How to make feline friends

Our sweet granddaughters are impulsive. No questions. At ages 20 mos. and 4 years, it's hard to have self-control.
Buster and Felix, my 9 month-old twin kittens, are getting used to them. Tons of treats help.
I gave Isabelle the jar of cat treats. Her sister was busy with other things. We were babysitting while Mummy and Papa were at Mummy's office Christmas party!

I love you, Felix!

You too, Buster!

She understands the idea of a toy on a stick!

I gave Isabelle the jar of cat treats.
Felix gave her much attention!

Scraping the bottom of the jar!

Even Buster began to get closer.

"Do you love me, Buster?"

Here we are: Camera Critters #195!

Skywatching sunset

After rain, freezing rain, and a lovely dump of snow, the skies cleared by sunset.

Skywatch Friday: Season 5, Episode 25

Hard to get good help these days!

It's been hard to watch the skies as we've had some cloudy days. Buster & Felix decided to help me shovel snow.

Buster chickened out. He stayed indoors.
It was pretty cold and windy.

I did the sidewalk, slushy snow/ice under 5 cm of snow.

Winter is here with a bang.

Felix looked at the snow-covered driveway.

He couldn't believe it!

He roared onto the snowy driveway,
then onto the lawn,
then pretended to climb a tree.

Felix wasn't much help. He went to the door, and asked to go in and I lost me helper. He isn't amused by the noisy snowblower!

Freedom Shifty-five! What a party!

And from my Dec. 26th birthday party!

big hugs!

 
From Josephine's Dec. 9th birthday!

Cat walkies in the snow!

Looks like the coyote has done a walk-through

Another morning walk with my twins in the forest. The snow, now about 10 cm, tells wonderful stories.

The Point – dead ends, as it is surrounded by wetland.
Now I can't make it to the end!

First we walked down to The Point. More work for me. A tree has fallen over. I'll have to get rid of that.

Too many distractions: sights, smells, sounds!

Buster & Felix come walkies

Even the coyote has to inspect the mouse hole.
The tracks are partially covered in snow.

Winter is here!

Crazy old Felix goes into the grassy knoll for mice friends.

I managed to get the drive cleared. Hooray for the snowblower. It only took me three tries to get the sucker started.

Strength

The world breaks everyone,
and afterward,
some are strong at the broken places.
–Ernest Hemingway

Many things in my life could have broken me.
I am strong when I see my granddaughter play with her crayons.

Memories of Christmas and a poem

Coyote? Wolf?

All is silent, in forest snowed

Felix!

Wildlife passed, our tracking showed
Grumpy cats, too cold, they mutter
Not content to watch birds flutter
They hunt mice friends under the frost
No wee critters can they accost
Off indoors, their paws ashaking
Happy birds with no more quaking

Under the tree our presents remain
Family's far, we must refrain
Remember well those days of yore
Children's laughter I did adore

wild turkey tracks

Now afar, the children are grown
Hearken well, most did phone!
Volume is up, Messiah plays
Remember well those good old days
Every note I have sung by heart
Concerts plenty we've taken part
Memories poignant they invoke
Modern, classical, to baroque
Candelight services, carols galore
Voices raised in song no more

exhausted after walkies!

Nanny cooks her turkey
(Anne Butt –nee Mallette, 1883 - 1978)

Extended family and parties grand
Turkey dinners Gramma planned
Dysfunctional – no we were not
Cousins arranged, food in the pot
Crackers popped, surprises are spread
Silly hats sat upon the head

New traditions now created
Sadly now Christmas belated
A day alone I shall survive
Tomorrow I turn shifty-five!

Silly hats upon our heads –1970

 Merry Christmas in many languages

Happy Hanukkah
Happy Kwanza
Season's Greetings
and Happy Holidays!!!!!

Wishing you a prosperous new year!

My father always did a lot of Christmas baking
This must have been 1958 or so. 

Christmas, 1980
Me, Caitlin (trying to suck her finger),
Serena (for whom I did Home Day Care)

Christmas, 1979
Caitlin wasn't happy with Santa!

Our 2001 Christmas Tree!

 

2001

Nanny's family tree

Deer collisions

  I have written much about safe driving, especially in winter, when deer congregate in winter feeding areas.

With the bucks rutting and the ladies running from them in the fall, then hunting for food in winter, it can be crazy.
There have been several deaths due to cars hitting deer. Deer weigh between 100 - 300 lbs., they are quite heavy beasts despite their nimbleness.

Able to leap tall cars in a single bound.

My favourite yearling, Tigger, bounces around the yard. He dances, bounds, jumps, leaps. Entertaining and worth his weight in deer feed!

Each detachment keep information about individual detachment collisions. One has to visit the Police Service Board at the local township office to find the information for each Township. But here is an article I read after a press release...

 Vehicle-wildlife collisions up in January
NorthernLife.ca

OPP warn about the hazards of driving at dawn and dusk, but especially between 6 and 9 p.m. Animals are on the move during the fall seasons (Oct., Nov., Dec.). Now they are desperate for food.  The story doesn't always end well for the driver. Seldom ends well for Bambi.

• Use your high beams. 
• Watch for unsafe passing conditions. 
• If you can't avoid hitting the deer, due to an oncoming car, then do better the deer than the car. 
• Look in the ditches, watch for deer in the headlights.

Many have posted information about avoiding deer collisions. Even EMS crews are not immune.
See EverydayEmsTips, for one post on how to avoid them.

storage shed/wood shed

While we have much lower stats in Ontario, our population is 1/10th of that in the US' 300 million...

When you consider the population of the US, the numbers are staggering.

Deer-Vehicle Collision Frequency Jumps 18 Percent in 5 Years

Sandy Smith wrote in 2009... 

Eating bird seed under the feeder

In 35 states there are 7,000 collisions a year. With an increase of cars on the road of 7%, New Jersey and Nebraska have posted the largest increase: 54 percent.  Kansas is next at 41 percent. Deer-vehicle collisions have jumped by 38 percent in Florida, Mississippi and Arkansas, followed by Oklahoma (34%) and West Virginia, North Carolina and Texas (33 %).

Using its claims data, insurer State Farm estimates 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the United States during the 2-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009 (100,000 per month).  That's 18.3 percent more than 5 years earlier.