Maybe I should wash my windows..., this shot of the Heron on the drainfield might have come out better.  I was afraid to try to get outside for a better shot..., camera shot.  I was a bit concerned about why he hadn't headed south for the winter..., but Google says:

Yes, most herons, particularly,  

Great Blue Herons, migrate south for winter, moving from northern breeding grounds to warmer areas like Mexico, the Caribbean, or Central America for food. However, some populations, especially along the Pacific Coast and in warmer southern regions, are non-migratory, and individuals in milder northern areas can also stay put if they find open water for fishing, adapting to catch small animals if necessary. 

So..., I guess he was just flying point for Santa Claus..., to make sure I got my new suit of rain gear for Christmas.  Yeah..., it was a Merry one for me and Logan and Che and Bindy and Charley Horse.  Hope you all enjoyed a Merry Christmas too.  The dogs and I shared a Rib Steak for dinner..., I turned down an Prime Rib dinner invitation from old friends who never failed to invited Julie and I to their get to gathers..., be it Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Fourth of July..., or just an evening of Pinochle.  It just wouldn't have been the same without Julie..., and I had spent last year's Christmas dinner with Julie in the hospital..., and didn't get to enjoy a New Year's dinner with her before she took her final flight south.

Google also says:

When a heron crosses your path, it's a powerful spiritual sign of patience, self-reliance, and inner calm, urging you to find stillness, trust your intuition, and act with quiet confidence, often signaling a time for deep reflection, transformation, and finding balance in your life. It's a messenger of adaptability, wisdom, and the need to wait for the right moment, representing the balance between action and rest, and reminding you to find stability and pursue your unique path with grace. 

So..., I hope that a heron crosses your paths and  helps guide you through the New Year too..., and here's your "Free Bird" Friday Nite Music Video...,

Friday Night Check In

 

Another wet week..., but it wasn't a white wet like you might expect in late December..., and I was never all that fond of white Christmas's anyway.  We did suffered a couple of power outages that lasted close to 12 hours..., due to the problem being a Bonneville Power issue and the crews that service that line are based down in Olympia, so it is several hours before they can even get out here to start looking for the problem, let alone get it repaired.  The first one started late in the evening about bedtime so me and the dogs got to sleep through that one and the power came back on in the morning.  The second one started just before noon and lasted well into the night..., that one made for a candle light dinner..., and since I have a propane cook stove it was a hot meal.  I luckily had the Kindle with a back lite screen all charged up so I didn't have to read by candle light to pass the time.  I did miss Monday Night Football though..., and it had cooled off enough that I had to dig out an extra blanket for bedtime. I guess things could have been worse..., and they were for folks not far from us with the flooding and wind storms.

I got my new rain gear..., but have been able to dodge the rain squalls and get the horse manure and dog shit cleaned up without it..., most of the time.  I did cheat a couple of days and neglected the North East and West 40's..., to make sure I didn't get caught way out there in one of those nasty squalls.  That made for a three wheelbarrow day when we got an extended break between squalls the other day.  Charlie Horse thought that was pretty funny and ran circles around me..., making divots for me to replace..., that would rival anything that Tiger Woods could make on a soggy golf course.  He got a little too catty while trying to put the run on the turkey and ended up flat on the ground.  Me and Logan got a good laugh out of that..., Charlie..., not so much 😀

Well..., I hope that you all have your Christmas shopping done so you can relax until the big day..., and since that day will happen before your next FNCI..., I better post my usual Christmas Eve video song tonight..., here's Dan Fogelberg...,

Friday Nite Check In

 

It was one Wet Week here on The Ranch..., 2.5 inches of rain on Monday..., 1.5 on Tuesday..., 2.0 on Wednesday..., before it tampered off on Thursday to just .2 inches.  But I had already ordered up a new set of rain gear after the Monday deluge.  We didn't set any records or experience any flooding in our immediate area..., the area East of us and north of Seattle got hit a little harder..., and while the flood waters were receding today..., my Google News Feed was still using headlines from a couple days ago to capture your interest.  The picture of The Ranch driveway was actually from November of 2022 and we didn't experience that much water this year..., or maybe I had a little better drainage plan executed after that 😀

In the other good news category I got a nice surprise from my Deferred Compensation Plan in the form of my minimum distribution check..., it will easily cover the increase in my "health insurance coverage" premiums.  By themselves the increases in premiums and deductibles would be bad news.  I could scare you with percentages like the headlines regarding the Unaffordable Care Act news that I wrote about in a FNCI post on 11/7/25.  Yeah..., my supplemental plan premium increased 79%..., though the actual dollar amount isn't that scary..., just $97.10 per month increase..., because the cost itself is..., or was..., reasonable.  Medicare itself has raised its Part B premiums and deductibles 10%.  The Part A Hospital deductibles and co-pays were raised 3.6%.  

My Medicare Part B monthly premium raised 6% last year..., 10% this year and now costs me $202.90 a month.

The cost of my supplemental plan was $122.42 because I am a Public Employee Retired..., it has now raised to $219.43..., a 79% increase.  I would venture a guess that percentage is close to what nearly all plans..., including the Unaffordable Care Act plans premiums are increasing this year.  Most of the media reports try to "imply" that the huge increases in cost are the result of the expiring enhanced subsidies.  To put it mildly..., that is pure Bullshit.

We need Medicare for all and reasonable supplemental plans for all.  With the increases in my premiums I will pay $422.33 a month next year for health insurance..., compare that to the $2000.00 Unaffordable Care Act premiums without the increase that is yet to be announced for next year..., it's enough to make you sick (pun intended). As it is now..., the insurance companies..., and the politicians..., are raking in the big dough.  It is time that it STOPS !!!

Friday Nite Check In

 

That's my old running partner..., John "Savage" Thompson in his raft on the North Fork of the Clearwater River with another old friend..., Dave McIntosh.  They are both gone now..., and I am too damn old to be doing any river running now days.  But I can still have the fantasies of me and The Savage running the Grand Canyon in his raft.  He had already soloed the Middle Fork of The Salmon..., Idaho's famous River of No Return..., without me.  I was cutting timber in Alaska at the time and couldn't make that run.  That was another fantasy of mine..., but the Grand Canyon fantasy  came back big and strong the other day.

Most of the writers that I follow are now on Substack..., and I had resisted signing on to that website..., thinking that it was just an avenue for them to suck a few bucks out of you by becoming a "Paid Subscriber".  Since I could read them for free and most of them sent out emails where I read their stuff there without going to the Substack site I didn't see the need to go to the Substack website.  But I finally got hooked up there and it turned me on to a new writer..., Brooks Wheelan.  The first piece I read was his pick of the top ten national parks with tips on getting the most out of the experience.  I liked his style and had been to most of them..., and live right next to one of them..., Olympic.  When I got out of the Army I hit Zion, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite on my way home..  Later in life I hit Glacier..., and I still regret not getting to the Tetons when I lived in Idaho.  After checking out the piece on the parks I found the piece he wrote that inspired this FNCI..., How to Run the Grand Canyon Without a Guide.  It filled in a lot holes in my fantasy..., and I am now one of his "subscribers"..., though still a "free one" at this time 😀

Since we are discussing American Rivers..., your Friday Nite Music Video is none other than Tom Russell's "American Rivers"...,

Friday Nite Check In

 

No Turkey for me this Thanksgiving..., and no..., no Prime Rib either.  This is a shot of the Christmas 2021 dinner.  I didn't think of getting a picture of the Rib Steak that me and the dogs shared yesterday.  It was a lot easier to prepare and quicker to cook than the other options..., and not a month of leftovers to clog up the fridge..., or sinks full of dishes to wash up after.  Not to mention the cost factor.  Rib Steaks are in the $20 price range..., I didn't check the price of a Prime Rib or a Turkey.  I suppose I could AI it..., but Google has served me for many years and I see no reason to give up on it..., though even it offers me that option.  I guess I could have got a Turkey for about the price of the Rib Steak..., and the Prime Rib is about the same price per pound as the Rib Steak..., at around $15 per pound..., but a 10 pounder would cost me $150 or so.

  

It was a nasty and rainy day Thursday..., so we watched football all day and left the outdoor chores for today..., which was a beauty..., weather wise.  It did make for double duty on the horse manure clean up..., and my findgers is a bit sore and cramped up from pulling scotch broom as penance for taking yesterday off.  Makes tyking a bit of a bitch 😖

So..., I better make this a short one and hope you all ate as well as I did this Thanksgiving..., and are enjoying all those leftovers 😀

Here's my traditional Thanksgiving song of your Friday Nite Music Video...,

Friday Nite Check In

WOW !!!  Friday has rolled around again already..., I can assure you that Friday's never rolled around this quick when I had a JOB !!!  It is beginning to feel like this once a week deadline for the FNCI is a bit of a job in itself..., sometimes 😊

Speaking of jobs..., the damn berry bushes were taking over my Southeast Drift Fence in The Barnyard.  I had already had to stretch the wire to install it when the winter snows crushed down the berry bushes that had served that purpose..., and Charley Horse decided to investigate just what was on the other side.  He didn't get too far away..., but I got right after stretching the wire to keep him a little closer at hand.  I was afraid that if the snows got too bad this winter that I might be stretching wire again if I didn't take care of the situation.  The more I thought about it..., the more I figured that it was Charley Horse's responsibility.

You will have to look pretty hard to even see the fence through all the berry bushes.

The berry bushes haven't retaken the ancient Sacrificial Alter that I uncovered earlier this year..., but they sure covered up that Drift Fence.  I sent Logan out to round up Charlie Horse.

Being the obedient soul that he is..., Charley Horse went right to work.

As you can see..., Charley certainly had some hard work ahead of him.

He made some pretty good progress the first day !!!

By the next day he had the complete Southeast Drift Fence deberry brushed !!!

Yeah...., I am still a little stove up from just looking at all the work that Charley Horse did..., now if I could just teach him to rake leaves...,  😊

So..., I guess the only appropriate song I could post for your Friday Nite Music Video is this Josh Ritter tune..., Stretching Wire

Lyrics

You can see him in the blizzard
Where night is day and day is night
Where every footstep disappears
Just as soon as he goes by
He likes his life this way
Moving slow from post to post
You might think that he's a ghost
But no, he's stretching wire

He's always moving forward
Never turning back around
Always moving in a straight line
To wherever he is now
Nothing up above him
But the buzzards in the sky
And in the ground the girl who loved him
So, he's stretching wire

He hears the whippers in the willow
He feeds the rattlesnakes by hand
Tumbleweeds while he is sleeping
Roll by quiet as they can
He's not afraid of morning
Or the sorrow that it brings
He'll stretch the wire till it sings
He's stretching wire"

Songwriter: Joshua Ritter

Friday Nite Check In

 Not much to report this week..., except rain, rain, rain, more rain, and rain showers.  I did manage to keep up on the chores..., with the exception of Wednesday, when I couldn't muster the courage to suit up in the rain gear..., though I was wishing I would have on Thursday when I was pushing around an overloaded wheelbarrow full of horse manure.  Charlie Horse thought I was moving a bit too slow and proceeded to show me how to move fast and throw up big divots for me to replace.  I think he appreciated the short break in the rain as much as I did.

In other news, the government is back in session now..., but Wall Street and the Stock Market didn't seem to think that was such a good thing judging from the numbers that were generated.  Maybe they think like I do..., that we are better off without that sorry bunch of Reps and Dems we have running this country.  Who knows what that confederacy of dunces will implement next?

They tell me the days aren't really all that much shorter now..., but it is getting darker at an earlier hour now.  One good thing about it..., the clock in the Tacoma is reading the right time again now.

I guess this song by James McMurtry will served the purpose for your Friday Nite Music Video...,

[Verse 1]
Pinocchio's in Vegas with his eye on the prize
He's a real boy now, his dick grows when he lies
But his face stays frozen like it's still made of wood
It displays no emotion as he cleans 'em out good
At that back room table, most any Friday night
He don't even need the money, he's just in it out of spite

[Verse 2]
And he misses old Geppetto, gone now two years
The boy's spendin' real money, and he's cryin' real tears
You'd've thought it'd've been a straight and simple untaxеd estate
It was nearly out of probatе when it blew up in his face
There were whispers in the shadows, all around the town
Heretofore unknown relations, old Geppetto got around

[Chorus 1]
Who were my grandmother's friends?
Used to play bridge every Tuesday at ten
Who were the neighbors next door?
When I was still crawlin' on the floor

[Verse 3]
When the claims came to light, Pinocchio was blue
The lawyers had a field day, just like they always do
First, they tried to fleece him for a rainbow's worth of gold
He had to sue Walt Disney over copyright control
He got less than he wanted, more than they'd a-give
Both sides are bitter, both sides'll live

[Chorus 2]
Who were my grandmother's friends?
Used to take me fishin', every now and then
Who were the neighbors next door?
Who all did we lose in the war?

[Bridge]
Snappin' peas on that front porch step
Come and take 'em watermelon rinds
Toss 'em over the horse-lot fence
Go wash up and quit that cryin'

[Verse 4]
Pinocchio is over it, he don't beat up on himself
He's had to learn to be an asshole, just like everybody else
Where the dogs eat the dogs and the cats eat the mice
You pick a hill to die on, don't bother acting nice
'Cause that won't serve you well at the end of the day
They don't have to come and take it if you give it all away

[Chorus 3]
Who were my grandmother's friends?
Used to play bridge every Tuesday at ten
Who were the neighbors next door?
When I was still crawlin' on the floor
Who were my grandmother's friends?
They used to take me fishin', every now and then
Who were the neighbors next door?
I can't call you up and ask you anymore

NOT the Friday Nite Check In

 “UPDATE”.  According to this article on CounterPunch on 11/10/25 I got one thing completely wrong in my Friday Nite Check In story on 11/7/25…, I thought the insurance mandate and penalty for not having insurance was still in force…, I guess that is not the case.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/10/enhance-the-subsidies-and-let-the-insurance-industry-feed-at-the-federal-trough/  

But pretty much everything else is pretty much as I described.

“When President Trump came into office the first time, he and Congress eliminated the individual mandate, but did nothing to make health care more affordable. Now it was legal to be uninsured again.

While people struggled to pay their medical bills, one sector of the economy that was not struggling was the insurance industry, which was collecting the subsidies every year from Uncle Sam, plus the premiums that individuals and their families paid every month, plus the yearly deductibles. Health insurance companies collected billions before they ever had to pay out one penny for medical claims. 

…

Instead of shutting down the government and demanding real health reform, Democrats are quibbling over subsidies that keep Americans underinsured and in medical debt and importantly, continue pouring billions into the till of the health insurance industry.

…

If every crisis presents an opportunity, let’s use this one to pass a national, single payer health care system that guarantees health care to everyone and removes all profit from health care. Nothing short of this can heal this nation.”

Friday Nite Check In

Not sure who or what got into this patch of Amanita Mascaria..., I assure you it was not me.

Nobody has touched these..., yet.

The weather has been rainy and windy and we had about a five hour power outage Thursday evening..., so I didn't have much to do..., so I came up with this little rant...,

I have written a bit about “healthcare” and “healthcare insurance” in the past and that seems to be what the major problem is regarding the “government shutdown”.  It is hard to determine just exactly what the issue is…, it depends on if a Democrat or a Republican is telling their side of the story…, and there is even disagreement within members of the same party.  As I understand it, the main issue is the expiration of the extra government subsidies that were enacted as a temporary measure to help folks meet the Obamacare (also known as the Affordable Care Act) insurance premiums during the COVID-19 lockdowns that prevented non-essential workers from getting a paycheck.

That being said…, the first thing I would like to point out is that the Affordable Care Act is a complete misnomer.  It is really the Unaffordable Care Act…, as the insurance premiums are already massively subsidized because “healthcare insurance” had become so extremely expensive that many folks had been forced to drop their “coverage” due to the expense of the “insurance”.  And since insurance companies can’t stay in business without paying customers…, many would soon be going broke if something wasn’t done.  Instead of enacting a Medicare for all type plan…, we got a mandatory Obamacare plan and everyone was required to have some form of “healthcare insurance”…, either private or employer sponsored plans…, or Obamacare…, which was supposed to be Affordable Cafe.

It was never affordable for many people from the start…, so low income folks were subsidized so that maybe they could afford a plan so they wouldn’t be monetarily penalized for lacking “healthcare  insurance”.  Obama and the Democrats sold this as “helping out” low income folks…, but in reality it was a give away to the insurance companies to keep them solvent.  That became obvious after the Republicans tried about 50 times to repeal the Unaffordable Care Act while the Democrats held sway in the Congress…, but as soon as the Republicans held sway a few years later they kept the plan in place instead of repealing it like they insisted on doing when they didn’t have the power to do so.

We have basically the same little game going on with this government shutdown over the expiring temporary extra subsidies.  The Democrats say they are trying to help out folks because the insurance premiums are too high…, but they are really trying to make sure the insurance companies will get paid the sky high premiums with taxpayer money.  The Republicans aren’t worried about the insurance companies not getting paid…, due to the Unaffordable Care Act everyone is going to have to buy the plans or be monetarily penalized for not doing so.  The fact is…, it is not so much the expiration of the subsidies that is raising the cost of the premiums…, as it is the rising cost of medical care itself.  

Yeah…, the Unaffordable Care Act was a sham scam from the start…, and the medical healthcare industry is in dire need of a major overhaul…, and dissolving the medical healthcare insurance companies is just a basic first step in that process.  Yes…, everyone should be entitled to healthcare…, nearly every modern industrialized nation provides it for its citizens…, with the sole exception of the United States of America.  Single payer healthcare (ie,  Medicare) for all is just the first step in the healthcare overhaul…, but a very important one.

If you want to know the details of the predicament we are in…, here is a link you should check out.

https://www.crfb.org/blogs/understanding-aca-subsidy-discussion

“A couple of quick quotes, “ACA subsidies are primarily paid directly to insurers…”  My question is why are we tax payers giving money to insurance companies so they can skim huge profits before paying the medical bills?  Wouldn’t it make far more sense to pay the medical bills directly and cut out the insurance company profits?

Another quote, “The gross federal cost of these subsidies and related spending grew from $18 billion in 2014…, to $50 billion in 2018, $53 billion in 2020, $92 billion in 2023, and an estimated $138 billion in 2025.”  Anybody but me see a problem here?

The chart below goes a long way toward explaining what’s going on here.

Portion of Premiums Paid by Enrollees and the Federal Government, for an Illustrative Family of Four with a 2026 Premium of $2,000 per Month

	Original Subsidies			Enhanced Subsidies
Income Level	Beneficiary Premium	Government Subsidy		Beneficiary Premium	Government Subsidy
150% of FPL	$168 (8%)	$1,832 (92%)		$0 (0%)	$2,000 (100%)
250% of FPL	$565 (28%)	$1,435 (72%)		$268 (13%)	$1,732 (87%)
350% of FPL	$933 (47%)	$1,067 (53%)		$680 (34%)	$1,320 (66%)
450% of FPL	$2,000 (100%)	$0 (0%)		$849 (42%)	$1,151 (58%)
550% of FPL	$2,000 (100%)	$0 (0%)		$1,253 (63%)	$747 (37%)
650% of FPL	$2,000 (100%)	$0 (0%)		$1,480 (74%)	$520 (26%)

Source: CRFB estimates.

A little explanation…, FPL is Federal Poverty Level…, projected to be $33,740 of Gross Income.  So for folks who were eligible for the original subsides, those under 150% ($50,610) would have to return to paying $168 premium if the enhanced subsides expire.  Those under 250% ($84,350) would lose a $297 enhanced subside.  Those in the 350% ($118,900) would lose $253 enhanced subside.  

The last three categories weren’t eligible for subsidies prior to the enhanced subsides…, and it appears to me that the enhanced subsides in the bunch was more of a gift to the insurance companies to gain more customers than it was to help folks with between $151,830 and $219,310 incomes.

Yes…, the enhanced subsides should expire as planned…, and an overhaul of medical industry should be a major priority.  I repeat what I said above..., Yes…, everyone should be entitled to healthcare…, nearly every modern industrialized nation provides it for its citizens…, with the sole exception of the United States of America.  Single payer healthcare (ie,  Medicare) for all is just the first step in the healthcare overhaul…, but a very important one.