Hard Times

Inclement weather is enroute to my neck of the woods. The news stations are all agog of the potential for damage and working to warn everyone of what may be coming. The Weather Channel has been pinging my phone hourly with updates even though the watch isn’t for another few days. The city has sent out an alert, and even the animals seem to be preparing for the worst as I’m not used to seeing so many fat squirrels in my yard looking for a nut.

If it was just straight snow accumulation, I wouldn’t be as concerned, but the forecasters are putting ice and freezing sleet into the mix which weighs down power lines, as well as branches, so who knows how likely a power outage is. Still new to the house and the neighborhood I have no idea what is likely in this neck of the woods. My bigger frustration is that I don’t have a fireplace so no way to keep the house heated in case a tree does take down a line.

I’ve been trying to balance the likely need for a real fireplace and not something more along the lines of an electric fireplace. Global warming continues to drive the planet’s temperatures up, including the ones here, making Spring/Summer/Fall warmer than usual and reducing the need for alternate sources of heat. As I’m still in that first year, I still have time to evaluate, but there is seriously only so many places I can put money at once.

I am already looking to increase my hours to increase the work I can get done on the house, but there are also only so many hours in a day. Either way, I was asked if I wanted to do some more this month and I don’t think I could have said yes in a text any faster than if I had tried. We will see what actually translates for the month, but I’m working to put money to the side as quickly as I can for who knows what will come up. Meanwhile, I really need to figure out what I want to do for the basement with the temps looking to be in the single digits next week and the water line right in front of a window. I’ve already wrapped it in an insulating foam, but really only the part that is directly in front of the window. I’ve also got a towel in front of the window as a just in case. I foresee a trip to the hardware store tomorrow to pick up some cat litter/salt (but something pet friendly), probably a new snow shovel as mine is a bit older, and I was kind of eyeballing these insulation panels for garages. Expensive, but whatever I can do prevent the line from freezing would be super beneficial. It hasn’t gotten that cold down there yet, even with temps flirting at that single digit line, but I don’t want to be unprepared in case Murphy comes calling.

I’ve already hit the grocery for those french toast supplies, or my version of them, and I believe the fridge has more food in it now than it has had all year. I will warn my boss there is a possibility I won’t have power at the onset of next week and then make sure I’ve charged all those important batteries. Luckily I still have some actual books in the house to read so I don’t run down the battery on my phone reading my kindle.

I believe I’m settling into my animal watching era as I’ve tripped face first into 2025. Put up my first bird feeder in the backyard while the starlings continue to raid the cat food dish on the front porch. I believe they’ve bullied any pigeons or doves away from the porch, but what surprises me is that they are so gung ho for the cat food. Regardless, it is the one of the first things I look for when I wake, checking to see if the food on the front porch is gone, or who may have emptied it, the roving cats in the neighborhood or the birds swarming my porch. Either way, if I can prevent them from having a hard time, perhaps I’m finally using my power for good.