Bogieblog

Tornado Warning 5-15-20

Had a tornado warning last night as radar indicated some minor rotation south of me and bow echos directly in my area. This picture was taken about 15 minutes after the warning blared on my phone - as you can see, the worst had already passed my area.

Earlier, they had predicted a low to medium chance of tornado, and winds up to 60-70 mph, along with torrential rains. So I was prepared when the warning came out. Rainey was already in the pen (at lower left, in shadows) so I only had to corral Spot and Rita. That way I could roll the pen into the hallway, keeping the cats safer, if the weather warranted it.

My area got the torrential rains, but the wind did not amount to much, not even howling as it has most days in the last couple of weeks. So after the warning expired, I opened the pen. They all came out, but 10 minutes later, the youngsters had gone back in. Rainey is now on the top, left bunk and Spot on the right.

Rita was up on the couch with me begging for pets

Pretty anticlimactic, but I'm not complaining.

Spotty Planting

As I mentioned last week in the Cleaning Up post, last weekend I picked up a couple of plants while I was getting birdseed. Sunday I potted up Rosemary, Lavender and a start off my older Angel Wind Begonia (left to right). Spot was a HUGE help - LOL

It was too cold to pot everything outside, in the 30's and raining, so I used an extra cat food mat to help contain any errant soil.

I did pot up this Nanking Cherry outside, then promptly put it in the garage since it was so cold, and there were several evern colder mornings coming up.

Spot has been helpful in other ways than just during potting. One day she was a speed bump, ya know, to slow me down as I went running around the house :)  (following pictures taken 3/26/20)

As you can tell, it was sunny out. However, NH has not enjoyed much sun since then. If you recall, last Sunday I mentioned that it was heavily overcast on Saturday. Sunday it rained, and that lasted thru Wednesday morning. Oh, that got broken up by the light snow we received early Monday and Tuesday mornings. Wednesday there were 2-3 hours of sun in the morning, and then the clouds took over and it rained / drizzled until early yesterday morning. Once again we were treated to some sun that morning, then it became heavily overcast again - but no rain. Even after at least 24 hours of no rain, the pond that had developed in the backyard hasn't completely drained yet (picture taken this morning).

Hopefully we'll get some sun this coming week.

Cats Being Entertained

I rarely get paper bags, but when I do, I place them on the floor for the cats to play with. Most of my previous cats liked to go into the bags - my present kitties are weirdos and prefer to scrunch them down and sit on top of them. Pictures taken on 3/19/20 - presented in order:

Spot trampling the bag

Rainey on the bag, with spot at the very top of the picture

I have no idea what they are looking at - they may have heard birds at the feeder at the back door

The next morning (3/20/20), the cats got the idea to go in the bag. The surprising thing was that Rainey went in first. She is usually the more cautious of them, and follows Spot's lead.

Rainey

Spot looking at Rainey

Rita strolled by to give Rainey a disdainful look - the only time she even looked at the bag. She is way to dignified for that type of thing :)

Spot wants her time in the bag

Spot flushed Rainey and is peering out. Notice the rip in the bag from the "eviction"

I picked up the bag yesterday while cleaning, and placed it in the recycle bin, so no more fun for them.

Starting the New Year 2020

The cats starting out the New Year right. Everyone has had their breakfast and now they are snoozing and relaxing while keeping me company.

Spot is to the left

Rita to the right

Rainey is in front above the monitor

Hope the New Year brings everyone all wonderful things!

Trees and Birds

Last Tuesday I went out to check on the bird feeder and saw this in the back yard

That limb was 14.5' long. There hadn't been any wind, nor was there a snow load, so I assumed the dead tree is just starting to break down. When I went to remove the limb, I saw that it hadn't actually landed on the chair, but had landed but down first at some point (probably during the heavy snow the previous week), then fallen over after the snow had melted the previous evening. The hole is 9" deep and the but end of the limb had dirt and mulch on it.

Guessing this is the tree it came from

Later that same day, I heard the call of a big woodpecker as it was flying overhead. To my delight, a Pileated landed in trees just to the right of the one that had had lost its limb. The first 2 pictures are at a slight zoom, and then cropped to bring the bird "closer". The 3rd picture is at a high zoom

As if that wasn't good enough, after I quit taking pictures I saw another one coming over the trees, and it landed behind the first. That distance was a real stretch, and this is the best picture I could get

And to end things, here is Spot being cute. She had originally burrowed completely under the pillows, but by the time I grabbed my phone, she had moved out some.

Busy Black Friday 2019

Started out early Friday morning scraping the old caulk out of the tub and surround. For some reason the plumber had used a clear caulk that yellowed badly. I was finally tired of looking at the dinginess and decided since I didn't have to make it to work for a couple more days, then I could sponge bath on a couple of them to complete this project. Didn't take a shower that morning so it was dry to start with. Scraped, and scraped, then doused with alcohol (rubbing - not drinking), scraped, doused, scraped. Then finally I got out my pet dryer, which is designed to blow water off a pet's coat instead of just use heat to dry. The drier does put out some warmth, so got some more gunk softened and taken off and rubbed down with alcohol again. After 2.5 hours, I had it as good as it was going to get. Used the dryer on it some more then set an oscillating fan to blow on it while I did other things.

Moved the snow blower out of the way and moved the bike in position for the dealer to pick it up that morning. Read while I was eating a mid morning snack of chocolate cream pie (my Thanksgiving hosts had sent a piece home with me) then hand washed some dedicates and hung them on the drying rack downstairs. Then I went outside and took down the windmill in the driveway garden before the snow Sunday since it is in line with the snow dump from the roof - plus I blow the snow in that direction. Instead of ensconcing the windmill in the metal shed as I did last year, I attached the base of it on the stump of the willow tree at the other side of the house.

I had just gotten inside when I thought I heard a car door. Looked out the window and sure enough the dealership van was in the driveway. Opened up the garage door and watched him get the bike in the van. The garage always seems so much bigger when the bike is out of it (today I moved the other snow blower in there, but it still has more room than when the bike is in there).

My Black Friday shopping consisted of going to Tractor Supply (<5 miles from me) and getting cat litter which was on sale for about $5 off a pail. Wandered around looking at stuff and got a pair of Carhartt gloves to go with the Carhartt jacket I was wearing. Stopped and got AA batteries to replace those in the electronic door locks (don't want those quitting on the pet sitter) and D batteries to rejuvenate the motion activated light in the stove room. Last stop was Aubuchon's to get caulk for the tub (10 year antimicrobial - in white).

After about 4.5 hours of futzing around (including installing the batteries I had obtained), I finally decided it was time to caulk. Proof that I did something.

It is supposed to take 24 hours to dry, but this morning it was still tacky (okay, so that was about 15 hours). I put the fan in the bathroom doorway, pointing out, to get warmer air to move in better and help it set up. I'll find out if it is good tomorrow morning when I take my shower before going to my HOG meeting.

And to end this post, here are cute pictures of Rainey in the trash can beside the desk. I heard rustling and couldn't figure out where it was coming from. Usually it means one of the cats is playing with computer cords, or a toy that is entangled in said cords. Finally Rainey popped her head up.

A Couple of Warm Kitties

Out of all my cats (I've had 5 at this house), this is the first time any have been interested in jumping up onto the pellet stove for the warmth. The stove had finished cycling and had been off for about 1/2 an hour when Spot jumped up there Friday morning while watching me feed the birds. I also saw her up there yesterday after the stove had shut down, so it wasn't a one-time deal.

And then yesterday morning, I saw Rainey jump onto the hammock in the cat pen shortly after the stove started. The cat pen is currently situated along the air stream from the stove.

Getting Ready to Stay Warm this Coming Winter

Way too much like work yesterday. Put another coat of paint on the back garage wall (the part that had been painted last year), skim coated part of the wall I parged (ran out of materials, so only part done), loaded a ton of pellets in the Explorer, then unloaded & stacked it, weeded the shrub garden, raked leaves behind the fence (the drainage area), mowed the neighbor's and my lawns and got groceries.

I almost have all my pellets for the coming winter, with what I picked up yesterday, I have 4.8 tons

69 bags in the garage (top row is only 4 instead of  5 since the pipe downturns to go thru the block wall). I broke a bag, so it is taped up (orange)

65 bags by the washer

105 bags between washer and dryer (that is a big pallet that holds 7 bags per row)

I have 1 more ton on layaway and will probably pick it up next weekend. I just need to figure out where I'm going to put it. In the past I have had two pallets in the garage, but this car is wider and longer than the old Focus, so it would be more cramped - and I DO mind if I put scratches/dings in it :) . Can probably place a ton in the tent garage but I'll have to keep it covered with plastic since it would be open to the weather on one side.

Oh, and to finish of the post, a bit of cuteness of the youngsters snuggled in the pen while I was bringing some of the pellets I picked up into the house. Obviously I woke them up while I was taking pictures and Spot can't control her yawns.

Stressed Cats

Yesterday I went and picked up a ton of pellets that I had on layaway. Most went into the garage, but I placed 15 bags on top of the ton I have in the basement. During that time, I placed the youngsters in the cat cage since I cannot keep them out of the basement and I didn't want either of them accidentally slipping thru the door, and thus into the great outside world.

While I was sitting down for lunch, I realized that I hadn't opened the cage back up. 15 minutes after opening the cage door, they were still wicked stressed out from their incarceration - LOL

 

 

Feline Update

The Destructo Duo went in for their yearly check up two weeks ago. It was a month early as I needed to get Rita in for a weight check so she was a tag along. She was in for her annual checkup last month and had lost weight (at 7.6 lbs) so we wanted to monitor it - all is good, she gained 1/2 pound and is back to 8.1 pounds. I figured out the youngsters were cleaning out her food as she is a grazer, so made sure that there was a surplus of kibble to be had.

Back to the youngsters. At about 14 months old, they both got their 3 year rabies booster along with FLVEPHCTDS (or whatever those letter are ). Spot is 7.5 pounds and healthy. Rainey, formerly Runt (because she was the runt of the litter), is now my biggest cat at a whopping 8.6 pounds . Yes, she is the one that will clean out Rita's canned food, and eat her kibble regardless of how much is in the "kittens" bowls. Although not lithe, she is by no means a fatty. She is visibly taller, and a bit wider than Spot. I didn't realize she is at least as tall as Rita and probably as long. Like they say, dark clothes make you look smaller - which must translate to fur color too.

Anyway, everyone is healthy and happy, and that is all I want.

Last weekend was very hot (for around here - mid 90's), so two things happened ahead of time:

1. I pulled out the portable A/C that I had bought off CL last year (when I got the kittens since they were to be caged upstairs so they couldn't get to the cool basement), and got that set up in the living room. That is a 10k BTU A/C and will keep the LR, kitchen and office "cool" (aka, 80*) as long as the bedrooms and bathroom are closed off.
2. I bought a 6k window A/C for the office - that happily also blows into the bathroom. Yes, it is red-necky in that I used rigid foam insulation left overs to cover the window to keep sunlight from streaming in.

If I leave the bedrooms open, both A/C's can keep everythig about 78-80. If I close them off, the temps can stay at 76 or lower. I only use the A/C's in the afternoon when the sun gets really southwest (oh how I miss that willow that shaded that side of the house)

The cats all have their preferred place of resting when I am cooling off the house. Rainey likes the bedroom which is a midrange temp.

Spot lays in the bathroom garden window - which is hot since it is in direct sun and I have a heavy towel blocking off the heat generated during the summer.

And Rita is laying right in front of the stream of air from the office A/C (the airflow stream is at an angle from the window to the doorway).

And then the other day, on a non-A/C day, I caught the three of them on the (messy) bed. Unusual for the three of them to be so close. You can tell by the looks on their faces that they were a little disgruntled at having their naps interrupted.