Pond Study

 April 28 – grass fires, as well as rain warnings? It just petered out. Lots of tornadoes on the other side of the border. We had about 2 mm. 

In the frog pond a wood frog has laid these eggs. I took photos, as I'll watch as they grow and hatch into tadpoles!

This was an accidental photo, in that I was trying to get a photo of the Wood Frog eggs in the foreground, and ended up with this.

There are billions of mosquito larvae in the pond. BILLIONS! It seems as if it'll be a banner year. I can see water striders, faery shrimp, toe biters, as well as other wee things. 

fairy shrimp

toe biter

mosquito larvae

Happily, the toe biter was madly eating the mosquito larvae! You go!

 

ICE, phoebe, Barry beaver

The news is horrific. 🇺🇸 US Deportations are bad enough (<= I've a list), but to keep people in custody? Of course, ICE makes money off each inmate. ICE has a subsidiary, GEO, who makes money keeping prisoners in custody for the government. US tax dollars at work.

#47.   🇨🇦 Clayton Hermon "one of 58 Canadians being held by ICE as of March (CBC), according to U.S. government data."  

#47. Lack of food, healthcare, water, hygiene, medications...
He's been there 200 days. 
Three Canadians have been incarcerated for over a year. 

🐣 Back to nature. I checked the phoebe nest. Turns out they used some of the deer fur in the nest! 

There is one egg in it as of Sunday, April 26. Monday, there were two. They are tiny eggs!

May 11, 2013

🦫 Barry Beaver is really working on the tree he felled. Last week he took the upper branches down to the lodge. This week he is working on the tree trunk. I was thinking we might need a human crew to clear the path. We shall see!

April 19:

April 24: almost chewed through

The little dweeb avoided the camera in the dark. In the night it disappeared. No sign in 50 videos!

xxx

He's been working hard. Another tree is down.

Ditch diving, wood duck nest boxes,

That was a project! Ditch diving for Earth Day on Wednesday and Thursday. I finished up a bit sore. I had a volunteer gig in the afternoon, I thought I'd get it off the To Do List. One more bag and I was done.

I had cleaning out the Wood Duck nest box on my To Do list. Too late. Some one has moved in, or at least renovated and created a nest-shaped bowl in the wood shavings. I put the baffles on it after I did ditch diving. Mistake. I was too tired and forget to take a water bottle. Joe was there helping me, and he went up to the house to 'fetch a pail of water.' Just kidding. A water bottle was appreciated. I lay down on the ground for a bit until the dizziness passed. 

The baffles are a bit short. They don't meet around the tree trunks. It is important, since this year a duck has been in the box and created a round shape in the shavings. 

This was May 25, 2019. A neighbour watched a fisher go in her nest boxes and eat the eggs. It is a tough world.

 

I ran out of sheet metal to protect the nest boxes. Both raccoons and weasels like to raid the boxes. 

Then there was the year (2023) the Momma bear ripped apart my nest box 📹. It was 9 p.m., June 3. The batteries died, and I missed the action.

 

This was the 'BEFORE!' then the AFTER, I opened it up, and checked carefully. 

Peeking in, there were no eggs in there. 

 

Ironically we have had a warning about local bears from the OPP on Facebook: 

 OPP warn of bear activity after encounter near Port Elmsley 

Someone reported a Momma and cubs 4.7 km away. This isn't the real panic time. It's when they begin mating in May, Momma and the male bears are getting frisky. Both sexes chase away the two year olds and the young 'uns take off to look for a new habitat. 

I sent Joe Brian in to fetch me some supplies. I need for sheeting and new downspouts. He came back since town was crazy. Perth Festival of the Maples!

This is where I fainted. I left the wagon and ladder.  Back we went the next day, after Joe went into town.

That was as high as I could manage. It's not a pretty job, but the best I could do. 

The daffodil garden is now in bloom. 

Joe rested on his laurel afterwards, having tea in the sunshine.

Have a great week!

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.