Critters

Cleared

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

When I came out to feed the yard cats this morning, I found quite a few things knocked about! It wasn’t too bad, this time. Unfortunately, they’ve knocked everything off the counter shelf a few times. Even the sheer of insulation I added, so they wouldn’t be sott8ng on the metal surface, as well as to block the gap in the back, at the window. Come springtime, it’s going to be quite a job to clean it all up. Especially the various containers of screws and other small stuff like that. I have no idea how they managed to knock some of this stuff off

This morning, I counted only 23 cats, including this beast.

He even let me pet him, though he ran off when one of the socialized males came over, demanding pets. Looking through the bathroom window a little while ago, I could see him in the upside down box that is supporting one end of the platform. I’m amazed he could squeeze into there, he’s such a big boy!

I really hope we will be able to snag him for the cheap spay/neuter day next month. We have kept the large carrier in the sun room many times, but I have never seen him check it out. He’s so big, though, he wouldn’t have a lot of room in there! It’s one thing to have Leyendecker in there, as he’s pretty calm about the whole thing, and quite another to have a big cat that’s still pretty feral!

Of course, it’s a moot point if he’s not around that morning. We shall see.

In other things, little Spewie got quite a workout yesterday.

I’ve driven through the snow to reach the house a couple of times, so I used the tire tracks to decide how much to clear. The truck might be good for getting through, but we still need to be able to walk around it.

We now have enough space to drive in, turn around, and get close to the house. I even cleared more towards the sun room, so that it’ll be easier to unload the kibble bags straight to the old kitchen.

Or, to load the truck from the old kitchen. We are overdue for a dump run. At least it’s not as much of a problem to store the garbage bags in the old kitchen until we make the trip, this time of year. The garbage bags all freeze. Summer is a whole different story but, barring the vehicle troubles like we had last summer, we can make the dump run more often in the summer.

The dump is open for longer hours today, so I plan to head out this afternoon. First to the dump, then to the pharmacy. My husband told me he needed more insulin by Saturday (today). What he neglected to tell me is that he’d already called it in. If I’d known that, I would have picked it up before getting Soot Sprite from the vet!

Communication? What’s that? 😆

Anyhow.

Now that the vehicle lane in the inner yard is cleared, I’m hoping the much warmer weather we’re supposed to start getting next week will have some actual melt and clear even more. When we do our big shopping at the end of the month, I want to be able to get as close to the house as possible to unload! Using the wagon to drag load after load from the garage through snow covered paths, as we’ve done the past few winters, is not fun at all!

The Re-Farmer

Warming up

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

While it’s still -23 or -24C right now, with no wind chill, our high today is supposed to be a balmy -15C this afternoon. By the middle of next week, we are supposed to reach highs just below freezing!

For well insulated cats like Brussel, here, it doesn’t seem to make much difference how cold it gets! The less fluffy cats prefer to hang out in the cat house or the sun room. 🌞

My goodness, Brussel does look permanently angry, though! 😆

Speaking of warming up, the upside cats were so happy to have access to my room – and bed! – again last night! My attempt at napping before getting Soot Sprite was disrupted by their antics, so I was really flagging. I finally gave up and went to bed at 8:30, which is insanely early for me. I barely got under the covers before I was surrounded by cats snuggling against me, with 2 or 3 right on me. Butterscotch was in her usual corner on my bed again – she quite enjoyed her night with only Soot Sprite in the room, and wasn’t impressed that they were allowed in. She did allow Cheddar to cuddle next to her, while she used my hand as a pillow, and even tolerated our greasy grandma slithering off my hip and squeezing herself between them and my face, demanding pets. She is a skinny cat, and likes to take advantage of all the body heat she can borrow!

Unfortunately, she makes the most disgusting noises while grooming. 😆

I was so tired, though, I still managed to fall asleep and stay asleep until about 5:30! I can’t remember the last time I got more than 4 or 5 hours of sleep in one stretch.

That I managed to fall asleep at all, never mind sleep all night, is very unusual!

As for Soot Sprite, he commandeered my daughter and slept in her arms for a couple of hours. My daughter is, unfortunately, paying for all the squirming and crawling around under the kitchen sink the other day, and couldn’t lift her arms above her shoulders, then got stuck cuddling the little voidling for hour. He’s another one that has to borrow body heat from others!

I look forward to things warming up again.

The Re-Farmer

Look who’s home!

/ Re-Farmer / 5 Comments

The little voidling does not look happy!

I was able to pick him up early. He was completely quiet the entire time, from the clinic to bringing him into the house.

Then, as I went to park the truck, my daughter let him out of the carrier, and he went into overdrive. Not the reaction to expect from a still sedated cat! He was running all over the place!

He also had a whole series of cats following along, trying to sniff his remaining nibby bits as he ran around.

He has finally calmed down and, as I write this, is wandering around the dining room.

While at the clinic, I remembered to go through the list of cats they have on file with us. Some have been adopted, while others have disappeared or passed on. Turns out they had Potato Beetle as two cats – Potato, and Beetle! 😆

While at the counter, one of the staff came by and asked where we found Soot Sprite, and whereabouts we live. I was a bit confused by the question, and just said, in our yard. She was wondering if we were missing a kitten that looks like Soot Sprite. She recently found one!

It turns out, she is a neighbor! She lives off a road a mile north of us, so she takes a paved road, another mile north, to get to her place, rather than the gravel road past our place, So while we live on the same cross road, she has never gone past the intersection near us. I would have driven past where she is, but all the houses along there are hidden by trees, so I only have an idea of her geographical location.

I mentioned we have a lot of black cats this time around, and that the number of cats outside at our place ranges from about 23 to 37, so I couldn’t know if any wandered further her way. Now that I think about it, though, she did say she’d found a kitten like Soot Sprite. Any kittens his size and age have been staying close to the house. My guess is, it would be from another farm out her way.

Though it probably has the same daddy that produced so many mostly black cats at our place!!

Unfortunately, while paying for the neuter and claiming Soot Sprite, I completely forgot to ask her name. That’s not a problem, though. We’ll be back there again, often enough. They take good care of our felines!

The Re-Farmer

Winter fur, and updates

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

Would you look at this gorgeous lady!

She still will not let us near her.

I want to burrow into that fur!!

I just got back in from morning rounds. We are at -27C right now, but the windchill is at -29C. I’d really love for those winds to die down! I had to clear a bunch of paths, not because we got much snow last night, but because the winds filled them in with hard packed drifts.

I got through to my mother about coming over today, and brought up about her saying she would be willing to climb into the truck. She told me she checked and has enough cash, so we can try when it is warmer.

So… spring??

No matter, for now. As long as I get her groceries. Going to the bank is the one thing I can’t do for her!

I want to talk to our mechanic, in person, about my mother’s car, but we won’t have any budget for repairs for a while. I’m considering putting the insurance on hold until we can get it in, which likely won’t be until the spring. The truck and other things have priority in the budget. After having to cancel my husband’s eye appointment at the last minute because we were at -30C with no block heater, my husband really wants to get that done.

Of course, it can’t be a generic cord. GM has their own cord with a built-in thermostat that has to be used. Generic ones won’t work right. Which I would prefer, anyhow. Our van had one of those, and I liked it. These cords shut themselves on and off as needed, so you don’t have it heating constantly. I just got a text this morning with an estimate. Replacing the cord will cost under $100. Replacing the block heater part, however, would cost almost $300. !! As far as we know, it’s just the cord that needs replacing, since finding the plug ripped off the end.

We are supposed to have a high of -16C, give or take a degree, and stay warmer than -20C for the next while before warming up above -10C. I’m quite looking forward to the return of the El Nino effect!

I’m sure the yard cats will be appreciating it, too!

The Re-Farmer

Not quite there, yet

/ Re-Farmer / 2 Comments

One more night, before the cold snap is dupposed to end, in our area.

I headed out to feed the outside cats and do partial evening rounds. We have reached our expected high of -20C, and are not expected to drop much lower overnight. The windchill, however, is -32C right now, and it’s expected to reach -37C overnight! While walking around the inner yard, there is a section that isn’t sheltered from north winds, and wow, what a difference! The winds have certainly increased, and we are supposed to get a light snowfall, too.

The cats are handling it well, and making good use of the shelter and sunroom. I did find they had somehow managed to unplug the heat lamp, though! The power bar is on the wall, on the far side of the platform, so reaching to plug it back in was a bit of a challenge. Even with it unplugged, though, the room was still around -10C. I made sure the lamp was pushing heat properly, before heading in.

Tomorrow our high is supposed to be -15 or -16C. I have some errands to run, and hope to head over to help my mother as well. I haven’t gotten through to her on the phone, yet. My brother spoke to her yesterday, and she had told him she is willing to try doing her errands in our truck! I do have the step stool, the truck has a step under the door, and the passenger side has a handle she can use to pull herself in. I’m willing to try it if she is, but my goodness, it concerns me! However, her car is out of commission, my sister isn’t able to come out, and my brother would have to plan ahead to arrange a day off work to help out with his car. So there isn’t much choice.

I hope it works out, because then I can get her to a doctor’s appointment, so she can get referred to a specialist. Errands, tomorrow, will be the test!

The Re-Farmer

Booked

/ Re-Farmer / 6 Comments

Well, it’s another step forward with the cats.

We have 3 kittens that did not go for the spay day last time, as they were too small. Two male and one female, all siblings.

This was Pom Pom. We now call him the Wolfman. He looks like he’s going to be a big, shaggy boy! He’s already the same size as the older kittens and Toni.

I don’t know where Soot Sprite is right now, but he is still tiny, like their sister.

We call her The Beast, now.

The problem is, the boys are starting to… practice, shall we say… on The Beast. She hasn’t had her first heat, so there are no concerns in that regard… yet. But we need to act soon.

I got an estimate from the local vet, and ti get both males done, including extras like nail trimming, etc, will be just under $340. Which is what one female would cost. Without the extras, it’ll save us a few bucks.

Meanwhile, I asked the Cat Lady about the next cheap spay day. I got a response today.

They have one for this month, but they are booked solid. The next is Feb. 10. They will do males, but want at least one female in a group, since population control is the goal. These are only $75 per cat, with just the surgery and, if needed, treatment fir ear mites. No wellness check, tattoo or anything else. They just do as many cats as they can. This is on a day the clinic is closed, and the staff all volunteer their time to allow it to be so inexpensive.

I called the local clinic to book our indoor males, but to do both would be more than a month from now. I could book one next week. So I did that. We will bring Soot Sprite in. He may be the smaller one, but he’s been the more… active… one. So he is the priority.

I’ve since asked the Cat Lady to book us fir at least three cats in February. We’ll do The Wolfman and The Beast, plus Tissue. Doing Tissue is a risk, considering what happened before, but with us bringing her in, she might not panic so much. If possible, we will also snag the fluffy tortie from outside.

This clinic tries to have these spay days once a month, though, so if we can start trapping female yard cats, we might be able to start getting them in, too.

I don’t know how much of this the rescue can cover, though. Donations are lean, with so many people struggling just to pay the bills and feed themselves. I have to assume we will be covering it, ourselves. Or, should I say, my daughter probably will be. Hopefully, she will have plenty of commissions!

The Re-Farmer

It’s coming

/ Re-Farmer / 10 Comments

Today is supposed to reach a high of -7C or -8C, after which the temperatures are supposed to drop. An Alberta Clipper weather system is blowing its way through the prairies. The snow is supposed to start this afternoon, for a total of up to 15cm over 36 hours.

We already have a light dusting of snow right now. I didn’t get a head count, but the cats definitely prefer to be in the sunroom, or the cat house. Only the super fluffy ones, like Driver, here, are staying out. The sunroom was at just below 0C when I came in this morning, compared to -12C outside.

Today’s jump in temperature makes it a good day for the phone tech to come out! My brother tried to phone me yesterday and, instead of the crackling noise as before, he got a busy signal. Even when I pick up the phone, I now only hear the light crackling of an open line. My brother says we just have a short, somewhere. The question is, where?

I will be taking advantage of the warmer day and heading to town to pick up a few things. I hope the local hardware store has stove pellets for the litter. I don’t want to drive further afield, but we’re running low. We had lots, but have been going through it faster. Using oil in the cat’s ears, and the subsequent grooming, has had unfortunate effects on their digestive systems! Nothing like so many cats having the s***s at the same time!

We’ve taken a break on doing their ears right now. The next time we do them, we need to keep track of which cats still have too much detritus in their ears and keep doing them. Some are nice and clean, so no need to keep doing theirs, anymore.

Hopefully, the phone tech will come in the next hour or so, before I plan to head out. Otherwise, I’ll be leaving the gate open for him. He’s supposed to try and call my husband’s cell phone, first, but who knows if he’ll have enough signal.

Meanwhile, it was nice enough out that I shoveled the outer yard paths, to the garage, burn barrel, and electricity meter. Depending on how much snow accumulates over the next few days, we might need to break little Spewie out and do the driveway. For now, though, the truck can easily clear the snow we have so far.

I’m so happy we have that truck!

The Re-Farmer

Set up

/ Re-Farmer / 6 Comments

Well, it wasn’t how I hoped to set it up, but it’s pretty much the only option.

I took the platform out completely to work out how to hang the heat lamp, as well as to reach where the power bar is hanging. This gave me the opportunity to remove one of the shop lights, as it will be needed in the living room, when we start our seeds.

All the possible places to attach the lamp were too far to the sides, and too close to stuff being stored. I tried to set up the metal saw horse in the middle of the space, but that put the lamp way too low. So the platform got put back, and the lamp was hung directly to the side of the frame. No need to make holes in the insulation.

It was first secured with garden twist ties, both on the hanger, and the clamp, so it can’t swing around. Then zip ties were added, for extra security.

The platform bounces a lot when the cats jump on it, so that needs extra support. I think we have long enough boards, salvaged from a shed, in the basement. A pair of those under the platform should be sufficient.

I think this location is best, too. If I’d put it on the other side, it would be right over the cat beds, which might actually get too warm. We don’t want to mess with their ability to acclimate to the outside temperatures. Plus, that would put it close to the windows. The temperature differences, inside and out, could lead to glass cracking. That’s already a concern.

The insulation under the platform mesh will help keep the warmth under the platform, even with the lamp to the edge like that. It is over where some of the food bowls are, which I’m sure they will appreciate at feeding time! This room does not need – and should not have – a lot of heat in the winter. I think this set up will be just enough for the coming cold.

I just checked the critter cam my SIL gave us, and I can see a pair of cats almost directly under the lamp, while others are on the cat beds, as usual.

So far, so good!

The Re-Farmer

It’s in! Plus, computer news

/ Re-Farmer / 1 Comment

Just in time!

I just got back from the post office and brought this home. The heat lamp for the sun room. It’s assembled and ready to hang up. I’m going to let it all come to room temperature before I try to hang it up and turn it on.

This is much better than what we used before, which was never intended to be used for anything other than keeping the pipes under the kitchen sink from freezing. This is a brooder lamp, so it’s meant to keep critters warm, safely. The bulb guard being particularly appreciated. Sure, a cat could still stick it’s head in, though I’ll be sure to hang it where that is not likely to happen. More likely is an accidental brushing. Between the bulb guard and the depth of the reflective shade, that is no longer a concern.

There is the option to hang it from a hook, or using a clamp. I expect to be using the clamp, but it’s good to have choices.

We are not expected to have daytime highs below -20C for a while yet, but overnight lows have already dropped to that point. The city we lived in last is expecting to drop colder than -30C, so we don’t have much to complain about.

In other news, I got a voice mail on my cell phone. It never rang, but at least it took a message.

It was the computer repair place, letting me know my machine is ready to pick up.

!!!

I had thought it was a lost cause, but no. He got it going. It takes about 5 minutes to boot up (it was taking that long for a while, now), but it’s working again. The total bill, including saving and backing up my data, is almost $300. Much cheaper than a new computer!

I do still need a new computer. The hardware is giving out and it’s not worth replacing it all, but it does give us time to figure out getting the funds for a new machine. Or even a refurbished one.

I don’t know when we’ll be going into the city next, to pick it up. That gives us time to scrape the money together to pay for it.

Then there is the cost of replacing the valve stems on the truck.

Then there is getting my mother’s car in to see what the damage is, and how much it will cost to fix.

My husband has an eye appointment coming up and will need new glasses. The last time he got glasses, it cost over $1500, most of it for his special lenses, some 15 or so years ago. His insurance currently covers only about $400.

Then there is…

Then there is…

Then there is…

It just doesn’t end, does it?

However, the kitties will be nice and warm. I think the lamp is ready to hang up, now!

The Re-Farmer

A pleasant visit

/ Re-Farmer / 3 Comments

First, the cuteness!

By the time I finish my morning rounds, the outside cats are done eating and settling into their cuddle piles. The three smallest kittens are in this one.

I want to snuggle the fluffy tabby so much! S/he will not allow it. The white and grey is friendly. Once in a while, I manage to sneak a pet on the grey tabby with white, on the left, but rarely do. The other two littles do allow me to pet them, and sometimes pick them up. The tortie does not like it, but tolerates it a bit more.

I ended up heading to my mother’s, today. My brother was planning to visit her and set up a call blocker, to stop the scam calls my mother gets, as well as the abusive calls she gets from our vandal. He was going to start while she was in church, as her place is so tiny, it’s easier that way. I came over to help him out.

He has a much longer drive than I do, and we ended up meeting elsewhere, then going to her place together. I’m glad I was there to help out, even if it was just passing him things. Before we started, though, we checked my mother’s answering machine for her. She can listen to messages, but can’t figure out how to delete them.

There were two messages from our vandal.

He was quite upset that I answered her phone while I was there. Had all sorts of nasty things to say about me, of course. Apparently, he’s poor because of “what [I] did”, and his $7000 in legal fees. Of course, no taking responsibility over the fact that he was caught vandalizing the gate and that’s why I pressed charges. Or his stalking behavior, etc. No mention of his trying to sue me for $13,000, for stuff I never claimed to own. He’s lucky my mother and brother aren’t up to doing him for all the stuff he took from here, over the years. That total would be over $40,000, and that’s just for the stuff my brother could remember, and that we know is at our vandal’s place.

Oh, and apparently, I have lots of money, and cameras all over the place. Well, if he thinks we have more cameras than we do, I’m good with that. Those cameras are probably the only thing keeping him away. Also, apparently God says he should be allowed on the property.

My mother has been getting these abusive calls for at least 10 years. My brother has copies of hundreds of them. It will be so good for my mother to not have this anymore. The only thing is, she will probably still call him, eventually. She does not understand why she should not do that.

Setting up the call blocker took more time then it should have, of course. The device itself was easy to do, and our vandal’s numbers were already programmed in. To block the over 5000 known scam numbers, however, required going through a process to link and turn on through the phone system.

It didn’t work, of course. Even though my brother made the arrangements and paid for the service already. The numbers should still be blocked, but that’s something he has to work out with the phone company. They should be able to set it up remotely – he used to work IT for them, years ago, so he knows they can. But they insist he has to do this from my mother’s phone.

Still, we got as much done as we could.

My SIL had packed a lunch for my brother to bring, so by the time my mother came back from church, we had tea made and lunch out and ready for her. She did not know I was going to be there, do that was a surprise, too.

It was a very good visit. Plus, there were a few little fixes she got my brother to do. I dud have to laugh when she started telling us how, when our sister had been there, she fixed the glass shade thar came off her bedroom lamp, but she had no idea when she did it.

It was funny, because I was the one that fixed it, the last time I was there. She’d stepped out of her apartment and, while waiting for her, I saw the shade and reassembled it. Then I went to help her with things and forgot about it. She did not notice it was fixed until after my sister left her place, the next day. 😄

I’m glad I was able to be there. Not only to help my brother, but with both of us there, she was on much better behavior. She tried to go off on a racist tangent only once, and was easily deflected.

The only downside is, both my brother and I forgot to pick up some milk for her, before heading home. So maybe I will be heading back, tomorrow.

We shall see.

The Re-Farmer