Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

A Day for Boots with Steel Toes

Terminal Boss called as I was doing my post-trip, said KY canceled for tomorrow (Tuesday), so I can start thinking about what I want done here inside (or outside) tomorrow. There's plenty!!

That's always my problem. What can I start--and finish. Or start and make some good, useful progress. Often I end up doing something completely unexpected that presents itself as the better choice.

Apparently there's 4 KY loads now for Wednesday. If he asks I probably wouldn't say 'no,' knowing how the week has rolled out, which means he may be jammed up. All the same, I'd rather have the time off. He almost asked, then pulled back, "Of course, that doesn't apply to you," he quickly added after mentioning the Wednesday loads.

Hell, it looked like 5-inches of powder across the terminal yard tonight. Not sure why they didn't plow more, maybe like some city governments that wait to plow city streets until it stops snowing and then only plow once. Musta continued snowing after I left for Ohio and then some!! Got a number of trucks on the yard that obviously haven't moved, betrayed by the snow blankets on them. That's really unusual as far as I know.

Not bad here at home. Maybe 3-inches. It's beautiful out if you're a skier or by a fireplace looking out on it. My old steel-toed boots make this much snow easy. It's not tennis shoe weather, no sir!!

 

3 Eggs This Morning

At 10 am the temp has reached 8 degrees, about where it was in Dayton (OH) yesterday, more snow here than there, though (but it was snowing there, rather light). Saw more law enforcement on east bound I-70 than ever before, trying to deal with snarl ups, mostly mechanical issues rather than wrecks. Just lots and lots of State Patrol working that side.

East bound traffic was backed up for miles on the way back (west bound).

Difficult to imagine what my 10 Golden Comet chicks 'feel' as they grow like spring weeds. Their wings have outgrown them again after they 'grew into' them from the first spurts. The other night I heard a rustle of a bag and looked over as something fled the chick feed bag.

Looked too big to be a deer mouse, what? A snake? Dunno. Saw it, saw it move (and fast!). Do snakes eat chick feed? Dunno. I'd rather it were a deer mouse, just seemed a lot longer. Hate to have to kill a snake, but I will if it threatens my little girls. When I left yesterday, made sure the dog crate was wrapped around with a blanket and a beach towel, still open at top for air and ventilation, and put glue boards out. Heat lamp for warmth.

Didn't catch anything or even show that something stuck and somehow extricated. Would usually leave some fur and mouse turds.

Looks like we have the two coldest days coming up tomorrow and Thursday (according to Accuweather). Will stay cold through the end of next week, too. Funny how 20 degrees seems like a heat wave when you've been in the low single digits for a bit. That's about where it will get later today, in the 20s.

Or so they say!!

 

Apparently there are 8 KY loads, 4 short and 4 long. Replied to his 'any chance you can run tomorrow' email that I wasn't thrilled but would take one. At this point looks like 1300... Work a day, skip a day is my least favorite way to run. Difficult to get much done. Much prefer just one and a few days off or latch 2 together and a few days off.

Chicks are getting in new feathers that look like little epaulets.

(Ornamental shoulder piece.)

 

More Snow Tonight!!

No, but in fairness, he emailed me a little after 10 am (didn't call and I do prefer email); I didn't see his email until 12:30 or so and in that couple hour interval could have been just that left. He usually does not let me know early like that. If I haven't heard from him by 11:30 or noon, I sometimes send him an email and he's mostly quick to respond if it's for Mon/Tues or Saturday.

Next time I'll ask what the choices are, if any. What a great suggestion, Wayne. Thx!! Guess you aced Negotiating 101, eh?

Did tell him (email) that the sweet spot for me is later morning for time to get the critter stuff done.

2 more eggs today. The little hen convent's pushing them out. That's 5 today from 5 hens and this morning's 3 all felt warm. Dunno why they're so productive. Maybe the all night, all day heat lamp in there. Mostly they did not come out either. Well, we had a steady 13-mile wind this morning.

According to the radio, sometime after midnight we'll see another 1-3 inches. The 3-plus inches we got kinda did the soufflé thing and sank down to an even inch or so. Ah, and worse, I'm up 3 pounds from the last weigh-in. Comes from sitting in the truck all day, downing a can of chunk pineapple, another of chicken chili, 2 more canned black beans, a bought chef's salad, a couple oranges and peanut butter, my downfall!!

And, yes, I had breakfast, too!! (Pork tenderloin, cut off small portions, bake in the Whoopee convection oven, just had the last of it along with some oatmeal, blackstrap molasses and cinnamon.) That 24-ounce tub of Amish blue cheese doesn't help either. I got some into salads and into my scrambled eggs but nibbled most of the rest. That doesn't help, either!

Maybe that Guinness over at the Moose, too. Dunawanna give that up!! Cost me $55 or so to join, but, hey!! It's non-smoking, nearby, Guinness is a great dark beer and only $2.50 at the Moose.

What's not to like?

 

Looks like the weather guess for my 1300 KY is cancel (according to Facebook, probably won't hear from Terminal Boss until later).

But that's the update at this point.


//Terminal Boss just confirmed (7 am) cancellation today's run.

//He asked (email) just before 9 am if I can run tomorrow (Thursday). Replied, 'Yes, of course.' Said he would provide dispatch time soon as he knows. Responded wouldn't hurt if had some choice of time since 6-8 loads. He emailed, yes, soon as he knows what they want tomorrow. Thx, Wayne!!

//Tomorrow's KY depart 1130, no choices offered, but that's fine with me so nothing to quibble about. I'll take it. Emailed him also willing to latch Thurs/Fri in worse weather in truck, trade for Sat/Sun off in better weather. If he's still jammed up for Friday may work for him, too, especially if full-timers want to run this weekend to keep their miles and $$ up. (I'll happily trade bad weather in truck, for good weather at home.)

 

How to Turn a Mercury Sable Wagon into a Subaru

Got 2 more 50-pound bags of Layer Crumbles at Rural King tonight, brought them out to my Merc Sable wagon idling in the fire lane with my neighbor's Shelty, Gabriel, inside. They went on top of the 2 50-pound bags already there.

Neighbor called this morning asking if I would take a look at Gabriel and check that he'd turned off his stove. His wife has been in Brazil 2 months and comes back Saturday morning, with their son.

The stove was fine but Gabriel, my buddy Gabriel, was not. Neighbor had said he wouldn't move off a rug on the kitchen floor and indeed Gabriel would not. Just sorta shook, totally unlike his usually robust self, as he was two weekends ago when I looked in on him while my neighbor visited in Tennessee with his 2 sons from first marriage.

It's been a while since I've babysat Gabriel for any length. You should see that dog play with the cat, Daisy, who occasionally zaps him with a claw, although it has never happened around me. No, Gabriel was in trouble.

After idling the Sable for a while I ran up the hill and when the tranny didn't shift into 2nd (this is normal, if a PIA, on this car), kept going up the hill when low gear would catch. Took me all the way up past the Junction before I could turn around to go down the hill to the next driveway across the highway, which belongs to my neighbor--after 2nd gear finally caught.

A few years back I re-constructed my neighbor's driveway, cut about 3 feet out in some places but with his van in the way and the snow fairly deep, made more sense to go just past his driveway, stop and back in, run backwards up the hill and left it running from where I couldn't make any further progress.

At the vet, Gabriel had a temp of 103-1/2, definite fever. He ended up testing positive for Lyme disease, negative for heart worms after drawing a small amount of blood.

We left with pain meds and antibiotic after an antibiotic shot. Within 5 minutes of the injection, Gabriel started looking better. "Is this possible?" I asked the vet. He said it'd take 24-48-72 hours to really knock the Lyme disease down but, yeah, he might feel some relief already, maybe.

Figure later this Spring when I make another Trip West, I'll have some dog/chicken/worm tending paid forward. Neighbor has never said, 'no,' never too busy to look in on mine.

So off we went to Rural King where I left the car running outside and came back with the 2 50-pound bags of Crumbles. I'll use one and leave the other in the car since I'd pulled a 50-pound bag of medicated chick feed out of the 3, 50-pound bags (1 Crumbles and 1 Cracked Corn) I'd purchased the other day.

Man, what a difference in traction!! Who'd ah-thunk, eh? Front wheel drive, engine in front, but with a light, sometimes squirrelly rear end, that extra 150-pounds over the back axle, nothing more than a dead axle, yet what a huge difference!! Wow!!

Got me a Sable like a Subaru for the snow now...