The Cold

 Despite the sub freezing nights, we are getting sun during the day.  Instead of the heavy cold fog.

Not warm sun, but we can see the sun.  It's beautiful.

Right now, its up to 27 degrees outside.   It should be above freezing at some point after 10:00 a.m.  Sunny, I think, again.

Better than much of the country.

I have the thermostat set at 65, during the day.  I plan on downing that to 62 over the next week.  They advised those with heat pumps not to be changing the temperature, day to night.  I'm not sure why.  They advised not closing vents in some rooms either, as that can damage your furnace and heat pump.  However, my thermostat is in the hall.  I only have two rooms whose doors I could close, but that would close off cat movement.   I don't have cat doors in the bedroom doors.  I think I can hang blankets over the door openings.   Since the thermostat is in the hall, it might help.

  I feel bad for my elderly skinny old cats but there's nothing I can do about it.   I'm not the only one dealing with extreme electric bills.  The local facebook pages are full of stories from those struggling with them. These utilities in Oregon I think are charging consumers for the price of their own negligance in keeping trees away from power lines causing wildfires and after the fires--lawsuits from people who lost their homes in fires.   There have been massive payouts to homeowners who lost their homes.  The rest of us pay for it.

The power bill for this month will probably be astronomical once again.  It's not doable.  

Wish I had a wood stove sometimes.  There was one in here when I moved in, but my brother had it disconnected because it was not modern enough to be approved by his homeowners insurance.   It was tough to get out of here, being so heavy.  You can't legally sell a wood stove over a certain number of years old.   I drug it out on a tarp finally, with a lot of effort.  Someone came and took it away, said they'd split the metal recycling money with me, but after they drove off, I never saw them again.  People are so dishonest.

I was happy when the couple on Seven Mile told me they cancelled their FCCO spots for the coming Wednesday.    Bait freezes in this weather and the second barn is a much more difficult place to trap, with the cats living in the loft and only coming downstairs to eat.  There is almost no space for traps and they all come down to eat together, so the first cat caught would scare them all off being caught.   Somehow the couple fit the drop trap into that tiny space.  I don't know how and where they put it, but the cats need more time to adjust to eating under it, they said.   

I'm happy about it because holding them in the garage before and after surgery means running two space heaters to keep them warm enough at night.  That is very costly.

I feel bad for the FCCO, that they cancelled over the weekend, and yesterday, were closed.  They won't see their cancellation until today.  Will they be able to fill all those appointments with someone else at that late stage?  I don't know. But it is what it is and when its cold like this, and you have to trap after dark, its one of those things.  

Its interesting to me so many people won't make the call to the FCCO.  Yesterday a woman sent me a post from a man familiar to me.  He was posting on next door, in a small town south of here.  He claims to have over 20 cats and has tried every animal helping group around for help getting them fixed.  Well he did contact me, months ago.  I gave him the FCCO appointment application form link then.  He never responded.  When I saw his name in the message posted recently, I emailed him again, from his original request.   Again, no response.   WTH.   Is he no longer checking his email?   I had sent him the link once again, to get appointments, explaining he had to get them, that I couldn't.   Same with a trailer park in Sweet HOme, allegedly 100 cats there.  The lady claimed she filled out the FCCO form but said FCCO never responded but pretty sure she's lying, because they would have responded.

Can only do what you can do.   

My nonprofit has bought 14 of these in the last months, and given them to colony caretakers from Lebanon to Sweet Home.   Meow Village has donated some of those 14, four I think.   They're really well insulated.   

Prissy in front, Tickle in back

Prissy and Tickle from Quartzville road, the bathroom escapees, along with Thistle, love each other.  They're likely sisters.   They still try to sleep together, in a small carrier, but its too small to hold the both of them, so one or the other hangs out.  Thistle sticks mostly to the cat yard.

Today I have Gleaners.  I am looking forward to it greatly.  I have had almost no human contact lately outside of Gleaners last week.   I got a text we're having a potluck first week of February.  Got to figure out what to take this time.   I was going to take finger food pot pies (miniature) last time, but then switched to something else.   But since I have eggs and can make a puff pastry dough for crust and add other ingredients to the filling, I will plan on making those.

Today is looking unfortunately like it will be gray and foggy and cold all day.

A week from tomorrow, temperatures will get back to normal here, with days in the 50's and nights in the mid to upper 30's.  And rain.