Bogieblog

Happy Birthday to Me 2025

My birthday was earlier this month. I don't celebrate but appreciate the cards and phone calls I receive. This year a purchase I made happened to coincide, sort of, so I'm calling it a BD present to myself.

Last summer I started looking at battery operated mowers. I have a bunch of Ryobi 40v tools that perform their jobs well, so a mower would fit in. It would also be easier at times, to use a battery operated mower for areas of the yard when the entire thing doesn't need to be done. I also have a couple of neighbors that use battery operated mowers of different brands, and the reduced noise is nice. Oh, and I can use solar to charge the batteries, so less gas to keep on hand.

On April 6, Home Depot had a small sale on a model that has everything I wanted. Well, it had batteries and a charger too, neither of which I need, but they weren't selling just the tool. I had a 10% off coupon. And, I was eyeing the threatened tariffs that had me thinking if I was going to do it, now was the time. Oh, and delivery was free.

Last Tuesday, April 8, the mower was delivered to my place. Thursday night I got it out of the box, did what little "assembly" needed done (lift the handle into place, remove batteries from boxes) threw two batteries in, and started it up. Well, it seems to work. I just won't have any grass to cut until at least mid May, maybe the end of May.

I'll still be keeping the trusty gas powered mower to take care of select areas in the yard such as the drainage are between my place and the trailer. That area rarely dries out but has fast growing grass, and it has some rocks that I hit on occasion, so it is best I use the beat up model not my new one for that area.

Mother Nature is Still Trying to Figure it Out

Although we are in spring, it is not uncommon to be cold, nor is it uncommon to get snow storms. Experienced people, or maybe those of us that are less optimistic, keep our snow blowers and shovels at the ready until the end of April. My place has gotten small squalls every day for a week. Those storms would mostly leave a trace to 1/2" or so, but melt by mid morning or so.

Yesterday though, I pulled out the trusty snow blower to clear off the driveway. In the yard, it was 5.25" of snow just before I started the blower. The driveway had less as the driveway was warm enough to melt the first portion that fell. But the snow fell too fast to keep melting.

It was still snowing when I started shoveling and blowing snow in select places; the driveway, in front of the gates, the ramp to the shed and the roof dumpage between the back porch steps and the closest gate. I would guess that once that was done, despite what the picture shows, I had 5.5" of the white stuff before it turned to rain.

This coming week we are supposed to have temps in the 50's or perhaps 60's so the snow will melt soon. Sure would be nice if the weekends would quit being nasty weather, either snow/ice/rain (or all), cold and heavily overcast the entire time so even the afternoons are dark and dreary. The last 4 weekends have been yucky - it may be more weekends in a row than that, but I haven't kept that close a track. If it hasn't snowed during the weekend, it has been rainy, cold (30's) and heavily overcast so even the middle of the day is dark. Today it is supposed to be heavily overcast, although above freezing.

Free Ranging in the House

I reported that I had closed the gate to the basement on 2/19/25 to keep Lila from hiding down there all day. Of course that meant cat boxes were brought up into the front bedroom.

The strategy seemed to work well. After about a week, Lila quit trying to convince the stupid human to open the gate in the morning. She has also moved some of her activity to daytime hours so is not roaming around all night.

Last weekend I started leaving the gate open during the day. Spot loves that because she can go down and lay on the pellet stove after it has shut off. Actually, the reason I started opening the gate during the day was because Spot was complaining that she couldn't go downstairs - probably because we had enough sun that the living room stove didn't run thru the daytime, so there was no warm spot for her to lay on. However, at night, I would close the gate at dinner time. The LR stove would run at night and keep Spot supplied with a warm surface to lay on.

Lila did not resume going downstairs to hide during the day, so a couple of days later I moved one of the cat boxes down there (I have a total of 3, and only 2 were brought up during the gate restriction time).

This past Friday, after confirming that cats were using the downstairs boxes, and Lila was not remaining downstairs to hide, I moved the last litter box downstairs. Everyone has caught on to the changes, and there have been no accidents, so life is good.

All Three Snuggled Up

Yesterday was rain/snow/sleet/freezing rain and very gloomy (supposed to be that way until Monday evening). I was laying on the couch, reading and "watching" the Science channel when apparently I drifted off into a nap. When I woke up, I was greatly surprised to see all 3 cats laying with me. From close to far: Rainey, Spot, Lila

One cat, sure. Two cats of various combos I also get regularly. But all 3 has never happened before. Spot is rather jealous of "her space". Even when there is plenty of room at her favorite section (where she is in the picture), if Rainey is there, 9 times out of 10 Spot will bop her sister until Rainey jumps off. 2/3 of the time Spot just has to raise her paw in a striking position, and Rainey will jump off. The other times, they will exchange growls and Rainey will sit up, then exchange a bop or two, then jump off. Rainey can chose to come back up later and slowly slide in next to Spot, but not touching. Usually that is okay, but on rare occasions she is again rebuffed. And if Spot stretches out so she is as long as she can get, then Rainey doesn't even try.

The interesting thing is that Lila reacts to Spot's show of dominance a little differently and vice versa. Regardless if Lila is already at my feet, or slides up after Spot has settled in, only about 1/2 the time does Spot have an objection. But, Spot's objection is softer, than when it is her sister. Spot may softly growl, or sometimes lift her paw (but not in a striking position), but she doesn't reach out to do the "bop". On Lila's side, she will show calmness by either sitting up and just looking at Spot, or laying her head flat on the blanket. She doesn't jump off or react in any other way.

At that point, Spot is satisfied, lays down, and all is good.

Each of the sisters is softer with Lila. I'm guessing part of it is because Spot and Rainey are sisters, have grown up together and are just rougher with each other because of it. Part of it is that they are not "bonded" litter mates. At times, play between the two can get downright mean - not quite to the blood-letting point, but some fur can fly (at least until recently). Lila is smaller than either of the other two, and has a non-threatening, calmer, way of presenting herself, even during play time. She also seems to use "trilling" noises to keep things at a comfortable level between everyone. 

Lila's softer ways has translated to the two sisters rarely escalating at the end of play, and any escalation is not to the point it used to be. Lila will play with either of them, so they can get some energy out, which is probably helpful.

Something is Out of Whack

Last Fall, my Thanksgiving cactus threw out a white bloom in October (the picture is about 1/2 way down that post). Close to Thanksgiving, it only threw out a couple of its regular salmon colored blooms (my fault, I don't feed it and I haven't given it any additional soil for a couple of years - I need to do that).

On 3/27/25, I noticed it was again putting out one white bloom (the picture pulls out some pink, which is only evident in the interior, not from the outside when I look at the bloom itself)

I don't get that bloom every spring. In fact, it has just been within the last few years that I've had the odd colored bloom (compared to the rest of the plant), but it is always welcome when it does appear.

Iditarod 2025

Note, this was originally posted yesterday morning (3/15/2025 and the 1st screen shot was real time - the only picture it would let me upload at the time. This morning, 3/16, I uploaded some pics that wouldn't upload yesterday and it changed the posting date to today. Weird, it has never done that before.

The 2025 Iditarod is nearing the end. The winner, and indeed, the top 5 finishers have reached the burled arches.

But there is still plenty of racing still in the works. Congrats to all teams that had the courage to even start the race.

This year's race had especially grueling conditions, and it was over 100 miles longer than usual. normally the race is just under 1,000 miles, and this year it is 1,128 miles. There are 2 "normal" routes; the southern route at 998 miles, and the northern route at 975 miles. This year, being an "odd" year, was supposed to be the southern route.

Because of poor conditions at some of the normal initial route, the route was reworked and actually doubles back on itself for a portion. The race usually starts at Willow, AK, but instead started 286 miles north, at Fairbanks. (race map shows all routes)

The race started with 33 teams, with 1/3 of those led by female mushers. The initial entries were for 40 teams (about the average) but 7 teams withdrew before the start of the race for various reasons.

A guy at my previous job ask me why women didn't compete well in the Iditarod - LOL.  Of course, the connotation was that they weren't as "good" as men. Apparently he never heard of Libbey Riddle or Susan Butcher (who won 4 times). Nor had he heard of the women who have finished second Dee Dee Jonrowe (twice - plus raced after just completing chemo for cancer) and Ally Zirkle (multiple times - and was legally blind) to name a couple. Numerous women have finished in the top 5 and top 10. (link to a 2019 article on the women of Iditarod). It is not unusual for women to comprise 1/3 of the top 5 and/or top 10 finishers (my memory says more often than not that is the case, but I'm not going to do the research to prove it).

And of course, it isn't just about the mushers, but the canine athletes as well. Things happen upon the trail, such as moose attacks, spills that affect not just the athletes but also equipment, illness (human or canine), bad luck (one team beats a storm system while those just an hour or two behind encounter gale force winds or blizzards), trail conditions (which can get better or worse) etc.

This year, 2 women were in the top 5 finishers, so Chris, wherever you are, just letting you know that yes, women are still very competitive in this grueling race.

Kitty Cuteness in Early March

Early this month, I was looking at Rainey's cute little nose and had to take a picture of it. Unfortunately, the picture does not quite do justice to how it appears in real life. In person, it is jet black and looks so soft - like it is velvet. It is a striking difference to her gray coat.

At the time, Spot was sitting on the hopper to the pellet stove, probably watching birds out the window. She likes her picture taken, but gets very "enthusiastic" and it is hard to catch her when she is still. I have several pictures of her reaching for the camera, then finally got one of her being still (although not facing the camera).

and Lila, she has had several firsts this month. From being pet while she wasn't under my office chair (3/2/25) to being on the cat tree to being on the cat tree and NOT jumping off when I noticed (3-5-25), to actually getting on the bed (futon) for the first time ever (3-13-25) - Rainey is in the foreground. I had noticed Lila intensely watching after the lights went out and Rainey and Spot were laying on me - learning from them that it was safe. And, she has joined me on the bed every evening since then, laying at my feet.

I marvel at how much Lila learns from Spot and Rainey, watching their behaviors, my reactions to those behaviors, and eventually trying new things. Her confidence in her place in the household is blooming, and it is heartening to watch.

Rainey and Lila are fairly chummy and will play tag. In the past few days, I've even seen them rubbing against each other. Rainey is the more reserved of the two sisters, so that surprises me. 

Spot, is mainly indifferent. I think she is a bit jealous as she prefers to be the center of attention and will glare at me if she is in the room when I am petting Lila. At the same time, Spot will also play a game of tag on occasion (like right now, as I am typing), or is happy when Lila bats a ball her way during play, so some of Spot's minor shows of distastes are just for show. I can't help but think of many years ago when New would swat at the dogs if they got close (or she walked by them), but when she thought no one was looking, rub up against them and cuddle briefly - kept every one of the dogs confused - LOL.

After the Late Winter Thaw

Sometime near the end of February or beginning of March we usually get a break and have a short thaw. This year we needed it as, even though we didn't have any huge snow totals from any one storm, we had consistent storms throughout February. That can be demonstrated thru my lack of solar collection from the rooftop panels.

Versus the 1st four days in March. And I can tell you, that some panels still had snow on them until March 5th. Two days were pretty heavily overcast also and I still generated within 5kwh what had been generated in the total of February with 83.4 kwh generated (Imagine a bar chart here - because TP won't upload the pic - it won't allow me to load anymore pics than the first one).

The local news said that it was also the coldest winter in 10 years, which my pellet usage will attest to. I ran the P43 for the main floor heat most of the month. I also raised the set temp of the basement stove up a couple of degrees to 70*. That was to help keep the under-house garage from going below freezing. I keep a temp sensor in the garage for just that purpose since FHW pipes run thru there. Indeed, there were about 5 days that several times each day for 60-90 minutes each time, I opened the connecting door to the garage to allow the big stove downstairs to heat it.

Even though we have had "thawing" (temps over freezing - with one day near 50) Monday thru Wednesday, I measured yesterday and I still have 10-11" of snowpack in the yard. I had to measure at the side of a path since everything is so compressed from the sleet/freezing rain/rain that followed nearly every storm that I couldn't even make a dent in it so measure anywhere else.

Friday we had crazy winds, even worse than last weekend. There were a lot of snapped trees that took out power poles and electrical lines. Some just blocked roads. I experienced a short power outage of about 5 seconds as a tree came down and blocked my road a couple of blocks south of me (I couldn't see it and just found out about it from the FB page I follow). Fortunately that direction is on the receiving end of the electric flow, so the power outage was very brief as the system shut down in that direction and re-stabilized on my end. 

Yesterday was also pretty windy, but not to the whistling, moaning and howling that was characteristic of all of Friday. Today the winds are to settle down to the teens mph, but temps won't rise above freezing until during the week.

 

I Hate Politics

Still waiting to see the people that became millionaires, while working for the government, to get fired instead of those who are lowest on the pay scales, you know, the working class. And firing those people, without actual assessments for "performance issues" is not cool either. I thought actually draining the swamp, as it was called, was the theme.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting rid of fraud, waste and abuse. There needs to be a thoughtful process to it and just getting rid of people willy nilly, is not the way to do it.Oh, and maybe reading the Inspector Generals' reports might be a good first step.

Hmm, I would term this next thing as abuse and fraud - or at the very least a conflict of interest - which so many people said they wanted to get rid of.

I have neither the time, nor the energy to list everything I disagree with on how this administration is handling a lot of things.

But let me say by looking at what has been going on in all directions, I don't believe that Trump made as an outrageous statement as it seemed (i.e. not a hyperbolic point as R leaders claimed at the time) when he said on the campaign trail, ""In four years, You don't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good. You're not going to have to vote." (link - yeah, there is a 15 second commercial, then the video starts).

One last point - don't forget last summer he got the Supreme Court to rule that basically anything he does as an official act as President, cannot have consequences to him - there is total immunity.

Biggest Storm of Season (so far)

We got snow Saturday thru Sunday morning. We got icing thru a lot of the day Sunday, then it turned back to snow overnight. With all the sleet/freezing rain, I elected not to do any clean up until the storm was over. I had already arranged a PTO day for Monday, anticipating this scenario.

Early Monday morning the winds started to pick up. So measuring the depth of the snow/ice would have been useless. Some of the pathways that I keep clear had about 20" in them, but I'm sure that drifting had a lot to do with it. I'm guessing I got about a foot in actuality. Since the wind was supposed to really start honing around 10am, I got out early to clean up and finished up around 9am.

I had arranged for the berm from the road plows to be plowed by an individual. I'm glad I decided to do that since during clean up of the driveway, the last 5-7' were packed so tightly that it would have been way more work than I wanted to do. After the guy plowed out the berm Monday afternoon, I still had to tackle around the mailbox. That took me quite a while and a lot of oomph and strategizing how I would break it up enough to blow the mess out of the way.

Picture from the news Monday evening. Antrim is 2 miles down my road, and Sunapee is about 7 miles from me as the crow flies.

See that white strip just above Jaffrey? Yeah, I'm in that section and can attest that I have over 2' of snow pack (the ground hasn't been snow free for quite some time). And, most of the snows we have received have ended up with icing events so it got packed down pretty tightly.

We've gotten a break since that storm. We had been getting storms every 3 days or so, but nothing since Monday. However, there hasn't been any melting going on. Even my roof hasn't dumped or had much melting since prior to the storm BEFORE this last one.

I have never had a month so bad for solar production before; the following screen shot tells the whole story (the one, and only clear roof day was 2/7/2025). The solar production showing from yesterday, is from 2-3 panels on the west side that are mostly clear (there are 6 panels on that side).

To give you an idea of how bad this is, my solar production for February from previous years

My lowest solar production month ever was November 2022, at 114 kwh, which is when the panels were installed. In that case, production did not start until the middle of the month (11/16/22), when they finally hooked up the new meter and gave me the okay to flip the switch. The next worst months were January 2023 & 2024 where total production was 116kwh each.

I'm hoping the roof will clear with the warmer weather we are supposed to have the next couple of days, but we'll see.