So my free time has been exceptionally limited the past few days. As I said last week, work is…tenuous right now (we actually had another small set of layoffs this afternoon) and I’d really rather not be counted among those being hastened toward the exit.
As such, little things like “breaks” aren’t being factored into my day. This is why things have gotten sporadic here.
I did, however, brave the ice and go outside for a little while to check on the chickens today.
In order to traverse a “path” such as this, you really should be wearing crampons.
Yes, crampon.
These things:
The red elastic bit wraps around the toe and heel of your boot while the chains/spikes go underneath the tread. All this so you don’t flip ass over teakettle when you’re out trying to do a wellness check on your flock.
Jen actually wore hers this morning when she let the girls out of the coop, however I am not nearly so bright…
So I slid and spun and wobbled my way across the driveway, Brian Boitano meets Mack truck style, until I made it to the “safety” of the snowpack.
This too, however, has started to melt in places…
And for idiots like myself, who are in too much of a hurry for both the noble crampon and for socks…
things get real vivid real fast.
Fortunately the chickens were fine.
Today was one of the first days since December that I’ve seen all of them outside the coop at once.
And while we’re on the subject of snow removal, I just want to take a moment to discuss this stuff:
The “Pet Friendly Ice Melter.“
Not only does this cost $40 for a 50lb. bag, it is absolutely useless.
I mean, I suppose if I fed it to my dog, who subsequently took a dump on the snow, it could be construed as an “ice melter.” Otherwise it had about the same effect as if I’d scattered 40 dollar bills on the sidewalk.
Seriously. Don’t bother with this stuff.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
j.s.
Missed a post yesterday since I spent the time that I’d normally use writing (i.e. my lunch hour) at the local barber.
Daph seems to like the new noggin aerodynamism, as there’s been a whole lot of stimming on my scalp.
She also informed me on her talker this morning, “Daddy. Good job. Hair. Head.“
So I guess she wasn’t a fan of the whole Bozo yak temple tufts thing I had going on either. (“Bozo Yak Temple Tuft” will be the name of my heavy metal album, btw.)
Otherwise it’s been a pretty uneventful few days. As I mentioned, the temps dipped again over the weekend…but the chickens seem to have made it through relatively unscathed. And we’ve got a pretty solid warm up in the mail over the next couple days, so they should be happier soon.
And while there’s no denying that we’re all looking forward to spring, the warm rain is going to do a number on the snowpack at Burke. Part of me hopes that ski season hasn’t completely run its course just yet; I’d like to get in at least a couple more trips this year…
On Sunday we desperately needed to get out of the house, so we took a jaunt down to Williston. I had a refund gift card from all the camping gear I purchased from them in 2024, so we figured that’d at least be something to amuse ourselves for an afternoon.
We did a circuit around the store and didn’t really see much that any of us were interested in. Then, just as we were leaving, Daphne’s attention was suddenly grabbed by a floral wrap poncho…thing.
She walked over, wide-eyed, pointed at it several times, then tried to pull it off the hanger while looking up at me for help.
Call me a pushover, friends, but that’s all it takes…
Today is actually Daph’s last day of Winter Break. And while there have been some unquestionably tense moments where everyone was Over. It. I’d still say, on the whole, that it’s been a pretty good vacation for her. She definitely seems ready to go back to school, though.
I do hope we’re past all the rampant illness that we’ve been contracting from that place. It seems like we’ve only recently gotten fully well (for the first time in 2025), and I’m worried some new malady will commute home from the viral swap meet that is her elementary school.
See you tomorrow.
j.s.
Tomorrow is March, so we’ll see how well that little axiom stands up. It does look like we’re going to dip back down to to -13° this weekend though, so I’d say it’s pretty on the nose so far.
Unfortunately for the chickens, the power cord that connects the garage outlet to the coop heater was unplugged in the midst of one of the snowstorms. (The guys who plow our driveway know to unplug/move it before driving over the cord and ripping out the socket) And so it’s buried…somewhere around here:
Guess we’ll find it in April. In the interim, though, the poor girls won’t have any heat. Good news there is it’s only a couple of days, then it will be back to the 30’s. Still, I’m sure they won’t be happy about that.
In other snow-related news, Daphne got a chance to sled for a little while this afternoon. Despite the blue sky and sun, it was deceptively cold out, though (I think the wind chill was 9°) so we didn’t stay out too long. We did manage to get a little video today though.
Good times.
As you might imagine, blanket time on the couch was the order of the evening after being outside in the chill… And so we lounged around and read one of Daph’s new favorite books:
She’s doing a fantastic job with her talker in reading along with me… Honestly we weren’t even aware that she knew a lot of these words…
Impressive.
Okay, that’s it for today.
See you Monday.
j.s.
I did some quick diurnal math and, because I was supine with illness for the entirety of last weekend, I calculated that I haven’t left the house in over 2 weeks.
Valentine’s Day was the last time I actually left the farm, and that was just to pick up some exorbitantly priced groceries ahead of a winter storm.
As such, Jen and I agreed that I needed to get out of the confines of our 1,300 sq. ft. farmhouse for a little while today, even if it was…to go to the grocery store again. (Hey, it’s all I have time for after work.)
We ended up going later than originally expected since the snow was coming down pretty hard for a while…
And I’ll tell you, after 2 weeks of being in a house that’s best described as “dimly lit on a good day,” the fluorescent lighting of the local Price Choppah was VIVID.
But now we’re stocked up for a few more days; hopefully we’ll have the time to jaunt over to the co-op next week for our “real” grocery trip.
After we got home we did a bit more work with Daph’s talker. Last night she wore my watch for a while because we’re trying to get her acclimated to wearing something around her wrist. That way she can use an Apple AirTag holder as a “watch,” so if she happens to abscond/wander off we can find her.
As such, we worked on “watch” and “wrist.”
And tomorrow marks another weekend, and one where we’ll all hopefully be upright and without illness. Hmm. I guess I’ll need to figure out something for us to go do then.
Okay, see you then.
j.s.
We’ve had two consecutive days with highs in the mid 30’s, and the sun isn’t going down until well after 5:30…
If I didn’t know better, I’d say spring was in the mail.
But it’s certainly nice for however long it lasts.
Speaking of which, Daph’s February break continues. And while there wasn’t much in the way of painting or haircuts today, Jen and Daph did take a quick walk down the street (there’s still too much snow to take laps around the trees) and then we had some snuggle time on the couch.
As you can see, we’re all suffering terribly.
I will also mention that I have a haircut/beard trim appointment scheduled for next Monday which is, quite clearly, well overdue. Now in my defense, I had one scheduled over a month ago but had to miss it for work reasons; next week was their soonest availability.
I realize I’m giving off “Tent City HOA Board Member, Who Probably Eats Pigeons” vibes, but I will say that it’s been nice to have a winter coat around my noggin during these last couple chilly months.
Okay, back to work. It is Wednesday after all.
See you tomorrow.
j.s.
A corporate one.
Now I can’t go into detail about my work on this website, suffice to say that vocational scythes have been lopping off heads all around me which has made for a few unnerving business days.
Obviously I’m still employed and still doing my thing (otherwise I wouldn’t be so cagey about it), but rumor ’round the campfire is there are more changes/layoffs ahead, and now really ain’t the time to be an out-of-work remote employee. I know we’re not the only company going through these RIFs. (Reduction In Force.)
Zooming out, I actually think we’re on the precipice of a significant economic downturn, primarily attributable to erratic administrative behavior at a national level that’s causing market instability. We’ll see once the unemployment numbers for Q1 are released. Hopefully I’m wrong about that.
However the little tinfoil hat devil on my shoulder keeps whispering that torpedoing the market is the point of it all, so as to engender another massive wealth transfer up to the 1% when stocks go on sale.
In cheerier news, the weather has indeed been warmer up here the past couple days. So much so that one of our new girls has finally done some work.
At this point it’s like they’re squeezing out little round dollar bills into the nest box every morning.
And speaking of unappetizing, there were Play-Doh shenanigans happening in the dining room this afternoon.
However, soon one color was not enough and electric shamrock arrived to the Play-Doh party.
And so now you’re all aware.
Mixing of Play-Doh colors absolutely turns me inside out.
Horrific.
Okay, see you tomorrow.
j.s.