Yesterday was positively balmy as temperatures rose above freezing and the DD birds profited, splashing about like small kids in a paddle pool.
Today they are out of luck. Their water froze promptly.
You wonder how it’s possible to feel that anything just above freezing could be regarded as balmy. Even 20F/-6C is “comfortable” these days.
But when it’s really cold 0F/-17C the extremities start very quickly to hurt!
The birds had a decidedly frozen look.
Nobody was very shy this morning.
“Please, we’re cold. Can we have some seed?”
Suddenly we are back in favour with the starling mob.
No longer the one or two “token” visitors, they arrived en masse to claim space in the DD bird’s hedge.
When I took food out, one got straight in.
A couple of strange things happened:
Around 8.30 last night I was settled down with my book when I saw lights in the driveway. Truck lights. Not the plow, it wasn’t snowing yet. Not someone turning around. It was stopped in the driveway and a man emerged with a flashlight.
“Grant!”
Dealing with strangers is his job!
After a bit, Grant returned looking puzzled.
“Someone called the gas company to report a gas odor after a delivery and they gave our address.”
Checking my account, I see that an order was opened and a charge attached, so that must be sorted.
Why would someone do this?
As if I wasn’t already ticked off, yesterday by having had a credit card hacked. Someone was trying to make a charge that looked suspicious and no, it wasn’t me, so the card was cancelled.
This time the notification came by text, so I didn’t even speak to anyone. They are mailing me the new card.
It’s the card I use for utilities and other monthly charges so it’s a pain, but fine….that’s life…
But as I checked my email this morning, suddenly came a notification of the same illicit charge…on the newly issued, but not yet received card.
How is this possible?
Even I can’t make a charge on that card yet.
So now another card is coming….
But I think I must call their security people to ask how this can happen unless the company itself is not safe…
The day started out well when I called out to Willow to come for her medicine and she arrived proudly carrying a live mouse in her mouth.
Shuddering, I put her medicine down and carried on with other things.
In due course my child reappeared, but she had that look. Wild. Killer.
When I looked around for rodent remains, there was no trace. It was either in Willow’s tummy or it was under some inconveniently heavy piece of furniture.
.
.
This look, by the way, is not the wild one. This is the look of disappointment, deprived of her catch.
What did I say? My desk. Thanks, Willow.
As it turned out, mouse had escaped. It was clearly still alive so we had to extricate it and assess the poor creature’s chances of survival.
This was efficiently accomplished and normally the mouse would be put outside but what with snow and extreme cold…
“Put it in the garage and tell it not to eat my car!”
Now I must make some phone calls. I hate making phone calls….
You do have fun with those gas people!
I want to know the phone number whoever it was called from…!
You are such a nice people!
Joanna
So, the gas people arrive when you don’t call them … and they don’t come when you need them. A very strange bunch of people indeed!
Yes….it’s an ongoing strange tale!
What a sequence of problems!!
There have been several such sequences, but we always seem to overcome…