Journal Jan 2012 weather and health
On weather, poultry, vehicle, health, dogs and cats, and neighbors, including a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day (with an adventure from very scary to very funny)This has been a mild winter, even allowing for blooming branches of winter jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum, and winter honeysuckle, Lonicera fragrantissima, to be brought into the house for decoration at Christmas. As well, daffodils are several inches tall, foliage only of course. Ice has formed and quickly dissipated about four times thus far, in contrast to last year when it was solid by Christmas, and remained solid for some weeks.
There was a swift change on Wednesday, January 4, when I awoke at 5 a.m. to a temp of 8.6o and the pond was about two-thirds covered with ice, which was itself covered with a fresh skiff of snow. It had to have frozen really rapidly to have caught that light snow-fall. During the day one could practically watch the ice inching across the pond. I had planned on going in to Romney first thing in the morning, to get that slow-leaking tire repaired and to pick up poultry feed. But I decided to delay because of the cold and uncertain road conditions. So, although I don’t like to disrupt my day with midday errands, I waited till past noon to go. The tire had a nail in it, amazing that the leak was so slow, and a good thing that I got it fixed before my trip to Silver Spring. I picked up the feed, and arrived home to find that Hazel was already here. She helped me unload feed, fill feeders and waterers, and we went over procedures for caring for animals, etc., while I was gone.
Poultry and Predators
The extreme cold did not persist, and the weather since then has been relatively mild. On Thursday morning, the 5th, I went down early to take care of poultry. Not all of the ducks and geese were up at the barn--in fact, only two geese (Papa Pilgrim and a Chinese female) and three ducks (a drake and two females), which meant that a goose (the gray), and four ducks were missing. I had already told Hazel not to let the chickens, guineas, and turkeys out of the barn while I was gone, because it could be tricky getting them back in at night. Now I shut up the ducks and geese in the pen, then walked down to the pond but saw neither hide nor feather of the missing critters. Indeed, never did. My dogs were running around on the ice, sniffing at tracks and what appeared to be scuffles in the snow on the ice. My surmise later was that, whatever got them, they were chased onto the pond ice and couldn’t put up much of a fight. Whereas normally they would have escaped into the water and been safe. Some must have panicked and escaped to the barn. I couldn’t do a further investigation at the time, as I needed to leave by 9. Hazel tells me that she later walked around the pond, and saw an excess of feathers on the ground beyond the berm. This is sad, a real bummer. I carefully cull my flocks, choosing the ones I want to keep; it’s not as if I just had a surplus of birds and could afford to lose some.
Very Scary and Very Funny
It was probably nearer 9:30 when I left. I was on Route 7 tooling along and making good time in my Toyota pickup, until about 5 miles east of Berryville, all of a sudden the engine started racing, the accelerator was stuck, I don’t know how fast I was going but I put on the brake hard, was able to get off the highway, just barely onto the shoulder, threw the gear shift into park—there was a horrible racket and resistance as I did so and I was sure that I had destroyed the gears –and turned off the engine. Sat there shaking. (Of course, you know I don’t have a cell phone). About ten minutes passed, no one stopping. I had put on my emergency signals, raised the hood, and stood beside the car (on the passenger side) looking helpless. Finally a gentleman stopped—he had apparently passed me then turned around and came back—and he mentioned that he had seen a county police car pass me by. I explained what had happened, and thought that I needed to have the car towed and then get in touch with Amy and see how I was to continue my journey. But then he said, “Let me give it a try,” took my keys and turned on the ignition. Everything seemed fine, nothing was racing. He then advised me to go back to Berryville and stop at a garage there and have it checked. He also let me use his cell phone, and I called Amy and left a message, that I was having car trouble and was headed back to a garage in Berryville and so I would be a little late.
Everything seemed fine, and I almost decided to turn around and continue my trip, thinking perhaps there had just been a pebble under the accelerator. Or something. But then I thought that would be breaking faith, with the man who had helped and advised me, and with my family who were depending on me to use sound judgment when traveling. So I continued to Berryville, pulled in at a little hole-in-the-wall garage called “Big Daddy,” and explained the problem.
Why do garages assume that everyone who stops in wants to read only magazines about cars? Oh, well, I had only waited a little while when one of the Big Daddies walked in, laughing, and held out his hand, showing me a handful of acorns. It seems that little critters had stuffed the throttle body full of acorns, which had lodged against the butterfly valve and made it stick. As well, they had chewed up the air filter and made a large nest somewhere. So after we had all had a good laugh, and a sigh of relief that it wasn’t more serious, they had soon corrected and replaced as necessary and I was on my way, after calling Amy again to give her an update, although I didn’t try to explain the problem.
To My Health
About the rest of the day, you may know that I was visiting with Amy. third daughter, because on Friday I was to undergo a medical procedure, a colonoscopy to follow up on the surgery I had done about a year ago. While this procedure is simple enough and done under anesthesia, it is the afternoon and evening before that constitute the rest of the “terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day.” But if you have been there, done that, you know whereof I speak, and you surely don’t need to hear about it. And if you have not, then you don’t want to hear about it either. Your time will come. Suffice it to say, that Amy is the very best of nurses.
On Friday Halle, fourth daughter, had graciously arranged to take the day off from work, and she drove me to and from Washington Hospital Center for the procedure. A wonderful companion. Afterwards, we stopped at Quiznos for a late lunch, and Halle joined us—Amy, Lloyd, grands Julia and Austin, and myself, for Lloyd’s Famous Spaghetti Supper. We all had a nice, normal visit. And oh, I got a clean bill of health. And got a good night’s sleep.
Home Again
On Saturday I arrived home about 2 in the afternoon. The dogs of course were wildly enthusiastic, especially little Tessa, who, no matter whether I have been gone short or long time, will not go outside until I have hugged her and given her a body rub and let her know that I am as glad to see her as she is to see me. Hazel tells me that Frankie was very down while I was gone, spent most of her time in my bedroom, often did not even want to go out.
Hazel, good neighbor that she is, had taken great care of poultry, pets, and birds, and she and her husband had put up plastic on the back porch and repaired the innards of the kitchen stove, as we had discussed, but not only that she had undecorated the tree and she and Ray carried it out. Service beyond the call of duty.
Weather has been mild, with heavy rain last night. Expected to turn colder, with snow showers tonight and tomorrow, not more than an inch or two, though.
It is good to be home.
All’s well that ends well. And may you all have a good, happy, and productive New Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment