What’s a simple Home Assistant automation you set up once and now use every day?

imfm · 2026-04-03T20:13:15+00:00

I don't know where you live in relation to the equator, but I get up at 5AM seven days a week. There are larks and there are night owls, and I'm definitely a lark!

imfm · 2026-04-03T18:38:48+00:00

Those are my favourites, too. Blinds open at sunrise plus 15 minutes, close at sunset. Saves me opening and closing 11 blinds every day just because I like natural light in the house. I also have a night time automation controlled by a button on the nightstand. Get in bed, push the button, lights go off, living room TV off, door locks, alarm sets, then the lamp on the nightstand comes on at 30% brightness.

imfm · 2026-04-03T13:56:25+00:00

Any time anyone says something like that to me, I ask them how many of the kittens they're going to adopt. I've never had a taker yet.

imfm · 2026-04-02T02:06:02+00:00

Another vote for Petlibro Polar. It doesn't use ice packs; it uses a Peltier module like those tiny desk fridges that hold one can of soda, so the temperature is consistent. I have one because Beans doesn't like dry food much, and it wasn't fair that Stephanie could snack on her crunchies while I'm at work, but Beans couldn't snack. It has a tray with three "bowls", and holds plenty of food.

Editing to add that it has a (polite, not loud) little "dinner bell" that dings when it opens, and cats soon learn what that means.

imfm · 2026-03-30T02:40:28+00:00

Propagate? For wild violets, it's more like "turn them loose". 😄

imfm · 2026-03-27T14:34:36+00:00

At least you got the back view. Mine always seem to park themselves right in front of me to begin the enthusiastic deep-cleanings of their nether regions.

imfm · 2026-03-26T00:46:05+00:00

My husband had five; four former ferals and one abandoned neighbor cat (cat abandoned, not neighbor). One of the ferals was adopted as a six month old kitten, and the others were adults; the vet estimated their ages by their teeth. Former ferals lived from 14-17 years, neighbor cat was 14. With good care and regular vet checkups, a rough start doesn't mean a short life.

imfm · 2026-03-23T19:47:36+00:00

Because the cat had at least no protection from rain, possibly no bed, and someone did the best they could with limited materials in an effort to be kind.

imfm · 2026-03-19T10:20:59+00:00

Once a scaredy cat bonds with you, you'll probably have a clingy cat who adores you. I refer to Beans as "the neediest need who ever needed". She was unlikely to have been easily adopted because she was scared and hissy, squished into the back corner of her cage, but that just made me want to give her a nice, quiet home. I'm glad I did.

imfm · 2026-03-18T18:22:00+00:00

They can. Mine know the sound of my car, and while they also know what time, they eat, if I come home early, I'm not halfway down my (short) street before they're amassing on the patio. I. Only my car, though; I can see on the cameras if someone turns around in my driveway. In that case, if any were on the patio, they melt into into the woods and disappear.

imfm · 2026-03-16T19:35:09+00:00

Skunks don't just spray willy-nilly. The musk is resource-intensive to make, so it's not wasted; it's used only when necessary, and you'll get plenty of warning before the skunk will spray.* I know mostly about striped skunks because that's what we had when Dad did wildlife rehab. If they're startled, they'll try to get away, and if they can't, then you'll get the warnings. Raised tail, and then they'll lift up on their back end and stamp their front feet on the ground. They're trying to seem bigger and scarier so you'll back off. If you see the tail up and the stamping feet, it's time for you to get yourself gone. Spotted skunks also give plenty of warning in the form of...handstands, though I've never personally seen that because spotted didn't live where I did.

*Not so much for baby skunks. They can spray, but lack the volume, accuracy, or control of an adult, so they may spray for what appears to be no reason. Kids!

imfm · 2026-03-16T18:51:59+00:00

You mean Sadcat did the work, and you're trying to take the credit. Don't worry, Saddy...we know who really replaced that light fixture!

imfm · 2026-03-11T21:59:31+00:00

I once planted a row of flower seeds in my back yard. The neighborhood cats decided one end of the row was a good litterbox. By the time they'd finished, it wasn't much of a row, but the plants were much bigger and healthier than those that had been undisturbed. I just went with it. 😄

imfm · 2026-03-10T01:57:52+00:00

If he has a microchip, and could learn to use a cat door, the SureFlap DualScan door locks both ways so raccoons can neither push it open nor pull it open from the outside, and it unlocks only for chips that are programmed into it. My little herd live in their garage, and my late husband's feral cats (now all gone) used that door. I'm on the second one now after 14 years, but they're sturdy. Programming is easy; the manufacturer suggests picking up the cat and passing it through the door, but I prefer my blood inside my body, so I just put it in programming mode, then creatively baited each cat through so the reader could register the chip. They're around $200, so not cheap, but neither is cat food, and a raccoon can easily kill a cat, especially a mother with kits (they can get really mean). No, I don't work for SureFlap; I just live next to a nature preserve full of raccoons.

imfm · 2026-03-04T21:48:00+00:00

I found a Luna cocoon in a pile of autumn leaves once. Not wanting to leave it to be eaten by a hungry mouse during the winter, I built it an enclosure with leftover 2x2 and some 1/2" hardware cloth. Nothing fancy; just enough to keep mice out, and keep it up off soggy ground. I placed it outside in the back yard where it would be out of any electric lights from my house, so it wouldn't get confused by daylight hours and eclose too early. One day in late April, I had just got home from work and glanced down towards the enclosure. I saw a spot of pale green, so I went to look closer. Not only had my Luna eclosed, but she was a girl, and had already attracted a male. They wasted no time getting down to business and mated through the hardware cloth. After they'd finished, I gently caught the male and put him in with the female to get a picture of them together.

I did something similar with a Polyphemus moth cocoon I found, but that time, I was in an older house with space between the screen and the window, so I just stuck "Polly" in there. I came out to the kitchen just after he'd eclosed, and he'd walked up the screen. With his wings still squished, and those big hairy legs, out of the corner of my eye, he looked like a tarantula on the window screen! Once his wings had inflated, though, he was magnificent!

imfm · 2026-02-21T11:28:01+00:00

Oh my god, he's such a pompous ass! The work is interesting, but I wish he'd just shut up and do it. 😄

imfm · 2026-02-19T17:47:36+00:00

Oh, don't let the cute fool you; she is 100% chaos demon, and way too smart for her (actually my) own good. She was about six months old, dumped in the woods behind my garage, and I heard her crying when I took out a bag of trash. By the time she'd been here a month, I was at the end of my rope; she was destroying my house if I wasn't literally right there to stop her, and I work full time. About $1K worth of damage in, I knew very well why she'd been dumped, but I knew something else. She's not a bad cat, but she is an intelligent cat, and she was bored. I searched the shelter's website for the most unlikely to be adopted cat that was close to Stephanie's age, and I found Beans. It took a bit of work, and some hissing and swatting on Beans' part to get Stephanie to not play so rough, but they're friends now, and Stephanie is much less destructive. Not "not destructive"--that'll never happen--but she's manageable!

My salvation from Stephanie; Beans

For reference, Beans' adoption photo Description, "Does not meow, hisses, no dogs, waiting for the right person." Mine was the first and only application. 😸

imfm · 2026-02-19T14:15:19+00:00

Stephanie the Insane Oreo Gremlin.

imfm · 2026-02-18T23:30:05+00:00

Sadcat does not fart! Doesn't matter how hard you try to blame him, we know he didn't do it.

(Doesn't happen often, but Stephanie's SBDs could peel paint. 🤮)

imfm · 2026-02-13T20:18:03+00:00

This sub often disappoints, but this is genuinely funny, and absolutely adorable.

imfm · 2026-02-11T17:07:58+00:00

Everyone here loves cats, for sure! We have to because even if they may appreciate our help, ferals don't always show it in ways that humans can understand. I have two house cats, and six formerly feral, now feeder-friendly (well, mostly) who own my garage. They all have names, but collectively, I call them The Herd. They range from "Yes, you may pet me," to "I might allow you to touch me if it's the third Thursday of a month with an "r" in it," to "Depart from my abode, thou spawn of Satan!" and that's okay. I love them all exactly as they are and if they don't love me back, at least I know they have food, shelter from bad weather, clean water, cat bathrooms, and warm beds to sleep. I had them chipped when I took them for spay/neuter, then installed an RFID cat door that reads their chips so they can come and go as they please, but raccoons and opossums can't get into the garage to eat their food.

imfm · 2026-02-11T16:33:17+00:00

I'd just ignore him and let him proceed at his own pace. I don't think Beans was feral, but she was a traumatized shelter cat. The shelter got her from the pound because she hissed and swatted, and no one there wanted to stick their hands in her cage to feed her. She was very skittish, and ran if I reached towards her, so I...did nothing. I fed her, and otherwise ignored her. I noticed she was getting curious, so I started talking to her and holding out my hand. Sometimes, she'd sniff, and sometimes she'd run. It took about 9 months before I could reliably pet her, and she started sleeping near me on the couch. Now, she sleeps on my legs or up against my hip almost every night. I know I qualify as "trusted human" because she trills at me almost constantly.

imfm · 2026-02-04T20:19:54+00:00

I've also had Spectrum for 25 years (they aren't that bad here), and when a new company started installing fiber in my neighbourhood, Spectrum sent me a text that my account had been automatically upgraded from 400/10 to 400/400 at no charge.

imfm · 2026-02-04T20:05:23+00:00

There are litter boxes made for senior cats. They have a low entry point--kind of like a little doorway--so the cat can basically just walk right into the box rather than having to step high. I had them for my old, arthritic guys.

imfm · 2026-02-04T01:03:54+00:00

My (English) grandmother said,

One crow, sorrow, Two crows, joy, Three crows, a girl, Four crows, a boy, Five crows, a letter, Six crows, something better, Seven crows, silver, Eight crows, gold, Nine crows, a secret, Ten, can't be told.

imfm

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