Midtown Ranch

After I pulled out the two posts that supported the gate I went inside for coffee and to do some laundry.

I found some data and made a spreadsheet to project our cost per pound for rabbit meat, based off 6 meals a month with 3 does, 2 bucks, (better case 3:1 for 5 pound / worser case 4:1 for 4 pound fryer) at current feed prices. My costs ignore my labor – bump the price by $5 or $6 per pound if you figure labor costs (15 minutes / day, 20 minutes per rabbit to process, $15 an hour for my unskilled labor rate).

Costco is running a special on chicken thighs $1.89 / pound, organic whole chickens are $2.79 / pound, organic ground beef is $4 / pound except they don’t have any.

Looks like home grown rabbit meat is going to cost us between $2.50 and $3.50 per pound.

Bring on the Hassenpfeffer recipes.

Busy evenings the last few days.

I made two hay racks and a nest box. Assembled two more cages. Slathered more paint on the bits for the roof extension and a couple other things. Made some improvements to the watering system. I picked up several brass quick connect couplers for the hose, ran a 10’ hose into the watering bucket so I can fill it without taking the bucket down / up (that’s 40 pounds I don’t want to mess with!).

I split Smudge from her mama Dusky so all five rabbits have their own space now.

The rhubarb is ready to harvest.
There are blooms on our two apple trees. The bleeding heart, planted around 2004, is a profusion of blooms. A few intrepid tulips are in bloom. The perennial greenery that is weed like in its enthusiasm is overcoming the bulbs. I may thin them this weekend to give the rest of the bulbs a chance. I’d like to split the bleeding heart but don’t know if such a thing is possible.

I expect to build the roof extension this weekend and move the two bucks into their permanent quarters.

The chicks are nearly a week old and as cute as can be. I need to prepare the hen house for their brooder and move them out this weekend.

E took a hard tumble from her bike and has a pretty sore shoulder and an abrasion on her shoulder blade. It’s unclear what happened but she’s a hurting kiddo. Ice pack and some pain reliever and a day of tv.

Hot dogs, Costco potato salad, and a green salad with perfectly ripe avocado for dinner. The house is kind of a wreck from my focus being on outside work.

Nine months ago I made a bad decision.

Hey, it’s only midnight, let’s update Two Geeks.

Yeah, that went poorly. Anyway, it’s fixed now.

Waiting for the judges…

I am a nerd. A short nerd. I top out at 4’11”, Scott, I think, is 6′ 3″.

I graphed Elizabeth’s annual height measurements, then added a trendline.
Girls typically reach their full height around age 15 according to the ever reliable inter-tubes.

I do not think my trendline is particularly accurate but it is entertaining to think of E not outgrowing me until around 14.
The Mayo clinic predicts 5’10” based off mine and Scott’s height, or 5’2″ using a different formula.
My trendline predicts 5’2″.

It will be interesting to see where she tops out.

I’m hoping for something closer to 5’5″ so she can reach the top cupboards for me -laughing-.
—
Added 03/2020 As of age 8 she is on track to outgrow me about age 12, and reach her full height of 5’8″ at 15.

He is 14.
My heart will surely break when he leaves this planet.

But let’s not think of that.

Tonight I sink my fingers in his coat softened with age. I whisper stories into his ear about his herding prowess. His intelligence. His courage. I thank him for helping raise our human child. I tell him love stories of our years together.

He noses my thigh and licks my cheek and tells me not to worry. That he is my friend and my partner. To be.

And teaching me “to be” might be the best thing he has done.

I love my Bing so terribly much.

Wales Tails Roque’s Crooner BN RA HSAsM RATN CGC TKI ASCA STDs AHBA JHD

I was reviewing my claims under Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield for my recent medical emergency during my ‘help mom out’ visit to California.

My out of pockets for the six prescriptions was $36.71. I am very very grateful indeed for good medical coverage. The ambulance bill to be transported 13 miles in the dead of the night was $2,589 and change – I am waiting to hear what my portion of that will be. No word yet on the emergency room charges.

While I was reviewing the pharmacy stuff, it caught my eye that CVS  Pharmacy in Healdsburg CA (store # 1173) charged my insurance $223.93, the retail prce printed on the informational sheet was $57.99, and my out of pocket was $8.65. What? I looked deeper. 10 Ondansetron 4 mg tablets cost my insurance company $223.93. Over $20 per tablet charged by CVS to Blue Cross to grant me relief from nausea. I want to emphasize I was NOT responsible for the huge dollar amount, my cost was less than a buck a pill.

Still – The charge to my insurance company was completely outrageous. I wanted to know if an error had been made, or if they were being scalped.

So I called Premera. I spoke with John, who listened to my story and seemed to understand my concern was not that I’d be charged anything extra, but that this cost seemed out of line with what was provided, especially in view that the retail price was printed on the medication sheet as a still expensive $57.99.

John called Express Scripts (the branch that deals with pharmacy stuff for Blue Cross in Healdsburg). They confirmed the $223.93 was customary and correct.

Whoa.

When I encounter things like this I can’t help but wonder how long it takes for that $223.93 takes to get magnified and passed down to you and me as monthly premiums for our insurance, if we are so fortunate as to have insurance. Because somebody, somewhere, is eating that charge. And I have a very difficult time believing it costs $22 per tablet to manufacture Ondansetran (generic for Zofran) and still turn a healthy profit.

<added>

Ouch. I think our out of pocket for the mom-stress induced medical emergency is going to be in the neighborhood of $3,000. About 20% of the total bill which is nearing $15,000. I am indescribably grateful we have health insurance.