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Small Talk: Out of Genoa


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I love the baby squirrel story ! Sounds like my house. We live in the country and see critters constantly but it never ceases to amaze me. Every spring I eagerly await the arrival of all the babies, from the birds to the deer. Our ponds are favourite nesting areas for geese and ducks, some of which are unusual. Our property is mostly forest so it is a safe haven for multiple species. I feed everything!

Happy Hearts Day!

  • Love 4
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We had a possum in our recycle bin once last winter. They are UGLY O_o And that's about as exotic as it gets here!

We've had to start keeping our compost bin in the garage. Otherwise, the raccoons will get into it and knock it over and make a mess on the porch, bungee-corded lid notwithstanding! They are smart and crafty critters.

  • Love 5
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We had a possum in our recycle bin once last winter. They are UGLY O_o And that's about as exotic as it gets here!

We've had to start keeping our compost bin in the garage. Otherwise, the raccoons will get into it and knock it over and make a mess on the porch, bungee-corded lid notwithstanding! They are smart and crafty critters.

 

Well, that makes two of us, C6.

 

A few years ago, a possum lurked in one of my garbage cans out front. Just slept, as possums will. So, wildlife expert that I'm not, I go to phone the Humane Society re moving the rather unattractive pink-tailed creature along... Advice, after 15 minutes of redirects and no human voices on the phone? "Well, they sleep a lot." He'll probably move along when he's ready." Right.

 

Raccoons? I haven't been able to use a green bin for years--we refer to those as raccoon lunch-pails. I live very near High Park in TO, and the area is full of 100+ year-old trees. And raccoons, In fact, I'm unwillingly hosting quite a few under my eaves and behind the 3rd-floor walls. They will chew through things, so I'm hoping this snow moves along so I can get the pest-control guys over--they have to go up three storeys, so the coons chew, and I wait. [No worries, I only call the people who put the suckers in cages and dump them in the park.]

  • Love 6
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My husband, being a soft-hearted soul, kept putting birdseed on our porch for the birds last winter, as it was so cold and snowy. Well, the neighbourhood squirrels thought that was a fine idea! They hung around long after winter was over, and managed to get into our attic through one of the roof vents...and one of them had babies up there -_- We suspected that they had taken up residence because we heard a lot of banging and scurrying (louder than mice), and our suspicions were confirmed when they chewed through the network cable that ran from our router in the master bedroom, up into the ceiling, through the attic and down into my son's room! Little buggers. So we had to have a squirrel guy come out and put a wire thing around the roof vent so that they could get out but couldn't get back in again.

  • Love 7
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My husband, being a soft-hearted soul, kept putting birdseed on our porch for the birds last winter, as it was so cold and snowy. Well, the neighbourhood squirrels thought that was a fine idea! They hung around long after winter was over, and managed to get into our attic through one of the roof vents...and one of them had babies up there -_- We suspected that they had taken up residence because we heard a lot of banging and scurrying (louder than mice), and our suspicions were confirmed when they chewed through the network cable that ran from our router in the master bedroom, up into the ceiling, through the attic and down into my son's room! Little buggers. So we had to have a squirrel guy come out and put a wire thing around the roof vent so that they could get out but couldn't get back in again.

We used to have a lot of bird feeders in a tree in our yard, problem was the squirrels kept getting into them.  Hubby bought a live trap and we relocated about 15 of the little buggers.  For years after that we had no squirrels at all, but RATS started to get into the feeders (we live near Lake Washington) so now we have no more bird feeders except for hummingbird feeders. :(

I feed the squirrels peanuts and also the crows, blue jays and seagulls.  I just love critters, always have.  After we saw the bunny yesterday we put out carrots for it, but we haven't seen it today.

  • Love 4
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You know you're an old married couple when you'd rather spiff up the yard than go to a romantic dinner.

Not necessarily old, how about smart? lol  Been there, done that.

 

How about a cold, snowy. cozy Valentine's night with good food, drink, and homemade chocolate cake with butter cream frosting ?  ah......

  • Love 5
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We just cracked the bubbly to celebrate our offer being accepted on our new townhouse! We are so excited. So pray that we make it through inspections and closing and moving...hmmm maybe this wasn't such a good idea!! ;)

  • Love 6
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We just cracked the bubbly to celebrate our offer being accepted on our new townhouse! We are so excited. So pray that we make it through inspections and closing and moving...hmmm maybe this wasn't such a good idea!! ;)

Congratulations on the new home - hope everything goes well. 

  • Love 5
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Good Morning all, I love this thread, seems like a bit of celebrating went on last night...congratulations on your new townhouse radishcake...moving to a new location is always exciting...another winter blizzard here where I am longing for spring...looks like we will have to have those guys back up on our roof again, more snow is piling up there...our little yorkie hates storm days, he looks out the window and makes sighs depressingly...and my grandchildren think that any storm that comes on a day when there is no school (thereby no school closures because of the storm) is a wasted storm...they don't think they benefit from it in any way, but a storm in the middle of the week with school closing as a result is to them a great gift from above..

  • Love 2
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Good Morning all, I love this thread, seems like a bit of celebrating went on last night...congratulations on your new townhouse radishcake...moving to a new location is always exciting...another winter blizzard here where I am longing for spring...looks like we will have to have those guys back up on our roof again, more snow is piling up there...our little yorkie hates storm days, he looks out the window and makes sighs depressingly...and my grandchildren think that any storm that comes on a day when there is no school (thereby no school closures because of the storm) is a wasted storm...they don't think they benefit from it in any way, but a storm in the middle of the week with school closing as a result is to them a great gift from above..

 

Oh, goodness, folks! Valentines?

 

You're missing out on a movable feast we're celebrating here today--one that's kind of a secret...and Canadian, you may be missing out here...

 

It's the February Festival of Frozen Drains! Yes, when it drops below -25C [that's roughly 18 below zero in Fahrenheit--and that's not counting windchill--we like to get out the plungers, the 6-litre electric kettles [stove-top models are too slow], and the pails, and just party down.

Once you've plunged, emptied various sinks, and run boiling water into those sinks, you know you're living, I tell you.

 

So, no cute snow men, no Frozen, just half a paczi [Polish donut eaten before Lent] and lukewarm coffee! Yay.

  • Love 4
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LOL I guess I really don't have anything to complain about.

When I look out the living room window, the grass is green, just a slight breeze and today it's supposed to get up to 12 C.. There were even bunnies eating my lawn/clover a little earlier.

I do have to say tho, that everytime I hear about someone getting a snowfall, all I can think of I "where's ours".. the husband says it's too late for that as he wants to get in the garden and get it ready to start planting stuff. and besides that, on Thursday, we are heading off to tofino for 3 days cause it will be our anniversary on the 20th. 42 legally married yrs...

Edited by valleycliffe
  • Love 5
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That's what ya get for living in an old-ass house, Pearlite :D

(I kid, mostly. I think older homes have so much more character than newer ones. But I'm happy that my pipes aren't frozen - and that I can flush the toilet when somebody's in the shower!)

LOL I guess I really don't have anything to complain about.When I look out the living room window, the grass is green, just a slight breeze and today it's supposed to get up to 12 C.. There were even bunnies eating my lawn/clover a little earlier.I do have to say tho, that everytime I hear about someone getting a snowfall, all I can think of I "where's ours".. the husband says it's too late for that as he wants to get in the garden and get it ready to start planting stuff. and besides that, on Thursday, we are heading off to tofino for 3 days cause it will be our anniversary on the 20th. 42 legally married yrs...

Happy anniversary! Do you live on Vancouver Island? I saw something on the news about a newborn orca in the southern resident orca population, and was so happy - the second new baby in about six weeks!

  • Love 5
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I have an Internet friend who lived in Nanaimo for many years, but decided to move to Winnipeg a couple of years ago. She's so happy about it - she loves winter and cold and snow, and Winnipeg is the perfect place for that! (Except they don't have a whole lot of snow there right now, and she wants more, LOL)

  • Love 1
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That's what ya get for living in an old-ass house, Pearlite :D

(I kid, mostly. I think older homes have so much more character than newer ones. But I'm happy that my pipes aren't frozen - and that I can flush the toilet when somebody's in the shower!)

 

 

Un huh, I know, I know, C6.

 

Many days my response to old houses having character would be, yeah, if you count raccoons as characters... Or if you count having your whole damn roof rebuilt as a good time... I'm starting a novena for new plumbing next year. Maybe a trip to Lourdes.

 

Actually, until last year between Christmas and New Years, I'd never experienced frozen pipes--just lucky, I guess. But ya know what? I have a huge ice-penis out front. Wait--you're unfamiliar with ice-weenies? Then you don't have a high-efficiency furnace that blows out its water vapour through a spout on your front yard. Said water vapour for some reason piles up as ice in a kind of stalagmite, if you prefer. We call it the ice-phallus.

 

Winnipeg? Are you familiar with mentioning the cold to anyone from there, or from the prairies in general? Their response is pretty much, "You call this cold?" Then they launch into, "You don't know what cold is until your nose falls off at Portage and Main..." My usual response is that's what you get for going north of Eglinton Ave.

Edited by pearlite
  • Love 4
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Gosh I feel like the baby of the bunch with my puny 30 years this coming fall. Known him since I was in 10th grade, married him when I was newly 19. There is nothing he could do to make me leave. He is a much better person than I am.

I feel the same way about my husband.  Hard working, honest, sweet as pie (if you know what I mean.. nudge, nudge) and financially savvy.  If our finances were left up to me we'd be in the poor house.

  • Love 3
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Way to go valley! That's a lot of years!

I don't have frozen pipes but I have frozen doors and apparently the smoke machine for Vlad Newman. Tried to let the dog out, the door was stuck and when I finally got it open, the fog machine kicked into gear. It's -32C out which is -25F. I'm envious of those who can go out into their gardens!

Enjoy your paczi pearlite! Hope your pipes warm up!

Happy Family Day or whatever is being celebrated in your area today!

  • Love 4
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I am lost with your fog talk PatsyandEddie.  What are you talking about?

 

Supposed to get snow, slush, sleet, freezing rain later today into tonight. Those are the options, Greg Fischel can't decide what will happen. It will be our first cold wet stuff other than rain for the winter season. So I am off to find some loaf bread. 

 

Stewed, I don't know if this is what PatsyandEddie is referring to, but, when the temperature goes low enough--which -32C certainly is--any air with even some water vapour in it [including your breath or your house's heated & humidified air] will just turn to "fog." Essentially, I guess, the water vapour just cools really fast and sits in the air. There are stories about northern airports where people could find each other in the dark by seeing the "air puffs" from their breath, which could last for upwards of ten minutes. It's like being able to see your breath when it's cold, only on a large scale.

 

Loaf bread? As in quick bread?

 

Me, I got lucky and my daughter found some hot-house rhubarb, which is one of my mystical spring-juju foods.

  • Love 4
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Thanks for the explanation pearlite. I forget that some folks don't get the kind of cold that we do so they aren't familiar with some of the phenomenas that we are "treated" to.

not long after the husband and I were married, we had to move to ft. st. john in northern BC. we lived there for 7 1/2 yrs. during that time, one winter it got to -58C. we got ice fog. you could see the ice crystals floating in the air.

luckily for the kids the school bus stopped right in front of our house and the kids didn't go out until they saw the lights coming down the road.

  • Love 4
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not long after the husband and I were married, we had to move to ft. st. john in northern BC. we lived there for 7 1/2 yrs. during that time, one winter it got to -58C. we got ice fog. you could see the ice crystals floating in the air.

luckily for the kids the school bus stopped right in front of our house and the kids didn't go out until they saw the lights coming down the road.

Lol.  They close the schools here if we get a couple of inches.

  • Love 2
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I know the kind of "fun"you're talking about valley. My father was in the military and we spent several years living on the base in Manitoba. One Christmas it went down to - 54 F. We only had one snow day when it had snowed so much it was over the doorways. Everyone got to stay home to shovel.

  • Love 3
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Lol.  They close the schools here if we get a couple of inches.

I'm in Texas and we rarely get snow and they never close the schools for snow.  We get ice storms and they do close for that since very few people here know how to drive on ice, including the school bus drivers, apparently.  It was in the 70's here the last two days - sorry!

  • Love 2
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I'm in Texas and we rarely get snow and they never close the schools for snow.  We get ice storms and they do close for that since very few people here know how to drive on ice, including the school bus drivers, apparently.  It was in the 70's here the last two days - sorry!

Hey, I can't complain, it's been 60 and sunny here for the last several days.  Seattle is very hilly, isn't Texas sort of flat?  I was born in San Antonio, but we moved away when I was a baby so I don't remember.

  • Love 2
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Hey, I can't complain, it's been 60 and sunny here for the last several days.  Seattle is very hilly, isn't Texas sort of flat?  I was born in San Antonio, but we moved away when I was a baby so I don't remember.

It's mostly flat, or seems that way.  The Big Bend area has outcroppings and hills (up to 1900 ft., I think,) and there are lots of caverns and caves in that area.  I live in the DFW area and there are small hills here, that make for interesting house designing, but the state is basically flat, boring, and extremely conservative.  Did I mention conservative???  The beaches are nice, but the sand is not white, just ugly brown.  As you can tell, I would probably rather be somewhere else.....I like Hawaii....and Cancun. 

  • Love 3
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My internet, phone and TV cable were all out all day yesterday due to a very bad storm, back up and running now  and then got the message that David has posted about at the top of the site..made me very nervous, but all is well now..

  • Love 5
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We had a great time, though one of the three days was rainy and crappy. But the good days were great.

 

Fret not - by the end of next month, we'll have the central heater running again, and you'll all be enjoying the sunshine of a northern spring and summer...

  • Love 2
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Looks like we are heading for a coyote problem. Because the snowfall has been so heavy and the temps so low, we've been seeing them closer to the house in broad daylight. Two in the last two days is a rarity. Closer to the lake area, folks have been bagging 5 or 6 a day on their farms bothering the livestock. Hungry and desperate. I don't think I could shoot one unless it was attacking one of the dogs but DH and co. wouldn't think twice. :(

  • Love 1
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Here's a pic from our little Valentines beach holiday (mentioned up-thread). I'm standing in the back, with my daughter, s-i-l and three of my grandchildren in the shelter. Hubby took the photo.

beach%20holiday%202015.jpg

Great picture Axella! Sure makes me anxious for some warm weather.

  • Love 1
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I have been without internet and TV for 3 days and have really missed you guys.  Just popping in to say I am in the DFW area in Texas and am looking out my window at light snow on the ground.  It's 26 degrees (I know that's not really cold, but it is here)  and only expected to reach 30 today.  No shovels needed here, though.  lol

Edited by movinon
  • Love 5
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24 days until Spring folks! Just hang in there! I had -30C overnight which is a huge improvement over the -40C the night before. Things are looking up already! LOL! 

 

Yup, just celebrated the Festival of Frozen Kitchen Drains again this morning!

  • Love 4
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