Critters

Testing, and Plushy cuddles!

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While tending to the cats’ food and water this morning (I counted 30 this morning), I made sure to set up the big heated water bowl to test it out. After all, it spontaneously stopped working last winter. Maybe it’ll spontaneously start working for this winter!

The cord is shorter than with the other one, so I had to set it up in the kibble house. Which Tuxedo found very perplexing!

I’ll check it later on today to see if the ice along the sides has started to thaw.

I had to go in and out of the sun room a lot this morning and cats got in, so I left the doors open while I continued my rounds. I still ended up with 8 kittens, plus Rolando Moon, following me up the driveway!

At some point, we will be allowing the cats into the sun room more often, if only to use it as a recovery ward, so I moved a floor mat that had been outside, into the sun room, under the swing bench. The mat used to be in the entry of the house, by the laundry, along with another smaller one, but they were more in the way than anything else. When we moved them outside to beat the dust out of them, they never made it back in. In the sun room, the large mat will be enough to keep little paws protected from the cold concrete.

Or my husband’s feet, if he decides to spend some time in the sun room. He has a terrible habit of going in there bare foot. 😉

When I was ready to come inside, I didn’t want to chase the cats out. Especially the ones that aren’t really socialized, since that would make them trust me less. So I decided to sit on the swing bench for a while.

Plushy decided this would be a good time to test my tolerance!

Yeah, she looks so calm and adorable here. She lies! She kept twisting and turning and spinning around – and trying to eat my fingers! She hasn’t quite figured out the difference between a love nip, and a chomp!

She’d had a large matt in her fur between her back legs. I’m happy to say it’s gone now. I think some burrs got caught in her fur, and she got them out. That long fur is one of the reasons we really want to get her adopted out! I’d hate to see her fur get all matted, but it’s not like we’re going to be able to brush her regularly while she’s an outdoor cat.

Gosh, she’s such a beautiful cat! And, now that she’s finally been socialized, she just can’t get enough human attention!

The Re-Farmer

Looking stunned!

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My apologies for the poor quality photo. I had my phone right up against the kitchen window and was zooming in to get it.

This catten was looking absolutely stunned at seeing me and Fenrir in the kitchen window!

This is one of Plushy’s siblings, and he’s looking like he’s going to be every bit as fluffy as she is. Sadly, we have not been able to socialize him, but at least we’ve been able to see enough through the fluff to confirm he’s male. Once in a rare while, I’ve actually been able to touch him, but he gives me this same stunned look, and moves away. 😄

He may not want actual contact with us humans, but for some reason, he often insists on following me around when I do my morning rounds. 😁

The Re-Farmer

What a difference!

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I made a trip to the dump, then into town and, by the time I got back, it was time to top up the kibble trays and water bowls.

The bitty baby seems to have no problem being outside in general. It may be tiny, but it seems to have very good insulation! It definitely has developed a thick winter undercoat already. I was able to pick it up and pet it, but only briefly. I’d just finished with the food and water and wanted to make sure it had a chance to eat, before the bigguns’ inhaled it all.

Would you look at the size differences!! In the tray are four kittens from three litters. The grey and white is from the pump shack litter that had been the youngest before the bitties showed up. The white and orange butt just visible on the left is from Rosencrantz’s litter, so we’ve got four different litters represented here.

Meanwhile…

At the hardware store, I was able to find some more of the pipe maintenance stuff to use regularly and hopefully avoid another block. This stuff uses enzymes to help break down any grease and whatnot coating the pipes, so it could potentially even improve things. They had some of the iron fighting toilet tabs that I was unable to find when I was doing the monthly shopping in the city. It took some hunting, but I did find a couple of boxes of screw eye hooks that we can use to better secure the tarp covering the hole in the shed roof. I went looking through several stores for an outdoor dial type thermometer to put into the cats’ house, but could only find liquid thermometers, and there’s no way we’d be able to read one of those through a window. Apparently, outdoor thermometers are a seasonal thing. At least in our neck of the woods. That’s okay. I’ll just grab the one off the squash tunnel that we won’t be using next year. I’m very curious to see what the temperature is in the cats’ house compared to outside, both during the day, when the terrarium bulb is off, and after dusk, when it’s on.

Our highs over the next 4 days are supposed to get a bit milder, and not very windy. That will be a good time to see what we can do with the carport pieces we’ve found. I would love to find a way to set it up in the corner over the window into the old basement. Even if we only use half of it. A lot would depend on whether or not we can secure it from the wind. Oh… maybe that’s not a good spot, though. If it’s there, then we won’t be able to use the telescoping roof snow shovel. Last year, that side of the entry roof accumulated a drift of snow several feet thick in places!

Hmmm. We’ll have to think about that.

The Re-Farmer

It got a bit chilly last night!

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When I came out this morning to feed the yard cats, I found the heated water bowl empty again, even though it was refilled a couple of times, yesterday. I always put the kibble out first, but when I first rinsed out the empty water bowl, I had kittens already jumping into the water shelter, going for the bowl! They were very thirsty.

The two metal bowls were, of course, frozen. They, at least, are easier to bash the ice out of, so I did them first.

The big plastic bowl, however…

… that took a bit more effort! Basically, I just chopped a hole in the middle. In these temperatures, I don’t want to shatter the plastic.

I should probably plug it in, just to test it out and see if it still works. It stopped working last winter, but there is no sign of damage. The extension cord from the cats’ house has only one plug but, if it works, it would be worth replacing that with another cord with multiple plugs.

In other things, after getting the plugged drain cleared yesterday, I set up the washing machine and ran it through a “tub clean” cycle. I stood there and watched it for about half an hour, before it started to drain!

I love having a washing machine with a window in the lid! 😄 It doesn’t take much to entertain me!

Once it started draining, I had my finger hovering over the pause button, ready to hit is if water suddenly started spurting out the drain pipe again. I also kept a close eye on the floor for any leaks.

Everything worked fine!!!

I gotta say, though, the water running into the drain is LOUD now! The washer pushed that water out and a very high velocity, so even with the pipe clear, it still sounds like it’s backing up a bit. Whether it actually is or not, I’m not entirely sure. The important part, though, is that we can put away that sump pump hose we’d been using to run the water out the door! Now that we’re no longer needing to run it through the storm door window, we can also insulate the main doors for the winter, so we don’t get frost building up on the inside.

Which reminds me. We need to insulate between the dining room doors, too, for the same reason. At least with that one, we can just shove the insulation in and leave it. We don’t use those doors. For the main entry, we have to figure out how to fix the sheets to the door. The first time we did it, we used self adhesive strips of Velcro and attached it to the inside door. Unfortunately, we discovered that there’s enough of an air pressure change when we opened the door. Between that and the cold, the adhesive strips started to give out and once they did, they never stuck properly again, so every time we opened the door, the insulation would get pulled loose. Because of this, we never use the insulation last winter, and that was not good.

So now we’re trying to figure out a way to maybe tie the insulation to the door somehow, or maybe attach it to the storm door, instead.

We won’t be able to get it done for this winter, but by next winter, I hope that we will finally be able to replace the entire door/frame assembly with a proper, insulated, metal door hung on a metal frame. We don’t use these doors as much, though, as going through the sun room works so much better, so at least it’s not an urgent thing. It would be really good if we could replace it with a wider, more accessible door, too. The arm bar mounted in between the doors is great, but all the doors are a tight fit for my husband’s walker.

On the “when we win the lottery” list: accessible doors, and a wheelchair ramp. The ramp would have to be off the dining room doors, so it would be good to make it part of a covered deck, too. If we do it right, it can double as a greenhouse, too!

Some people dream about winning the lottery and doing things like travel the world or buying nice cars and houses. I just want to renovate this house, and buy the tools and equipment that would allow me to get more work done! Or hire more able bodied people to help do the work we can’t anymore. Which is funny, because we don’t even own this place, but at some point it will go to my brother’s grandsons, and it would be nice to leave them with a place that isn’t falling apart!

The Re-Farmer

Remembrance Day

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Today is Remembrance Day, here in Canada. Since moving here, we typically have not gone anywhere to formally observe the day, since there is nothing local and, of course, no one was allowed to hold Remembrance Day ceremonies for the past two years.

Last night, though, I got a call from my mother. Her town was having their ceremonies again, starting with a pancake breakfast. She started talking about what was going on, and how she was planning to go, and I knew she was leading to a point, so I offered to drive her. Normally, she would head over with her walker, but it’s been getting harder for her to go far, these days. Plus, there’s a bitter wind out there! At least it’s not like last year; we had a long and mild fall, but we did get snow for Remembrance Day.

So this morning I headed out and went to the ceremonies with her.

They were really well done, and I was teary eyed more than a few times. The candles in the photo had a main candle for the day in general, and candles lit in memory of local people that died in WWI and WWII, another for those who passed on after the wars, and finally one for those serving now.

It was good to see my old Air Cadet squad is still around, though I did cringe for them a bit. They didn’t seem to have been well instructed for their parts in the ceremony, and were a bit lost at times. Having been on the drill team, I was disappointed to see they weren’t well trained in that respect at all – and I’m including their Lieutenants on that! The cadets did have military representatives to model, though, and that made a difference.

My mother was actually on better behaviour, though before things started, I got the story of just how badly the pianist played the last time there were ceremonies, and when speeches started, she was quick to criticise people for not speaking “well.” I told her it was great that they were up there at all, because a lot of people have a really hard time with public speaking or performances. She stopped making criticisms, so I’m hoping she accepted that, but maybe she just didn’t like my not joining her in her criticisms! 😄

Because of the weather, when things were concluded, they didn’t have a ceremonial parade of the wreaths to the cenotaph outdoors. Instead, the cadets and other military representatives were going to lay only 3 wreaths, and people were invited to join if they were up to it. Otherwise, we were invited for coffee and dainties. My mother considered staying, but didn’t see anyone she recognised, so she decided to just go home. It was a long time for her, so she was probably pretty tired, too. I’m glad I was able to drive her because, if I hadn’t, she said she would have walked the distance! It was only a few blocks, but it would easily have taken her at least half an hour to do it, with her need to stop and rest so often now, and it would have been absolutely miserable walking straight into that wind to get there! She does have the power chair my brother got for her, but she refuses to use it. *sigh*

For all the wind and cold, at least it was a bright and sunny day.

I have made sure to give the cats food and warm water before I left, but by the time I got back, the food was all gone, and while the heated water bowl still had a bit of water in it, the rest was frozen! Especially the big bowl. When I came out with more warm water for them, I had to take an ax to the ice in the big bowl. It wasn’t quite frozen solid, but it was pretty hard close!

I’m glad I ordered two 300g tubs of powdered lysine for the cats. I add about a quarter cup, maybe a bit less, to their kibble, and they get fed twice a day. Judging by how quickly the level is going down in the first tub, I would estimate we’ll go through three of these a month, so we’ll have to make sure to order more at least 3 more at the end of this month. More, if the budget allows. The cat lady says it takes 6 weeks for there to be a noticeable difference with the lysine, which means we’ve still got a couple more weeks or so. We are still seeing/hearing cats coughing and sneezing, and a few still have leaky eyes, but they do all seem to be improving. Whether it’s because of the lysine, or because they were already improving without it, I really can’t say. The lysine should act as a preventative, too, though, so if it’s working, and we keep using it, this should mean the end of their outbreaks. The only problem is, there’s no way to measure doses for individual cats. We just toss the kibble in the powder, and hope it’s enough.

I saw the bitty baby this morning, but I couldn’t see it when I came back. The sun was in just the right position to light up inside the cats’ house through the small south facing window in the entry, giving me a good view of the inside from the east facing window. I didn’t see the bitty baby, but I did notice a sheet of aluminum out near the litter box (which I’ve seen kittens using!) that shouldn’t have been there. The heat shield for the ceramic terrarium bulb was torn off! It should actually be okay, given how the fixture is positioned, but that’s not something I want to take a chance with, so we’re going to have to lift the roof and a daughter will have to climb in. While we’re at it, I want to add something to better support the timer for the heat bulb, because it keeps getting knocked loose from the top and ends up facing the floor. Without the light sensor facing a window, the heat bulb will stay on all the time, rather than being shut off during daylight hours. With the windows, there should be enough passive solar heat during the day, and it would not be good for them if things get too warm in there.

Hmm… I wonder if we have a thermometer we can spare to hang in there? Someplace in the middle, to get a sense of the ambient temperature, while still being visible from one of the windows. I don’t think we have a spare anywhere, but I might be going into town tomorrow, so maybe I can pick one up at the dollar store or something.

In other things, we’ve been finding water pooled in the entry way lately. That means that water from the kitchen sink is backing up the laundry drain, for all the care we are trying to take to not pour too much water down the sink at once. The block is getting worse. I was going to wait until the end of the month’s pay before calling a plumber, but we just can’t wait anymore. I don’t know what it’ll cost, but we do have this month’s payment to the tree company that chipped our branches for us. There is no formal arrangement on paying them back, and I think they’ll understand if we have to miss a month, or make a smaller payment, because we had to call a plumber. Who knows. It may not cost as much as I fear, and what we’ve been able to set aside for the plumber might be enough on its own. We were really happy with the guy that brought his auger to clear our pipe to the septic tank, so we will hopefully be able to get him again. This being Remembrance Day, I didn’t phone him, but I did sent a message through his website’s contact form, explaining our problem.

I hope to hear back from him soon. It’ll be nice to not have to run the hose from the washing machine through the front doors in the winter!

The Re-Farmer

Water babies

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As much as the yard cats were after the food this morning, it was the water they were really excited about!

Yes, that’s the bitty baby in there, barely able to reach into the largest bowl!

After it had a chance to drink, I was able to pick it up and cuddle it for a bit – then I tucked it into the entry of the cat house! But that was quite a bit later.

The shallower, metal bowls were frozen solid. It took quite a bit of bashing to get most of the ice out. The big plastic bowl needed more care, as the plastic gets so brittle in the cold and cracks easily. It had been quite full, so it wasn’t frozen solid, but I did have to chop through a thick layer of ice to get to pour off the water inside – which got replaced with warm water. The heated water bowl was bone dry, and every now and then, a cat would sit in it. It makes a good butt warmer when it’s dry!

And this is at only -8C/18F!

I’m so glad we got this shelter built this year. It’ll be so nice not to have to dig the water bowls out of the snow.

I ended up using a long handled garden tool to reach into the cats’ house and grab one of the containers I used for water in there. Not the nice, non-slip metal one I got for in there. I can’t even see that one. I could only see and reach the cheap plastic, repurposed mushroom container. But, it allowed me to put at least a bit of water in the shelter.

My head count this morning was 31. Then Shop Towel showed up, so if we’re counting visiting toms, that makes 32.

I wore my ball cap ear warmer this morning. While I tested it briefly last night, this morning was the first real test. We had some viscous winds from the northeast.

I did wonder how the stitches I chose for the ear warmer would handle wind, and today I have my answer.

Not at all.

Oh, it certainly gave some protection, so it was better than nothing. The next one I make will need to be denser. I can think of a few ways to do that.

By the time I finished my rounds, there was no sign of any cats outside – but as I walked past the larger windows of the cats’ house, they were packed with furry faces, watching me as I went by!

I’ll have to remember to add a top up of warm water when I feed them again this evening. Last night, I saw a large buck going down our driveway on the live feed of our security camera. Last winter, they were eating the cat kibble but, for this time of year, I would not be surprised if deer were going for the water, instead.

The Re-Farmer

All gone, and looking ahead

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The snow we had yesterday morning was gone by the end of the day.

Yesterday…

… and today…

I counted 29 cats this morning. Before coming back inside, I even had a chance to catch and cuddle the bitty baby!

The snow may be gone, but the temperatures are below freezing and staying there. At least it will be fairly mild for the next week or so before the highs are expected to start dipping below -10C/14F. I’m hoping the temperatures stay mild like this for a while. That will give the bitty baby more time with mama. We are fully expecting to bring this one indoors before the temperatures get really cold, but it’s definitely not old enough to be weaned yet.

We’re at the point where my morning rounds will now consist more of just switching out the memory cards in the trail cams, and checking on things. Today, I did finally move the stack of logs leftover from the giant branch pile getting chipped. These are logs that seem strong enough and straight enough to use somehow. I ended up restacking them in the old kitchen garden, between the double lilac and the honeysuckle. This is part of the space in that garden we’ve given up on, as it’s so filled with invasive flowers. I’d cleared away the creeping bellflower before they went to seed, but there’s nothing we can do about the low, creeping flowers that look kinda like periwinkle.

Okay, I just went and looked it up and confirmed, it is periwinkle, and yes, it’s considered an invasive plant! It’s been a real struggle to keep it out of the L shaped bed, because they spread through their roots, and my goodness, those roots are hard to get rid of!! I’m hoping turning it into a raised bed will help to at least keep it out of where I want to grow food.

I’d say having the stack of logs there will help keep them under control, too, but they are there to be used next year, and I expect the stack will be gone long before the flowers in that corner start reaching mature sizes.

There is another type of flower that grows in that corner, and all long the house, right through the rocks we put there when we built the path. These spread through their seeds, not their roots, so they’re not as hard to get rid of. I let those go to seed, then gathered most of them. I took them behind the storage house, where there are two rows of trees, all planted way too close together. It’s very hard to keep this area clear and tidy. This is where I’d scattered seeds from an alternative lawn mix we got, but with this spring’s flooding, that area was under water. None germinated, or if they did, they got drowned. So I’ve scattered the seeds from these white flowers in there. I don’t expect the coming spring to have anything other than normal spring snowmelt, so at least some of the seeds should take. I’ve been looking up invasive species in our province and, while I don’t know what these flowers are, I’m not seeing them come up in the lists. It’s one thing for something to be prolific, as these white flowers are, and another to be destructive, as the periwinkle and creeping bellflower are. At least the periwinkle are just in the old kitchen garden. The creeping bellflower is popping up everywhere that we’ve been clearing and cleaning up among the trees. We won’t be able to get rid of them entirely, but we’re hoping to drive them out by planting the things we do want growing there.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

With the weather turning chilly, we’re moving back into planning stages, thinking ahead to the next growing year!

The Re-Farmer