Crumbly Acres

 It's been quite cold. It is still cold. Saturday morning, the temperature was -12℃ at our house, with the high being -11 ℃! We were headed to an overnight low of -20℃!

Today, -19, with a high of -14 ℃.

I knew this cold spell was on its way. 

Its pretty and we finally saw some sun and blue sky.

Yes, I have first world problems. The news is distressing. One feel powerless. Let me tell you about my house work!

It's taken me three tries, an hour apiece, three days in a row. I had to put it down. I decided to try set up when it was inside, knowing the impending arctic freeze. I had my back up, the kids. My SIL (JL), is an Encryption Engineer, and my Go To guy for these things. He is amazing. Caitlin told me they were coming to visit on Dec. 26, but I really wanted to get this up and going. I needed a project. I like my hobbies.

It is motivating to have to get dressed to go outside to fetch trailcam SD cards. You just have to dress for the weather. 

Looking out at the sunshine, I figured this would be an opportune time, if only I could figure out the set up. I read and re-read the manual, went to the help section. I was doing something wrong, or not doing something right! 

Out with the old...

This is the old one, now busted.

In with the new!

This new one, a Black Friday sale, is a step up from the old. It's been sitting in a Canada Post warehouse for a month during the strike. It suddenly arrived.

One suggestion was to connect the camera to the router directly. That was the answer. Can you see me, chin in hand, pondering?! 

Finally, it recognized the new camera. I unplugged it from the router, and it was still working. YIPPPEEE!

I found it so frustrating. With my stomach issues, I'm not sure I was absorbing my antidepressants, and I was a mess. Sorry, hubby! 😱😳 He's very patient, and always asks 'have you taken your pills?' when I get grumpy.

I figured out how to attach it to the wall, once the cordless drill battery recharged. Sheesh. 

I researched the weather prediction and it told me that we were only going to get colder. I made Joe bundle up to come outside and help me! It's not pretty, but I drilled the hole, filed it out, attached the bracket, fed all the wires in. I told him I'd tweak it today. He was relieved of duties, and was happy to go back inside. He'd already done some grocery shopping, and brought home library books I'd picked out.

This camera is dual aspect, and the red stocking had to go to the other side of the deck. Much better. 

This one can grab the driveway and the feeder.

I went back at it on Saturday morning to tweak it, while Joe was taking the car for a good run into town. You can't let it sit in (even in the garage) without moving it in this cold!

See the opening under the arm? That's where the the power cord goes inside. I stuffed it was packing stuff, and then put some Flex tape over the hole. Otherwise we'll get bugs in there. Or mice friends!

The trick to working outdoors in this weather is to dress for it. I had on a t-shirt, hoodie, and my Belichicked jacket. He's the football coach, earning a fortune, who cuts the arms off his hoodie (<= photo).

It's a stylish look, is it not?! 😝

I think I've run into another problem! The Pride wind sock triggers it, I think. I'll have to change the setting, methinks. I can program the app to save certain sizes of critters that trigger the motion sensor. 

That does it!

Notice that Joe's Guinivere statue has convince the camera that it is a critter!

 I've a hair cut this morning at 9:45. A last-minute appointment. It should be quiet. Later, all 5 stylists are busy. Then they'll have the week off. 

I can rest on my laurels, now, and dive into my books.

Look to the skies

 Things have been cooling off. The skies continue to impress.

Things have been pretty quiet. I anxiously await a replacement camera. 

 

It'll be awhile, since 📪 Canada Post workers are on strike. At first the online prediction was 'today by end of day' and then that changed to 'tomorrow by end of day.' I am not holding my breath. 

 

Parcels are a huge market niche. Canada Post has been outsourcing large package deliveries on weekends to poorly paid 'independent contractors.' The big companies like UPS, don't have collective agreements. Canada Post does. Private contractors have bosses that require long hours, and make promises to customers of next day delivery. Cheap labor. This is a first world problem, I know, but as always solved on the backs of workers. There are too many people forced to do part time work. They miss out on benefits and fair wages. Can you tell I was a union member?! 

I shall be patient.

Here is spider visiting before the camera's demise.

 

 The cottontail has been visiting the bird feeder.

 

🐸 Moving the Froggies: I'm up to 154. There were two more I caught Nov. 19th. It keeps me off the street. In the cold they are slow, slimy and dark. 

Our family in Vancouver, B.C. and friends have a Bomb Cyclone! Winds and rain...

Things are busy in the skies.

I sat out on the front deck in the sunshine, reading a book. I was bundled up and under a blanket. This is book 2 of three. The setting in B.C.!

"From the former Chief Justice of Canada and #1 bestselling author of Full Disclosure comes a taut new thriller starring tough-as-nails defense attorney Jilly Truitt in a murder case that makes her question her own truths."

This plane went overhead while I was outside. Look at its call sign: CGZAG. It did zig zag!

🎥TV Movies ← my master list.

My entertainment director continues to look for evening movies. We watched ICE (2011) which was rather ridiculous whilst being creepy. I've done yard duty in -20 ℃ temperatures. 

"Environmental scientist exposes oil company's drilling causing Greenland ice melt."

Then, there is this one: In Cold Water: The Shelter Bay Murder (2024) wow. Creepy true Canadian story/documentary, with action in New Zealand.  Another movie best watched from under a warm blanket. 

OK, that's all I have for today. It is sunrise and coffee time.

Crumbly Acres

 💉This was a week for needles! Monday, I had COVID and Flu shots. They have a small, private room set aside in the pharmacy. I peeked in and the pharmacist was listening to someone and motioned, just a minute. When he was ready for me, he apoligized for the delay I said to the pharmacist, 'your mother must be proud.' We need more kindness. Listening is important. 

There was no reaction to the shots, other than a mild headache, but that may be due to stress and clenching my teeth!

Cancer Treatment 

PART CXV – Nov. 6th PSA test, hemolyzed blood sample, had to do it again. It was good.

PART CXVI – Nov. 12th Lupron injection.

Joe had his Lupron injection Tuesday. He's good for another 3 months. He can have his COVID and Flu shots in two weeks.

😷Our LGL Health Unit is showing some respiratory viruses circulating.

🚘 One winter tire has had a slow leak. Joe checked it, and it was looking bad. He took it in for repairs. They patched it for him, no charge. That was a bright light in the day.

 Just when I think I have a handle on things, I readjusted the Crumbly Acres camera. This is where it sat late summer.

I moved it to cover the driveway where critters run. Here's Joe bringing in the empty recycling bin! 

Once it was all reset, I found that it wasn't saving videos to the MicroSD card. It was saving directly to the computer if the application was on and running. Sigh. Get out the ladder. (My SIL installed it for me, I'm not sure how he did it!)  

I opened up the back of it, which requires removing these two wee screws. I dropped screw #1 and swore.  Un-inserting the Micro card, I reinserted it. This worked last time. Tried it, no difference. I decided to look for screw #1, found it. I thought about it a bit. Rather buying a new Micro card, why not switch it with another. The dashcam! Did so, dropped the other screw. Found that screw. Still no luck with it working. 

I went back to it after lunch. 
(#1) The aluminum case had unscrewed from the base. I couldn't reattach it. 
(#2) The power cable runs through the wall to the garage. It pulled off. No power. No luck. 
I'll have to figure out how to get the cable in the garage through the wall back out to the power cable to reattach it. Maybe tape it to a thin dowel? 

Either way, I gave up for the day when the sun began to get low and it was really getting cold. 

Here we were Wednesday morning. 

After my workout, I put on warm clothes and went to it, again. First task, lay down a towel, just in case I lose more screws. <Insert screw loose joke here!>

Houston, we have a problem.

I put the AC plug back in the hole through the garage wall. It had pulled free. That I could manage.

My conclusion is that the wires from the lens, to the plug into the mother board, have been pulled out. 

The problem stemmed from the fact that this piece no longer rotated and I tried to tighten it, it just pulled the wires out. 

I ordered a new one. There are Black Friday sales (which many Canadian businesses have copied from the US), and it wasn't very expensive. In fact, cheaper than some trailcams and works better! 

Our cottontail needs a name! It's as if Fred Groundhog moved off (Aug.) and Bunny moved in!

I captured the cottontail on the Crumbly Acres camera before all this happened. Their behaviour is interesting. First – they freeze. It is quite camouflaged. I didn't realize it was there till it moved. I chased it away as the cats were out for their morning romp. It isn't often here in the daytime!