Share your day..April 2013

Nice sunny day here today...blizzard warnings up in the North; what's with this weather?? It's April for heaven's sake.....:eek: Probable severe storms for us tomorrow.

Never been through a tornado, but had some that were close. I remember hearing the sound of a train, but just ended up with some trees twisted up, and one down in the yard.
Love Spring, but not the storms. Blizzards, I didn't mind; if you don't have to drive, you're warm and cozy inside, and just watch the excitement out the window. :)
 

I do feel bad when telling you what a beautiful day it is and you folks are dealing with storms and BLIZZARDS! Whew.

So, for me . . . Yard work done. Finally got roses transplanted; moved some succulents that were in shade over to my new and improved rock garden; found more rocks and tossed them in the general direction of the rock garden; cleared out more weeds along the shed; gave the horses across the fence their weekly treat of an apple apiece; walked the trash up to the road; watched the birds around the area including a magnificent hawk who finally settled on top of a huge dead tree; talked to Hello Kitty; came in for lunch and have laundry going . . . Now, to relax and enjoy the rest of Sunday...
 
Now, I know it weren't bein' no tornado (although we have had the occasional F1 some winters and a fantastic waterspout came roaring in off Ocean Beach in San Francisco) but just happened to glance out the window and witnessed a dust devil racing across the horse paddock out back. Pretty cool.
 

Had a singularly wonderful day yesterday. The weather was beautiful and we planned for several days to do a campfire cookout, so I decided to cook for the whole week. I had chicken parts marinating, baby back ribs dry rubbed and sirloin steak marinating. Put together an orzo salad that I would later add campfire grilled, marinated asparagas, zucchini and yellow squash, red onion, portabello mushooms, and red bell pepper to. I then rototilled up a spot for my pepper plants that I plan to buy on Thursday and hung out my sheets to dry on the line.


When it was time to get the campfire roaring for the cooking, we imbibed on a few brewskis while the food was cooking. We ate the sirloin and orzo salad, with the Gangstas begging for bites. We stayed out at the campfire until around 10:00 before staggering back to the house, with full tummys and a mellow feeling from the beer...put the fresh air sheets on the bed, took a shower, and slept like a rock all night long.....life was good yesterday.

Today will involve more seed planting, setting the trap for Mr. Racky, and no cooking.
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Here's hoping ol' Rocky takes the bait and you have him all wrapped up for delivery to parts far beyond. Talking to animal control when the rac'pack was terrorizing me, I asked if it was a good idea to trap them and take them far away. The woman told me not only was it illegal (yeah, so?) but if not taken far, far afield they would return. Guess they have a wide range. So, take him on a road trip to . . . outter raccoonville and good riddance.
 
We had something breaking into our garage and tearing up stuff in there. My husband rigged a rope on the back door, so it would slam tight and trap whatever it was. Well, in the middle of the night, we awoke to a noise and went to check it out. Sure enough, Rocky Raccoon was in the garage, and freaked out when we put the light on.

We had just put up some natural wood paneling in there for insulation, and he climbed up that to the top rafters. We scared the pi$$ out of him, and my hubby can vouch for that, as he was under the sprinkler. :p We ended up just opening the door, and letting him back out again into the yard, didn't take him long to disappear. :eek:nthego:

We had a family of them hanging out in a nearby tree, outside of our back yard. many times when I left for work in the morning darkness, I'd see one walking down the sidewalk. Haven't seen any around since we got the dog we have now, the dog keeps the coyotes in check, so maybe the raccoons found another spot that was more comfy.

We have a storm drain sewer cover in our yard, it's under our privacy fence that we share with a neighbor. One time during heavy rains and flooding, we saw a baby racoon gripping on the storm drain cover for dear life, his paws were all bloody as the water fiercely rushed underneath him.

Hubby and I alerted the neighbor of what we were up to, and proceeded to remove planks from the fence and lift that heavy cover, think my husband used some kind of a jack to do it. Anyhoo, the racoon was freed, and floated to a safe open meadow, where he waddled off on his way. We're animal lovers, won't kill unless necessary. :love_heart:
 
Yeah, as much I began to dislike raccoons after they created havoc at my house, I could not stand seeing that poor little guy in trouble. I would save him, too. Good job!
 
That Guy said:
Here's hoping ol' Rocky takes the bait and you have him all wrapped up for delivery to parts far beyond. Talking to animal control when the rac'pack was terrorizing me, I asked if it was a good idea to trap them and take them far away. The woman told me not only was it illegal (yeah, so?) but if not taken far, far afield they would return. Guess they have a wide range. So, take him on a road trip to . . . outter raccoonville and good riddance.
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That's interesting. Shortly before I moved from Texas I was taking the Gangstas to the dog park which was located behind the animal shelter. An animal control officer got out of her vehicle and removed an extremely large raccoon in a live trap. I asked her what she was going to do with him, and she said turn him loose in the woods there. She had trapped him across town in a neighborhood and brought him there for relocation.

We take them several miles up the road to a neighbors place that trains coon hounds, and he like to have them around. Last summer I knew there was one going in the cat's house, so one night we set a trap and later I went out to see if was successful. There was one raccoon in the trap and two more up on the shelf. I backed out and shut the door....thinking that I would deal with them in the morning.

As I was going back out in the morning, I asked myself what the heck was I going to do with two loose racoons..The problem was solved for me since they had chewed a hole chewed in the wall and were gone...we took the trapped one away and never did see the other two again. They were all three half grown juveniles, apparently out for a fun and frolicking evening that went awry.:(
 
SeaBreeze said:
We had something breaking into our garage and tearing up stuff in there. My husband rigged a rope on the back door, so it would slam tight and trap whatever it was. Well, in the middle of the night, we awoke to a noise and went to check it out. Sure enough, Rocky Raccoon was in the garage, and freaked out when we put the light on.

We had just put up some natural wood paneling in there for insulation, and he climbed up that to the top rafters. We scared the pi$$ out of him, and my hubby can vouch for that, as he was under the sprinkler. :p We ended up just opening the door, and letting him back out again into the yard, didn't take him long to disappear. :eek:nthego:

We had a family of them hanging out in a nearby tree, outside of our back yard. many times when I left for work in the morning darkness, I'd see one walking down the sidewalk. Haven't seen any around since we got the dog we have now, the dog keeps the coyotes in check, so maybe the raccoons found another spot that was more comfy.

We have a storm drain sewer cover in our yard, it's under our privacy fence that we share with a neighbor. One time during heavy rains and flooding, we saw a baby racoon gripping on the storm drain cover for dear life, his paws were all bloody as the water fiercely rushed underneath him.

Hubby and I alerted the neighbor of what we were up to, and proceeded to remove planks from the fence and lift that heavy cover, think my husband used some kind of a jack to do it. Anyhoo, the racoon was freed, and floated to a safe open meadow, where he waddled off on his way. We're animal lovers, won't kill unless necessary. :love_heart:
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Awww..that's sweet. Baby racs are so cute, I would be tempted to have one for a pet, but they are destructive. We caught two babies at once in a live trap, and I didn't have the heart to take them away. I knew mama was probably watching from behind the bushes, and they were likely too young to survive on their own...we turned them loose and they were probably the ones in the chicken coop later that year.

ETA: LOL...just got the sprinkler line...oh, yuck. There used to be a barn cat where I stabled my horses, that would climb up on the rafters and do that....I think the barn owner took her for a gangster ride.
 
Ozarkgal said:
Loved all your cat pics...that big brown fellow with the white chest looks like a character..what kind of cat is that?
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Thanks Ozarkgal, glad you like them! :) The really big one, which also has a man holding him and stretching him out, is a Maine Coon...it was a beautiful cat, and sooo mellow! The other two who are brown with white chests are a Manx and a Shorthaired Himalayan. When you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you'll see each one has the cat breed under the photo, on the left side.
 
Coon update....Went out to check the traps this morning. No luck, the little bugger managed to get the food out without tripping the cage..drat!! Last night he was sitting out in the driveway with all the cats lounging around him...worthless critters, they're getting a cut in pay!
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Obviously, his little skirmish in the cat house the other night didn't faze him.
We'll try again tonight.

Off to the nursery to see if I can find a crepe myrtle tree for the hill in the pasture.:eek:nthego:
 
Ozarkgal said:
Loved all your cat pics...that big brown fellow with the white chest looks like a character..what kind of cat is that?
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SeaBreeze..I am amazed that the brown and white cat is a short haired Himalayan. I thought Himalayans were long haired cats, particularly with Siamese points...interesting. I would think if it was a short haired Himmie it would look just like a Siamese, only with a heavier body and more rounded face, but definitely with Siamese markings?
Regardless, he is a cool looking character!
 
Well, let's see, what day is it ... *checks computer clock that is calibrated to atomic time* ... Tuesday, huh?

That means I spent about 12 hours yesterday creating MySQL databases so I could manipulate them with phpMyAdmin, which in turn would allow me to import CSV data into my new clone stores. I had to tweak some HTML5, the CSS needed to be cleaned up and the JavaScripts had to be re-ordered so as to ensure fast loading and resultant better SEPs. Integrating the database failed a few times, but only because I had decompressed the ZIP and RAR files first, instead of just using the "Import" hook on the compressed files. The PSD files, always a pain (mainly because I don't use PS much) had to be converted to .PNG, but they still aren't loading, so maybe it's just time to dump my cache.

The rest of the time I played "catch the laser" with SnagglePuss. :playful:
 
I'm so technically challenged, I have no idea what you are talking about - except playing with SnagglePuss.

The sun is out although still a bit chilly but all in all, a nice bright day. I'm starting to wind down - retirement happens at the end of May and I have vacation to use so it turns out, I only have 2.5 weeks of work left. So, I'm cleaning out the filing cabinet, packing boxes and deleting "stuff" off the computer. It's very liberating!!
 
TICA said:
I'm so technically challenged, I have no idea what you are talking about - except playing with SnagglePuss.
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I have a small idea of what I'm talking about, but I think the end result is the same - I'm puzzled.

The sun is out although still a bit chilly but all in all, a nice bright day. I'm starting to wind down - retirement happens at the end of May and I have vacation to use so it turns out, I only have 2.5 weeks of work left. So, I'm cleaning out the filing cabinet, packing boxes and deleting "stuff" off the computer. It's very liberating!!
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That must be a nice feeling - make sure you savor it for me!
 
SifuPhil said:
Well, let's see, what day is it ... *checks computer clock that is calibrated to atomic time* ... Tuesday, huh?

That means I spent about 12 hours yesterday creating MySQL databases so I could manipulate them with phpMyAdmin, which in turn would allow me to import CSV data into my new clone stores. I had to tweak some HTML5, the CSS needed to be cleaned up and the JavaScripts had to be re-ordered so as to ensure fast loading and resultant better SEPs. Integrating the database failed a few times, but only because I had decompressed the ZIP and RAR files first, instead of just using the "Import" hook on the compressed files. The PSD files, always a pain (mainly because I don't use PS much) had to be converted to .PNG, but they still aren't loading, so maybe it's just time to dump my cache.

The rest of the time I played "catch the laser" with SnagglePuss. :playful:
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Sounds like a fun day!
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Drats....foiled again...that pesky raccoon has escaped the cage once more. Last night he was out in the driveway dancing with the cats and was last seen going into the cat house. Obviously, I didn't scare him enough the other night. I'm starting to feel like Wiley Coyote and the Road Runner. hmmm...Now, where's that Acme catalogue?

I'm going out to make the most of the day despite the gloomy weather, still have tons of seeds to plant, but with the impending storms I can't plant them until later this week maybe.

I did accomplish my goal of planting a red crepe myrtle tree on the pasture hill yesterday and got some geraniums in.
 
Ozarkgal, the lady that sold me Joker once had the whole fam damily of raccoons take up residence in her hay loft --- leaving their urine and feces on about ten bales of what was perfectly good hay for her horses.

Theirs was a Fate I won't mention. Critters kept getting up in the loft, so she ended up having to put chick wire around the entire open space of the loft, nailing it to the rafters and to the floor, and having to a make some sort of door to get in/out of the loft. A big PITA to say the least.

On the relocating, yeah they need to be taken miles and miles away, if they're anything like Opossum.

We caught an opossum in the barn a few years back. Since those little creatures are carriers of EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis), they are not welcom on my property, much less in the barn.

Anyway, we took the little thing three miles away. 24 hours later I found him dead on the road not more than 1/2 mile from my house. I know it was him because he had a very distinct mark on his face that isn't common. Soooo, he was headed back "home" but I live in farm country and somebody saw fit to take him out with truck. I couldn't do that or shoot him so I tried to be kind and relocate him down where the Cottonmouths and Copperheads hang out.

I feel pretty much the same way about racoons in the barn as they are known rabies carriers and can sometimes also be EPM carriers. So if it comes to my horses or them --- they lose. I hate that but until someone sees a horse dieing from rabies or the neurological problems EPM survivors suffer, taking the cute little critters out wouldn't seem quite so awful.

Phil, I hate that I can't follow a damnthing you just said --- I think it might be a bunch of fluff but------.

I punch button on PC --- punch button on monitor--- everything magically wakes up to a cute little "ting" and if I'm lucky hughes.net is happy with its view of the Southern Sky, making internet life good once again - lol lol
 
TWHRider said:
Phil, I hate that I can't follow a damnthing you just said --- I think it might be a bunch of fluff but------.

I punch button on PC --- punch button on monitor--- everything magically wakes up to a cute little "ting" and if I'm lucky hughes.net is happy with its view of the Southern Sky, making internet life good once again - lol lol
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Sadly, not fluff. When I'm not actually WRITING writing I'm usually playing with the mechanical aspect of websites, blogs, plug-ins, add-ons, scripts and such - the stuff that supports, displays and markets that writing.

I've always been a computer nerd so to me it's more like playing than working, but I'm admittedly at a pretty low level. Always learning, though!
 
True confession: Uhmm . . . I spend my evenings toiling away on all the fancy and not-so-fancy new and not-so-new fangled devices that make this magic happen. If you could see (sorry, high/low tech spies not allowed) the totally confused mess . . . picture the proverbial monkey and the football . . . the prevalent disbelief in technology's healing power would be confirmed ten-fold. And it's not an adventure . . . it's a job... Frankly, on a continuing basis, I'm surprised it works at all.
 
TWH..I saw a program once about critters invading people's living space. A family of raccoons were in an attic and had done their business so much the ceiling caved in.......Yuck!!

Kind of sad about your raccoon. I don't want to kill them either, I much prefer to trap and relocate them if possible. They are pretty crafty and not too easy to trap, but usually they will eventually slip up. I will kill possums and armadillos. Armadillos, because they can tear up the lawn and pasture in one night, are ankle breakers, and pretty much have no redeeming social value.

Possums because of the disease they carry, although they will kill snakes and due to their low body temperature are not generally rabies carriers.

I try to keep all the woodland wildlife at bay to protect the dogs and cats. They also bring fleas with them, which I haven't had a problem with yet and don't want one.

This crafty critter has managed to trip both cages for the last few nights without getting caught. Too tired to set them tonight, but tomorrow night he's getting peanut butter and marshmallows...and hopefully a one way ticket outta here.
 
Worked today but have tomorrow off from getting an ERA (Employee Recognition Award) for leading a committee that created a new way of getting books to teens. I taught a class this morning on using MS Word with 9 people (mostly seniors) and it went ok but a couple were really struggling because they had not practiced using the mouse (like I asked them to). Then we had a program at 2 featuring a local author who writes books called "Weird Florida" and had over 100 in that in a room designed for 85 (don't tell the Fire Marshall). I had to help both setting up and putting back the chairs plus the computer and A/V stuff for the speaker.
 
Ozarkgal said:
SeaBreeze..I am amazed that the brown and white cat is a short haired Himalayan. I thought Himalayans were long haired cats, particularly with Siamese points...interesting. I would think if it was a short haired Himmie it would look just like a Siamese, only with a heavier body and more rounded face, but definitely with Siamese markings?
Regardless, he is a cool looking character!
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I always thought that all Himalayans were (only) long-haired cats too. When I asked the man near the carrier what kind of cat it was, he spoke with a heavy accent when he said the name. When he saw I didn't understand what he said, he told me short-haired Himalayan. It made sense to me when I looked at the cat again. He was too involved with the show to ask further questions.
 
R. Zimm said:
Worked today but have tomorrow off from getting an ERA (Employee Recognition Award) for leading a committee that created a new way of getting books to teens. I taught a class this morning on using MS Word with 9 people (mostly seniors) and it went ok but a couple were really struggling because they had not practiced using the mouse (like I asked them to). Then we had a program at 2 featuring a local author who writes books called "Weird Florida" and had over 100 in that in a room designed for 85 (don't tell the Fire Marshall). I had to help both setting up and putting back the chairs plus the computer and A/V stuff for the speaker.
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Congratulations on your award and your positive work! :)
 

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