spring is in the air

Well, half the job is done!

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What a huge difference between yesterday and today!

At a time when we were at -28C/-18F yesterday, we were at -8C/17F this morning!

When I changed out Potato Beetle’s water bowl yesterday, which was up close to the heat bulb, I ended up with a shell of ice. This morning, there was no ice at all. In fact, when I let Potato Beetle out, I unplugged the heat bulb and took the water bowl back outside. There’s no need for him to be kept in the sun room anymore. The Potato is free again!

Oh, I managed to snag a photo of some visitors yesterday evening.

This herd has been coming by regularly! That group is the back is four deer, bunched together. :-)

With the temperatures warming up 20C in 24 hours, I was able to do my full rounds before heading to the city with the van, to finally try and do a Costco run.

The van was running well and I had no problems, and yet, shortly before I reached the city (after about a hour of driving), the check engine light came on.

Crud.

I kept going to the Costco parking lot, then plugged in my OBD II reader. I got two error messages this time.

The first error code, I’d had the last time I checked, but the second one was new. The app allowed me to look it up.

I got this:

SPECIAL NOTES: OBD II code with the definition “IAT [Intake Air Temperature] – B Circuit Malfunction / Exhaust Gas Recirculation Closed Position Performance” is mostly relevant to some General Motors (and a few European) products from the late 1990’s to the early / mid 2000’s, and is therefore no longer in common use by most manufacturers. Starting in the mid-2000’s, the “IAT [Intake Air Temperature] – B Circuit Malfunction” component of the definition was dropped, largely due to improved PCM programming, even though it still appears in many sources, including online lists of OBD II code definitions.

However, the transition from the definition “IAT [Intake Air Temperature] – B Circuit Malfunction / Exhaust Gas Recirculation Closed Position Performance”, to the definition most commonly used by many manufacturers for OBD II code P1404 today, “EGR Valve Closed Position Performance”, has NOT been smooth and/or uniform across all manufacturers, and it may still be encountered on older USDM applications and some European imports. The General Motors TSB below that describes a potential cause of this code on some older GM applications with the definition “IAT [Intake Air Temperature] – B Circuit Malfunction / Exhaust Gas Recirculation Closed Position Performance” is reproduced from official GM sources. Note that the “electronic noise” referenced in the TSB often originated in the Intake Air Temperature sensor.

https://www.troublecodes.net/p1codes/p1404/

Which basically tells me “our van is old”. :-/

For our specific vehicle, it means “Exhaust Gas Recirculation Closed Position Performance (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Saturn)”

I also found this:

If the Check Engine warning light turns on or your vehicle fails an emissions test, have the powertrain of your vehicle undergo a diagnostic scan. If the scan provides you with trouble code P1404, then it means your EGR valve is stuck in the closed position. This will ultimately raise the combustion temperatures in your engine cylinders. The temperature gauge on your dashboard may even reflect this too.

The engine control unit constantly communicates with the EGR valve and will know whenever it is in the wrong position. Once you know that it gets stuck in the closed position, you must either replace the EGR valve or figure out if another component is causing the problem. Sometimes you may just have a clogged EGR valve which must be cleaned out. But this isn’t a treatment which you should perform alone. It requires someone with the proper knowledge and skills of automobiles to make it happen.

https://autocartimes.com/p1404/

However, this is a completely new EGR valve.

I ended up texting a screencap of the error codes to the garage, then called him to let him know I’d sent them. He checked them out, then got back to me. After confirming that the van is otherwise running fine, and this is the first real trip I’ve made since the EGR valve was replaced, it is likely some carbon he couldn’t reach to clean out came loose. For now, I’m to keep an eye on it. If the van starts acting up, bring it in. Otherwise, it should just clear itself out.

*sigh*

So I went ahead and braved Costco.

I almost didn’t. The entire time I was in the van, I was watching the line that extended almost the entire length of the building. It was moving, but not very fast. I finally decided to go for it, instead of going to a Superstore or something.

Thankfully, this location is still somewhat sane. There were signs all over for “face coverings”, but even the ladies at the door were wearing face shields, not masks. They didn’t even blink at me with my Mingle Mask. So that was a relief.

This being Costco, I grabbed a flat cart. With so much to stock up on, I only got half the cat kibble and litter I normally would have – not only for the space on the cart, but also because I didn’t want to fully load the van with heavy stuff like that, quite yet.

I still got pretty much everything from the Costco part of my list; just not all in the quantities I normally would have. Still, the whole thing came out to about $750 – part of which went towards renewing our membership, which lapsed back in November. We’ve got an Executive membership, so I did have the rebate check on that. It didn’t quite cover the renewal fee, but that’s okay.

One thing I was able to find was a three pack of storage bins. I was on the look out for a bin to store our canning supplies, which are currently scattered about in various places in the kitchen. When it came time to pay, I told the woman that was going to repack the cart that she could use the new bins to hold things, if she wanted. She liked that idea and was going to, but the bins were Zip tied together. After seeing them struggle with the bins, I asked if she needed a knife, which she did, so I grabbed my little pocket knife out of my coat and went to cut the ties.

Behind me I hear a customer saying “It’s a good thing we’re not at the airport!” LOL

It worked out very well. When I got to the van, I repacked the cold and frozen items into insulated bags. All the other smaller stuff fit in the three bins, and with their lids, it made for a very efficiently packed van!

During the drive home, I paid close attention to the van, and it was running fine. If there was anything out of the ordinary, I’d say that the gas mileage was somewhat worse. That was it.

Once at home and everything was put away (so good to see everything well stocked again!), I went over the list and made up a new one for non-Costco shopping.

I’ll be going back to the city tomorrow for the rest, just to get it over with. One of my daughters will even be coming with me, as they have their own shopping list. Once that’s done, we will be fully stocked for the month, and need to only make trips into town for fresh stuff.

If that check engine light is still on after tomorrow’s trip, I’ll see about bringing the van back to the garage.

I am so looking forward to not needing to go anywhere again.

The Re-Farmer

We’re melting! Plus, vet trip arranged

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Oh, my goodness! It is so incredibly warm out there right now!

The Weather Network app on my desktop has not been working well with our intermittent internet connection, and often will not update at all, but the weather app that came with my computer seems to get through better. (Even while writing a post, I’ll get the red bar across the top, telling me the autosave didn’t work because I have no internet, several times before I’m done!) Between those two on my desktop, plus the one on my phone, we have three different forecasts at the same time. :-D They would be linked to different weather stations. None of them tell me which weather station they are linked to. Ah, well. They tend to be close it enough, it doesn’t matter too much.

We have all sorts of melt happening right now! This is the diverter from our rain barrel; it’s mostly full and frozen right now, so I’m not letting the melt go into it for now. I did empty it in the fall, so all the water in it – minus what I was able to bail out several times over this winter – is from when things got warm enough to melt. A demonstration of how, in spite of the polar vortex we’ve been under for the past few weeks, this has been a very mild winter!

While doing my rounds I, of course, checked on the yard cats. Nosy’s eyes are still leaky, but they are more open. He’s spending much of his time in the cat house, with the white cat with calico markings. I was looking through old files and confirmed that she is Rosentrantz’s baby. I have some photos and video from last spring of her and her orange sibling, being groomed by Rosencrantz, outside the pump shack. We never saw her orange sibling again, and have no idea what happened to it. I am just sort of assuming this cat is also a female, but we really have no idea. She runs off too quickly.

It was Potato Beetle I most wanted to check out. He had looked really messed up, just a few days ago, and had blood on his fur at his back legs, but we weren’t able to see where he was hurt. Yesterday, I saw him and, while he was moving around better than before, he was still messed up. Plus, there seemed to be some (frozen) bloody mucus on his fur on a back leg. I tried to see where it came from and thought there might have been some swelling inside a back leg, but he wouldn’t let me get a better look.

This morning, when he came out for food and water, I was happy to see he seemed to be moving normally again. He was eating with good appetite, and followed me around as I continued my rounds. He even let me pick him up and carry him, at the same time as Butterscotch. When I got back to the house, I was able to put Butterscotch down and try and get a look at Potato Beetle’s back legs and belly. I saw no sign of injury or swelling. There was no longer any dried blood, either. So I put him down and watched as he went into the kibble house.

When is when I saw the matted fur on his hip. I tried to get a closer look, and found it was a wound. My touching the area obviously was uncomfortable and he moved away, but I was able to see the fur was matted with blood and getting into the wound. I am guessing this is from a bite. It’s not a clean wound, like the gash we found on Butterscotch, but a messy hole. From what I can see, he just needs to be cleaned up and will likely need a stitch. Getting him on an antibiotic would be good, too. He would probably be fine if we did nothing at all, but… why take the chance?

So… time to dip into the emergency funds and take him to the vet. Thank God we actually have emergency funds! Before moving out here, we would never have been able to set money aside for any sort of contingency fund or savings. It’s amazing what a different not paying cash for rent makes, even if we have much higher expenses in other areas. :-)

I am going to my mother’s to help her with shopping today, so we will be bringing him in tomorrow afternoon. I’ve already called the vet to arrange it. At least Potato is one of the more socialized cats and will not be a problem to catch. I should still probably close him up in the sun room when I do my morning rounds tomorrow, just to make sure he’s in the area when it’s time to get him into the carrier.

Meanwhile, all the cats seem to be really enjoying these warmer temperatures! Including Potato Beetle with his injury. The younger cats are very rambunctious, playing in the snow and wrestling. They are such fun to watch!

The Re-Farmer

Oh, what a lovely day!

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My goodness, it’s feeling like spring out there! As I write these, we are at -8C/18F and expected to still warm up a bit! Not even the wind chill of -15C/5F can put a damper on it. :-D It’s so warm that, while doing my morning rounds (at about -15C, before wind chill), I was actually starting to overheat in my parka!

I’m also excited to say that we are seeing new sprouts in our aquarium greenhouses. Not only among the shallots we planted 5 days ago, but even the bunching onions that were planted four days ago! Talk about excellent germination speed!

While doing my rounds this morning and changing the cats’ water, I found this adorable sight.

Nostrildamus, getting some cuddles!

The other cat he’s with is one that is incredibly shy and we rarely see. We think it is either his sibling, or Rosencrantz’s kitten. They were so skittish, we never quite figured it out.

Nosy did come out as I was doing the bird and deer feed. Both his eyes are still gummed up. He can open them enough to see a bit, at least, but not well. My brother’s dog had come to visit, and he couldn’t see well enough to know the dog was around until he was being sniffed! When he climbed up a rail in front of the sun room, I took the opportunity to give his eyes as good of a wipe as I could, with a dry tissue. By Monday, we’ll be above freezing temperatures, so that would be the time to give his eyes a wash with a damp cloth. Meanwhile, in his semi-blindness, he is at least discovering that my brother’s dog isn’t actually trying to hurt him, but just sniff him. :-)

This afternoon, I made a trip into town to pick up a package that Purolater had left at a drop off station there, since they don’t deliver to our area at all. It’s been a few weeks, trying to get this thing! When we got a call saying it would be dropped off in town, I was told it would be there for only 5 business days, and then would be returned to sender. That’s when the deep freeze hit, and we weren’t going anywhere, so I called the store that serves as a drop off point about it. That’s when I found out they hang on to packages for 28 days before sending them back! So I don’t know what Purolator was talking about.

We had no idea what the package was, and now I’m glad we went through all the trouble! It turned out to be the hard copy of a book we ordered back in December. I’m excited to read it, because it was written by a friend of ours. You can check it out here (not an affiliate link).

Since I was in town, anyhow, I picked up a few things, and even remembered to pick up more deer feed, so I pulled the car into the yard to unload.

Which is when I found another adorable sight.

The brothers are enjoying the sun together, as well as the warmer surface of the insulation lining the shelves! I had to zoom in with my phone to take the picture, so the quality sucks, but they’re still cute!

Also, the cats love to bite that insulation. Those edges used to be smoothly cut. You can even see teeth marks! All over the ground in front of the shelf are little bits of insulation that they bite off and spit out. LOL

The ice chunks in the foreground are from my using the sawhorses to bash the water bowls against, to clear empty them.

My brother’s dog was visiting again when I got back, and I was pleased to see the cats were all running around and playing, instead of hiding from him. It looks like they are starting to get used to him! My brother’s dog used to come here all the time to visit my late father. This place is was like a second home to him, so I’m glad the critters are starting to get along.

I am really looking forward to the next few days! I’ve seen the forecast for Monday as high as 5C/41F !! though right now, it’s back to “only” 4C/39F

It’s amazing how uplifting the warmer temperatures are. :-)

The Re-Farmer

Good morning…

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Spring decided to take off, this morning.

Bouncin’ Babies

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Ah, spring is in the air!

Here is some video I found while checking the trail cam this morning.

Pay close attention to the background.

The young deer back there are just full of bounce and energy!!

We are also looking ahead to more bouncing babies.

20190409.big.butterscotch

Butterscotch is getting big, and it’s not just gaining weight from having a reliable food source, anymore! She’s getting quite rolly polly in the middle. Should be interesting to see how big of a litter she has!

20190409.hello.beepbeep

I’m pretty sure that Beep Beep is pregnant. She, too, has put on weight just from having reliable access to food, so it may be just that, but … well … it’s that time of year!

The last while, it has been Beep Beep that has been following me when I do my rounds and wanting to be picked up. Butterscotch still wants up and attention, but I think it’s starting to get uncomfortable for her to be picked up, no matter how gentle I try to be. Beep Beep is taking advantage of this, it seems. She will just loll about in my arms, then give me chin kisses.

Such sweet kitties!

The Re-Farmer

Still got no rubbers

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With all the snow melt and puddles forming, I quickly got tired of wet feet and soaked shoes.

So last night, I bit the bullet and braved an area of the house I tend to avoid.

The new part basement.

I remembered seeing a whole bunch of rubber boots down there, and was desperate enough to consider using a pair.

Note I said “consider”…

For those unfamiliar with the Canadianism, rubbers are footwear. I believe in other places, they are called rain boots or Wellingtons.

Rubbers are not to be confused with that other rubber Canadianism, meaning a type of eraser. Also, not to be confused with yet another type of rubber, aka a condom. There are quite a few different kinds of rubbers, now that I think about it. :-D

Anyhow. I’m talking boots.

These boots.

Continue reading →

Snow trap

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The warmer temperatures have created some interesting conditions, and it is a direct consequence of our lack of a snow blower during parts of the winter.

Snow traps. That trap tires. :-D

I got stuck a couple of times yesterday, in our own driveway. Here is why.

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Beach Weather!

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The girls and I had to make a run into town for them to pick up and sign their tax paperwork (no unhappy surprises for them, thank God!).  It was a gorgeous day, so when we took advantage of being in town to play some Pokemon Go, we also took advantage of a Pokemon Go gym being right at the beach.

It’s 21C in town, and the cool breezes off the lake made it perfect for enjoying the sun and sand!  There were quite a few people enjoying it.  Come summer time, when the tourist season kicks in, this beach gets quite crowded, so I much prefer to visit it now!

20180512.beach1

My younger daughter decided to go right into the water – as did others we saw on the beach.  The ambient temperature might have been nice, but the lake water is still ice cold!

20180512.beach2

You can just barely see it in the above picture, but there is actually still ice on the lake, way off in the distance – the tiniest patch visible near the top left of the photo.  To the right of centre, you can see someone in a power boat.

20180512.beach3

One of the places we regularly stop to play Pokemon Go is the parking lot for a park, the yacht club, and marina.  Today, there was a whole forest of masts on the hillside of the park, as people were bringing over tiny sailboats to prepare them.  We could see more being brought over as we played the game, easily carried by only two people. The parking lot itself was quite full of people tending to their boats, both for commercial fishing and for casual use.

The population of this town basically doubles in the summer, with all the people who come out to their cottages, some for a couple of months, others just for the weekends from the city.

When it’s quiet like this, I like to keep on the lookout for interesting rocks, such as “fairy stones” (rocks with holes in them, typically bored by local bivalves, the shells of which also dot the beach) and sometimes small fossils that get driven onto the beach by the tides as the ice melts.  Yes, this lake is large enough to have a tide.

This is one of the things about the move back that I am looking forward to enjoying!

The Re-Farmer

Outside Kitties and… oh, no.

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Today warmed up considerably, so I took the time to tromp around outside and check things out – posts about that, to follow.

In the process, I got to visit some of the friendlier outside cats…

Farm Cat

Beep Beep says hello.

Farm cat

The Butterscotch isn’t sure if she’s coming or going, but is very interested, either way!

 

and…touch the Butterscotch.

Farm Cat

“I will consider allowing you to touch my teeth. And my nostrils. But not to pet me.”

Butterscotch has been one of the more stand-offish of the outside cats, and usually stays just out of reach when I come by.  Friendly, but at a distance.

The cats seems to be really enjoying the warmer temperatures today.  Even the Mothman came sauntered through the deer feed.  We haven’t seen her in ages!

It was warm enough to stuff to even start melting!

Snowmelt

Drip. Drip. Drip.

There really should be a rain barrel under that downspout, but it’s on its side next to the house, frozen to the ground.

Unfortunately, we found a more problematic drip.

Dripping ceiling

Drip! Drip! Drip!

This is our bathroom ceiling.  The “tiles” are paneling, and the drips are at a seam between panels.

We couldn’t find where it was coming from, and it doesn’t seem to be dripping anywhere else.

As much as I loath to dump this on him, I contacted my older brother about this.  If this is from roof damage caused by the elements, it might be something that goes through the property insurance for a fix.

Not long ago, I was talking on the phone with my mom, and at one point, I brought up the sheer amount of work this place needs done.  My mother is blissfully unaware of how bad it was allowed to get.  At one point, she mentioned that she and my dad had paid for repairs to the roof.

My father passed away more than 1 1/2 years ago, and this place was empty for 2 years before we moved in.  I have no idea how long ago this work she was talking about happened but her concept of time is getting increasingly wonky.  She also seems to believe that once something like that has been done, it is fixed forever.  Hence her comments to us, when she was trying to talk us into moving out here, about how everything in the house was just “perfect.”  Everything was “perfect.”  We could just move in and not have to do anything.

In reality, there has been very little real maintenance done on anything for a very long time.  Not that there was much of an alternative.  My father was 92 when he went to the nursing home, and had been slowly failing for years.  My mother has been living in senior’s facility for even longer.  My siblings all have their own homes to take care of and lives to lead, so they couldn’t just drop everything to come here all the time.  It’s not that they didn’t do anything – they did tons.  They just couldn’t keep up with all of it, without actually living here.  Which is kind of why we’re living here now; our circumstances made us the only ones who really could do that.

But wow, is there going to be a lot for us to work on.

Years.  It’s going to take years.

It will be worth it in the end, but every now and then, it just kind of hits me, how much worse it was allowed to get than I expected.  And we’re still learning about what has been done.  It’s all been sort of piecemeal.

Meanwhile, it seems we have a leaking roof now.

The Re-Farmer