Crumbly Acres Cottontails and Cervidae

 We made it to the dentist. I was a bit worried about impending snowfall or ice rain. Turns out it was just snow, and not until we returned home around 4. We'll have some clean up today! 

Not too much snow. And I spotted the slow plow driving by. We should be good.

Hoppy Cottontail

I've been watching Labbit. I'd forgotten we had two one winter (Jan. 14, 2022). They blend in with the garden rocks! 

I snapped a photo of these tracks. She used the same path (the driveway), coming and going. I liked the pattern. 

Down go her front paws, with the hind legs giving her the oomph. 

It was a Wordle word! Seriously?

Cervidae  – hoofed ruminant ungulate (AKA deer!)

Joe Brian has been watching this doe. He is calling her Lefty, as she has twisted her back left leg. Proof of life!

A great surprise Monday morning was to see a buck out the kitchen window. He's lost an antler. We had a big snow or I would have gone out to look for the shed antler. Usually they drop later in January, but it has been cold. Testosterone has been diminishing.

One year (Jan., 2014), I found five antlers. It was a really cold winter, and 5 bucks hung around, which was unusual. I weighed the antler.

457 grams

We don't often have the bucks, but here was Tigger on Jan. 15, 2018. The females stick together, for the most part. 

Then there was Jake, in Jan., 2017.

Back to the present. The fawn was nibbling at the evergreen needles. That's how they get snow on their foreheads!

I love this fawn. It reminds me of Tigger, back in the day. Tigger must be long gone. This one bounces around, looking for trouble. There is a hierarchy, and the older males are boss, then the older females. Everyone knows their place.

   

Crumbly Acres: embrace winter

They are delightful to watch. They surround the house in the morning.

I noticed they were after my rhododendrons! 

My mistake was leaving the pumpkins in the middle of the garden. 

 

They were eyeing the bird feeder.

Their fur coats are amazing!`

The poor rhodos... I think they ate the one bud, and most of the leaves. I am not confident about spring blooms!  

 

I wrapped them up for protection. December was a bit of a shock, as well as November. I wasn't ready!

🥶 Monday morning, -17 ℃. and I drove the garbage the 100m to the highway pickup. Bbbbrrrrrr!

🛷  🏂  ⛷️  🛷  🏂  ⛷️ 🛷  🏂  ⛷️ 

It is good to be able to embrace winter. Our Ottawa kids went tobogganing, after a ski afternoon last week. Jordan is back at university. Aster back to gr. 10 and exams this month! 

Our Vancouver family are embracing winter after their big move to a new house and a run in their panto theatre.

Cluny:

Bryony racing:

Cluny watching Bryony race!

Meanwhile, I did the driveway once. Joe did the sidewalk. Twice. it's good he can do it. He has had a rotator cuff injury since March, 2020. 

I looked like Frosty snowman when I was done. 

It's not so bad doing it in the sunshine, after the snowfall. That did not happen Monday.

Crumbly Acres Camera

 I researched my issue with the camera lens.  It stopped working. Full stop. I cleaned the contacts three times (I found a Youtube video), and it did nothing. It's a fairly old lens. The body of the camera was used, from our local camera shop. There is a used camera store near us, and I bought a second hand lens. Yippee. [Canon 28-135 zoom lens #4302341F] I am happy to support a local business person.

To test the lens, I checked out the new off-leash dog park. We often drive by, and see half a dozen dogs and owners frolicking in the enclosure. Fresh air, and exercise! Socialization for humans and dogs.

I was quite pleased with it. This is my old camera body with the big zoom lens. The latch doesn't work for the battery and SD Card and the door always pops open. What the heck. I tape it down if I need to.

Tiberius guards it.

Mourning doves (23!), cardinal (3), chickadees, downy woodpecker. Proof of life, world peace for a moment. 

We're back to 'normal' in the house. Everyone is back to school and work. Except for us old farts. The Ottawa Canal is open for skating. This is both early, and unusual. We've had so much Climate Change. 

I'm off to put out the garbage. We in Ontario are moving to a provincially-controlled recycling system. The theory is that it will be up to manufacturers to pay for this. We shall see! They have tried a bunch of things, our Premier, and the licence plate fiasco was a good example. They couldn't be seen at night. 

[General ​Provincial gov't info   |    ​Pamphlet (PDF)]  

It is -17 ℃ and I think I will drive it out. We had an ice storm last Monday. There are extra bags.

Cold on Crumbly Acres

What a crazy way to being the new year. Our local two hospitals have gone to an orange code. Flu is everywhere.

The map shows Ontario's respiratory virus test results.

 

More snow! I decided a snowshoe trek would be just the thing. There are lots of tracks from Labbit. We had more snow Jan. 3rd.

This is to remind me of Labbit's visitation. 

She is borrowing Fred's burrow. I could see dirt around the entrance. Fred and Fred's daughter are hibernating.

Fred has dug 6 burrows over the past few years. 

There was frost at the other opening. This is the location in the side of the hill.

At the property marker in the forest I found a piece of orange tape, meant to mark the marker. I think the coyotes have been having fun. Little twerps!

Out back I spotted vole tracks in the snow. Where the tracks stop, the rodents burrow under the snow. I checked it out.

It reminds me of that movie with the sand worm: Dune, I think. Only in miniature. And in snow.