Tractor, Cats, Lot, and Snow

I’ll start with a little more news about the lot. I found this aerial view on Google Maps, and have tried to outline our lot perimeter in red:

Our lot perimeters, in red. More or less.

This area is known as Link Spring Ridge. The road name, Sanderling, refers to a type of waterbird. This is in keeping with the other roads in the area having bird names. We plan to make a trip over this weekend to haul some more brush to the burn pit and bring home some firewood.

As I mentioned in my last post, snow was in the forecast for the high country last week and kept us from visiting the lot. Here is a “snow” photo I took this past Sunday on Grand Mesa after the storm passed:

Snow on Grand Mesa, October 14, 2012

Not only was there measurable snow, but enough to bring out the plows to clear the road. This is at an elevation of 10,836 feet, about 1,000 feet higher than our lot, but the snow persisted, with lower amounts, down to about 8,000 feet. We are not quite sure what we will find on out next trip.

* Warning: Boring topic ahead. *

I now have working brakes on one side of the tractor. Two weeks ago I put in my new parts, used brake rod, and “special” Ford bolts. I thought I was done until I tried to use the brake and found the brake pedal had been bent to the point where it hit the running board without activating the brakes. I  don’t know what Dad hit that bent this hefty assembly, but here is a photo of the old blue rod and the replacment I took from my parts tractor:

Blue original brake pedal is really bent!

I tried to draw a line from the place where the clamp bolt sits to the end of the pedal, and you can see the blue pedal is bent down at a significant angle. After I replaced the blue pedal with the red one I could re-install the right-side running board and actually use the right brake. I’m getting really good at removing the tractor tire and taking apart the brake assembly, as to replace the pedal I had to disassemble the brakes again. Hopefully this experience will stand me in good stead when I start working on the left brakes!

My nose continues to heal, but I am still putting Band-Aids on it to avoid scaring little children and co-workers. Actually it is looking better and I hope to discontinue covering it by next Monday.

We (the Royal We) have taken on 3 new foster kittens. They are a couple of months old, but have respiratory issues and were generally not thriving at the animal shelter. The shelter folks gave Pam a call and asked if she could foster them until they were again healthy, and Pam agreed to take them on.

They are good kittens. All will purr at the drop of a hat, are very well socialized, and they enjoy human interaction. Typical tabby cats, 2 have very clear markings but the third is mostly black. Named the “Q” group, their names are Quinn, Quentin, and Quirky. We will probably not have them long, but it is sort of fun to have kittens in the house again. I’ll try to have photos for my next post.

What a segue…here are a couple more pictures of our cats:

Soot stretched out on the couch.

Mira giving me the hairy eyeball from the floor.

I think I have recent photos now of all the household pets. Eli likes to see them, and it is a good idea to get some current shots to add to each animal’s photo folder.

We took the Subaru in for routine maintenance, consisting of fluid changes and a tune-up. Looks like a new battery is in the works, as the original is putting out less power than it’s rated for, and a rear strut appears to be leaking and should be replaced. Always something with the cars. Tune-up was $617.00, and struts – which have to be replaced as a pair – will run another $600.00. Something else to work into our budget.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!