Circle of influence on Crumbly Acres

 Our circle of influence is small here. We are retired, don't socialize much, but we watch and discuss the horrific news. 

With the heat wave, going out is quite something. This isn't normal for June for us.

I sent Joe out for an early morning walk. It's good to keep moving. MiniFred kept an eye out!

The deerflies are out in full force. Cinnamon is not happy. He hunkers down in the garden.

Poor Cinnamon had a deerfly bite, I believe. I parked him on the table to have a look at eye level. He was fine the next day! 

Then, there are the poor deer! They really suffer.

 

I finally snagged a half-decent photo of the Scarlet Tanager! It took perseverance. He kept bathing in the water fountain, but the moment I stood up, off he flew!

We had a goodly dump of rain. It filled the goldfish pond. The fishies were happy. The water is collected in the water barrel, and drains into the pond. When we have rain!

Froggy seems happy.

Others didn't quite make it through the storm unscathed.Despite evacuations from campsites, there were three incidents I heard of where campers had trees blown on tents or trailers. Thank goodness for emergency responders. There was one death, another where a camper van was struck by trees and the man had his leg broken:

• Storm downs trees, knocks out power in Mattawa, Ont., area

a third remote rescue where

• Rescuers saw, paddle their way to badly hurt boy in Algonquin Park.

I do like this hanging basket. 

You may think me silly, but I left the Bugloss to bloom on the lawn. The Monarchs, when they fly south, like it. 

Look at the milkweed! The purple petunias are doing well, and smell wonderful.

Still no House Wren eggs yet. 

Bird nests galore!

 Phoebe seems to be thinking about another brood. They are hanging around eating bugs and singing love songs! 'Tis lovely. They don't seem to mind the heat wave. It is awful out there.

The House Wrens have filled the Bluebird nest box. They seem good to go. Soon they'll likely start filling the empty ones to stop neighbours moving in. I kinda like that!

Guinivere is guarding the Foxglove. I just spotted it.

🪺This is my non-mental note, there are two nests in the tree. I found the Red-eyed Vireo nest when I accidentally flushed momma from the nest. Next, I could hear the baby Robins shrieking for food. 

If you enlarge it, you may be able to see the little baby Robin's heads from time-to-time, but take my word for it.  

I realized this was last year's nest recycled. I should have looked for it. In past years the Robins have nested under the deck. 

Red-eyed Vireo eggs

The Cedar Waxwings have hatched, and they fly all around us. I quite like their little bandit masks! First up, a bath in the water fountain. 

I just wish Fred did a better job trimming the grass. 😆

After the bath, much grooming.

June 22, big storm

 That storm... 

We were asleep! 

June 22

June 23 - it's coming along

From July 22 to July 23. They are making progress.

Lightning strikes:

I know people along highway #7 had damage, power outages, and trees down. We were lucky.

#cdnpoli #onpoli #ottawa #ontario #toronto

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— Don Nadon (@donnadon.ca) June 23, 2025 at 9:04 AM

Time for relaxation

Yes, much is going on in the world. Flight Radar:

Hurricane Erick on NOAA

 

News Live

News Live the US has arrived

But there comes a time to turn it all off. 

It is so pretty. Not a fave of the deer, thankfully.

Snow-in-summer

I went for a haircut and pedicure. On the way in to the facility, the fragrance of the mock orange was just lovely. Their gardens are spectacular. 

It is very relaxing to turn off cell phones and be pampered.

Before:

I know, not much difference, but this is for summer! After:

It was a long afternoon, I wasn't sure I could do it and nearly cancelled, but all went relatively well despite the woman at the desk not checking me in for my pedicure after my haircut. They somehow misplaced me. I chose a hot pink, but I meant to go for a different colour. This caught my eye!

More relaxation, I finished reading a book by Canadian, Eliza Reid. She was the First Lady of Iceland, where she still lives. However, she attended the same high school our kids attended, a couple of years ahead of them. 

The setting is Iceland, and it was a great read, learning about another country.

Eliza was doing a book tour and was interviewed by Teddy Wilson, who also attended the school back in the day.

 

Teddy wrote on Instagram:

Cool + surreal to intvw high school pal (& my trumpet partner in band! 🎺 🎶) the very accomplished & rad @elizajeanreid, on @yourmorning about her new novel - #DeathOnTheIsland! (Already a best seller!!) 📖 📚 📺 💙