Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 20:33
Tuesday Update: Below zero
At 2:30 p.m. Tuesday it was 1 degree below zero Fahrenheit. The wind was still blowing out of the west/northwest. And it was still snowing -- sideways.
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It is 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit at a little after midnight. I just got back in from giving the horses more grain, hay and warm water. The wind is blowing 20 to 30 mph out of the west/northwest. With the windchill, it is probably 40 degrees below zero.
Isabelle came out of her shelter long enough to eat her grain, then she ran back to her shelter. Kajun stayed in the barn the whole time. The high temperature is supposed to be 0 on Wednesday. If the wind dies down, 0 won't feel bad at all.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Tuesday, January 29, 2008, 18:03
Skating Rink
If I thought I could get out of the driveway with my little 13-year-old GMC truck and then actually end up where I intended to go without sliding into the ditch, I might be tempted to go out and buy a pair of ice skates.
After a high of 39 degrees Monday afternoon, it rained Monday night. Didn't rain a tremendous amount, but it didn't have to. It rained just enough to turn the driveway and parts of my paths into glare ice. I'm sure that a certain portion of the road leading out to the main road is glare ice as well.
First thing this morning, the temperature was 12 degrees. At noon it was 8 degrees with a stiff wind out of west/northwest at around 20 mph. And it is snowing. Looks like a blizzard outside.
After managing to take Charlie and Pixie for a walk around the hayfield, I decided I ought to put Charlie inside since the weather is so bad. I let Pixie into the house. She was covered with snow. I closed the door and then carefully walked around the side of the house seeing as there is a sheet of ice by the back porch.
Charlie, surmising that he was going to go inside to his kennel where he could be out of the cold wind and the snow, willingly followed me. I veered off to the side of the path to avoid the ice. Charlie didn't. All four of his feet slid out to the side, and he ended up on his belly. He had one heck of a time getting up because his feet kept sliding out from under him. I couldn't go to help him, either. I was afraid that with so much ice, I would end up flat on the ground like Charlie.
Eventually our Springer got to his feet. I carefully made my way around the side of the house. Not wanting a repeat of having all four of his feet slide out to the side again, Charlie, smart dog that he is, walked on the snow next to the path. When we got to the basement, he happily went into his kennel and flopped down on his blankets and quilts with a happy sigh.
Reserve power
Hah! Just now as I was typing the previous portion of my blog, a message came up across the screen of the laptop. "You are now running on reserve power," it said.
Reserve power? How could I be running on reserve battery power? The computer is plugged in, isn't it?
I looked at the power strip on my desk where the laptop is plugged in.
The power strip was turned off.
I can't say for sure because I didn't see it happen, but I would be willing to bet money that either Henry, Katerina or Dora stepped on the switch to the power strip. I was working on the laptop earlier this morning, and the three kittens were snooping around on my desk.
I'm going to have to watch that.
Duke
I think Duke is finally getting rehydrated again. Randy and I administered fluids Monday night This morning when I checked, Duke had a buildup of fluid under his left leg and running down his left leg. When you give fluid to a cat, gravity takes over and the fluid pools up around the legs and belly until it is absorbed by the body.
Since the fluid is absorbing more slowly into Duke's system, I am hoping that means he is not needing to absorb it so quickly anymore. I will check again tonight, and if he still has fluid pooled up, I will hold off giving him more subcutaneous fluid until tomorrow.
Duke has not said anything to me again after that one tiny meow, but Tuesday morning, as he was lying in the rocking chair, I knelt on the floor, petted him and put my head down next to him.
All at once, he started to purr. Duke has always had a big, booming purr that matches his size.
This was just a small, spluttering purr. But it was a purr.
Maybe Duke *is* feeling a tiny bit better.
LeAnn R. Ralph