February 2021

Oh boy, what crummy football yesterday. I was not sorry as the Chiefs just couldn't
get in the groove. I was stunned as were many, I'm sure..............

Like everybody else, I expected it to be a closer game than it turned out to be.

it's snowing - again. We probably have about 5 or 6 inches accumulated, so far. But, it's much warmer. 7°. Yeah. Right.

Oh boy, now Chetah has killed the exercise ball, picking up with his teeth and throwing over his back...............until it died!  Not fun anymore.  I've got his new ball already but I'm not giving it to him till I get the cover!!!!

Rose, it must be a riot to watch him play with that ball. I hope the new cover is tougher than the ball material.

I saw the orthopedist today for the 5 month checkup. All is well and I'm still about a month ahead of the predicted schedule.

We have about 5 or 6 inches of snow on the ground. Travis came and plowed out the driveway this evening, and then brought the snow blower and cleared it some more. That is going to make walking to the mailbox a lot easier. That goofy guy actually loves this kind of weather.

Cheeta and Ivan must have a common gene.  When I got Ivan, I had a very nice horse soccer ball and two giant beach balls in the arena.  All three were three feet across.  Ivan had fun chasing them around for quite awhile, then decided to kill them.  I saw him leap onto two of them, exploding them.     I took out the third one, the soccer ball, and only put it in the arena when I can control Ivan's teeth and leaps.  He had such fun killing those balls!  I'd like to get a cover, too,  but suspect Ivan could explode the ball inside of it anyway.


It got up to 53 degrees today!  Most of the snow is gone and the mud is fairly unbelievable.  Cooler weather is coming back tomorrow....sadly.  We went to get stall bedding, but will have to wait until the ground freezes before we can take it down to the barn.  

Feather, the kitten, is Donnie's best friend.  Wherever Donnie is in the house, so is Feather.  She is also getting creative about what she explores.  This morning Donnie was making coffee and realized he hadn't seen her in a few minutes.  He opened up the refrigerator and out she hopped.  She had jumped in when Donnie got creamer out for his coffee.  She has also been in the trashcan, dishwasher, washing machine, and has looked at the oven with speculation.  We hope she outlives her kitten curiosity.  



Feather in the bottom of the trashcan this morning.

More stinking snow yesterday. Florida is starting to look better and better with each passing snow day. LOL George & I spent the day snow blowing and shoveling...then we sat and watched the barn cats as they stalked birds. This is what our lives have become. Our entertainment is watching the cats stalk birds and rooting for the cats. Scary stuff.... More snow on the way later this week.

ARK: That Feather kitten is a hoot. I bet she was cold being in the fridge. LOL

I don't know how much my dad knew about the baby. Dad had already passed away when this came about. What we do know from family is that the entire family thought he was sterile due to the childhood illness. Family says they were all surprised when my brother was born. None of the family recognized the mother's name. It was apparently conceived when he came home on leave from the military for his sister's wedding. Adoption records were sealed and just recently the laws changed so that adopted children could view them now. When John jumped through all the hoops to see the adoption records Dad's name showed up with notes of interviews of him denying parentage. So yes he knew there was a baby. I like to believe he really did believe that it was not his. The birth mother is long deceased and John has not tracked down any other relatives from the birth mother's side of the family. Only God knows who really knew what. I think John had a better family life as a child with adopted family than he would have had w/dad. My childhood was rough, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

We got cold here too. Snow is not horrible, but it is crunchy from the cold right now.

There is some unwanted news this evening. A house down the road from me had a kitchen fire that got out of control. The whole house is gone. The two people who lived there got out safely.
In this bitter cold, I feel so sorry for everybody, the ones who lived there, and all the fire fighters who came.

Oh dear Ark, Ivan and Chetah should not ever be allowed to play in the same area with a ball!  I have not seen Chetah lay or jump on the ball, but he surely loves to play with anything he can put his mouth on.  

I did have a wonderful ride on Chetah today, only in the arena but he was so very well behaved, he does not challenge me in any way.  He will not run off with me for sure.  He's just lazy!!! Nothing more then a jog for my boy and that's fine with me!

Whichever of my Foop friends is controlling the weather, could we space out the snow, cold rain and sleet so I could ride 2-3 times a week?  Please!  I'd like to get to know my horse's buttons and for him to know me better.  Just a couple dry relatively warm days a week!

Hugs all around!

Rose, hearing that you are Chetah are getting along so well is good news that we all need to hear.

The fire last night was probably caused by an electrical issue.

OMG, Ellen, how awful!!! Do they have relatives nearby? Pray they're OK...........

I don't know too much about them. Today, I found out that he belongs to the local Church of God and they are collecting money for him. It's a very good church, so they'll do a good job of taking care of him.
I went down to see if I could get some pictures of the house, but the fire department was there, probably investigating the cause. It is most likely an electrical fire.

Nothing else new here. it's still COLD and everything is snow-covered.

Brrrrrrrrrr.  Windy as hell and a storm is coming in.  We'll see if we get rain
or not.................

Scruffy has bee hunkered down all day somewhere.............

Microwave repair man didn't show today but called.  He's changed the day.

Has anyone heard from CB?

That's it for today folks............

Prayers for ALL.

2 hours later:

Addendum: Raining to beat the band, wicked windy, everything that's not tied down
next door is at our house.............

It seems that even in the winter, there is some kind of entertainment here on the lake.  A few days ago, an idiot decided that he'd drive his 4-seater ATV out onto the ice to set up for ice fishing.  That thing weighs nearly a ton, more than twice as much as a snowmobile.  He made the mistake of stopping.  The front of the ATV started to sink through the ice.  When he couldn't back it out of there, he jumped off.  (That was the only smart thing he did.)
Then, they spent the next 3 days looking for it, with a diver.  I don't know how much he is paying that diver, but it's not enough.  After three dives, he managed to find it and get it tied to a big hefty tow strap.
This afternoon, the diver was able to string the tow strap under the ice to a trench they had chopped in the ice that is close to shore.  
I didn't see it happen, but they got the ATV pulled under the ice, fairly close to shore.  I'm waiting to see what happens next.
To be continued.

A couple of hours later. They got it out! That thing is the size of a small tank. No wonder it went through the ice. Now he can spend the rest of the winter fixing it up. The exterior didn't seem to have too much damage, but of course, the engine will have to have a complete rebuild.

Lesson learned. Don't go on lake ice with a small tank.

Rose, did you watch the Daytona race last night? That was quite a pile up on lap 15.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...... It's snowing now and is supposed to continue until sometime tomorrow. This will be a big one.

ELLEN, that's better than TV. There's no end to stupidity. I hope the snow storm is at least
peaceful............at least you won't be in a car pile up on a freeway. Those were like
a fake movie. Oh man, just devastating..............

After getting past the idiocy of dropping the ATV through the ice, I actually thought it was a rather clever solution to getting it out.

This will be a sewing day, pants to shorten, and my flag has a stripe that is tattered. I'll fix that. If I can't fix it, I'll take it to the local American Legion for proper disposal.

No snow here in PA today instead...Freezing rain.  Oh boy...what fun...we just can't escape this winter nightmare.  Snow later this week..can't wait to shovel more snow.  

ELLEN:  Those guys had to be idiots to go out on the ice in that big ATV.   He must be one of those "watch this" guys, nothing they do ever ends well.  It's going to be a costly lesson for him.

I did get to attend church yesterday.  YEAH....we have Internet access but it's just not the same as being in the building.

Next week me and my crazy girlfriends are having a dress up Tea Party at my house.  Fancy little snacks and tea bags that are heart shaped.  We will drink tea outta fancy little tea cups and pretend to be fancy ladies with fancy hats.  LOL  Can't wait.  I spent 2 days totally cleaning the dinning room that hasn't been used in months.  I'm starting to dislike all the little knick knacks I have everywhere.  LOL

The rest of the story is that the guy asked a friend if the ice was good for ice fishing. Without thinking about him taking the ATV, he told him it was good for ice fishing.
A few years ago, we had 2 feet thick ice and there was a car and a truck out on the ice going to a fishing shack. Not something I would have done, for sure.
The ice is getting thicker, but not 2 feet - yet.
The snow is likely to get thicker too. It will be near zero for the next two days and they are predicting 8 to 10 inches of snow.

I was planning to repair my flag, but now that I can see it up close, it is beyond repair. It will go to the Legion, and I will go to the hardware store to get a new one.

INDYAPP:
That is an interesting story about your new brother. Too bad the mother isn't still around to fill in some details.

ELLEN:
Something is always happening on the lake! I am glad the guy jumped off his vehicle before it sank. He should have fun explaining his actions to the insurance company.
Yikes about your snow!!

GRAYMARE:
Has the rain stopped? Look like everywhere east and north of you is getting hammered by snow. We have somehow escaped the weather carnage. We've had some rain, and mud, but no snow. It's even above freezing. I'll take that. We may get some snow on Thursday, though. My sisters are getting up to a foot of snow on top of the 8 inches they got the other day in N.Ky.

TRUDY:
Have fun at your tea party! It would inspire me to clean house, too, and mine really needs it! Are you making your famous Lady Fingers?

It started snowing seriously about 2:30 this afternoon and has been pretty steady, and it is now 11:00. It looks like it will keep going until around 3:30 in the morning. This is the first big snow we've had for two or three years. There is a fairly big drift on my deck, probably 12 inches.
Snow Boy, Travis, is a very happy camper. He and a couple of buddies have been out all evening on the snowmobiles.

Ark, oddly enough, the guy probably won't turn anything in to the insurance company. It isn't going to need much in the way of repair. The body isn't damaged at all. The engine will need to have the water drained out of the cylinders, and all the fluids changed, and that's about it. Those engines are built to be tough.

This winter storm is something.  New Orleans is under alert..Traffic accidents
on many interstates,  Stay in folks if you can. Dallas is the coldest it's been
in 72 years.  There is black ice thru out the south.  Its fine here in AZ with
snow in the mountains,  It's 45 here this morning and predicted to be a nice day
with winds.

Haven't seen Scruffy again so maybe he wandered off.  It saddens me but
I did what I could. I hope is at one of the neighbors.

TRUDY, have a great time at your tea party............it should bring a lot of laughs.

Horses are fine and munching hay already...............the good news.

Everyone have a good day

We certainly got a lot of snow.  I have a drift on my deck that is about 2 1/2 feet at it's peak.  That is not how much snow we got.  It's just that one spot.  Everything is shut down all around the county.  It's 9° this morning, zipping right up to 15° later today.
My only problem is that my water lines are frozen.  They run under the house, and didn't get insulated enough, I guess.  This is the first time it's happened in the 12 years since I remodeled this place.  I have PEX lines, so I don't expect anything to burst.

Everybody stay warm.  


A few hours later:  Travis is a very happy guy.  His boss called early this morning and ordered everybody to NOT come to work.  That just means that Travis has the day to play in the snow with his toys.  He has already cleared my driveway with the quad and blade.  He'll be back later with the snow blower to clear the sidewalk.  
He's going to ride the quad to his house and help some of his neighbors there.  Their small snow blowers just aren't getting the job done.
Last night he said the roads were all snow covered and he and his buddies rode all over the place.  
He's been happily using the snowmobile to get back and forth to his house, about 2 miles from here.

AND, my water is running again! Even though it snowed, it's a good day.

ELLEN:
I am sure glad Travis is happy! I guess it makes up for the winter without snow. It's nice he helps his neighbors.

ROSE:
I am so glad you are enjoying Cheeta!! Pix of you with him, please! He and Ivan would probably get along great. Ivan would jump on the ball while Cheeta bites a hole in it. They'd have fun!


It got up in the high 30s today. We saw actual sunshine for a little while, then the wind started blowing and it clouded up. The temps are dropping into the low 20s tonight. Oh, well. Our sunshine was nice while it lasted. We got a load of firewood in case the next storm is worse. It arrives Thursday. We should be able to unload our sawdust for the horse bedding tomorrow morning. It has been too muddy lately to get to the barn and ever expect to get back out of the barn yard. We've had a load of hay ordered for a month, but the mud or snow or ice has been impossible. Luckily we don't need it immediately.
'

I watched Travis as a happy and busy little boy, now grown into a happy, very good man.

ROSE, if your weather forecast is anything like ours, you're not going to be riding 2-3 times a week for at least another week.

ELLEN, my first thought when I read your description of the guy on the lake was that he probably handed his buddy a beer as he said "Here, watch this..." but Rose beat me to it.

I'm personally not a fan of all the snow, but my horses seem to like it. I've had to yell at them a couple of times as I'm walking amongst them to feed to knock it off as they jump and fart around. I got to use the little farm tractor with the bucket on it that I bought this summer for the first time on snow. I discovered I have a learning curve to overcome to get the knack of it. My neighbor who has a slightly larger tractor took pity on me and came over and gave me a couple of tips. I did so much better after he came over. We're to get another 3 inches or so so I'll get to practice.

I went to the farm store that is going out of business on my lunch to see if they had any horse feed left. I got the last 4 bags of the 2 types of feed I use. My car now has 400 lbs in the back. At least I shouldn't get stuck. I'll have to use the tractor to take the feed back to the barn as my car will never make it back there. I only cleared the front drive way. I need to stop going to the farm store. The first time I went besides the horse feed I came out with an extra tarp and fencing supplies. This time I came out with feed, 2 heavy duty ratchet straps and a set of sheets.