SPEAKER_01: 0:09

All right. Uh how's everybody doing? Uh this is the second episode of Set and Centered. I'm RJ. I'm Mark. Uh welcome back, Mark.

SPEAKER_02: 0:19

Ah, thank you. Appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01: 0:20

Yeah. Um I think it's awfully big of me to invite you back for another one.

SPEAKER_02: 0:26

I don't know if big's the word, but we'll go with it.

SPEAKER_01: 0:30

So we did uh in the first episode, we we had talked about it's probably not gonna be the first episode. We ultimately decided to publish it as the first episode. Yep. And well, I'll I'll I'll say that's largely because of you, because I didn't even want to listen to it. But you guys you guys listen to you say, no, that's that's not so bad. No. Um then I did. I'm like, yeah, it's not so bad. And I think you know, it's definitely not great, but it's uh starting point. It's yes, it's it's not so bad, and it's also you know, I this is that's the process that we went through in our first episode. So maybe people want to hear that.

SPEAKER_02: 1:14

I don't see why they want it. Hell, it's us. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:18

I think when you put it like that. Um, so uh are you guys ready for the the storm?

SPEAKER_02: 1:26

Uh yeah, I think we are.

SPEAKER_01: 1:28

Okay. Yeah, uh, you know, it's you guys obviously weren't in Texas for 2021, but I'm sure you heard about it because it was national news that oh yeah, the power grid and the unreal snow and all that stuff. Yeah, it was it was crazy. So we were in Fort Worth at that time, and we we were out of power for I think four days.

SPEAKER_02: 1:53

Oh wow. Well, I won't be sleeping at night if we're out of power.

SPEAKER_01: 1:57

Why not?

SPEAKER_02: 1:58

Because I'm fluffy and sleep with a mask.

SPEAKER_01: 2:01

Oh well, yeah, so a C Pap a CPAP, right? Yeah, okay, nothing weird. So CPAP run. Oh geez, yeah. Uh no, we were out of power for four days and it was it was very cold. I don't I think it's gonna be quite a bit colder, this storm coming up, but you know, it was below freezing for pretty much that whole time. And you know, nobody nobody was ready for that. Uh you know, living in the city, I I I think I could count on one hand. I lived there for 12 years maybe.

SPEAKER_02: 2:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_01: 2:39

How many times the power went out, you know. And so nobody was ready for that. Uh and you know, looking back on it, I'm sure the weather service was like, this is gonna be bad. But I don't remember anybody I know like taking it seriously. It just sort of happened. And man, it was rough though. I'm gonna be honest, it was really rough. It was uh surprisingly rough. Um have you ever see I had never been in a situation where for days on end you just cannot warm up. Have you ever been in that situation?

SPEAKER_02: 3:13

Oh yeah, yeah. When I was a kid in the late 70s, it was it was like that. You would you knew there was coming, so you'd stack up on your firewood and stuff. And I think one time we almost went a week without any uh electricity. We were actually cooking on the wood stove and doing all that stuff, had snow up over the top of the the house on and the wind actually came in so hard it was not just one side of the house, it was the other side of the house. You had to more or less let the snow in the house to dig out to get out of the house.

SPEAKER_01: 3:45

Oh my god. Yeah, so uh we I had a fireplace in the house, but it was uh it was gas and it was plumbed for gas, but previous owner had capped it, and I just you know I never really cared about having a fireplace, so couldn't use that. Um we had we had a little fire pit in the backyard, but I mean this is a far cry from the ranch. We're talking like a very small, you know, North Port Worth backyard. And so we were burning like scrap wood and plywood, and that was the only literally the only source of heat that we had. Um, but for you know, twice a day or whatever, we'd run one of the cars to charge the phones and sit in there for a bit. And it was just like we for you know that long, it just we were you you're cold, just cold 24-7.

SPEAKER_02: 4:37

So I'll finally know what Christina feels like because she's cold 24-7. Ooh. And the heart or no, no, her heart is warm.

SPEAKER_01: 4:46

Oh, okay, good, good. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I know she is cold all the time. No, this is next level cold.

SPEAKER_02: 4:50

Uh well, yeah, and they're actually talking negative negative temperatures.

SPEAKER_01: 4:56

Well, negative with wind chill.

SPEAKER_02: 4:58

With wind chill.

SPEAKER_01: 4:59

Yeah, the last time I looked at it um about an hour ago, I think it's uh they were predicting the low to be seven here, and then I think negative five with wind. Um, yeah, so it's gonna be really cold. Um and so that experience in Fort Worth, uh, you know, it wasn't just DFW, it was a whole like mo of most of the state. It was a mess back then, 2021. And uh everybody I knew was either out of water or power or both, mostly mostly power. Um, a lot of people lost their water. We had water, luckily. Um, but I remember a friend of ours, they had a little baby, like a newborn, so they're they didn't have water or power, and they're like, We gotta get a hotel room. And somehow they found one, and the hotel had power and heat and stuff, but they go and check in and they handed them a like a bucket, and they're like, What's this for? Like, yeah, uh you know, water's not running or whatever, so you need to flush the toilet. Jeez. And I remember my friend Nathan, his a comp his apart apartment complex, people were going down with like buckets to the pool. Oh and they get water and they boil it, you know, and which it was just it was really bad. My we ended up getting down to treated, uh, pressure treated lumber like that I had in my garage we were burning to stay warm. Oh Jesus, that's good for you. I know, well, yeah. Um in my neighbor Kelly, he had one of those big huge uh like uh propane patio heaters, you know, the tall ones. Oh yeah. He's they're fucking running in their living room, and he's just at some point's like, what are you gonna do? And but yeah, anyway. After that, uh I mean I I got a generator and I got some things and whatever, and uh figuring it would never happen again, but I uh also like I don't ever want to live through that again.

SPEAKER_02: 7:01

Yeah, yeah, I don't blame you.

SPEAKER_01: 7:03

Yeah, but but now I'm out here, so it's a lot different because like you have to have a generator and that kind of stuff. Um so yeah, I feel I I would much rather be here than in the city. Uh because you we couldn't really go anywhere either. Like the roads were just iced over. So yeah, I went to took Harley for his first visit today, and then I got gas for the Jennies and kind of got everything ready. So I had to shut off water to the barn and then run, you know, run it so the whole system emptied out. Right. Shut off water to the dog shed, do the same, shut off water down to the pond, do the same. So those are all shut off and empty. Uh, and then like when it starts to get down into freezing, I'm gonna have to shut off the the spit like the spigot and the water to the dog waterer over here.

SPEAKER_02: 7:55

Oh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 7:56

And then just do water manually, which I think I'm gonna have to corral those little bastards into that pen and just lock them in there when it gets that cold because they're so stubborn about it. And I mean, those temperatures is just no.

SPEAKER_02: 8:09

Well, let me know when so I can come over and videotape you trying to get them in.

SPEAKER_01: 8:13

Gosh, you know, I should have seen that coming. I really thought it was gonna be let me know when so I can come help you.

SPEAKER_02: 8:19

Well, I will be over here to help on have Christina video. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 8:24

Uh but I think I'm just gonna have to because they're dumb enough that we're stubborn. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02: 8:30

Well, the one good thing is it it's saying only like what 36 hours, but it's it's gonna be cold.

SPEAKER_01: 8:36

Well, it more like 50. Yeah, 40 to 50 hours of freeze is what we're looking at here. And it's gonna be very cold. Um, and the thing is that it's it's gonna be too cold. There's a ladybug on my microphone.

SPEAKER_02: 8:54

Uh oh, you sure it's a lady?

SPEAKER_01: 8:56

Hold on. Yep.

SPEAKER_02: 8:59

Uh it's like smelling mothballs. Have you ever smelled mothballs?

SPEAKER_01: 9:04

No.

SPEAKER_02: 9:05

Oh, okay. Because most people they say yes and you ask them how they get their legs apart.

SPEAKER_01: 9:13

Oh, there it is. There it is. I got it. Took it a second. Did you ever see the movie Drop Dead Fred? No. Almost nobody's seen it, but uh remind me of that for reasons. Anyway, um the yeah, no, it's probably uh I think where we are, it's gonna be you know 40, 50, maybe 60 hours of of hard freeze.

SPEAKER_02: 9:36

Yeah, I think we're gonna fill up the tote tomorrow and put put some water in that just in case it it does freeze, and that way we have water for doing what we need to do.

SPEAKER_01: 9:47

Yeah, I thought did you insulate the pipes on the well?

SPEAKER_02: 9:49

Yeah, I insulated the pipes on the well, and of course, being where we live or what we live in, uh you run water in the in the sink to keep it from freezing up.

SPEAKER_01: 9:59

So yeah, yeah, that's yeah, right. That's typically um that's typically what I well so here, because there's so many things, but like usually when we get a good freeze, like good overnight hard freeze, I'll I have a I have a heater that I'll run down on the in the barn, like in the apartment part of the barn.

SPEAKER_02: 10:22

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01: 10:24

Just, you know, I'll set it at like 50 or something. Just enough to kind of keep the inside warm enough where the pipes won't freeze. Yep. Um but there's a portion of the plumbing that's ex that goes out of the apartments exposed in the shop. And um, I'm just like with this, with this extended freeze, I'm like, I'm not I'm not gonna do that. I'm just gonna so I just emptied it out. But uh yeah, so when if the power goes out, which also, I mean the cold temperature is gonna suck, but the thing that's really concerning is ice if we get ice. Um did you guys get ice, like freezing rain up there in Washington?

SPEAKER_02: 11:03

Oh yeah, up there uh living on the gorge, uh on the on the Washington side of the Columbia River every February, March. That's how you knew when it was ending, you'd end up with like four days of freezing, freezing rain, snow. It was uh it was not fun. No, you learn how to drive in it and you go pretty good. There's nobody else on the nobody else on the road. So you got the whole road to go.

SPEAKER_01: 11:27

Yeah. I mean, the I don't know if it's the same thing, but when they talk about ice uh down here, um it's uh terrifying. I mean, it's you know, it's it's though it rains as liquid. As soon as it hits the surface, it freezes. Yeah. And so you get, you know, like a twig or something like a power line that thin, you'll get literal like ice will just build, build, build. And it doesn't take much to cause a lot of problems.

SPEAKER_02: 11:57

Yeah, that's uh yesterday when we were in town stocking up on stuff. That's everybody you talked to was worried about the ice and being able to drive in it and stuff.

SPEAKER_01: 12:06

Yeah, driving in it is really not the concern. Uh maybe for some people, for us, no, because we don't need to go anywhere. Um we're we were both smart enough to get our provisions ahead of time.

SPEAKER_02: 12:16

Yeah. Um so now we'll just have to take stuff out and play in the fields.

unknown: 12:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 12:22

Yeah, I mean, uh yeah. We won't need to drive. Driving is not the concern for us, but like there they were saying like one to two inches of ice like a week ago, and I'm like, that I don't even think catastrophic would be a big enough word to describe that. That would be unbelievable. Um, now they're saying quarter inch to a half an inch, which that is catastrophic. Yeah, it is. That's gonna bring down a lot of branches, a lot of trees, power lines. If we do get uh half an inch, it's gonna be real bad around here. Um if we get a quarter inch, it's probably gonna be pretty bad. So I don't, you know, hopefully we don't lose power. The the co-op out here is great, they're very, very responsive. Um we're getting power restored, but you know, they can only deal with uh the hand they're dealt. And we we were out of power a few months after we moved here for about three days, and not because of a winter storm, because of the tornado that set down. You know where that big ranch is is for sale on the highway? Oh yeah. It basically sat down right on top of that.

SPEAKER_02: 13:31

Oh really?

SPEAKER_01: 13:32

Yeah, and it was a mess, like and there were trees, I mean trees two foot in diameter that it clean ripped out of the ground. I mean, they were across the road and I mean, and it just made it made a mess. And even though it takes about 20 minutes to get there from here, right? Straight line distance is only about four miles, and that's where it sat down.

SPEAKER_02: 13:55

There is no straight line when you leave from here.

SPEAKER_01: 13:58

No, there's not, but I'm just saying, like that tornado was really close and it sat down there and it kind of hopped across. I don't know, but it just it it destroyed a lot of infrastructure and stuff. So that was the only time we were out of power for a long, long time. But it wasn't cold then. Um but we got 30 gallons of gas. Um here I have to uh I have to get put the house on a generator, I have to put the dog shed on a generator, which tip which I wouldn't have to do if it wasn't gonna be so cold, but it's gonna have to be on a generator. And unfortunately, because my uh extremely insanely complex internet setup, because that's how I had to do it, I have to put uh a portion of the barn on power um to power the Starlink.

SPEAKER_02: 14:46

So oh, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 14:48

Yeah, so uh I have plenty of gas to do that. Generators have been tested and fired up and everything, so be alright. But I don't know, see how it goes.

SPEAKER_02: 14:58

Yeah, I mean that's all you can do is see how it goes and live and learn.

SPEAKER_01: 15:02

Mm-hmm. And I did, and I guess that's why I kind of went off on tangent about that 2021 storm, is I lived and I learned, and it sucked. Yeah, yeah, so that's good. Well, hopefully, hopefully it won't be too bad. But um I took Harley to the vet for his first appointment today.

SPEAKER_02: 15:23

Did he pass?

SPEAKER_01: 15:25

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02: 15:26

Oh good.

SPEAKER_01: 15:26

Yeah. He it was really fun. So let me uh let me ask you this. Have you ever seen Harley be timid or let's say timid or scared? No. Anything? Never. I know. So it was bizarre. I put him in the truck and he's ridden the truck, you know, plenty of times. Yeah. And he hadn't ridden that far, so he was a little uneasy at first.

SPEAKER_02: 15:54

He's taken me away.

SPEAKER_01: 15:56

Well, this is where we're going. So, you know, a little uneasy in the truck, but that was, I think, just from the jostling on the road and stuff. Eventually he, you know, he lay down. He was fine, he didn't care. Um, he was calm, he was chill. Um, so I pulled from the vet. I op when I opened that back door to get him out, he like backed up completely opposite side of the truck and cowered down.

SPEAKER_02: 16:19

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_01: 16:20

And I he wouldn't come to me. I had a leash on him, and so I was trying to pull him with the leash. Couldn't budge him without choking him. I had to get crawl in the truck and pick him up and carry him into the bed. Oh, poor guy. He was terrified, and I have to think that it was like PTSD from getting dumped out here, right?

SPEAKER_02: 16:44

Oh yeah, it had to be. I mean it had to be.

SPEAKER_01: 16:46

I mean he remembers it. Yeah, because it's it was fine until I opened that door, that back door. Um and so got him in, and I I think, you know, I think the whole thing, like in there, he was still worried about me leaving him. Um because he wouldn't couldn't get him to go on the leash. I had to carry him from the lobby, you know, the exam room, you know. And like everybody he met, you know, once once I came up to him and stuff, like he was very friendly and all that stuff, but he was just scared. And once we got all done, he well you know I were I was going to leave the exam room and he wouldn't go, wouldn't go. And the the vet, she's awesome. Um, Dr. Hanley, she goes, Let me show you a trick with the leash to turn it into harness. He said, does that. So now it's like pulling on his torso, not his neck. Right. I'm like, okay, try that. Well, now I'm just dragging by the torso. He's still not he's doing the thing, you know, where the kid goes like the kid in the store and then go dead weight. Right. He's just poof. I'm like, God dang it. So uh I'd carry him and put him in the truck. And once he got on the truck, he he just kind of laid down and he chilled. There's a ladybug crawling on my head.

SPEAKER_02: 18:01

It's probably the same one that was on your mic.

SPEAKER_01: 18:03

I doubt it. Have you guys have you guys noticed that since it got cold, all the ladybugs came inside?

SPEAKER_02: 18:08

Yes, we have everywhere.

SPEAKER_01: 18:11

Um, anyway. So yeah. Once he on the truck, he was chill, like you lay down and everything. And you know, ran a couple errands, made some stops, get home, uh, and as soon as I turn off the truck, like he again like cowered in the corner. And I opened the back door, and he was like, And he's like, Oh hey, Bailey, lucky, can I and then he is super excited and he jumped out. And I mean, he's probably the happiest dog in the world, right? Already? Yeah. Oh my god. I've never seen him happier. He was just like, oh my god, oh my god, I got to go. He brought me back. Yes. And I, you know, I I I wouldn't be surprised if I don't have a problem with them anymore after this, because um, that's you know, they know these things. It's like, no, now he knows. Uh you know, I'm not gonna dump him.

SPEAKER_02: 19:03

Yeah, yeah, that's that's a good that's a good thing for him to have in his in his head that he's he's got a home.

SPEAKER_01: 19:09

Yeah. Um and so other than that, the the visit went well. Uh she's like, so uh, how long have you had him? I said, uh, about two months. Uh so yeah, I'm a little late getting him in. She's like, yeah, no problem. We'll get him starting puppy shots, whatever. Uh I was like, yeah, two months ago. He showed up on my property and he I said he he weighed 12 pounds. And she just looked at me, she's like, 'cause they just weighed him. He was 42. Oh, is he really? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02: 19:39

Holy crap.

SPEAKER_01: 19:40

She's the cokey. Um and uh, you know, he was good with the visit and they did all the stuff. And I was asked, ow. Sorry. I don't even want to ask. I just yeah, I hit my knee on whatever. Um and so I said, Yeah, uh I said, like, so what are we talking here? Like a triceratops? Like, how big is he gonna get? And luckily, she's like, you know, just looking at his building his frame and stuff, blah blah blah blah. She's like, I don't think he's gonna be all that big.

SPEAKER_02: 20:14

Um yeah, but they just tell you that to make you feel good. Uh you just bought a rhinoceros.

SPEAKER_01: 20:22

I mean, we'll see, right? We will see, but and I said, Well, the biggest dog I have right now is a husky mix, and he's about 80 pounds. She's like, Yeah, I don't think he's even gonna be that big. He's like, probably like 60, 70. I'm like, okay, well, I can deal with that.

SPEAKER_02: 20:38

Yeah, I'm not sure I believe her, but to be fair, I don't know, I've seen his paws. I think he's gonna be a big dog.

SPEAKER_01: 20:47

I think she's wrong, but don't tell her that. In I will say, in her defense, she is a vet, and yeah, they know everything. Uh yeah, so and he's going in for he's going in about like a month to get the balls chopped off and get a second round of puppy shots, and then he'll be all set.

SPEAKER_02: 21:10

Well then poor guy. What? Getting his balls cut off.

SPEAKER_01: 21:15

Yeah, as soon as possible.

SPEAKER_02: 21:17

Look, these things just dropped. Let's cut them.

SPEAKER_01: 21:20

Yeah. That's exactly that's the thing. I when I first um like when you know when I first started well, I guess it was the the cat, like Charlie was the first man. And I asked her the first time she saw him, like, when can you like how soon can you get him neutered? Should as soon as as soon as his little peanuts drop. That's what she said, as soon as his little peanuts drop. So man, I I got him in right away, blah blah. And I've been waiting for her. Uh, you know, I've been feeling this dog's ball sack every other day, waiting. I'm like, dude, I feel like he's old enough they should, maybe they're not going to. Um, because you can feel them in there, they just haven't dropped. And so she was doing the exam and she reaches back there, she's like, Yep, guys, Phil's little peanuts. I'm like, are they ready to chop off? She's like, Yep, we can do it. I'm like, great.

SPEAKER_02: 22:11

Oh, that's good.

SPEAKER_01: 22:12

Yeah, I don't want to deal with that.

SPEAKER_02: 22:14

Yeah, yeah. Back when I was a kid, my dad and grandpa'd take a cat and put its head in the burlap bag and open it up. Oof. Pop them out. I think my grandfather used to pour lighter fluid on there and let them go. Lighter fluid. I don't know what it was, but you know, my pop was born in 1925, so he knew some stuff. Did he light them on fire? No, he didn't do that. Oh, he just poured like yeah, it probably felt like he lit them on fire.

SPEAKER_01: 22:43

Are you saying like he did it before or after? Uh after. So he he cut open the sack, yep, pulled the balls out, cut them off, and then just spray some lighter fluid on it.

SPEAKER_02: 22:54

Yeah. Yeah. In fact, uh, when we first moved up to one place, God, it was like an I'm gonna say my age here, in 79, we had a dog. Yeah, we all sat horses, so we had a farrier, and he came over, old boy named Cliff Ford. God, he was a great guy. But uh my mom goes, Hey Cliff, when when can we cut Henderson's knots? This old boy literally looked up at the moon and says, Today's a good day, puts his cigar down, hops out of the truck within two seconds, gone. It's like, holy crap! And then he tells us kids, there's like four of us boys running, you know, my brother and I, and a couple other friends standing there. And he says, Now, boys, I let you know this dog's gonna go north, east, south, and west. He won't be home for four days. And we're like, Why, Cliff? Why? He says, Because he's gotta say goodbye to all of his girlfriends.

SPEAKER_01: 23:52

Yeah, yeah. Oh god, that's funny. So two things. Hey, I I am now curious uh if um lighter fluid has some sort of like uh does some sort of like chemical cauterization or something? Like there's a reason he did it, but it has to be or maybe disinfect. I don't know. But well, if it was disinfecting, I think he would do it before, like kind of douse it and then whatever.

SPEAKER_02: 24:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 24:19

Um yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 24:20

Do you imagine people listening to this down now going, what the hell did they do? Oh yeah, totally. I love my animals more than my kids. Like you can't do that to them. You can you can do it to him.

SPEAKER_01: 24:31

Yeah. Uh yeah, I'm gonna have to look into that. That's interesting. So, and then the other thing is reminded me of Rip, because Rip is he's probably about the same age as um uh Kelly and uh Bailey. Okay. And when we first met Rip, it was funny because uh Bailey's sister Lola, who we unfortunately lost, you never met her. No, um, man, they were ranch bitches from day one. Like they protected this property, you know, all this stuff, and I remember you know, I was on the deck and I saw uh well rip is such a beef ball. I'm like, there's something swimming in my pond. What the hell? I'm like, what is that? And Rip is a big uh big like he's an Australian Shepherd. Yep. Funny story about that, um, he's a miniature Australian shepherd. Oh, he's not. I know it's so funny because when I first you know met Howdy and stuff, I was I was talking about uh Riv because I met his dog before I met him, and he goes, you know what? You know he's a miniature Australian shepherd. I said, Bullshit. Yeah, he's like, I know, but I guess he he got it from a breeder, he has papers, like he he it he he bought a miniature Australia Shepherd, and so he would he was as surprised as anybody that Rip turned out to be like 60 pounds.

SPEAKER_02: 25:57

Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, I was getting ready to say, yeah, and Rip's a dog, it's it's not the guy off of Yellowstone or anything.

SPEAKER_01: 26:03

Named after him, though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 26:04

Oh, is he actually named after him?

SPEAKER_01: 26:06

Yeah. At the time I hadn't seen the show, and incidentally, I still haven't seen it, but yeah, he told me he was named, but anyway, uh no, so I'm like, there's a dog's one. So I start to walk down there, and as I do that, the girls, Lola and Bailey, they're like, What's he up to? Oh shit. And then they notice and they freaking like light speed down to the pond, right? Oh wow. Uh, because they're very protective bitches, yeah. And so he gets out, and by the I mean, he was out by the time they got down there, and he was like, Oh shit. And he turned tail and fucking ran, and he ran behind the tree line down along the road. And I I hear my girls barking, chasing, and you know, then then the barking stops, whatever. And probably about five or six minutes later, the three of them come back from around the tree line playing. I'm like, oh, they just literally made friends with Rip. It was really cute. But then he started being here all the time. Oh, that's too much. To the point where like Audi would uh he was out driving one day and he just kind of going back and forth and stuff. And so he was driving by the drive, I waved him up. I'm like, what's everything okay? He's like, I'm looking for my dog. I said, Oh, he's under my deck. He's like, Oh, god damn it, are you kidding me? Like, it's it's totally fine. And they got along great with my dogs. Um, you know, I didn't mind having him over here at all. Right. They would play, he was no problem. Then uh then his balls dropped or whatever, like he got the hornies, and you know, not done with safe. Well, yeah, I mean he was pretty humpy with the girls, and that really what didn't bother me. I mean, it wasn't that bad, but he just started pissing on everything too. Like I have those bowls, you know, that about a foot off the ground, and I come out and he'd be piss, and I'm like, Jesus Christ. And that was like, okay, it's not that bad. And uh, but then he started he's the one that kind of got my dogs running after cars in the road too. Right. And so I was like, no. Um, but I had to tell I had to basically tell Audi politely, like, you need to get you need to get your dog neutered, please. And he did. Um, he did, but I I ended up just it's been a long time, maybe a year now. I started just chasing Rip off. I'm like, you know, you're I like you, you're fun, but you're you're just more trouble than I want to deal with. So he doesn't come around anymore, except he does, because I'll tell you why. The other morning, I got up really early, so probably like 10. And I went out and walk around the house, and I I look down, uh, I see something moving on the far side of my barn, like black and white, and I'm like, Is that can I? Oh, that's not can I? And it was Rip. And I think he comes out and hangs out over here when I'm sleeping. Because he was just like then he saw him, he's like, Oh shit. Yeah, he ran away. Like, you full punk.

SPEAKER_02: 29:18

Yeah, but yeah, he he likes now that we're there, because there's an extra stop for the male lady, so he can ask for more treats.

SPEAKER_01: 29:25

Yes, yeah. He he's a really, really uh he's he's a he's a cool dog, he's total goofball. Um, but uh so it's kind of a shame that um, you know, I d I don't want to have him around anymore. But uh yeah, anyway. What the uh neutering, that's what came up, that's what I thought of it. And yeah, I've been I'm very I can very vigilant about that, like as soon as they as soon as they're ready to go, with the exception of Blackton, because I kind of forgot about that one.

SPEAKER_02: 29:55

Yeah. Welcome to Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01: 30:00

I told him, you know, I thought that raised them well. I can't tell I said, you know, one you don't fuck your kinfolk. That's one thing.

SPEAKER_02: 30:07

Well, you know, if she's not good enough for her family, she's not good enough for ours.

SPEAKER_01: 30:13

Don't want you ever say anything about Grace, anything bad about little Gracie. She's perfect. She's a sweetheart.

SPEAKER_02: 30:19

If you ever see her.

SPEAKER_01: 30:20

So she's yeah, well we'll we'll we'll start doing that. We'll st we're gonna start posting things. Uh oh yeah, we have socials and a website and stuff.

SPEAKER_02: 30:28

Oh, that's what you were saying, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 30:30

Yeah, we're gonna it's funny you should have acted like like uh you didn't just find that out. Like, oh yeah, um we'll talk about we'll try we'll talk about that at the end. Um but yeah, I mean we'll post some of the stuff. We'll post a picture of Gracie, the little beauty queen. Um but yeah, I I think it was about a year and a half ago. I had Gracie and Blackton. They were living uh they were living like in an alley behind a restaurant, and some guy in town was feeding them and stuff, and long story short, I ended up taking them in. They were probably about five months at the time. And you know, a bonded pair, uh both very sweet, brother, sister, same litter. And it lit it literally, dude, I don't even know what happened. It just slipped my mind to get them fixed. And so uh cut to uh about nine months later. I was uh I was actually in Colorado helping my mom um move my grandma uh into a retirement home and stuff, or assisted living or whatever. And my brother flew out with his two boys and he stayed here and looked after the ranch while I was up there. And uh he called me like the second day or something, I was gone. He goes, um oh, actually, here's the funny part. I I had at some point right shortly before that trip remembered, oh, I need to get them fixed. So I said I made the appointment. Great, couple weeks out, do-da do. And then I realized later, I'm like, oh, it's when Rob's here, I'm not even gonna be here. That's terrible. So I said, Hey, do you mind like taking him? He's like, No, I can do that. Uh turns out he couldn't, because he couldn't catch him, but yeah, no, he can catch him. Yeah, they they they uh were very skittish, they're still fairly skittish, but yeah, he couldn't even get close. But anyway, before the appointment, a couple days after Let calls me, he's like, um I have to take both Gracie and Blackdon to get fixed, right? I'm like, yeah. He's like, yeah, so uh Gracie's not fit. I'm like, no. Why? He's like, um, is it possible she's pregnant? I'm like, no. I said, she's just a little poochy, she's not a little pooch palette. She got that poochie belly, it's so cute. He's like, okay, she's just she really looks pregnant to me. I'm like, oh well, okay. I said, well, when you take her in, um the doctor will clearly know if she's pregnant, so he's like, what do you want me to do? I said, I'm like, you mean like abort the kittens? Is that what we're talking about right now? He's like, I mean, well, do you want kittens? I'm like, no. I said, look, if she's pregnant and it's like so far along they're like basically kittens, then we'll no, whatever. Right. But if it's like early stage, then yeah, let's let's just abort the abort the kittens. And he's like, This is weird that we're talking like about this. I'm like, yeah, there's probably a better terminology, whatever. Just after that. Well, so he couldn't catch him, whatever. And so I get back. I was gone about a week. And he was telling me, like, he's like, Yeah, just like just like feel her belly and stuff. Like, feels it feels like she's pregnant. And so I did. I'm like, Yeah, I kinda can kind of see that. I said, How far along? He's like, Oh, I don't I don't know, it seems really new. I don't think very far along at all, right? I'm like, Yeah, me either. Uh great, so you know, reschedule, maybe next week, get her in there. Uh cut to the next day, she had popped out three kittens. And I'm like, wow, we really don't know anything about cat pregnancies. Yeah. They were just there. I'm like, okay. Which was actually really cool because uh, like, you know, for for him and and Robbie and Kai to be here, like when kitten, you know, the first day kittens are born. No, kid, a lot of kids aren't ever gonna get to see that.

SPEAKER_02: 34:29

No, not nowadays.

SPEAKER_01: 34:30

Yeah, so um, yes, the three kittens. So very shortly after that, I got took Blackden, got him snipped, talked to the doctor. Well, what I said to her, you know, when I was picking him up, um, I said a couple questions. She's like, Yeah. I said, So before y'all chopped off his balls, he done fucked his sister, and now I got three kittens. She about fell down laughing. She's like, uh just asking questions about weaning and this, that, and the other, and and getting her fixed. And long story short, basically, like one as soon as they were weaned, she could get fixed. Right. So I just I took her, I took her and her. I waited long enough until the little kittens, they're all three boys, until their their little peanuts dropped. And so I just took her and them at the same time. Um, and that was one of those nights, because you know, sometimes I have nights where I like I don't sleep at all.

SPEAKER_02: 35:22

Right, right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 35:23

And that was one of those nights where I'd been up all night. It's like a 7 30, 8 a.m. drop off. And like, you know, it's not like I was so tired that I shouldn't be driving, but I was just I was really tired, and I'm just like I had to get him in there, and then I get back, and then I can like sleep for a few hours. And so I go in and the kittens when they were uh when they were young, they all look very similar. Yes, very similar. They really still do, but um, so she's like, and their names are Flash, Ranger, and Stripes, and so I had a crate with three kittens that looked almost identical, and the nurse tech or whatever, the vet tech when she took me, she's like, uh, like, uh is there a way to tell them apart? And I said, Yeah, well, Flash has this little white patch on his chest, so that's really easy. And then I explained to her the difference between Ranger and Stripes. Uh and the difference is ear floofs. Now you have to imagine me. So tired, I can barely put together a sentence. And I say to her, Yeah, Ranger's got the air floofs, and stripe doesn't. And she just looked at me, she's like she just looked at me and I said, ear floofs. It's one of those things, you know, where like you're so kind of out of it, you don't realize you're not making sense. And so I see her write very slowly, by the way. As soon as you could write something ear floofs on her little She's like, How do you sp how would you spell floofs? Now I know she's messing with me. Anyway, and so I'm like, no, it's like you know, a little like uh it's one of those things where someone's asking you to describe something, but all you can do is just keep saying it. Like, you know, floofs, like you're floofs.

SPEAKER_02: 37:10

I bet you were using your hands.

SPEAKER_01: 37:12

I was you couldn't see it, but I was doing that over here. Over here, you know, it was like spirit fingers. Um yeah, but and who knows if they got it right, but um anyway, got them all. And then was it after that? Must have been before that. Because when you were here the first time she came the vet came out, yes, and did like a like a blitzkrieg, which is super cool if they do this out here. She came out with her vet techs to my place and she vaccinated all the dogs and all the cats. She was here for like half an hour.

SPEAKER_00: 37:51

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

SPEAKER_01: 37:53

That was awesome. Wow. Um, yeah. And I remember like we got done with the dogs, we came inside. They set up on the island in the kitchen. Like, okay, let me go get his cats. And so I grabbed Charlie, took him in there. You know, he was cool as cucumber, so I just went in, held him. And then like, let me let me go find more cats. Went wherever in my room, the office, come back out with one kitten. I'm like, here's a kitten. Turn around, come back, here's another kitten. Come on, here's another kitten. Uh I couldn't catch Gracie, but yeah, that was that wasn't a great story. But uh, I was thinking the other day it was it was really fun having those kittens. Like, as much as I'm just like, no.

SPEAKER_03: 38:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 38:40

Because I was not supposed to, I think I don't know if I've told you this, but like um when I lost Nika quite quite a few years ago, I'm like, I'm not getting cats anymore. I'm not cats are super cool, but I don't do the box, I don't do the thing. Right. And then Charlie happened, and then Charlie led to Gracie and Blackton, and then Blackton talked to Gracie, and then they got kids. Yeah, so unfortunately we lost Charlie, which is terrible.

SPEAKER_02: 39:07

Yes, it is. He was such a cool cat.

SPEAKER_01: 39:09

Yeah, but there are there are five cats here in a house intended for none.

SPEAKER_02: 39:15

Yeah, and they only come out when it's just you.

SPEAKER_01: 39:19

Yeah, yeah, that's I know. I'm hoping they'll get better about that. I mean, we'll see. Yeah. I think I think part of the reason is since you're since you live here now, like whenever you come over, we don't like hanging out in the house. And so if you ever come in the house, it's like the dogs are all excited, blah blah blah, and usually only in for a few minutes.

SPEAKER_02: 39:42

And yeah, I think if you were hanging out like you did before, like if we were just chilling, they might, but Yeah, because the kittens were coming out, and in fact, when your brother was here with his family and I walked in to do something and something caught my eye up above the stove and it was what, Ranger? Oh my god. Up on up on top of the cabinets next to the vent, and he's just looking at me. I'm like, I'm gonna go outside now.

SPEAKER_01: 40:07

It's yeah. So there's lighting, there's lights on the top of the cabinets that like sh illuminates up against the wall. And so Ranger Rangers on top of the cabinet, but then backlit. Yeah. Just scared the hell out of you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 40:33

I know. Oh, and the time that he uh got into the dog's uh milk bones. Oh in fed. So the Ranger, the kittens were out playing, we were outside sitting on the back porch, BSing, and we looked around. I said, look at that, Ranger's up there getting our the cat because I didn't can't remember their names. I said, the cat's up there at the milk bones, and then he picks up a milk bone and throws it down to one of the dogs at Finley, I believe. Yeah. And was like giving them treats. I'm like, that is so cool.

SPEAKER_01: 41:05

Yeah. And at the time he was probably like probably like two or three pounds. So I mean a milk bone's pretty big for him.

SPEAKER_02: 41:13

That's probably why he dropped it.

SPEAKER_01: 41:14

Probably, yeah. Um, God, yeah, they they're they're fun. I hope they get more social and stuff, because they're they're a blast. I it's cool when they come out and do stuff. Um, I will say though, like, I gotta say this. Uh cats are really awesome. But they're kind of boring. Like, I kind of had forgotten because uh Charlie was not boring. Charlie was like have another person around. He was always around. He was up you know, into whatever you were doing. He was always me. If you were outside uh on the deck, he was out there on the deck hanging out. If you were down by the campfire, you were down on the campfire, um, and then of course these are just normal inside cats, and so you you don't see them for 23 and a half hours of the day. Um but I mean they're super cool to have around. They're just they're kind of boring.

SPEAKER_02: 42:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 42:13

But it's all relative, like it everything's boring compared to Charlie.

SPEAKER_02: 42:17

Everything was boring, yeah, yeah. He was he was so cool with uh when I was here the first time in May, and he climbed up the the four by four and got on the roof of the porch outside. Oh yeah. And it's like, what the heck? And you'd hear him don't don't don't don't don't.

SPEAKER_01: 42:35

And uh and why did what yeah, the the roof of the deck. And it's funny because he's he would stomp across the deck.

SPEAKER_02: 42:44

Oh, he was like a little kid, like Yeah, cats don't stomp, right?

SPEAKER_01: 42:47

But if he somehow managed to stomp. And one of the things uh I think my mom pointed this out. Like I didn't even notice it. That cat was such a little attention whore. Yeah. Like, if you weren't paying attention to him, he was gonna make you pay attention to him in some way. And so, like, yeah, if we were just talking and stuff and not like paying him any mind, he he'd climb up the freaking tree and jump on the roof. Don't, don't, don't.

SPEAKER_02: 43:10

I bet he learned that from Robbie. Oh gosh.

SPEAKER_01: 43:14

Yeah. Talk about I'm gonna get your attention whether you like it or not. The golf cart headlights. Were you there for that? Yeah, when he yeah. Oh my goodness, yeah. I think I'm I'm gonna have to tell that story on the next episode, but geez, that little punk. Yeah. Yeah. And then Charlie, uh, once I once I figured that out, I remember there was one day one of my friends, maybe maybe Cam, who's not a friend because she's a bitch, but she was then. She was here, and I got up and I'm like, I'm like, I'm just gonna ignore Charlie and we'll see what happens. And so I got up and he like just walked right past him. Got my coffee, sat on the couch, he's he can get on the coffee table, sit right in front of me, like blocking my view of the TV and just ignoring him. Starts knocking shit off the table. Starts throwing stuff off the table, starts stretching in front of me. I mean he just kept escalating and escalating. And uh, yeah. Oh, he did get your attention.

SPEAKER_02: 44:20

He'd he'd do anything to get your attention.

SPEAKER_01: 44:23

He would. Um Well I'll I'll I'll tell the the story of Charlie, like the origin story of Charlie. It's a really cool story too. But yeah, he was a cool cat. Um believe it or not, we have arrived at the end of our second episode.

SPEAKER_02: 44:38

Already? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 44:41

So uh we will do we'll get the social uh media stuff, uh, website address and that stuff. We'll get that out there since we have it now. Yeah. Um, but yeah, if you're if you're if you're still listening, God bless you.

SPEAKER_02: 44:59

Somebody bless you.

SPEAKER_01: 45:00

Yes. Uh that's all right. We'll uh y'all have a good night and we'll catch you later.

SPEAKER_02: 45:04

Have a good one, Nick. Hey, it's Mark here at Set and Centered. Uh, just want to let everybody know that if they want to catch us on the socials, you can catch us at our webpage, setcenter.live, or on Facebook at SetCenterLive. Uh, we'll maybe post some little stupid videos that we've done, stuff like that as we keep on going. And also we talk a lot about the animals here on the ranch. And you can we'll post pictures of them. We'll see how it goes. Let us know. Have a good one.

SPEAKER_04: 45:51

Together we zip top baby. Top zipper state. Live the weather. But no world's off the back. You can count on that. Stock is gone when blows gate won't latch. Two boxes open like a raccoon got a snatch. Coffee cold stamp, I swear, and still top it like we got it.