Momma Fred and MiniFred

 I was standing on my driveway, taking a break from ditch diving, and spotted a groundhog running from the right to left across the highway. There were two cars oncoming, and another coming towards the critters. It made it, but I did startle. It was fast, but I did gasp.

BIG NEWS! 

We still have two Freds! I think Momma Fred is at the wood shed. She was doggy digging at the hole. The dirt was flying!  There will be a hill if I don't remove some of it!

FRED by the shed: 

MiniFred over the septic bed:

 Momma Fred is at the shed.

MiniFred was eating grass here.

Fred is excavating (renovating?) the burrow under the shed. I tossed the rocks away, as I am sure I don't want to run over them when I bring the lawn tractor out of the shed. 

April 2nd vs. April 24.

Clearly this is Momma Fred, with obvious teats.

More dirt on the pile.

I got rid of the extra dirt. I don't need a hill when I back the lawn tractor out.  She sat here, taking a break for a good while.

She had more work to do in the wood shed, burrow #2.

MiniFred is excavating and redecorating the burrow in the side of the hill. There are two exit/entrances.  

#1 and #2:

Dig #4 burrow

2025 in burrow #3 under the deck

MiniFred is vigilant, doing 'bear' to look for predators.

Saturday's Critters

 We are coming to the end of seeing some critters. The deer have dispersed to their summer yards.

The fisher bops in and out of the trailcams.

I have neglected some of the critters. In the forest both a raccoon and fisher.

   

 Soon the bird feeder will be put away. 

   

 Barry Beaver has been... nocturnal! 

   

 Skunk on the driveway! 

   

I think it went all the way to the backyard! There was a raspberry cane in the frame. Rookie error.

 

 Butch was after the pumpkin from last fall. They will eat anything! One of them climbed up on the deck looking for more. 

   

 Fred is happy to see the green grass! 

 

Saturday's Critters # 645 <= visit more critters at Eileen's blog.

Earth Day 2026

It was Earth Day. I went ditch diving in celebration. The problem with this stuff is that if people see someone else has treated the land badly, they follow suit. There is a man who goes around and picks up beer cans and bottles to claim the return $. I'd give him a bag to pick up the rest for me!

I found a wee ribbon snake in the ditch. Such a cutie, with lovely colours.

Look at what I spotted. Two heavy duty garbage bags. I could barely lift them up the hill. 

I left them on the side of the road, and sent an email to the township to let them know. I wasn't happy standing there. The traffic is fast. 

Clean ditches!

One bag full. Am I ever tired! There didn't seem to be as much garbage as in previous years. Then I remembered I'd only done 1/2 of the distance I wanted to do. 

In April, 2024, the kids helped me Spring ditch diving! Last year I had three bags full. Earth Day 2019 I gathered up 7 bags of garbage, but I went farther up the highway that year. 

I went back out Thursday, and finished up the other half. I ended up with two bags total. All of the highway on our frontage has been done. I was exhausted, scrambling up the sides of the hill. 

What a day!

 

Catching up with this and that

 The 'new' deck! Hunter rebuilt it for us. I shall stain it if we ever get some consistently warm weather.

We continue with the ribbon game in the bathroom. 

You know in animal rehabs and zoos they put stuff out as intellectual stimuli for the critters. Somebody went to the bathroom. Nutmeg was patiently waiting for Joe Brian to slide the ribbon under the door. So funny. I went to powder my nose and left the door ajar. She peek around at me to see if I was playing. 

We've had cold nights and warm days. In the warmth, the moths were out, then they thought better of it as it got cold!

Fred has been happy with green grass. 

She is vigilant.

I mistakenly filled the fountain too early! 

The early Spring flowers are almost in bloom. 

Daffodils, two days apart:

Lenten Rose, Hellebore 

Sweet little crocus:

My middle 'child' did a 10k run in Vancouver. I am most proud of him. I have explained to him that once you hit 40 it is all downhill! He is proving he is good. He turns 43 in May!  Joe Brian says, 'The first 60 years are easy!'

Bryony turned 8 yesterday. We spoke on the weekend when Jesse had 5 minutes to talk! She explained that they are having Student-led conferencing, and her friend will be late to her birthday party. They are so precious! 

Flag pole topper

 I've been busy. I took time figuring out how to put it back up. It took a new lag bolt. It's not a bird house, although the birds like to sit on top of it. Like all of us, it needed a new coat of paint and some glue to hold it together.

Broad-winged hawk from last summer, and brown-crested flycatcher. 

 

I've repainted it, and it looks better. I painted myself for good measure! 

The trick was to put the railings in. I tried gluing them, but it was a cold day. 

It was tricky figuring out how to reattach it to the flag pole. Can you see how the railing fell off? I reglued it, swung it up, and hoped for the best. 

VOILA! This is a heavy 6 x 6" pole. It is tricky! It is easier putting it back up than bringing it down. There are three rebar 'bolts' and I remove two, pivot it on the remaining one.

I hurried to repaint it and put it back up. I know the House Wrens liked the nest box in previous years, video. 

Look who I heard outside! A potential customer. (Summer photo!)

It's a lousy image, but the song from this little thing!