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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 7, 2015 22:39:30 GMT -6
I wish my kitties were coy. I've got one that climbs my leg and jumps up on my back when I take out their food.
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Post by stepper on Feb 8, 2015 14:54:41 GMT -6
It makes for a good picture, but it also means she's not overly trusting of me so she keeps her distance even when it's raining. That's a bit disappointing - I'd rather that they trusted me.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 8, 2015 21:48:04 GMT -6
Yes. I understand. I hate that they run from me when I've fed them all this time, and set them up a place to sleep warm in the Winter. And yet I'm still someone that can't be trusted. I do have a few I can pet, and even pick up for a few seconds/minutes. But they'll never not have feral tendencies.
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Post by stepper on Feb 9, 2015 22:29:35 GMT -6
There were two of them early last spring who were the same, but suddenly they disappeared and since then, all the rest are scaredy cats.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 11, 2015 8:04:16 GMT -6
Shy and coy....you should name her "Mia Feral". Rolling eyes at myself because it still cracks me up. I came up with the name for my co-worker's feral cat which is now his house cat; I thought it was hilarious - he named her "Crunchy" instead, because she crunches her food. Really? Sheesh...nobody fully appreciates my sense of humor.
Is she from that same spring litter, Stepper? Or is this a new visitor altogether?
Feeling bad for my birds. I can't get into the shed where we keep the seed because the snow in front of it is frozen solid, and the door won't open wide enough to slip in. And of course, I keep forgetting to buy another bag of bird food to keep in the garage instead. I heard the chickadees yakking yesterday, probably scolding me for not filling the feeders, so I threw out a bunch of Cheerios to tide them over until I get a chance to get to the feed store. I'm not sure how much that appeased them though - I think the squirrels and the dog probably had more than their fair share.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 12, 2015 8:03:33 GMT -6
OMG - was it ever snowing and blowing this morning when I took BP to school!!! We're supposed to get lake effect snow throughout the day, and I guessed that school would be called off half-way through the day (if they complete half a day, it counts as a whole, and they're already two days over the limit). It's sunny and calm out now, though. We'll see how long that lasts.
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Post by stepper on Feb 12, 2015 20:58:42 GMT -6
I'm sure she'd have been good friends with Perry Crowmo.
She's not a new visitor - as a matter of fact she's been around for a while. She showed up soon after we started putting out food for the original herd. She and Twin are the only two left from that first group.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 13, 2015 7:17:33 GMT -6
I seriously gave thought to naming the Lab "Experiment"...but it was already taken; LX, being the first born, signs her cards to me "The Experiment".
If the forecasters are right, we are in for some bitterly cold weather this weekend. Just heard the plows go by - I should probably get out there and shovel before the plow-slop turns to ice.
Eh...maybe another cup of coffee...or two...first.
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Post by stepper on Feb 13, 2015 12:15:25 GMT -6
Did you suggest to her she should change it to the experiment gone wrong?
That counts as a workout you know. It's physical exercise that requires caution. I read someplace that New England has had a problem with people passing away from/during shoveling all that snow and ice.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 14, 2015 8:54:43 GMT -6
Nah, because if it went wrong she wouldn't be who, and where she is now.
Oh, I know; I'm definitely counting it - 40 minutes of shoveling as a warm-up to the 30 minutes of jogging/marching inside. Hhhmmm...considering it was so cold out, it was more like 40 minutes of shoveling, then 30 minutes of jogging inside to warm up!
Unfortunately, there's always news of people having heart-attacks or dying while shoveling snow. I like shoveling snow in the same way I like raking leaves, but if we've got a lot of it, I always leave the majority of the heavy, wet stuff for Hubs to do with the blower. Of course, with Hubs there's danger in that too! He's still got the scars on his fingers as evidence of that.
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Post by stepper on Feb 14, 2015 14:21:34 GMT -6
You know I'm not getting anything for Valentines' Day - but you could fix it by agreeing to keep that cold cr@p up there where it belongs. That'd be a really nice thing to do! And I'd certainly appreciate it.
Battle scars are just sooo heroic and romantic.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 14, 2015 22:44:15 GMT -6
Hey little froggies! Come out, come out, wherever you are!
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Post by Phalon on Feb 15, 2015 8:20:34 GMT -6
Hhhmm...I don't know. We've got way more than we need, so why not spread it around?
It was downright ugly out there yesterday - none of us left the house for anything. Even the dog made a bee-line out to her spot, and was immediately back at the door. It's extremely pretty now, though - sun is out making all that fresh, new snow sparkly bright. But the poor dog! She went bounding out, then came back limping from her morning run-through the yard. It's only -2.2 degrees. I had to pick clods of snow from between her foot pads and warm them up. Looks like it's another stay inside day for all of us.
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Post by stepper on Feb 15, 2015 18:14:13 GMT -6
Sometimes you should share, and sometimes you should be stingy. This is a stingy time. Cold will help keep your snow around so you can put on those skis - and then spend an inordinate amount of time in the cemetery communing with the ghosts of past snows. The weather guessers are saying some of it is on the way here. Actually, it's already pushing in - we had drizzle all morning where the cold, being more dense, is pushing the moisture up which then comes back in the form of wet stuff. Bad timing may even include the “S” word.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 15, 2015 23:44:53 GMT -6
And so it begins. It started at about 11:30 pm. I hear it pinging the house. Supposed to get about a tenth of an inch, or less, of ice. Then up to 12 inches of snow on top of the ice. Also not supposed to get above freezing for two weeks. A couple of nights will be below zero. I'll probably have to walk to Moms. I wish I hadn't forgotten to get me some of those shoe/boot ice cleat thingies. Yikes. I hope I don't lose my lights. Or run out of gas. I forgot to check it, and so took a look and it's at 40 percent.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 16, 2015 8:50:39 GMT -6
Ya'll (or is it "y'all"?) be safe and warm out there, ya hear?
It didn't get as cold here as expected - it was supposed to be much colder than yesterday, but this morning the thermometer said 2.9 degrees to the good instead of minus. Doesn't look like it got as cold as predicted where LX is either - there it was supposed to get down to -18 degrees, but is only a couple on the minus side now.
The sun is trying to peek out from behind the clouds here, but seems to be having a difficult time doing so.
Another stay inside day, I'm thinking.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 16, 2015 18:33:33 GMT -6
The snow on my porches goes halfway up to my knee. I only swept enough snow off to open the door and get to the water bowls. I put the cat food pans on top of the snow and watched the cats try to climb into the pans while they ate. They hate standing in the snow. It's far too deep for me to shovel, though I think I will need to try to make a dint into it. It's supposed to remain below freezing for two weeks, so it ain't going to melt off.
I got a recorded message asking that I not get out unless it was an emergency, and that there is a curfew in place from 8pm to 5am. They didn't need to tell me that twice. I'd already decided to stay in. It's beautiful though.
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Post by stepper on Feb 17, 2015 21:49:16 GMT -6
So are you planning on spending time down at mom's? She's okay? And you too?
Shovel a little each day - it counts for exercise.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 18, 2015 8:49:56 GMT -6
Yes, I did that yesterday, will have to do more of it today, and even more tomorrow.
Joxie, I'd offer to come plow you out, but...
I take it all back - no matter how fun it looks, I do not want to drive the cute little-mini bobcats with the plow on the front that does the sidewalks in town, because everyone would hate me, and curse me as I drove past. Damned *&^%$@ thing came by the other day and left 2 feet of icy snow right behind my car; though they are teeny-tiny, they are still wider than the sidewalk, and it plowed part of the 4 foot heap on the side of the driveway into the drive. And just left it there. Now I understand my across the street neighbor b!tching about these things; they've always gone down her side of the street, but never ours. I don't know why the driver decided the other day to change sides, but I hope he doesn't do it again. If Hubs would not have been off work for President's Day, I never would have been able to get out to pick up BP from school. It took the two of us to clear the mini-plow's wake.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 19, 2015 7:15:51 GMT -6
Yep. Shoveled for an hour yesterday, which got me down the front walk to the sidewalk, the sidewalk to the driveway, and "my" side of the driveway behind my car to the street. Just in time - came inside to find a message that school was letting out early; I thought it might, which is why I was out shoveling while it was still heavily snowing.
Still snowing. And yay! School's been cancelled!
Not often a parent gets is as thrilled as the kids about that - but it means the shoveling can wait until the snow stops. Hopefully.
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Post by stepper on Feb 19, 2015 22:15:05 GMT -6
Phalon! Wrong-o! You'd be the hero of the neighborhood! Everyone'd bring you coffee and be your friend all year because you'd be the person on the street who cleared out the end of the driveways the 'regular' guys messed them up! And you get to drive the bobcat to boot! BTW, they do make versions slim enough to fit on a sidewalk. They had one with a back hoe that fit through my neighbors' gate to his back yard. They're made expressly for fitting through tight spaces. Swap that attachment for a blower or plow and you'd have a booming winter business. You'd have people paying you for clearing their sidewalks and driveways - and you could bling it out with a personal coffee brewer and a CD player and a heater (so it won't feel so cold) and of course, your dual hot dog cooker and bun warmer. Also, my sympathies on the repeated snow storms and the frigid cold.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 20, 2015 8:11:49 GMT -6
I get to drive one at the nursery..well, it's a front-end loader; are those the same as bobcats? Similar enough, I guess, except it's got a bucket on the front instead of a plow. Though I don't get excited about loading into someone's shiny, expensive pick-up, it's tons of fun to drive! That's why I wanted to drive this one! It's smaller that our smallest loader at work, and it's just so teeny-tiny cute! As I mentioned though, even though it's small, it's wider than the sidewalk - the residential sidewalks anyway; it works quite well on the downtown sidewalks. I drilled and found a couple of videos of them at work in our downtown. www.facebook.com/pages/City-of-South-Haven-Communications-Department/131425273558939?fref=tsThe mini-bobcats make their appearance toward the end of the first two videos dated Feb 2, a few posts down from the top of the page. And ah-ha! The third video I thought was interesting because I always wondered how they cleared the streets downtown. The big tandem plow trucks would bury the sidewalks and storefronts. Though I'd never want to drive one, I'm always fascinated watching them barrel down our street - they've got to be going about 40 mph, first one, closely followed by the second, throwing what looks like waves of snow onto the parkway...and of course, the bottoms of the driveways. Grrrr about that part!
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Post by stepper on Feb 20, 2015 19:02:30 GMT -6
I think for your birthday you should ask Hubs to rent you one for a few hours for the sheer joy of driving a teeny-tiny cutie. Just don’t do it on ice.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 21, 2015 9:47:31 GMT -6
HA! Do you honestly think that if Hubs rented one, I'd even get a minute of time on it? "Just let me warm up the seat for you", I can hear him say...right before he drove off into the sunset, not to return until the rental time was over. Interesting day in my neck of the neighborhood yesterday. It's been kind of funny this past week - whenever there's been a break in the snow, even if it's just let up a bit, everyone comes out at the same time to start clearing. Though school was cancelled yesterday, it didn't snow much, and the neighbor boy was the first out to start snowblowing. As if on cue, all the neighbors, including myself, emerged from our houses at the same time. Telltale Signs of Too Much Snow and Cold in a Week: Eccentric Old Lady puts a hand-painted sign in her front yard - "Free Snow! Great for making snowmen. Unlimited quantities/Take as much as you want!" Woman across the street walks each shovelful of snow she removes from the end of the driveway down the sidewalk because the piles along the driveway are too high for her to throw the snow on top of. I have the same problem, and abandon shoveling the two foot heap of snow that fell off the roof onto the front steps to get the attention of Eccentric Lady's plow guy; he agrees to try to move the piles at the end of our drive back because the bottom of the driveway has become narrower and narrower during the week. He is only partly successful; we now a a seven foot pile of snow on either side of the drive, but I have about an extra clear foot to pile new snow. Neighbor man, obviously completely tired of blowing and shoveling snow, runs his truck up and down his driveway probably close to 20 times to pack it down. And while we all are b!tching about the cold and snow, it is very beautiful, especially out in the country. I took BP out to her friend's house yesterday; she lives in a wooded setting that looked simply magical covered in snow. Here's another bit of nature's magic - Winter Hoodoos. www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2015/02/stunning_lake_michigan_frozen.html#incart_most-read_
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Post by stepper on Feb 21, 2015 23:10:02 GMT -6
Oh of course! He's a very considerate and generous person. And ensuring the Bobcat is safe and in good working order is only one of the many duties imposed on him which I'm sure he'd gladly accecpt since he cares for you so much!
Sounds like a business opportunity. Do you think making the rounds with hot coffee and cocoa would go over well?
Just asking since I don't have a handle on the lay of the land, but is down the revene an option? It might take making a path first but after that, you recently described the methodology; dump it in until you can drive on it and then dump in more.
Those were kewl!
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Post by Phalon on Feb 22, 2015 9:10:06 GMT -6
Probably not, because we'd all stand around drinking and yakking, missing our window of opportunity to shovel...especially if I made my hot chocolate with coconut rum in it, which is the only way I tend to drink it.
No, it's not an option; I suppose it could be with a front-end loader instead of a plow, and even then it'd be a lot of work - our driveway is on the opposite end of our property from the ravine. The equipment would have to move the snow along the entire property frontage, over the curb, smash the hedgerow of shrubs I planted to prevent erosion, to dump the snow down the slope. The back-door ravine neighbor guy (the one who owns the construction company who did all the ravine work) usually comes over with one of his loaders to spread the end-of-the-driveway-piles of snow when they get too high. Since our house has a lot more frontage than the three houses across the street, he just spreads everybody's piles along our parkway. He and his wife are snowbirds though - or at least part time snowbirds - people that fly south for the winter. They're still in Florida.
Had a break in the snow and the cold yesterday - was the first day in at least a week that the temperatures got into the twenties. Hubs and I took a drive just for the heck of it; very pretty scenery. We ended up at little party store with a deli counter that had the best white bean soup I've in recent memory. When we came back into town, he drove down by the beach - it seemed everyone had the same idea, out enjoying the break in the weather; even the Canadian geese where standing around in groups on the frozen channel. Opposite the channel, Coast Guard Hill was packed - it's the best sledding hill in town. Same with the beach - the parking lot, which is greatly diminished in size due to the snow mounds, was nearly full. We didn't really do much, but it was one of those fun days in which just getting out of the house is a joy.
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Post by fallenangel on Feb 22, 2015 16:33:35 GMT -6
It's sleeting as of now. Hope we won't get freezing rain or lose our electric.
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Post by Mini Mia on Feb 22, 2015 22:34:32 GMT -6
Our lights went off a few times during the night the night before. I called it in twice. Thankfully it didn't last long. I hope if you lose your lights they get them back on quickly.
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Post by Phalon on Feb 23, 2015 7:44:44 GMT -6
Hope you guys kept your electricity, and didn't get any ice.
It turned cold here again (and temperatures in the twenties are warm?); we're back down to the single digits now, though I think it's supposed rise to the teens today. It's been snowing since yesterday; it's a steady snow, but very light - a couple of new inches maybe fell overnight.
The chickadees are out in full force this morning - I think I read once they flock through late winter, then separate into pairs in early spring...which doesn't seem to be coming any time soon.
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Post by stepper on Feb 23, 2015 20:00:55 GMT -6
I took the truck to work this morning - because of the weather prediction - which turned out to be wrong. There's a surprise. On the way home they said that instead of warming up during the day it got colder and to watch out for bridges, over passes, etc., because they could be icing up now. All the roads I was on were dry - but you just can't throw caution to the winds. I hope you didn't have too much of a problem with the weather there Angel.
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