Nasty weather just misses us

I was supposed to help my mom out, cleaning out her gardens for the winter, but the threat of bad weather kept me on my home turf. Of course, this meant the storm would just miss me, although it has made a mess out of Binghamton, so wouldn't have been able to get to mom's easily unless I took the northern route through Cortland.

I did get my snow tires on, fed the Fast Food Ferals and stocked Kat up with food for them for the week. I stopped at Agway for fatwood for the fireplace, and picked up cat food. With the tires in the car there was no room for cat litter, so I'll have to pick that up next week.

I stopped at Kia to get the "required" Kia USB cable to use my iPod in the car, and ordered the window trim piece that flew off on the PA turnpike when I drove to The Animal Law Conference in Philly a few weeks ago. $118 for the part and $91 (one hour) labor to put it on. I think I'll do it myself, thanks, or pay Craig. The cable rang up at $59 until I pointed out it was $38 online from Kia, then suddenly, surprise, it was $42. Computer error! Right. I no longer believe in the goodness of man when I comes to commerce, I'm afraid, especially after my recent experience with fuel oil companies this past year.

I did stop at the West Danby craft fair (the roadside signs worked on me!) and picked up a few small Christmas gifts.

By the time I got home, the snow began to fall, and it's still sifting down. The online scanner for Binghamton bears witness to cars sliding around crashing into things, so while I feel like a wimp, I'm just as glad I didn't go out.


I'm very happy to have the heavy tires back on the car again, and when I buy new summer tires to replace the weenie dealer tires I have, I'll probably buy snows (without studs, of course). As soon as I turned the steering wheel onto Rt 13 it was like driving a different car. It is stable, nimble...and loud, unfortunately. The tires grab the pavement and that little car moves right out.

When I'm in Kost Tire I have to waste some time, which usually means a cheap breakfast at Manos, a stop at the bead store, and a stop at Salvation Army Thrift Store. At the Thrift Store I scored three huge new-looking blue totes that I can turn into cat shelters to give away, and a rather tacky wall hanging of six large wood hearts that I can sand down and put to other purposes---namely "don't let the cat out" signs to hang on the porch, to give away or sell. I'm not big on hearts myself, but the quality of the wood, and the cheap price was too good to pass up. I learned I would be losing my bead store stop, alas, as she is moving to Dewitt Mall (a cool old school in downtown Ithaca) where she'll get much better traffic. Then my cell phone buzzed, and my car was ready.

So much for excitement for the day. It's just me, the scanner, the cats, and lots of housework for the evening.

Loving my screened porch

I wish I could have done it earlier in the year, but I'm glad I can enjoy these last few nice evenings. The screened porch has cut a lot of work out of my life. There are no pine needles, no leaves, no bugs. I can sit out here with Molly (not with the cats yet...I don't have all the corners fastened down) and rest easy knowing that if a raccoon or bear came trundling up, I'd probably have time to grab her before the critter ripped through.

Molly is a bit more protective and growly now that she can't go busting down the porch stairs on her tie-out to check out every little rustle. She growls at the wind, at pine cones dropping...things she could go investigate before. And I have to say, I leave her on the tie-out, even though she is on the porch with the door shut.

Because I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, and sometimes that shut door might not be latched.

It's kind of hard to explain how much more secure just a flimsy bit of screen can make you feel. The porch used to feel exposed--part of the outdoors. I very rarely sat out here after dark. Now it feels like it's part of my territory.

I dread the day I know will come, when windstorm sends a stick flying through it, or one of my cats decides to launch himself up on it. I plan to only let my senior pet cats out here. No crazy kittens. I know what they'll do, and they can have the cat enclosure which is of good solid wire.

I have discovered that there is a veeeery large spider living in one of the tubes of my wind chimes. I never noticed the very small web she had built until this evening when I discovered a spider filling a quarter of it. Yeesh! I've been moving those wind chimes around all week, from hook to hook as I worked putting up the screen, not realizing one of those metal tubes was occupied. I think I shall leave them be. Were it spring, the chimes might get attacked with spider spray. But in a week or two it will be winter, and those cold metal tubes are no place for a spider. It seems somehow sinful to rob a spider of her last warm days on earth, just because I have the heebie jeebies. So I just slowly moved my chair back.

I toyed with the idea of taking a photo tonight, but it would just be harsh with the flash, and I could not convey the sound of the creeks...still full and running, and the unknown things who are peeping, and the owls who call every now and then. Then there are my facility cats, who know I am out here, and periodically they let out a sad meow from their personal windows, still open, hoping I might come over before bedtime.

Some odd bird is calling. It's dark! Who would that be! Peep! Peep! Peep! Peep!

I don't know. I don't mind. I'm just happy to be out here.

In Norwich, as a teenager, I used to sleep on the porch and worried somewhat about passersby wandering up on me behind the heavy vines that grew up the wire trellis. Bear and raccoon were not a concern. It occurs to me I could hang a hammock out here to sleep the night away. I have no worries about humans out here.

I'm not sure what would concern me the most. The bears that might wander by (Molly would bark) or the spiders that could dangle on down. I doubt Molly would have much to say about them.