This morning, when I came downstairs, and yes, I was the first one up, I was greeted with what I thought was a big cluster of feathers in the downstairs hall. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was more a partial bird, complete with feet, rather than just random feathers, although there were those, too. Again, I question the cat door as a good decision. Oh well, at least it wasn't brought into our bedroom in the middle of the night. There I was, before coffee, vacuuming up downy feathers. In case you are wondering how little birds stay warm in the winter, I can vouch for the huge amount of little downy feathers that must act as insulation they possess (or possessed in this case).
After all bird remnants were dealt with, it was coffee. Then, happily, I watched some more episodes of Grace and Frankie on Netflix. The most recent season was released on Canadian Netflix yesterday, or maybe the day before. I quite enjoy it.
I lazed around for a while doing that and thought I'd better check on the chickens, so got dressed, threw a load of laundry in, and got ready to go outside. OH MY LORD, it's cold outside!!! I even put on snow pants!
I scooped a bit more food into their feeder, then unplugged their heated water bucket and dumped it outside. It was time for fresh water. The heated bucket is quite large and holds almost three regular sized buckets of water, so there was a lot of back and forth to the house. They also got some leftover lettuce, about which they celebrated like they'd won the chicken lottery! I collected eggs (two from the three hens), and then spread some bird seed out for the regular, winter birds. I really feel sorry for them right now.
With a tiny bit of energy left, and my socks completely slipped down to my toes inside hubby's big insulated rubber boots, I thought I'd shovel a little of the path for the cats on the front porch. Like a gross, freezing cold pig, I realized my nose was dripping. I thought, boy, it really is cold outside, but I'm not going in for a Kleenex right now, I'll just wipe it on my yucky chicken gloves. Well it kept dripping and I thought, I'm glad nobody sees me right now. Then I looked down and saw red. My nose was actually bleeding. Huh. I put the shovel aside and went into the mudroom and grabbed a paper towel out of the closet. Wow - it was quite a nosebleed. I hadn't had a nosebleed in years and years.
Still holding the paper towel to my nose, I one-handedly got out of my boots, snowpants, coats, etc., then grabbed the coat and took it to the laundry where I sprayed the blood spots with spot remover. (We'll see if that works!). I have decided now that my outdoor work is done for the day.
There's a load of laundry happening, and a book to enjoy. Yesterday I finished Louise Penny's Glass Houses.
I've been reading her books for years and years and am always waiting for her next one. There is a new release coming soon. I have it on hold at my local library. This one did not disappoint. If you are looking for a new mystery series, I would highly recommend this one, but it is best to read the books in order, the first one being Still Life.
I have another Ann Cleeves to read (of Shetland fame) and this one:
As a lover of Python movies, I am looking forward to this. I've already flipped through and looked at all the pictures. I enjoy biographies, but not the 'sensational' kind. I just like a look at the lives of people. I guess that's why I enjoy reading blogs, as well.
It is currently -15 degrees Celsius out, but 'feels like' -26 degrees with the windchill. No wonder my nose bled! I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit for my American readers. Bloody cold! Ha, ha!
That would be 5 degrees farenheit for us in the U.S. - pretty cold! We're supposed to get a blast from Canada tomorrow and that will be our high temperature for the day. Overnight we got about 15 inches of snow and we're just about ready to head back out to clear it up for the second time. Thanks for the recommendation - I've put the Louise Penny "Still Life" book in my shopping cart at Amazon. The chickens don't like the snow and haven't ventured out of the coop today. I'm going to bribe them with some leftover crisp noodles from our Chinese dinner last night.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue. Thankfully we didn't get the big snowfall, but other parts of Ontario did. (Usually it IS us, so this was a nice change). I hope you like the book!
DeleteBloody cold covers it. Bloody snow here.
ReplyDeleteI have a cat door story. A cat named Katherine, so it would be OK for folks to call her Kitty, belonged to my daughter in college and lived with me. I did not like Kitty; she had a mean spirit.
Running the vacuum one Saturday, I encountered a lump in the corner of my closet. It turned out to be a headless rabbit. Damn cat. I cleaned it up and got on with my life.
That night there was a blood curdling scream from my younger daughter. The one that raises any parent straight from bed at full alert and top speed. I pivoted around her door frame, switching on the light simultaneously. Shelly stood by the bed, screaming and pointing at the rabbit's head and silky ears, that had been strategically positioned to collide with her feet.
The day my daughter rented a non-dorm room, that cat went!
Ha! Makes me think of a scene from The Godfather! My very first cat that I got when I started my adult life was named Kitty (no full version of the name). She was sweet tempered, however, and lived to an old age.
DeleteI just found your blog today. Really enjoyed your delightful writing with the touches of humor. The sun is shining in a brilliant blue sky here in Colorado. 4 inches of snow slowing melting off the lawn. Now I'm going exploring on your blog.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks. If you have a blog, let me know, and I'll come over for a visit!
DeleteThank goodness Rick doesn't bring dead bodies indoors. Although I did find a manky tennis ball in my bedroom yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind as much if it was dead, but from the CSI type evidence, I think it came in alive (found feathers on the inside of a kitchen window).
DeleteI get lots of dead animals brought in the house. Lucky I have always been the one to deal with them. I am not keen on the ones still running around. I saw Eric Idle in tv talking about his book. He sounded very normal and like he had never changed from his Monty Python days and he has been long time married to the same woman. Unusual. Hope you don't get any more nosebleeds.x
ReplyDeleteI saw the photos of his wife in the book. She's quite beautiful. I don't normally get nosebleeds.
DeleteIt's around -13 here as well and the wind is blowing...there is a mini snownado outside my window. Nosebleeds..how I hate them.
ReplyDeleteThankfully not windy, or there would be drifting, but snappy cold. I can see the full moon from where I am sitting right now.
DeleteLove Louise Penny.
ReplyDeleteOur cat door often produced still-live victims, but lamed so they'd be fun to play with but unable to get away. Ah, the gruesome life of a cat owner.
Housecats really do return easily to their hunter ways, and they can be merciless.
DeleteEwwwwwwww ! I sincerely hope Bluebell doesn’t bring me any wildlife as a gift!!! Blew your chickens for being so grateful for some lettuce! A life’s lesson there somewhere!!
ReplyDeleteThey don't get as much fresh kitchen food these days. I don't feed them potato peels or onion peels, and I guess I just create more refuse that they can eat in the warmer months. They do love leftover mashed potatoes, though.
DeleteHi Jenn :) Oh a nose bleed...probably from the cold? We're having a great blizzard today and it's DAMN cold out there, eye-lash freezing cold. Oh my gosh, I just hummed "always look on the bright side of life"...hee hee...that should be a great book!
ReplyDeleteThe dry and the cold, I guess. No blizzard here. We escaped the big snowfall (often we get all that lake effect snow). I haven't started the book yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
DeleteToday was snowstorm day for us. I won't complain since it's the first really significant snowfall. But I can do without the cold! Still. It was nice being snuggled up indoors watching the it turned into a winter wonderland outside.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, everyone to the east and south of us were hit harder! Hope you are having a cozy night in.
DeleteI often get nosebleeds after a good head cold. I think our tissues are just so sensitive until they heal.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't get much of the snow but man is it cold and windy. (And the Mr. decided today was a good day to clean the chimney of the woodstove. Thank goodness the wood furnace was well stocked.)
We once had a small tom cat named Jimmy. He liked to bring us his leftover rabbit meals. Pretty gross. Our Miss Kitty regularly deposits mice beside the Mr's bedside. She *is* his cat after all!
Another cat named Kitty! How kind of your Jimmy to bring gifts for his human.
DeleteOh, hang on, I think I messed that up. Jimmy brings the rabbits, Miss Kitty brings the presents to her human.
DeleteLoved your post...so funny! Cold here too and a bit of shovelling to get the blood circulating. I am also waiting for Louise Penny's latest book.
ReplyDeleteI just stopped the shovelling. We do have someone who comes with a tractor and snowblower when we get a lot of snow. Don't you love her books? I'd go stay at Three Pines if it was a real place!
DeleteI can imagine the doubled fright, first the bird in the house after the blood and the cold. It was a lively morning rsrs.
ReplyDeleteI just felt really bad for the bird.
DeleteI Know! Sorry for you.
DeleteYikes! Cold enough for a nose bleed? I can well believe it with extreme weather. There have been times in my life where it's been so baking hot and dry here that my nose has bled. And no apologies for your night time cough medicine. We've a product here with a nice glug of codeine in it that gives you the most delicious sleep...ahem, used most judiciously in this household.
ReplyDeleteA friend raves about Grace & Frankie and we'll get to it eventually, but I'm way behind in the televisual viewing these days. The Eric Idle bio would be right up my alley too, thanks, I didn't realise it was out there. I love those Pythons! I confess that the only time I suffered the indignity of being thrown out of a lecture at university it was because the guy sitting next to me was muttering the Ann Elk Theory and I nearly fainted from smothering my laughter! Oh, the shame!
Ahh codeine. I am familiar with that as well, but this is just regular night time cold medicine in capsule form. I just looked up the Ann Elk theory. Had forgotten that one.
DeleteOoo'er....I'd have fainted on the spot coming down to half a bird on my carpet.
ReplyDeleteWe had a tiny bit of snow on Friday night but the ground was wet so it didn't lay but it was pretty to watch.
Hugs-x-
It takes quite a bit to set me off anymore! Not too squeamish.
DeleteDo you have a humidifier attachment to your furnace? Dry indoor winter air can cause nose bleeds. Or it could have been the cold outside, although my suspicions rest with your indoor air.
ReplyDeleteNo, no humidifier, but we have an old house and I suspect enough air gets transferred from inside to out and vise versa. I also hang my laundry to dry in my house on drying racks (not all of it, just my own clothes), so that adds a bit of moisture as well.
DeleteI have just said over on Joanne's that we in Britain need snow like hers. It brings people together. I asked the Canadians in Grand Bend why they organise Winter festivals, and they said that if they didn't everyone would go mad on their own inside their houses.
ReplyDeleteWell, winter is so long, you need to find some kind of diversion. A lot of Canadians, who can afford it, take a vacation south, even if it's just for a week.
DeleteI'm so glad my fur girls are indoor kitties - I would not enjoy morning treats such as the one you were gifted with!! This morning (Monday) we are getting -31 wind chill temps - it's even painful indoors, but oh my that blood full moon! ... Mary-Lou =^..^=
ReplyDeleteIt was a fabulous full moon!
DeleteComing late to the party here . . . arrgh, why can't I keep up with all that I want to keep up with??
ReplyDeleteCan so relate to your everyday happenings in the cold weather. Weather in which your face hurts . . . yesterday hubby said his eyeballs hurt because of the cold/wind chill. Guess that's what they make winter goggles for. And the socks making their way down into the toes of your boots. Dang, I hate that. Happens with certain socks even in my own boots!
We're coming out of two very, very cold days here with nasty wind chills. Just in time for more snow tonight and into tomorrow. But, hey, it's winter, right?
Thanks for the recommend for Louise Penny's books. I have not read her before. Always happy to find an author I like and plow through all his/her books. She will be on my list now to check out. Thanks!
I hope you like the books. I hate the feeling of my socks falling down in my boots.
DeleteI HAVE to read the Eric Idle. I must, I must!
ReplyDeleteAnd maybe the cold is why my nose is bleeding in the morning.
LOVE Louise Penny. She's my favorite. I just finished her most recent and now I have to wait till she writes again. I hope she does. She tied up ends so well that I wonder. And Grace and Frankie -- they 're my favorites! The problem with a binge series is that you binge it and then you have to wait for the next one -- like Louise Penny. We went up to episode 11 in two nights. I almost don't want to continue because I don't want it to end.
No birds in the house since the 1990s when Stimpy hurled a cardinal in the kitchen. But Gypsy once brought me a dead mouse in bed. I hope Lizzie doesn't pick up any of their habits in some weird cat seance type of thing...
Stimpy?? As in Ren and Stimpy?? Too funny!! I actually finished the whole new season of Grace and Frankie. Now what do I do?
DeleteI get nosebleeds regularly in the winter months, I'm sure it's because of the wood stove, ugghhh they are never fun. Thanks for the book tips, I just added them to my library wishlist!! And oh my gosh, Grace & Frankie, I absolutely LOVE that show!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe also had snow over the weekend, but 8 inches as opposed to the 12 inches ir more that was forecast. But then the fridgid temps set in and this morning we awoke to 1 degree F and it barely got to 5 degrees all day. Yet by mid-week, we’re getting temps o
ReplyDeleteIn the mid-40s and possibly rain.
Woow it is so cold there. :(
ReplyDeletehttps://en.rehitu.com
I hate it, when my socks sink down below my heels in my snow boots! Then you are left standing on one foot, having to dig out your errant sock and put it on one-handed before repeating the process. Yikes! It was definitely a good weekend for curling up with a book or three. I will have to put a hold on the Eric Idle book - I loved Monty Python!
ReplyDeleteMuck Boots. They are the best for winter chores. And Frankie and Grace? LOVE THEM! I am similar to Frankie and my sister is so Grace, so the show cracks us up. Stay warm and protect that nose with some good old petroleum jelly.
ReplyDeleteI love Grace and Frankie too - and just started watching the newest season. Glad they got their house back - love that house!
ReplyDeleteMy son has that cough crud and is on week two now. Feeling better, but the cough lingers.
Really enjoyed
ReplyDeleteGood morning. We've just gone through a few days of that wicked cold. Hang in there, Spring is coming! I loved your humorous description of your morning trek outdoors. Our cat is a house cat, not by his choice, but by ours. My little dog prefers to be an indoor kid most of the time. When the nice weather comes, we get to go out often. Stay warm and enjoy your books, and have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.
ReplyDeleteLove the lettuce lottery that made me smile. Ugh on the bloody nose, that's no fun. It's great being the first one up though, when the world is still quiet. I'd say have a warm weekend but we're having just the same cold as you as we're only a fart distance away. Wishing you a good weekend with no more blood.
ReplyDelete