Chit Chat in VOLTVILLE Thread #2 :)

[rave]

So who encouraged the freeloading habit?

That would be me. Guilty as charged. But, my gosh, I get so much pleasure outta them that it's worth it. Thank goodness that the BF enjoys them just as much because he provides the vast majority of the seed. They'd eat me outta house and home if that weren't the case. Last winter, I had to ration the feathered freeloaders.

 

[rave]

I stopped liking opossums when I learned that they carry a disease called EPM. What is the full name? Equine protozoal myelitis, I think. Anyway, it devastates horses. Many horses have had to be put down because of it, and the treatment is very expensive and not always effective. It affects the nervous system of a horse, and they become uncoordinated, sometimes to a crippling degree. Some recover, and some may improve but never be coordinated enough to make riding them safe. If you have an opossum in your barn, you can almost guarantee your horses will get sick, at least in this part of the country. I'm not sure how widespread the danger is.

One thing that really bothered me but I fear will never be changed is that I proofread 2 books by Rita Mae Brown, supposedly written by her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown. The main character is a woman whose husband is a horse vet. So you'd think she'd know. But she keeps an opossum in her horse barn as a pet. It's a wild opossum, but she puts food out for it. How crazy can you get? Did her husband never notice the opossum and warn her about EPM? Of course, I had to say something about this in the margin, but I was proofreading for the paperback book against the already-published hardcover, complete with illustrations that pictured the opossum. So I knew they weren't going to change it. I could only hope that word would filter down to the author, so maybe she'll phase the opossum out of future books. The books were set in Virginia, so I looked up EPM in Virginia, just to be sure the danger existed in that area before making note of it. Yes, they have EPM in Virginia.

So whenever I see an opossum, that's what I think of. Opossums are not nice animals, IMHO.

I'd never heard of that, but I'm even MORE glad that I don't have horses now. I love my opossums.

 

[Renolizzie]

We don't have to worry about opossums or any other critter out here, for the most part. It is too barren. I keep telling Hubby we need to buy a piece of property in Utah where it is a desert but there are lots of green cedars and red dirt and blue skies. I'm reading up on the area to see what the property laws and water rights are like.

 

[SandySu]

That would be me. Guilty as charged. But, my gosh, I get so much pleasure outta them that it's worth it. Thank goodness that the BF enjoys them just as much because he provides the vast majority of the seed. They'd eat me outta house and home if that weren't the case. Last winter, I had to ration the feathered freeloaders.

Rave, your enjoyment of them has made me consider a bird feeder. All the visitors you get are so neat! I wonder if attracting them to my porch would tantalize my cat too much. Probably.

 

[SandySu]

We don't have to worry about opossums or any other critter out here, for the most part. It is too barren. I keep telling Hubby we need to buy a piece of property in Utah where it is a desert but there are lots of green cedars and red dirt and blue skies. I'm reading up on the area to see what the property laws and water rights are like.

You're thinking of moving, Lizzie? Wow! You've done so much work on your property. I never would have guessed. I thought you loved it there.

 

[tmcase]

Terry, are you doing any artwork now? What's going on with the sleeping puppy?

I'm still working on the sleeping puppy and Rave is critiquing it. Unfortunately this last critique had more corrections than the first one and more colors than the rainbow. I think I've been looking at it for too long and making it worse so maybe I need a break from it. I've missed so many things that I shouldn't have.

I hope you are still drawing or are preparing to start again.

 

[rave]

Rave, your enjoyment of them has made me consider a bird feeder. All the visitors you get are so neat! I wonder if attracting them to my porch would tantalize my cat too much. Probably.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. My porches have incredible air traffic, as you've seen. Tez, the feral that calls this her home is a very good hunter, but it's really unusual for her to catch one of the birds. She seems to spot the injured ones, but those are just about the only ones that she can manage to catch. Most birds are cat savvy.

 

[rave]

I'm still working on the sleeping puppy and Rave is critiquing it. Unfortunately this last critique had more corrections than the first one and more colors than the rainbow. I think I've been looking at it for too long and making it worse so maybe I need a break from it. I've missed so many things that I shouldn't have.

I hope you are still drawing or are preparing to start again.

There are always more things to change when "fine tuning" a project than when first starting it. Don't get discouraged. You're doing great. And no, you're not making it worse at all.

 

[SandySu]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. My porches have incredible air traffic, as you've seen. Tez, the feral that calls this her home is a very good hunter, but it's really unusual for her to catch one of the birds. She seems to spot the injured ones, but those are just about the only ones that she can manage to catch. Most birds are cat savvy.

Hmm … maybe I should get one, then. Do you have any suggestions? I have a hook on my porch where I could hang one. We have lots of squirrels here. Which design would be most squirrel-proof?

 

[Renolizzie]

You're thinking of moving, Lizzie? Wow! You've done so much work on your property. I never would have guessed. I thought you loved it there.

Well, we probably won't move any time soon but I think it would be nice to retire to someplace that is pretty instead of this place which is barren. having said that, we may well still be here for retirement. It's just a recurring thought for me to move to somewhere pretty.

I am really proud of our place so ... who knows?

 

[SandySu]

It seems no one was able to find the asteroid predicted to make a close pass by Earth yesterday evening. I've been looking on the Internet all day to see if it was found. Here's an article about it. ‘Moby Dick’ Asteroid 2000 EM26 is Missing – Help Astronomers Find It

 

[3mg Meniere]

having said that, we may well still be here for retirement...I am really proud of our place so ... who knows?

Might be better to wait and see how the political-religious problems resolve themselves. It the case of that state, they are so deeply intertwined a very long wait might be best.

 

[SandySu]

Oops! Double post.

 

[Renolizzie]

Might be better to wait and see how the political-religious problems resolve themselves. It the case of that state, they are so deeply intertwined a very long wait might be best.

You are right about that although there are places that are pretty secular in the Moab area, for instance

 

[celticluvr]

All the talk of bird feeders reminds me to try and get some pictures of the ours. I just filled it with leftover hamster food so maybe in a day or two we'll have our first guests. We were working on the porch today so that might've scared them away for awhile.

Oh, and hi everybody.

 

[Renolizzie]

Yep, need photos.

So funny, I see dust in the distance so I tell the neighbor I have to get moving. I go on poop patrol and ten minutes later, with one big woosh of wind, it is windy out there. Took it all day to get here but here it is!

The horse trainer canceled since he wasn't feeling well. I took Wiseguy out to the round pen and we played for a bit. Then I took Mr. Grumpy [aka Nevada] out to the round pen. Pushy, didn't want to listen all the way out there. Sort of worked himself into a frazzle for the first ten minutes out in the round pen.

Then, I managed to climb in the pen and get him to slow down. Nice!!!! We just have to keep working at this and we may get to be a good team.

Rusty and Sassy got into a bit of a fight, so Willie got all amped up and started barking. At least Willie decided she could get within ten feet of the neighbor. It took her about five minutes but she finally came over and snuggled me while I talked on the fence line.

Dell is finally sending me a replacement tablet since they decided they couldn't get the parts to fix mine. It is refurbished but it will still have a warranty on it. What a pain in the .....

 

[SandySu]

Time to say good night. This photo is dedicated to all those out there with too much ice.

 

[SandySu]

Good morning, everyone. We never did get the 3-5 inches of snow predicted yesterday. It did snow a little in the morning, but not even an inch. Where did all that snow go? Today, they are predicting ice pellets, rain, and then this evening when it gets colder, snow. From reports farther west, this doesn't sound good, but maybe it, too, will miss us.

I plan to tutor today, and I hope driving conditions aren't too bad. Please send no-ice vibes.

 

[Renolizzie]

We aren't getting the rain I wanted here although I am holding out a slim chance for it. I wish it would. The winds have been pretty bad since early, early this morning. It is hard to sleep with that kind of wind banging stuff and wooshing and making moaning noises. At least it has improved here due to our windbreaks I'd hate to think what it would have been like without our shrubbery.

I got my .... moving today and laundry is going, the house is vacuumed and I have dusted. Sadly, I probably will need to vacuum again tomorrow after I finish washing the rugs, doing some more dusting and sweeping/mopping the kitchen and baths. I don't work this Friday so I decided to get the house straightened up.

The office needs a good amount of neatening up, as well. We'll see how far I get

Here's you are: no ice, no ice, no ice vibes, SandSu. Loved your photo last night.

 

[SandySu]

Lizzie, you are always so ambitious, so busy. I loll around all day and you get things done!