Git yerself outta the gutter!

 I needed to clean out the shed eavestrough. An annual chore. 

The easy part was getting the ladder out and up. Next, I waited for Joe to come home. 

ladder up

Up I went. I have bad knees, and once I made it to the top, I couldn't step-up knee-up! I thought I might just turn around and sit, then stand up. I got stuck. My big butt! I laughed so hard, as my attempts increased. 

Joe could barely look, fretting, but he was moral support. Bless him, he was too worried to laugh with me. I was roaring. 😆😜😹 Picture me, my butt stuck between the ladder prongs. I had to turn around and back up the top rung. It was filled with dead leaves and pine needles. My gloves were a mess. 

The Aspen trees still have some leaves. Poor Joe was cold. I was tromping around and heated up.

I need to reshingle the wood shed part of the roof. (Non-mental note.) 

The previous owners seem to have reshingled the top roof. Not the lower one. It's falling apart. 

ladder down

I was a bit stiff by the time the ladder was put away. Walkies were a good idea. The frog pond is good with several inches of water.

We've more rain on the way. I'm glad the shed is done. 

It'll be indoor play today. At least I think it's rain. Could be snow. Snow tires go on next week! It is November, and this is the way it goes.

Rain gauge & water pump

Rain Gauge

We had rain for a couple of days in a row. It was too bad for the kids going out to trick-or-treat. 

I'm glad I didn't drain the water barrel. The fresh water is good in the goldfish pond. We've a few frogs in it. I want them to be able to hibernate.

 I enjoy keeping track of rainfall. Stratus is the gauge I have used for years. It is 'built to US Weather Service standards.' Some of the professionals have them. The first one I bought is from 2015.

2015

 

I taped it for a few years. The tape just falls off. The funnel keeps falling out of line. Which doesn't matter too much, as it captures it at the bottom. But in the dark, in a rain storm, it is irritating!

I've dropped it, on very cold days, and cracked my original kit. I've cracked the larger cylinder, too.

I put it on my wish list one year. It was available from Lee Valley Tools. No more. Looking for a new one, the prices shocked me. (Have you heard about tariffs?!) Yes, the consumer pays them.

This is about what we paid awhile back, this one isn't available. I clicked on the link, and it gave me a 404 message. They are out of stock, I suppose.

Once I began searching for it, it would pop up in my google ads, of course. But I'm not shopping at Walmart or Wayfair anymore. Not with tariffs, and billionaires profiting off the items.

Wayfair

Even on American sites it is out of stock.
With the exchange rate, it would be $65.85 CAD, plus shipping.

Amazon

Also Amazon. A knock-off, methinks.
That, I do not trust.

I ended up doing a better job of my repair. Several layers of clear packing tape. Whatever that doohickey is named around the rim reinforced it. 

Bird bath

Another problem with Amazon. I am trying to avoid it, going to the publisher or manufacturer's websites directly. Canada doesn't make these products, though. There was a simple pump that lasted 10+ years. The pumps helps stop mosquitoes laying eggs in the water. They like still water.

I first bought it in 2020, and then in 2023. It lasted two years. Not bad for something that lives in water 24/7. We have terribly hard water.

I ordered a replacement pump/light from Amazon. 

This is what they sent. No fancy LED lights. I have complained, twice. Once to the seller, once to Amazon. They don't seem to care. 

They can't get it right. Some weirdo seller. That's up to me. I should have checked it out. I am culpable.

Crumbly Acres Critters

The bird feeder is going full tilt. I change it up over the winter. Here it is for now. I'm hoping the bears are close to denning up. 

The Blue Jays concentrate on the one at the left. They half emptied it during the day. 

Downy woodpecker:

The globe feeder is for the smaller birds. The big ones can't get in. 

Goldfinch: 

The mourning doves like to line up on the branch. 

The cardinal is peckish, as well. No sign of the female.

I don't know if this is #75. We have two Gray Squirrels, black morph. This one was under the feeder.

 I am quite behind on my videos. It's hit or miss. Feast or famine. Drought or flood. 

If you watch the video, you can see the bunny beside the tree, the deer staring at it. Then Labbit hopped up the driveway. It's two clips from two trailcams.

 

We've had a pair of coyotes hanging about. On the driveway and in the forest.

   

 The fisher was back. Two days in a row.

 

We had rain!

 It was disappointing, but very entertaining. The team doesn't have a lot of money, but they have heart. 

The Blue Jays’ inspiring playoff run captured the imagination of Canadians. As the Jays advanced in the playoffs, Canadians came to believe in the power of positivity & unity. Let’s carry that spirit with us in the days, weeks, & months ahead as we face serious challenges as a nation.  – Geoffrey P. Johnstone

We had rain for a couple of days last week. It's too bad for the kids going out to trick-or-treat. A total of 68.84 mm (2.61") over two days. 

I did a walkabout. 

Cinnamon was spooked, and stayed on the top step.

Non-mental note: fetch the ladder and clean out the leaves.

It's lovely when the sun is out, even if it is chilly.

Saturday's Critters

It's been busy here. Lots of leaves to blow. I'm trying not to run the critters over. 

The bedstraw hawk moth caterpillar (so says iPhotos) was crawling across the driveway, as well as the Isabella Wooly, and a giant leopard moth. 

bedstraw hawk moth↕

wooly bear

The barred owl watched me. I heard it calling from where I was in the meadow and found it.

Coyotes come and go, talking of Michelangelo.

   

 We had 8 deer visit. 

   

 Deer to the right of us, deer to the left...

 

Butch Oct. 24

 

Saturday's Critters # 620 <= visit more critters at Eileen's blog.