21 February 2010

We've Been Chided

... For going soft since leaving Santa Fe. Clearly you missed the "sustained wind" part of "20 mph." In Santa Fe I would not have been out there trying to chip away the ice blocking my greenhouse door. I think our typical gusts the day I shot my wee video were 50 mph. That's enough to nearly knock me down, waif that I am.

Besides... high-ish winds through a hardwood forest sound like the ocean is about to come crashing down on you. It's a great sound, but Good Lord, it sounds monstrous until you go out into it. Especially when it's about 18 degrees and not 5% humidity like NM!

19 February 2010

Winter Sports, Stratheden Style

Here is how Mr. Fuzzy improved the speed at which we can bring logs down from the wood pile.




And here is why we sometimes REALLY want to do it quickly.
It's called "the evil west wind."

18 February 2010

He's Gone!


And all the Fuzzys except Rufus rejoiced. So ends the tale of our L.S.D. "Salsa" who came to live with us for "just two weeks" but stayed a month. He is now the doggie companion of a nice lady with four gracious kids. He's gone to live the life of Riley with someone needing a 24/7 companion who won't talk back or complain when she's got the flu.

yep....

And the cats are doing the watoosie on his kennel. They're utterly mad with joy and relief. I's say "poor Rufus is beside himself at the loss of his new playmate" but Salsa's been out of the house for more than 6 hours and Rufus' memory only extends to four. He's moved on to dogging Miss. Lilly.

On the same theme, our wonderful foster cat, C.K., went to the Bell Gallery to be shown and she also found a new and wonderful home with a quiet retired couple. We miss her a heap.

17 February 2010

Spying on Floyd

Hey look! Our little town is now available as a "street view" on Google Maps! Just type in "Floyd, VA" then drag the little man icon to the highlighted intersection.

11 February 2010

Snowmaggeden


Dearest Readers,

Mr. Fuzzy takes this moment to apologize for the total lack of his posting for the past several weeks. In early December, ye old HP laptop's WIFI card became erratic and required a set-up each time the computer was powered up. After about ten days of this inconvenience, the WIFI card ceased to function under any amount of coercion. Alright, Mr. Fuzzy says to himself, the computer can be hard-wired to the router; being tethered to the router was a severe limitation but worth bearing for communications from the Greater World. Then the connection had to be re-set each time the computer powered up. Astute readers will notice a pattern, perhaps, and sure enough, even that finally failed to rouse the internet connection. Drat. All else in the computer would appear to be copacetic but the most important function is the connection; without it, work neither arrives nor departs - or warm correspondence from you, fond reader.
This problem was not new, alas, for this model of HP had been recalled by the factory for the failure of said WIFI card. It is worth noting that Mrs. Fuzzy spent six or seven hours (in one day, bless her saintly heart) on the telephone with HP technical assistance in the subcontinent of India. She received a most thoroughly disgusting run-around and in retrospect, we now know the HP already had thousands of these units fail and yet they had us removing batteries, etc., via phone instruction from a barely-native English speaker. Several days later, the recall announcement arrived.

HP was rapid, they did pay transport to and fro and the problem was fixed - temporarily. Alas, as they warned it might be, ALL information on the hard drive was removed; totally blank Twenty-seven CDs worth of back up needed to be reloaded (it required five hours to download and more to reload; some programs now had kinks that before functioned without the slightest flaw). There is little doubt that the new problem is identical to the old problem, however, it was not deemed worth two days of our time (on the phone to technical assistance and backing up the hard drive) even IF they would repair it. Moreover, given the age of the laptop, tech assistance is no longer free; for the cost of six hours of "assistance" a new computer might be had.
So, with these time and monetary costs in mind, the Fuzzies ventured into The Big City and a Best Buy to apprehend a new Toshiba "Satellite" laptop that cost less than half of the HP and runs virtual rings around it. Long may it live!

It has taken a disproportionate amount of time to reload the old programs and fire up the internet connection. A more youthful and more intelligent lad might not have required half the time Mr. Fuzzy needed. Now, at least, Mr. Fuzzy is once more connected to the world once again and longs for news of our correspondents.

During this period of enforced seclusion, Mr. F has continued to make photographs of all events worth noting (and others not worth noting) on Stratheden Farm and its environs. Forthcoming: detailed verbal and visual narratives of the winter storms which have ravaged the Old Dominion in the last three weeks, the tales of struggle, labors, dangers, and at last, salvation, albeit most transient.

09 February 2010

Fuzzys vs Snowzilla




I hope you all can view the YouTubes. This one is from the last storm which the city folks have dubbed "Snowzilla." We got about 14 inches of superfine powder. That's more than our little grader can move efficiently so we had our friend Tim Boone of Boothe Creek Excavating come plow for us. Thank goodness! Even with his beefy truck and professional plowing equipment he had trouble moving this snow. It took a couple extra days for him to get to our part of the county. Poor us.. snowed in and only four sleds, two dogs, skis, and a big woodpile to keep us cheerful. We did run out of milk for our tea but I keep a box of soy milk for just such emergencies.

Anyway, here you see Mr. Fuzzy retrning from his first cross-country skiing expedition in more than 15 years and the reaction of the doggles to this strange monster emerging from the pasture.

The current storm has been a (blessedly) damp squib for snow but the high wind warnings were absolutely accurate.

08 February 2010

MumDay

The last of my home town's wood manufacturers on sale in Floyd!

05 February 2010

Mmmmmmmmmmmm

That's the sound my new washer makes instead of chugga-chunkka-shhhhhhh like the old one. Plus, it's blue. Yep... front loaders are "the bomb."

So, Mr. Taciturn came over, they hooked both tractors up to the big truck and hauled the guys out in no time. The three of us enjoyed a cuppa and then us Fuzzys enjoyed a quiet repast by ourselves. Himself looking at the weather forecasts (dire, dire and extra dire) and I reading the washer manual. All our dirty stuff is now clean.

To answer Laussanne's question- they came in the front door and down the stairs with the washer then took out the old one... same with the dryer. They sit at right angles.... I need to locate my camera to show you... and it works much better than having them side by side. There'ss now a little dedicated space to the laundry stuff.

In other news, L.S.D. Salsa the Foster has accepted nighttime crating so we no longer wonder where the morning's pee spot will be. Huzzah! He spent the day in our walled garden and seemed to have a ball chasing the birds and digging in the snow. When I fnd the camera I'll make another video, this time playing "loose" in the fresh snow that started falling about 15 minutes ago... right on time as forecast! (Sometimes they get it right.)

04 February 2010

Aye yah...

So, the washer & dryer arrived today. Early even! With two lovely guys who even managed a fix for the goof up at the store. The warehouse didn't modify the dryer outlet to be side venting. Glad we didn't pay extra for that feature! They were so nice we gave them a loaf of fresh banana bread as a thank-you.

And now, as I write (11 AM), they are thoroughly stuck in the mud outside my front door. It's been damned funny watching Mr. Fuzzy try to pull them forward enough to get on frozen ground where they'll have traction. Well, funny except for when the front tractor wheels are airborne and the truck is sliding sideways... Our awesome neighbor, Mr. Taciturn, is on his way with a bigger tractor and a different sort of brain. I'm making plans to serve lunch for four, maybe five.

Another post when it's all done.

xo

Mrs Fuzzy

03 February 2010

Yep

We got snow. Six or eight inches. More due Friday and Saturday.

In other news, we get a new washer & dryer Thursday. This should be an adventure with three dogs to contain, all those cats to get in the way, and an icy road and driveway.

Glad I'm not the delivery guy!