Chaos on the front deck

The front deck is a lovely spot to sit.  Joe Brian has been having an afternoon pipe here.

Butch raccoon visited us in the night! Those opposable thumbs...

They look so benign in the night in the forest. But let your guard down and you are doomed! 

Cinnamon was wary in the morning... 

I still have the one remaining bird feeder up. I brought it in last night, since I had a bear on the trailcam on the back 40. He didn't appear on any of the other trailcams. He is a good bear.

In between cleaning the garage, I would rest on the back deck. It was a hot one.

We set out some things at the road for someone to pick up. The big thing was the log splitter. I've tried to sell it or pass it on and failed. Someone could use it. I can barely move it. At my age it is best to hire younger people and the professionals for these projects.

We put it out after the garbage and recycling was taken. People can use this stuff.

Things are heating up.

We were sitting on the back deck when a pair of swallows began to circle the flag pole. They didn't come back. I was disappointed.

Phoebes have hatched 5/5 eggs!

Life goes on! 

Smiths Falls Airport Incident GLDD

OPP having difficulty locating the plane - Pinging Phone and transponder

Word is they found the  pilot and the plane 1.5 hours later at 10:26 p.m.

I spotted this plane as I took a break from gardening. They are frequent flyers! 

May 17, 9:35 a.m.

Morning flight

9 p.m. our time, CBC and the police have reported on it. The pilot was injured, just minor injuries.

Took off at 10:12 a.m. UTC
landed UTC 10:52 a.m.

Happy Victoria Day!

It's May 2-4, and it is planting season.

 The hummingbirds continue to feed and fight over the 4-hole hummer feeder! Not to mention the various birds that try the feeder, like the goldfinch! 

Vulture migrate from our region. Joe Brian and I sit on the back deck and watch them. We are happy to see them soaring on the winds up above. My cue is to say, "Look alive!" as they only eat dead things. 

Bleeding hearts are in bloom in my garden, as well as the Downy Yellow Violet in the forest.

Cinnamon and I went walkies! I'll bet the coyote peed on this stump. Cinn was very keen on it.

Barry Beaver is losing water to evaporation in his wetland river. Since I wrote this, we had a nice dump of rain.

I left Cinn sniffing, then called him to resume our walk. He's been very hesitant to go out in the forest alone. This is a good thing. He'll just sit on the deck and watch Fred and MiniFred. He roars across the lawn, out in the open with me.

The Aspen is close to falling. Oopsie, it fell since I wrote this. I could hear it creaking. More on this later. 

This fearsome critter triggered the trailcam. Yogi claims I am the Trailcam Queen! Well, it is a passion of mine. I think I look more like a rabid golfer! 

The camera is a little too high methinks. The deer was curious.

The deer should be giving birth soon, if they haven't already. I spotted a new born fawn on on the camera last year. Life goes on. 

 May 10th...

   

 In the meantime, there are issues between Fred and miniFred. They are solitary, and Fred doesn't want to share her deep burrows. It's going to be a tense summer, I think.

 

I got so much gardening done Sunday. I put my feet up, and Joe fetched us a pizza. He did all sorts of chores indoors. 

It was an astonishing day!

. Firstly, I was waiting for my coffee to brew. Cinnamon and I were on the back deck. We heard TWO barred owls calling to one another. Back and forth, deep in the forest, down the hill. Now, I could have gotten dressed, it was a cold 10 ℃, but I thought I'd just leave them alone. I have photos!

June, 2014

 

Friday I'd found owl mute, and searched around. I found an owl pellet. I brought it up to the house to dissect it. Too bad the grandies aren't around to see it! 

Barred owl hoots twice, robin harasses her! June, 2016:

Standing on the back deck, still waiting for coffee, Cinnamon had his head poked out between the glass. A hawk of some sort swooped by, right under our noses. You should have seen Cinn's eyes! Big and wide, and greatly concerned. He's been watching the phoebes coming and going. As well as Fred.

It was silent, and glided on by. Grabbing my camera, still in housecoat and jammies, I threw on my clogs and ran around the house. All I found was a red squirrel, sitting twitching its tail. Very concerned. That'd be breakfast for a hawk.

I am thinking it was the broad-shouldered hawk. There aren't many photos of hawks from above them, on a fly by, but I distinctly recall the black and white stripes. 

Also Friday, there was a pair of Brown Thrashers in the lilac tree. Horrid photo with my iPhone, but proof of life! You can sort of see them. Happily they were calling, which helped me spot them.

The bird bath has a new pump. It took me 10 minutes to find the pump. It was still in its box. Ah, old age!

The fountain is working in the goldfish pond. This keeps the mosquitoes out of it, as they don't like moving water.

I have my tractor back! All cleaned up, mouse nest removed, new oil, so I toodled around the back. 

Today I'll plant a few things that are hardy. It's been chilly. Caitlin and Aster planted Saturday. Jordan came back to town Saturday for a trivia tournament. 

Jordan posted his first year report: GPA 3.9! Darn good! We're so proud.

Why do governments do a census?

My youngest kid works for StatCan.

There are some ignorant people who don't know why we do a census. 

This is the perfect summary:

This isn’t the self-own you think it is.

[image or embed]

— Mark Gerretsen (@markgerretsen.bsky.social) May 10, 2026 at 3:51 PM

Saturday's Critters

 I enjoy critters both large and small. OK, maybe not the bugs, but we have to take the good with the bad. 

 

 

The big moths are now out and about.

   

 The snakes are coming out in the daytime and the sunshine. Otherwise, they are now where to be seen! They run in fear. 

   

 There are small achievements that keep me happy. I managed to capture the quick red fox on three cameras. It begins in the back, on my Wifi camera. Then it runs so quickly by the Crumbly Acres camera that I had to slow the clip down. Finally, my Gardepro catches it on the driveway. Can you believe how fast they are?

   

 The Osprey are back and sitting on nests. They eat fish and snakes, and such. The wetland water doesn't have any fish. I am fascinated.

They continue to visit the wetland. Sound up, if you are curious!

   

 I was having a hard time keeping up with the nuthatch in its nest, climbing up the tree! "A day late and a dollar short!"

   

 Out back, under the great pine tree, a pair of Brown Creepers. Sound up, again. They were happy to entertain me while shopping for snacks. (The birds, not me!)

 

Saturday's Critters # 648 visit more critters at Eileen's blog!