Wednesday, November 22, 2006, 07:46
Some Kind of Record
This has got to be some kind of a record. At least for the past few weeks -- because Tuesday was the *third* sunny day in a row!
I always feel better, somehow, when the sun is shining. And I think that's especially true when we've had periods of days on end -- and several weeks of -- cloudy, damp weather.
It's warming up again now, too. The temperature Tuesday was in the upper 40s. Not that I am surprised it is getting warmer again. That has been the weather pattern for the past year or so, especially in the fall, winter and spring. Warmer days for a while, then a big cool-down that stays for several days or a week. Then warmer weather for a few days. Then a big cool-down again. And all the while -- it stays dry. Not much for precipitation of any kind.
A few weeks ago, when we got a few inches of snow, south of here, they got 16 inches of snow. And that's true of the weather pattern, too. Precipitation to the west and to the south. But dry here. And dry farther north.
I'm not going to complain about the warmer weather for right now, though. Sure, it will make more mold grow outside, but the winter does not seem as long, or the days as short, strangely enough, when the weather is sunny instead of cloudy and dreary. Plus, seeing as I am doing so much driving for the newspaper, it's always easier when there isn't any snow and ice to contend with on the roads.
Unfortunately, I still have the road past our house to contend with. Last summer, the township ground off the blacktop and turned it into a dirt road again. I am not opposed to a dirt road. Not one bit. But what I am opposed to is that it has become a dirt road filled with ridges. Saying that it is like driving over a washboard is an understatement.
Earlier in the fall, the township graded the road every few weeks. It would be good for a week or so. Then the ridges would come back. They would grade. It would be good.
But the road has not been graded now for quite some time, and the ridges are very bad. When I turn the corner right below the house, I almost can't make it up the hill. The truck bogs down because of the ridges, and then the tires start bouncing over more ridges, and that makes the truck bog down more. I have to stop, shift into first, let out the clutch, and hope I make it up the hill. I have no idea how bad it will be when the road is covered with snow and ice. Although, when there's snow and ice, maybe the road will be better because the snow might fill in the ridges and smooth it out again.
Coyotes-- Seeing as it is gun deer season right now, I would have thought that all of the hunters tromping around in the woods and fields would have driven the coyotes farther up into the hills. But it hasn't.
On Sunday, I took the dogs out for a walk after sunset. By that time, I was hoping the deer hunters would have come out of the woods to the north of our place, and with any luck at all, the traffic would be minimal. Plus, I was delayed in getting out to feed the horses because Snowflake woke up unexpectedly and wanted more to eat.
As the dogs and I walked closer to the neighbor's place, I heard, only a hundred feet off the road in some pine trees, the "yip-yip" of a coyote getting ready to howl. Immediately, on the other side of the road, in some more pine trees not a hundred feet away, I heard another "yip, yip."
I called Charlie and put the leash on him. Then I proceeded to yell at the coyotes. The "yip-yip" stopped immediately. The coyotes usually let out a few "yip, yips" to see who else is around before they go at it hammer and tongs. The dogs and I hurried the half mile back home. As soon as we arrived in the driveway, the coyotes let loose.
There was a pack immediately to the southwest. One to the south. One to the northeast. One to the northwest. And one directly to the west. All within a quarter mile of the house.
Talk about feeling like we were surrounded.
I really don't care to have that many coyotes so close to the house, and I told Randy that maybe we ought to burn a bale of hay on the garden to get a good charred, smoky smell hanging around. A few years ago, we burned a pile of paper and twine string and put the water on the fire to start it smoking. The coyotes stayed away from here for a long while after that -- several months, at least.
Snowflake -- Snowflake was four weeks old Tuesday! And she is really starting to toddle around and explore the house some when I've got her out to feed her. In not too long, she will start to eat a little solid food. And in not too long, she will start to use the litter box. To tell you the truth, it can't be too soon for me about the litter box!
In not too long, she will also be big enough to play with the "big kitties." Randy says we ought to keep the video camera charged up all the time "just in case." Sophie is anxiously awaiting the day when Snowflake will be really big enough to play with her. Sophie would like to play right now, but Snowflake is too little to know how to play with her. Sophie keeps batting at Snowflake with her paw, but to Sophie's credit, she is keeping her claws in when she bats at the kitten. Sophie keeps hiding around corners, too, trying to "stalk" the kitten, but Snowflake doesn't know what that is yet. She will soon. And then let the chases begin!
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, November 20, 2006, 04:58
Sunn Day!. . .Frozen Buckets. . .Craft Sale. . .Snowflake
The big news of the day is. . .the sun was shining all day. The sky was clear this morning, and for the first time in more than a week, we had sunshine all day, and which also means, I saw a sunset this evening.
At this time of the year, it seems like we can only get maybe one day of sunshine in a week. The sunset, on the other hand, was depressing in a way. When I don't get to see sunsets very often, it takes me by surprise how far south the sun has moved. And the sun is quite far south now. Not as far south as it will be in a month. But far enough south to suit me.
Even though the sun was shining today, it wasn't all that warm. Only about 40 degrees. And it was fairly cold last night -- 15 degrees. I suppose I can't expect anything else, though. It is November, after all. And it will be 15 degrees again tonight. If not colder. And that means I will once again need to take hot water out with me when I give the horses more hay to keep their buckets open long enough for them to drink.
I keep wondering if I ought to invest in two of those heated pails for the horses. But I really don't want to have two electrical cords running down to the pastures from the house. An electrical cord is a real inconvenience when it comes time to plow snow or to use the snowblower because before you can move snow, you have to unplug the bucket and get the cords out of the way.
I had one of those buckets for Kajun a couple of years ago. The thing worked like a charm. Kept the water open all the time and even kept it a tad bit warm so that Kajun wanted to drink it. He likes to drink warm water in the winter time. When I bring a bucket of warm water he will drink almost the whole thing at once.
The only problem was -- it got down to 20 degrees below zero one night and the bucket burned out. The label on the pail said it was only rated to 20 below.
Well, excuse me, I hate to tell the manufacturers this -- BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHEN YOU NEED A HEATED BUCKET. Do they expect that the temperature won't fall any lower than 20 below because they only make buckets that last until 20 below? The thing cost more than $40, too, and I am reluctant to spend $80 on buckets that burns out when it's 20 below.
Or maybe that's the manufacturer's strategy? Build the buckets so they only last until 20 below so people have to keep buying more buckets?
For the time being, I will continue to bring warm water to thaw the buckets until it gets very cold. At that point, I will change the buckets three times a day. I bring the frozen buckets up to the house to thaw and take fresh buckets of warm water back out to the horses.
After a few weeks of lugging frozen buckets back to the house and carrying warm water back out the horses three times a day, I start thinking about how much easier life is when the temperature is not below freezing.
Last-Minute Craft Sale -- I took my books to a craft sale yesterday that was put together almost at the last minute in my hometown. The craft sale replaced the one that always used to be held at the nursing home but was held this year at the senior center.
The craft sale actually turned out quite well. I think people enjoy having a small craft sale in town. And because it was at the senior center, they could serve coffee and donuts and people had a place to sit down to drink their coffee and visit with whoever else was there. It was a craft sale -- and it was also a social event. There were 13 or 14 vendors, and between us, we decided that it was a "keeper" and that we should do it again next year. I sold 12 books myself, which is as many as what I usually sell at the huge craft sales held at high schools in other towns.
And not only that, but I managed to buy some gifts for my Sunday school kids. A woman who is the mother of one of my high school classmates makes angels and other ornaments. Her table was right next to mine, and I bought some very pretty cross ornaments made out of pearls and beads and some angels made out of little jingle bells. They're just the cutest things. She also makes angels out of -- of all things -- shoulder pads cut out of garments. They're just the cutest things, too. She gets a big kick out of asking people if they know what those shoulder pad angels are made out of. "You never throw anything away," is what she says. "You can always make something out of just about anything."
I envy people who have that kind of creative vision.
Snowflake-- I can't hardly believe this. Friday night when I was trying to feed Snowflake, she went into another screaming, crying frenzy and acted like she couldn't find the syringe with her formula. This is the same thing she did when I was using a 3 cc syringe and Randy said, "do you think you should use a 12 cc?" and I thought she was still too small for a 12cc.
Fortunately, I recognized the symptoms. And fortunately, we had a package of 35 cc syringes in the cupboard.
I put Snowflake in the babysitter pail and got a 35cc syringe out of the cupboard. With Snowflake screaming at the top of her lungs, I took a sharp knife and cut the plastic collar off the syringe where the needle is supposed to fit.
I looked at the 35cc syringe and thought, "this is ridiculous. It is WAY too big for Snowflake."
Right.
She clamped onto it and never looked back, sucking away happily until she had gotten her fill.
Now, over the years, I have fed a total of 33 kittens with syringes. Not all of them were orphans -- only 10 -- and the rest were kittens that needed extra food. One mother cat didn't have enough milk for her 8 kittens after they got bigger. Another time, two years ago, I brought 5 four-week old kittens into the basement in November so they wouldn't freeze to death. And I've helped out other kittens, too, for one reason or another.
I have *never* -- in 33 kittens -- had one that needed a 35 cc syringe so she could get her whole mouth up to it and feel against her face.
I am hoping that Snowflake is ready to eat on her own by the time she thinks she is big enough for a 60cc syringe. I don't have any 60cc syringes.
Come to think of it, maybe I'd better buy some 60cc syringes the next time I'm at Fleet Farm. . .
LeAnn R. Ralph