Unplugging the fridge

We lost our heat the other day.








The furnace guy was here and inspected our unit, to tell us, "It's not the furnace - your gas line is frozen. That'll be 115 Euros." AGH.

(Our furnace is an antique 1986 model. But he promised us that once it's been cleaned and serviced, it should work better that it had been. (We have to put water in our line every 2 weeks, such a pain. Oh, in Germany, they have water filled radiators. Weird, I know!))

I went out there and knocked the rock hard snow off the tank, to reach the controls, but I couldn't find the key and there is a lock on the panel.

The furnace guy felt bad for me out there in the blizzard with a broom, which was ineffective - I had to use the handle to scrape the meringue-textured snow* off. I said, "I'm calling the gas company" and he replied, "They'll charge you - just wait til your man gets home and he can check it and determine if a technician is required."

"But I'm freezing here!"

Our little woodstove has been on for two days and we are down to our last box of wood. I couldn't find wood at the hardware store yesterday. I guess our neighbors would loan us some. I totally had expected that furnace guy to fix our problem...





So, how cold is it in here?

I couldn't believe our thermometer - it says our living room (with the woodstove) is 58F. And our kitchen - blogging central - is 50F. I went, "Wait. If our kitchen is 50, why is our fridge even plugged in?"

I checked the fridge thermometer. It reads 48F. I took the fridge thermometer out of the fridge and lay it on the counter. It now reads 51F. No wonder I cannot feel my feet. And I can't go anywhere cuz the vet is supposed to call (Baasha is coughing and seems to have congestion).

Our bathroom has been designated the "Outhouse" cuz that is exactly what it feels like when you walk in there. The bathroom is 45F. Colder than the fridge.

I have this cup of coffee that I keep microwaving cuz I cannot drink it fast enough to enjoy it warm.

The wind is pushing the snow horizontally, (it's been snowing for 2 days straight). Just a moment ago I saw a gust of wind pick up the loose powdery snow right up into the air. A sheet of white flew by. Another in a spiraling whirl. A mini snow tornado spinning across the field.

"What is this, the midwest?"

The wind is really pushing on our house, and Baasha is hiding in his stall. Thankfully it is a north wind, and cannot come into his stall.

I prayed a thank you to God that at least we have power. It could be way worse.

(PS - It's 23F outside, with a "Feels Like" temp of 10F. I used my Fahrenheit/Celsius converter a lot today.)


Bird Problems


I could use some advice about what to do about the crows. We have a family, uh, community of crows in the grove of trees behind our ponds, and they are becoming desperate for food, and they are tearing apart each and every pile of horse manure they find, if I do not get it first. They fling it everywhere, making a huge mess, and I cannot get all of it cleaned up, because it mixes in with the convoluted snow. I am so frustrated to not be able to keep our place tidy. My man said to use a regular shovel, and dig up the poop/snow areas, and then pile them up in one area, and after the snow melts, I'll have a pile of poo bits. I tried that, but now the snow is meringue-hard* and I cannot get thru it, even with our sharp shovel.


* -- Have you ever had rock-hard meringue from France? See, my snow vocabulary is bigger now. We have foot-deep rock-hard snow, just like authentic French meringue. (Phooey!)


I thought, OK, these crows are doing this because they are finding bits of corn in Baasha's poo. And since I wanted to cut the corn out anyway due to his odd behaviors, now is the time. They are still doing it. Hoping I guess. So I had to do a little surveillance.

I took my binoculars on a ride and rode to High Street to look down onto the horses' field across the street from us. I don't know what they eat, but I had to know if it was just Baasha's poop the crows want, or all poop.

I felt like a secret agent, standing on the opposite side of Baasha from that field, and resting the binoculars on his withers, and peering through them. I know some neighbors probably saw me and thought, "Good grief, that American."

Try it sometime. Use your horse as a shield and spy through binoculars over his back. It's a cool feeling.

My results were interesting. I could clearly see through the binoculars that every pile of poo out there was spread around in a huge mess. And at that very moment, I found the culprits hanging out around the horses.






My camera could not zoom in as well as the binoculars.

So is there a solution? I tried that handy "Getting Rid of Things" website and it basically said "Shoot them." Uh, this is Germany and I'm gun shy.

This morning the crows were walking around under my birdfeeder. Oh no you don't! I ran out there and yelled, "I'm getting the SHOTGUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Totally empty threat.)

How long before they enter Baasha's stall?

I've been attacked by crows not once, but twice. I do not want to be supporting them.

Thoughts?