Canesisters 2024 journal

[canesisters]

What in the world will 2024 become.

Starting off with a bit of a bang. Mid-Jan we had a once in 20yr (or longer, I hope) storm. 3-5" of rain in only a few hours. Flooding everywhere. Flooding at work. Tanks floated from behind the shop to the gate. Neighbor business' dumpster is just gone. Major roads collapsed nearby. My creek came over the bridge for the first time ever.
Mud Mud Mud for days & days.

Before

After

Then, less than a week later a polar vortex. Tonight is down to 20's heading to teens.

I've been babying my furnace for years. It is ridiculously delicate & finicky. Any little thing will cause it to get 'stuck' in a cycle & not cut off. Years ago one of the fans burnt up & had to be replaced because it had run for hours & hours. A repairman showed me how to reset it when it gets stuck. 2:30ish my 'spider sense' went off and woke me up. What had caused the heater to get stuck? Who knows. Likely it had something to do with the temp dropping so fast. It does NOT like if I bump the thermostat up more than a couple of degrees at a time.
I woke up, heard it running, laid there waiting for it to click off..... got up & sure enough the error light was blinking. It's a long process of turning it off, letting that fan cool down, set the thermostat JUST below whatever the house temp is & slowly letting it work through each cycle raising the temp again.
So here I sit, reading BYH, watching Harry Potter & slowly working the heat up through the 60's.
Thankful still.

 

[Mini Horses]

Geesh! . Last thing you need -- a furnace replacement. Glad you woke! 2024 has started with extremes and we'll probably see more of it.

So, how is everything else going? Work smoothing out, I hope. Ms B and cats ok? We're all muddling along and screaming about the weather.

 

[Baymule]

I have a propane heater that I turn on to give the heating unit a break. I turn it off at night. It sure is nice to have.

Hope your furnace doesn’t act up, that’s the last thing you need.

How is everything else going for you?

 

[farmerjan]

Yes, update please.... Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[canesisters]

Mostly going ok.
Work is still bumpy. Everytime I think I've made some progress, I find out I've made yet another mistake. I'll get it all eventually. My biggest problem is that there seems to be SO MUCH that everyone 'just knows'. Like this AM a local business came by to fill a drum with diesel. No one was here so I priced it like I do for the big customers... turns out this particular guy is no tax and no fees. Why? Because he's always been like that.
Birdie has had that little lump on her belly for a few months. It's gotten big now. I FINALLY found a vet that has Sat hours & got appt. Turns out they don't do surgery. She refered me to some place up in Richmond. They emailed me a price sheet and a like to make an appt. The price sheet estimate for the bare bones comes to about $2000
I've made an appt at my old vet to see what They say. It just seems that $1.50/lb for antiboitics and $1/lb for pain meds is steep...... Not to mention that they charge a flat fee for the inches of the incision.
Everyone else is doing well. Cold & muddy, but ok.

 

[farmerjan]

Sorry that there are still so many "outliers" with different customers... Next time, ASK them when they come in... if there is anything you need to know about their account since you are still relatively new... I think that most will be decent about it and you will also put face to name to account and learn them easier that way...
Mistakes like that are FIXABLE.....

That company has been run that way and you said everyone has been there for a LOOOOONG time... and let's face it... there are things you "JUST KNEW" at the old company... and did without even consciously thinking about it...you have been at this one for what???? 4-5 months???? You aren't going to learn company policy of years and years... with all the little quirk accounts, in 6 months...

 

[murphysranch]

Ouch for the lumpectomy. That seems excessive for the surgery.

 

[Baymule]

At that price, you’d think it’s operating on a human. Ridiculous. Hope you can find a good “country livestock” vet.

 

[canesisters]

At that price, you’d think it’s operating on a human. Ridiculous. Hope you can find a good “country livestock” vet.

I'm taking her to the vet I used for years down near the landfill. At the very least, they will likely let me split it up into a couple of payments even if their prices are similar.

 

[canesisters]

The cows have flat-out refused to use the water trough since the big rain storm. Not a problem since there had been plenty of water everywhere. They seem quite content drinking puddles. It's a bit of a stand-off now though. Puddles mostly gone and I'm watching them drink the muddy water around the trough.
Concerned that the metal bathtub might be picking up some stay charge somehow from the fence or even the floating de-icer I've grabbed the sides & stuck my hand in the water several times.... nothing.
I suppose they'll drink from the trough eventually? I do the skin pinch trick on Eva's neck every night... is that even a 'thing' with cows to tell dehydration?

Also saw a chicken moving oddly this afternoon. Nope! Wasn't a chicken, was a (big!) hawk eating a chicken. Barnvelder gone, down to 7 hens.