to make sure the extra length of vinyl wrapped around the catio was tucked under the frame when we put it on, but of course, it can get loose. I wanted to make sure there was no chance of the wind catching the edges and pulling them loose. Of course, the snow will also act as an insulating layer and keep out any breezes that might get under. The catio is slightly elevated in the front, which did not get snow added, since the cats need space to slip into the door, and the door itself needs room to swing open if we need to untie it to reach inside.
The added insulation ceiling on the isolation shelter seems to have made quite a difference! Quite a few cats like to hand out in the upper level. The corner where the heated water bowl is actually gets condensation of the window and sliding door. The cutout for the extension cord is in that corner, too, and that’s where you can see a single spot where the snow is melted from below.
I’m quite happy with how this shelter is working out.
By the time I was heading back inside through the sun room, the cats had mostly finished eating and were settling in the various beds and cozy spots.
Adding that strip of insulation on the shelf in the isolation shelter is being much appreciated by little toe beans! They make full use of the spaces made for them in the sun room, too, including the cage under the platform – both in it and on top of it! Unfortunately, they do knock off the pieces of insulation in some areas, like one of the upper level cubes inside the cage, and even in the narrow space between the top of the cage and the platform. They knocked off the feed bag bed in the black shelf so often, I just left it on the floor. They seem to really like it on there, too.
What a bunch of cuties!
Surely, there are people out there that would want to adopt them!
Right?
*sigh*
The Re-Farmer
Well, that didn’t take long at all!
The cat isolation shelter now has a “ceiling” of rigid insulation – and extra butt warming insulation on the cat shelf in the upper level!
A few years back, my daughter bought a package of half inch rigid insulation, and we still have a few sheets that have been untouched. These sheets are 2′ x 8′. The isolation shelter is 4′ long, so the first thing was to simply cut a sheet in half.
One piece went on whole, except for a notch cut out where the power cord comes out, near the hinge.
For the remaining space, my original thought was to have the piece long enough extend under the overhang of the roof, almost to the house all. I cut a strip off and set it in place, but found that the balance was off and there was a chance it could fall in between the house and the shelter. So I cut another strip off so that it would be flush with the frame, instead.
The insulation at the front is flush against the roof’s hinge board, which creates a 3/4 inch space. The rear is now raised a half inch, so the roof is almost completely level instead of sloping to drain to the rear of the shelter. Which is not a problem for the winter. We can allow snow to collect on the roof as more insulation over the season but, when it melts, I don’t necessarily want it to drain against the wall of the house.
With the new “ceiling” resting on the frame of the shelter, there is no longer a large space between the frame and the roof, but it will still have air circulation. The sliding doors would allow for slight air exchange, plus they get opened and closed whenever we do the food and water. The gap around the power cord will also allow air circulation. The bottom is now wrapped in plastic, but that’s hardly air tight, plus the floor is a pallet, so fresh air can come in from below, even if the ramp door is closed – and the ramp door has spaces between the boards and around the sides, so that will let fresh air in, too.
I was left with two 4′ lengths of insulation. One was a bit wider than the other, so I trimmed on end to fit and set it on the cat shelf. This will basically create a self-warming surface for them to sit on.
Of course, it would get knocked off easily, so I simply tied it in place with some paracord. One end is easy enough to do , since the sliding door is right next to it. The other end has the door in the front half, creating an insulated corner for the cat bed. I can reach inside easily with one arm, and could wrap the cord around the shelf, but tying it needs two hands.
It was a rather messy knot, but I think it will hold!
The excess cord was left because I know the cats will enjoy playing with it. In fact, Stinky tried to do exactly that, while I was still trying to tie a knot!
Hopefully, this will do well for the winter. We still need to figure out the best way to shelter the entrance from snow and wind, with the materials we have on hand.
All of this is temporary and will need to be removed in the spring, so that also has to be taken into consideration.
For now, I think the cats will be happy with that extra bit of insulation keeping the heat from the lamp, and their own bodies, from escaping out the top.
Plus the butt warming insulation on the shelf!
The Re-Farmer
The cats seem to be quite enjoying their newly winterized digs!
They are especially enjoying the cat isolation shelter. Which makes me happy! It will made it much easier, when it comes time to actually isolate cats in there during their recovery periods.
The last image in the above slide show is of the completed catio wrap. I had to get my daughter to crawl inside to pull the excess plastic under the frame. Especially where the second sheet overlapped the first. That one didn’t quite reach the middle of the back, where it could have been tacked to the centre support I added when we repaired it, so it’s only tacked top and bottom. I might end up taping it or something, or the wind will get under there and rip it right off.
I did add a board under the front of the frame, lifting it about 1 1/2 inches. This will give a slight slope for water to drain off the roof.
Today has turned out to be a cool and damp day, so I didn’t get a lot done outside. Aside from finishing winterizing the catio, I made sure the rest of the insulation got set up around the house.
We really need to find a better option for this. The insulation pieces are scrap pieces from who knows where, to begin with, so they’re all different sizes and thicknesses. Setting them up is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with pieces from different puzzles that don’t quite fit. They’re getting old and some of them are starting to break apart. It would be good to have a permanent solution, that we can make look like it’s part of the house and not just tacked on.
All in good time, I guess. Short term, we’re going to need to pick up some thicker sheets of rigid insulation to replace the busted up pieces. As it is, there is no longer enough to go completely around the wall there the back water tap is.
That took quite a while to get done, mostly spent trying to get the pieces to fit together, then finding ways to support them so they don’t get blown away. It’s been a dark and dreary day today, so even though it was still only mid afternoon or so when I was done, it was still dark enough that the light over the main door would turn on as I walked by. Mind you, sunset today was at 4:52pm, so I guess it wasn’t just the overcast skies.
At least the snow and rain that hit other parts of the province missed us. We’re wet enough right now, thank you! Interestingly, I noticed the signs up showing that we are under a fire ban in our municipality right now. We didn’t have a fire ban all summer, this year, so it’s quite unusual to have one start in the fall like this.
And here I was thinking it was finally wet enough and calm enough to burn that pile of diseased branches, as well as our burnable garbage.
Tomorrow, we’re supposed to hit 11C/52F, and even reach as high as 12C/54F on Sunday. The next few days will be a good time to get more done outside. The one cooler day is Friday, and I will be helping my mother with her errands that day.
For now, the important winterizing things have been done, and I can get back to cleaning up and and putting things away from the garden. It may even dry up enough to get our electric chainsaw out and finish clearing away that spruce that fell on the crab apple tree!
Little by little, it’s getting done.
The Re-Farmer
Today started off chilly and damp, but by the afternoon, things were quite pleasant out there. A good day to work outside.
Not a good day to get to the dump. It opens in the morning on Tuesdays, and we didn’t make it. It opens in the evening on Thursdays, so we’ll do our dump run, then.
My priority for the day was to get the cat shelters set up for the winter. Since the isolation shelter was going to go under the kitchen window, the first thing that needed to be done was to move the catio out of that spot.
The problem is, now that the roof is on, the overhang makes it difficult to grab the sides to move it, without face planting into the edge of the roof.
The solution: make handles for it, using paracord.
The first image in the slideshow above shows how I was able to get the paracord around the corner frame pieces. The end was threaded through the mesh on one side, into the loop of a garden twist tie, until it could be pulled through to the other side.
In the next image, you can see how the rope was tied to itself first, then the knot moved inside the catio before a another knot was made as close to the frame as I could, on the outside.
I admit, part of the reason I chose an overhand knot with some excess cord and put it on the inside, is because it’s right above the platforms. I expect the cats will play with the ends.
The next image shows how long of a loop was left for the handle. There is one of these on each corner.
This worked out quite well and allowed me to drag it easily across the yard. In retrospect, I should have put them lower down. Due to my own height, I can use them to drag across the yard, but I can’t lift it off the ground. If I had a second person using the other two handles, we could carry the catio that way, but my daughters aren’t any taller than I am, so it’ll still be mostly dragged on the ground. If it really is an issue, I can just undo the knots and lower the handles by a few inches.
In the next image, the catio is set up where I decided it will be for the winter. I wanted to make sure it was where it needed to be, because once it was wrapped in plastic for the winter, the handles would be covered and it would be more difficult to move again.
The roll of plastic I used is one of the sheets that was wrapped around the hot pepper and eggplant bed. It’s two vinyl table protectors from the dollar store, taped end to end.
I started at the door, making sure that it could still be latched and opened and closed without interference, then kept going. The vinyl is slightly wider than the height of the catio, but the excess can be tucked under the bottom.
It wasn’t long enough, though. I do have another roll, but it’s the same length, and I don’t want to double up so much. I do have one more table protector from the dollar store in the house, though, so I’ll use that.
Tomorrow.
The next thing to do was move the cat isolation shelter to a more open space.
Which is when I discovered a bit of a problem.
The whole thing is so heavy, and the ground is so soft right now, after all that rain, the wheels kept sinking into the soil! I had to wrestle with it, pausing to lift wheels out of the soil every now and then, to get it over the sidewalk, where I could work on it.
Where it had been sitting was not level, so the sloped roof ended up level. That meant rain didn’t drain off very well. I left the roof open and cleaned the seam out as best I could. I have an adhesive sealant to use on the seam later on, but the seam will need more cleaning, and be completely dry, because it can be used.
I then went digging through the scrap lumber my brother gave me to see if there was something I could use to put across the middle, to attach the clamp lamp to.
I found the perfect piece.
It was just long enough to fit across the top, lengthwise.
I could see it had been cut from a larger piece, but that’s just fine. I needed something narrow for the clamp lamp.
While getting ready to attach it to the underside of the frame, Stinky came to help. 😄
So did my daughter. She held it in place for me while I drilled pilot holes to screw it in place.
I am so glad I was able to make those sliding doors! It would have been much more difficult to access the underside of the frame to attach this. Even so, my daughter ended up taking over and finished the last two screws for me.
The cross piece was installed slightly towards the front, over the cat hammock. The clamp was also mounted sideways, with the lamp angled down, making it even closer to the front, and higher up than if it were just hanging straight now. I did not want to take any chance that a cat might burn themselves on it.
Once the lamp was in place, it was time to wrap the bottom of the shelter in plastic. I had a sheet of dollar store dining table protector, cut it in half, lengthwise. It took both halves to wrap all the way around, with maybe a foot and a half of excess that got folded under.
For both the catio and the isolation shelter, the vinyl was tacked in place with push pins. I decided on push pins because they can be removed easily. I want to use the vinyl again in the garden next year, so I wanted to avoid making larger holes. Pin pricks along the edges should be fine.
After the bottom was wrapped up, I set up a heated water bowl on one side of the upper level, and a food bowl on the other. A litter box, with litter in it this time, was put back into the bottom level.
Once that was done, I finished clearing the patio blocks under the kitchen window and set up the insulation we put over the basement walls and windows for the winter. In the past, we used an old bench and a bin against the insulation to hold it in place. This winter, the isolation shelter will serve that purpose for most of it.
Once the insulation was in, the shelter had to be wrestled over to the patio blocks. It didn’t have for to go, but there was always at least one wheel that would end up sunk into the ground!
The patio blocks are not at all level, either, with some of them heaved out of place by the roots of the elm tree in front of the kitchen window. That, at least, was easier to maneuver around, once all the wheels were on the blocks.
The next while was spent working out the safest way to set up the extension cord to power the heated water bowl and heater. The new cross piece came in quite handy, to wrap excess cord around.
In the last image of the slideshow, you can see the final result. It was getting pretty dark by then, so I did the evening feeding. Before I left, I could see some kittens checking out the bottom of the shelter, where there used to be a food bowl. It shouldn’t take long for them to figure out where it is now – and discover that there is heat up there!
My only concern is if the racoons discover it. We haven’t been seeing them as much, lately, as the temperatures drop. The sun room, at least, has the critter cam, and we can check it every now and then. We have no such option now. Even if we look out the kitchen window, it’s hard to see things directly below.
In time, we will get a smoke detector to put in there, like we have in the cat house. I’d like to put a thermometer in there, too, though one that’s mounted directly to the frame. The one we set up on a holder inside the cat house kept getting pulled down as the cats would play with it!
Right now, there are only two things left that need to be done. One is to get a carabiner for the latch; I think I have one available, but I’m not sure where it is right now. The other is to get some colour matched paint for the exposed wood. With the bottom wrapped in plastic for the winter, though, that will wait until spring!
I’m quite happy with how this has turned out. The Cat Lady has contacted the vet clinic about getting spays done and should hear back soon. Once she has it confirmed, she’ll let me know the date – and for how many! The isolation shelter is now ready for them to be in for their two week recovery period. Since we will likely be doing mostly, if not all, kittens, it could easily shelter three or four at once. With adult cats, I wouldn’t want to have more than two in there at once.
There is the insulated box nest in there right now, plus the hammock, but we will add more cat blankets or beds as well, once we know how many will be in there.
Next, we need to open up the cat house, clean it out and get it plugged in and ready for the winter. That will be a two person, job, as the roof is quite heavy, and the wood is starting to crack. It has to be opened very carefully, so it doesn’t twist.
I haven’t been seeing the cats use lately. The insides of the windows are so dirty, I can’t see inside very well. I’m a bit afraid of what we’ll find in there, after having to bury so many kittens this year. It could simply be because the sun room is warm, and the cat house isn’t, but they seemed to stop using it before things started getting chilly.
Well, we’ll find what we find. Hopefully, just a lot of cat poop or something benign like that! 😄😄
The Re-Farmer
Just look at these two cuties!
The kittens in particular seem to really like the isolation shelter.
When I did my rounds this morning, all the clear plastic was fogged up and there were no cats inside at the time. It would be interesting to put a thermometer inside the shelter, and another on the outside, to see what a difference the passive solar makes, with the sliding panels closed, as they are now. Once the heat lamp is set up and running, we’d be able to see what a different that’s making, too. I’ll have to remember to pick up a couple of cheap dollar store dial thermometers.
I’m quite with how this shelter turned out! The biggest expense was the roof panels, and that was enough to cover two shelters, so we got twice the mileage for the price.
Not bad for something made almost entirely out of whatever I could salvage around the property!
The Re-Farmer
I am really happy with how things have turned out today!
First, we have the cat isolation shelter.
It took all day, but it is now useable! It has been moved close to the house, and the cats love it. Here is a short video I took to post on Instagram.
I was able to make the sliding doors, but one of them turned out to be a real pain. The wood lath covering the insulation on the other side, were not all the same widths, with some sticking out further than others. There was no way the panel could slide over it. So I made a stopper, instead, and it can only slide the other way. We’ll just have to be careful not to slide it out so far that it’ll fall out.
The other side was downright easy, after that!
Once those were in, I got my daughter to hold the front window in place while I drilled some pilot holes and put screws into the corners. Once that was done, she could let it go, and we added more screws to secure it.
Then, finally, we could put the roof pieces on.
Which turned out to not be as long as the boards they were being attached to. We have excess wood sticking out, front and back The back is the “handle” to lift the roof, anyhow, so I’m not too concerned about that, though at some point we’ll want to replace the strip of wood lath across the back with something sturdier. As for the pieces sticking out the front, I ended up using them to help steer as we moved it. We might cut them flush with the roof later, though.
I had to abandon my daughter part way through moving it, as my brother arrived with another load to drop off. After greeting him and he went to unload, I had a chance to take a short video of the isolation shelter. My daughter had left it in an open spot for me to do that. Eventually, I will put together a video of the entire process, which dragged on for so much longer than expected. After that, I moved the shelter closer to the house.
The door/ramp doesn’t have a latch, though – the ones I had were not large enough – so it kept dropping open, even though we’d taped it shut. The down side of using salvaged materials. One of the boards of the ramp cracked after hitting the ground. I had to add a couple more screws to fix it. Which was fine, but it required closing the door to do it.
The kitten that was inside the shelter was not happy about that! 😄
The last thing that really needs to be done is to find a latch for the door/ramp. We also need to get more paint, but that’s mostly cosmetic.
Once we work out exactly where it will stay for the winter, we’ll hang the clamp lamp with the heat bulb under the roof and get that ready for plugging in for the winter, preferably with a timer. I’d also like to attach handles to make it easier to move. The handles I had that I thought we could use are not strong enough.
After moving the isolation shelter closer to the other cat shelters, I grabbed a couple of winter squash as a gift for my brother, and went to join him while he worked. While we were there, we started hearing a noise.
A noise he identified as splashing water on metal.
From the septic expeller.
I couldn’t believe that’s what we were hearing, so we went to take a look. Sure enough, there was water coming out of the pipe!
It was not coming out as well as it should have been; it was almost dribbling down the outer pipe, and the sheet of metal that’s there to prevent erosion at the base was being partially missed. The pipe itself is leaning a bit back and to one side, instead of being straight up, which I’m sure isn’t helping, either.
I’m amazed that it was working at all. I was just there earlier today, taking photos, and saw no sign that water was being ejected from that pipe.
Oh! I completely forgot to mention!
With the one septic company ghosting us, I called the other and left a message this morning. The owner called me back less than half an hour later. They will be able to do the job for us. They are really busy and he couldn’t tell me when they can come out to fix the leak – it might be 3 or 4 weeks – but he told me that they could do the work even if the ground were frozen.
So that was definitely good news!
He asked me for photos of the expeller. While I was there, I made a point of looking to see if there was any sign that greywater has been flowing over the sheet of metal. That fact that there is some water flowing out the pipe, and not all just seeping into the ground, is actually a bit of a weight off my shoulders, making the timing of getting the repair done is not quite as urgent.
So that was more good news.
My brother had been able to come out sooner than he expected. It was still light out when he was done unloading, so he and I did a walkabout, including out to the car graveyard and the old farm equipment. I now know which things he wants to keep, and what can go to the scrap dealer – and it’s added a lot more to what the salvage company can come out for!
Oh, it’s going to be good to clear out this stuff.
My brother then came in to take a look at the bathroom, and the rot on the walls.
In the end, he said it’s not actually that bad. He said he wouldn’t bother taking it out at all, which would require taking the tub out. He suggested we just fix the taps from the other side, then cover it all with the new tub surround we already have.
Then we went around to the other side of the wall to talk about cutting an access panel. He’s pretty sure there is more aspenite under the paneling. We could take off the entire panel, but that would require removing the molding that’s over it, too. He suggested drilling through from the bathroom side to mark where to cut. Which is what I had been thinking, but only after cutting away the rotted aspenite around the taps. We have to figure out where the joists are; they should be 16″ apart, but the bathroom was installed while he was away in college, so he never saw how things were done.
So that is more good news. We don’t have to remove the tub and cut more of the walls away. He recommended we treat the aspenite with bleach, but we have some anti-mold product specifically for bathrooms we can use.
We can now put together a plan of action to get things fixed so we can use our tub and shower again!
Then my brother got his meter and we went to check the hot water tank – after shutting off the breaker! He tested the elements, and it turns out that it is the top element that is burnt out. The bottom one is working fine.
So we’ll be looking into getting a replacement for the top element.
I told him about the powered anode rod we are getting. Looking at the outlet near the hot water tank, I mentioned my thought of unplugging the extension cord that goes into my husband’s closet, then moving the plug for the well pump up, so we have room to plug in the new rod.
He advised against it.
As he put it, we’re already on borrowed time with that well pump, and he wouldn’t touch anything if it can be avoided.
We looked at the other outlet, where the sump pump is plugged in. He suggested running an extension cord from there, instead.
I will trust his advice and do that.
So we’re still without use of the tub and shower, and have only tepid water, but we now have a better idea of what to do next.
Which will be to get at the plumbing for the faucet set from the bedroom side and get that working, first. Then, even if it takes longer to get to the point we can install the tub surround, we can temporarily put plastic over where it’s cut open, so we can use the tub and not have to keep sponge bathing!
So… I rate that as more good news.
There was only one hiccup in the day that is more strange than anything else.
While my brother was unloading his truck, he got a voice mail notification on his cell phone – but his phone never rang. He joked that it was our vandal, because that’s who it was the last time this happened.
Well, after he left our place, my brother checked the voice mail, and it really was from our vandal!
I’ll get a copy of the message later, but it was much the same as last time. He’s wondering why my brother is “catering” to me – and we have no idea what he’s talking about. He also said that his doctor told him that the reason he got cancer is because of us, and that we are evil, evil, evil! He’s dying of cancer, and it’s our fault.
???
I’d say, he was drinking behind his wife’s back again.
At least he didn’t threaten us with “retribution” so extreme, even the Pope would be reading about it in a magazine, this time.
We are perplexed as to what triggered the call. Particularly since my brother was here when the voice mail was left. My brother thinks our vandal has been watching us, and saw that my brother had arrived, but I don’t see how.
Whatever the reason, my brother has our vandal’s number blocked, so he shouldn’t have been able to leave any voice mail message at all. The phone company is going to be getting a call about it, that’s for sure!
One thing else is for sure. When the scrap metal company comes to clean things up, we will have to watch out for our vandal, because he is going to go ballistic. He believes all this stuff rightfully belongs to him – but then, he thinks the entire property rightfully belongs to him.
Well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes. I’ll just be glad to get all this stuff cleaned out – and I’m sure the renter will be glad to see it gone, too, since his cows graze around almost all of it!
Oh, and I told my brother about the guy that wants to buy a couple of cars for parts, and how he will need to bring in special equipment to be able to get them out. I also told my brother that I’d arranged for him to use part of the money for the cars to pay back the guy that put a down payment on the old Farm Hand tractor, since I could see my brother wasn’t happy with the sale. My brother was happy to hear this.
So good news for him, too!
It’s just been a good day, overall, I’d say!
The Re-Farmer
Today has been a very windy and rainy day, but I still managed a bit of progress on the cat isolation shelter. I kept the garage door closed because of the weather, or course. Usually I have it open for light and fresh air, but the winds were blowing in from the south today, and that door faces south. I was surprised by just how much that door was rattling and shaking in the wind, even with the truck parked outside, right in front of it, acting as a bit of a wind break!
All was warm and dry inside the garage, though, so that worked out well.
I decided to work on the frame that will be supporting the clear roof panels, starting with the board that would support the piano hinge in front.
The piano hinge has 18 screw holes in each half, and came with its own little baggie of screws. I started by centering the hinge on the board, with a plan to attach the hinge at each end, then continuing on the shelter itself.
I had problems with the very first screw.
The head broke off!
If the screws that came with it were going to break that easily, I was not going to use the rest!
I did have the remains of a box of small screws that I used on the catio roof that were the right size, so I used those, instead.
After securing the hinge to the board at each end, I set it up on top of the shelter. I dug around the garage and found a strip of aluminum thin enough that I could use it as a spacer between the frame and the board. The board had a slight bend in the middle, so that got weighted down with a couple of bricks.
I didn’t have enough screws for all the holes in the hinge, but there’s enough to hold it in place. I’ll have to pick up more screws later to finish the job.
In the first photo above, you can see some of the empty screw holes. I made sure the ends and the middle were secure. I supposed I could use the screws that came with it for the rest, but it’s not worth potentially filling the holes with broken screws I won’t be able to get out later.
Once that was in place and the spacer removed, I had three boards to attack to the hinged piece. I used one to work out exactly how I wanted them positioned. The overhang is slightly longer in the front than the back. After marking where it lined up with the frame, I used that to mark the other two boards.
I spent a fair bit of time making sure they were exactly where I wanted them, then screwed them in place.
That left three ends in the back that needed something to keep them from wobbling around when the roof pieces are attached.
Once again, wood lath to the rescue!
The distance from one side to the other is 4′, which is the length of the wood lath. I find the most even piece out of the new bundle I could find, and simply nailed it to the ends of the roof supports.
If you click through to the next photo above, you’ll see what it looks like, open. Instagram doesn’t work with having both portrait and landscape orientation photos in a slide show, so things are a bit cut off in the image. The end of the roof support reaches the rafters!
While the piano hinge would allow for the roof to open all the way flat, the overhang will let it open only so far. Later, I might at something that can be used to hold it propped open, but that can wait.
Last of all, I added another piece of wood lath under the three boards. You can see it in the last photo. I lined it up with the edge of the frame, and then used wood glue to secure it, with the bricks to weight it down as it dries. This piece is to make sure the boards don’t slam right against the frame when it closes. It will eventually be further secured with nails.
The roof panels will not be added until last, though.
From this, I started working on attaching the front door/ramp. After checking how it fit into the opening, I cut a small piece of wood to attach under the horizontal top, as a stopper for the ramp.
It was remarkably difficult to attach this to the underside of the 2×4! Quite awkward, and one of the screws seem to be hitting something harder in the wood.
The next step is to attach the hinges to the door, then to the frame, but that’s when my husband came to the garage to let me know my daughter needed help with the taps. There is no signal in the garage at all, so they couldn’t message me to ask me to come to the house.
Well, at least I got a bit done!
Once the door/ramp is on, and a latch installed, it’ll be time to add the clear panels – which still need to be cut to size! It’s starting to look like we won’t be able to set up the table saw in the sun room, after all, so I’ll need to figure out some other way to cut it. If I can keep it from vibrating too much, I could use a jig saw.
I’ll cut it by hand with the pull saw, if I have to.
Ever since my brother told me this stuff can possibly shatter while being cut, I’ve been incredibly hesitant about using any of the tools we have.
It’s so close to being done, but there have been so many interruptions!
Of course, getting those shut off valves and installing them so we could have running water in the house was most definitely a higher priority!
Little by little, it’s getting done.
The Re-Farmer
