Archive for March 2023
Colors
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waist deep
in wrinkled fabric
we see Peggy’s cow
slowly wading through colors
shaded by late-hour daylight
the air becoming thickly visible
fence lines just blur
hissing crickets whirl
sounds like boomerangs
fast echoing threads
dancing interwoven beats
sight unseen
playing havoc with the fade
blues and greens
merge between steps
as reality emerges
in the dust
settling
on its brow
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Got View
Despite a day-long spitting snowfall making work a challenge of really cold hands, the camera is up and running and I now have a live view available on my phone or our computers.
[mic drop]
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Making Progress
Phase one of my surveillance camera installation was accomplished yesterday. I made the drive to Hudson for parts and successfully guessed what I needed and what I already had at home to add a switch and duplex outlet to the existing light fixture over the shop door.
That went well enough to inspire me to consider the possibility of adding an outlet to the base of our spiral staircase in the house by drilling a hole in the floor and feeding wires up from the basement. Our recent rearrangement of furniture in the living area highlighted that our old solution of an extension cord from the wall by the fireplace was not the best plan.
I’m surprised they didn’t think of putting an outlet beneath the stairs when the house was built.
Alas, that idea will have time to mature before I pursue it because I still need to finish what I already started and get the camera mounted at the shop. If I can keep up the momentum, maybe the camera installation can be completed today and I can cross it off the to-do list.
There are plenty of things competing for my attention that enable my aptitude for letting projects dangle unfinished.
I’m not feeling confident in the accuracy of the forecasts for snow that have been getting broadcast throughout the previous week. I’m expecting we’ll see snow but I question how big of a plowing and shoveling effort will be required and which day will get consumed by the work.
If we get less than 6 inches it won’t be a big deal. If more than that falls, I need to make some passes with the ATV in the middle of the accumulation in addition to after the storm has passed. I’ve seen this expected event described as a “long duration” (multiple days) snowfall.
Plowing and shoveling become the wildcard demand for my time and attention. After each “plowable” snowfall, everything else on the to-do list moves down a notch.
That’s sort of moving projects’ progress in a negative direction.
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Nests Removed
After a long delay in my attention to the project of mounting our surveillance camera, I dug back into it yesterday. That digging uncovered the presence of six old hornet nests and one large bird’s nest, none of which I realized existed under the shop entrance roof.
One of the primary things slowing me down in committing to this installation has been the issue of how I would get power to the camera. I decided to pull down the light fixture to gain access to the AC wiring. Deep inside the cover of that light fixture was where one of those wasp nests I didn’t know about was hidden.
I’m happy to be dealing with these nests in the winter when no wasps are present.
Some shopping for supplies will need to happen so I can add an outdoor outlet to the circuit of the light fixture. I will take this opportunity to also add a switch for that outdoor light fixture up over the door to the shop. For the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why that light never came on. Then I discovered it was directly wired to a circuit breaker that was in the “off” position. There was no switch. Oops.
As I was putting the ladder away after returning from feeding the horses, I noticed the ice mound under the eave in front of the garage was soft enough that I could break it up and finally remove it. One thing led to another and I decided to also shovel the soft snow from the giant mound that remained on the pavement. It would be good to open up that space for plowing the new snow predicted to fall in the next few days.
Shoveling that enormous pile of snow proved to be a bigger task than I should have tried to muscle my way through. I felt a pang in my ribs as I tossed one too many heavy shovel-full and that put an end to moving any more snow. I’m hoping that by stopping right away, the damage will be mild and not infringe on my ability to shovel when this next storm hits.
Today might end up being a day of more desk work than physical activity. It’s not like I needed an excuse to work on our tax returns or anything.
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Cyndie Leaves
It’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last. One minute she was here, the next minute she was gone. Cyndie has flown to Florida to spend a little time with her mom and our daughter where the water isn’t frozen.
Before she left, Cyndie took advantage of one of our pleasant afternoons to visit the horses and seized on an opportunity to untangle some of the “fairy knots” in Mix’s mane.
Mix almost stayed put long enough for her to get them fully separated. Combing out the rest of the mane with some conditioner will have to wait for another day. I look forward to a time when Cyndie has regained her full mobility and can return to bringing her precious energy to the horses in the paddocks every day again.
Hopefully, a little sunshine and exercise in the swimming pool will do wonders for the rehabilitation of her ankle.
Her scenery has definitely changed. One might even describe that as an improvement. (Individual opinions will vary.)
I am holding down the ranch on my own in her absence, which isn’t all that different from the previous four months of her restricted ambulatory abilities. The main thing that changes is my diet becomes a lot less fancy. She did make a point of baking a fresh batch of cookies before she left, so the management of my self-control and willpower won’t be getting a break.
Full disclosure: The primary incentive for managing my consumption of cookies is not for health reasons. I need to pace myself so they will last until Cyndie’s return.
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Warm Chill
I’m no meteorologic expert or physics genius, but this I know: It’s a weird counter-intuitive situation when the temperature rises above freezing while there is still a solid snowpack on the ground. The chill can feel deeper than when there is a biting cold of below zero (F).
Yesterday was one of those days. The surface beneath the horse’s hooves by the barn was getting muddier and messier as the hazy sun melted the frozen ground. The substantial snowpack everywhere else was evaporating into the atmosphere, bringing up humidity which increases the transfer of cold radiating from the ground.
The result was a warm day for wintertime that feels oddly chillier than a person thinks it should.
It’s impressive how effective the snowpack is at making it seem like you’re walking through the refrigeration aisle of a grocery store. It makes me want to put a frozen pizza in the oven.
Last night after I fed the horses dinner, I attempted to split the herd in two so I could close the gates and reduce competition for space under the overhang. A snow squall moving through overnight threatened to bring mixed precipitation and we didn’t want a tiff over territory to force any of them to be left out where they would get soaking wet.
When I returned to the house, I told Cyndie she could revoke my “horse whisperer” credentials. I was entirely unsuccessful in luring any of them to pair up on the far side of the overhang. Frustrated, I left with all the gates open. It would be up to them to work it out when the precipitation got nasty. The afternoon temps have been warm enough that we have chosen to leave their blankets off for the time being. The occasional precipitation like this can complicate things and we end up second-guessing our decision at times.
They didn’t want to cooperate with my plan last night so I’m going to trust they knew better than I did about how to deal with a little wet overnight snow.
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Biggest Difference
We jumped on the inspiration yesterday and rearranged the furniture in our main living area. When all was said and done, the change ended up being rather minimal. Cyndie and I agree that the biggest difference is that the room received the deepest cleaning it has had since we moved in.
Before:
After:
One of the changes that satisfy my sense of order is that I was able to reposition the rug so it is centered in the middle of the fireplace.
After a night’s sleep, we are pleased to find our initial response to the change is that we are okay with it. I am satisfied that neither of us is finding the new layout totally unacceptable.
It doesn’t hurt that the rug and floor are ridiculously clean. The true test will be if we still like the seating after a few weeks of dust and debris settle back into the nooks and crannies that the vacuum misses.
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Vague Correlation
In the groggy haze between a flurry of typically weird morning dreams earlier today, my mind suddenly conjured an image of the furniture in front of our fireplace rearranged into a new layout. Where did that come from?
I’m guessing it might have to do with a series of photos Cyndie showed me last night from the period before we closed on the property. Some were from a visit she and her mom had done to take measurements of rooms. There was still some furnishings from the sellers in several of those pictures.
Others showed the main living space completely clear of any furniture.
Upon mentioning my surprising semi-conscious visuals to Cyndie this morning, she was quick to react with a willingness to do some experimenting. She has made minor changes over the years, depending on events we were hosting or when making space for a Christmas tree, but we have yet to move the couch from where it was placed against the spiral staircase in the fall of 2012.
This is how the space looks this morning:
In my logic, settling on a new arrangement will require more than one try, so I don’t expect to be entirely satisfied with the first new layout. To give any change a fair chance, we will need to allow some time to pass for getting use to it. I have a strong suspicion I will be inclined to push toward returning to what we have now. There are good reasons this has worked for us for over ten years.
In the mean time, I am in a mood that has me open to some creative reimagining of our living space, so we hope to act while the motivation is fresh.
Or not. It is not lost on me that it will be a whole lot easier if I just picture potential changes in my mind and then lay down for a nap.
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Self Braided
Two of our four horses have a habit of repeatedly getting their manes tangled into braided snarls. Since none of the four have shown interest in standing still to receive grooming, I have done nothing to interrupt the development of the tangles Mix and Mia have been developing for the last four months.
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They seem to bother me more than they do the horses. I asked the folks of “This Old Horse” if they thought the horses minded having those tangles. In their impression, the answer was basically, “No.” That triggered my decision to just leave their manes alone.
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I’m thinking the fix, if and when it might happen, may involve scissors more than a brush or comb. I also believe it will be a two-person project so that one person (John) can occupy the horse’s attention while the other (Cyndie) does the detangling. Most likely, treats will be offered as part of the process.
The only downside I see of combing out their manes for Mix and Mia is that it won’t last. They have proven their natural talent for self-braiding often enough for us to know the tangles will likely continue to reappear. The prevention for that will come when those two decide they like having their manes combed out. As soon as that happens, we will be happy to groom them regularly and often.
It’s up to them. They are the ones who will show us whether the tangles bother them or not.
I wonder if the only reason Swings and Light don’t develop tangles in their manes is because they don’t like their manes getting messed up.
As the old saying goes, if it hurts when you do “something” then stop doing it.
Based on that, I have no problem accepting that Mix and Mia don’t care about the tangles at all.
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Unpleasant Surprise
In all the years we have been keeping horses on our property, I’ve never had to deal with the situation I found yesterday morning under the overhang. There was no sign of anything out of order when I opened the door from inside the barn. While the horses calmly waited, I started on the north end with my usual housekeeping tasks.
Coming around to the south end, I moved past Swings and got startled by the sight of a furry animal curled up as if napping against the wall beneath a hay bag. It was difficult to see the head but the tail was a dead giveaway for a raccoon. I could clearly see the movement of breaths but no other evidence of its condition.
The thought crossed my mind that a startled horse could have kicked out at an intruder and led to one knocked-out raccoon. The varmint was also laying next to a mineral block meant for the horses. I wondered if the bandit had simply gorged until overfilled and conked out right there. That was a lot less likely.
I decided to just let it “sleep” while I carried on with my business. At one point, I saw that Swings went over and sniffed at it with what looked to be empathy, so it wasn’t like the horses didn’t realize it was there.
After setting out the feed pans for the horses, I dashed back to the house for preparations to euthanize the critter. When I returned, I moved the horses to the other side and closed the gates so I could take care of things with them out of the way.
There was nothing in my life instruction manual about dealing with this kind of thing. It wasn’t what I signed on for when I agreed to feed and clean up after the horses. But you do what you gotta do.
The poor critter was unceremoniously picked up by the tail and dropped into an empty feed bag that I put into another empty feed bag for disposal in the trash. Not knowing if other health concerns contributed to the sorry state I found it in initially, I chose to keep the remains out of reach of any scavengers.
I did decide to dispose of that mineral block, as well. The horses had never really shown much interest in it and if it was starting to attract other animals, it was doing more harm than good.
Every day is an adventure. I’m grateful the horses took it all in stride and my hassle of having to deal with the unpleasant surprise was hardly a blip in the morning routine.
It would be just fine with me if we could have another ten years or more without needing to repeat this routine again.
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Relative Something 