The roof rake!

 Usually February is a good, solid, predictably cold month. None of the January melt/thaw/rain/snow/sleet stuff. It has been warmish. We began a melt Feb. 16th. I took these at bedtime. The snow was melting off the roof.

I used the roof rake here the next day.

It leans and weighs heavily.

Tuesday I had to use the roof rake. It is a handy tool. It just kept dripping and it was going to be cold overnight. It's heavy snow. 

Yes, I still have my lights on at dusk. The snow is knee-deep here and horrid walking. I will leave it for awhile.

Busy day!  Tuesday Joe had both foot care at 9, and a cancer treatment injection (Lupron) at 2:30. The nurse pokes him in his hip, but first he must drop his pants.

I went out to feed his deer, while Joe showered in preparation. They were happy to see me.

I could hear the blue jays going nuts, yelling like mad. I looked around, and there she was! Can you see her? 

I was not putting on snowshoes to go take a closer look. It'd been raining overnight, the driveway and sidewalk were icy. Owls are infrequent fliers, but I've lots of photos. This is from 2023:

Indoor play is important. Cinnamon has been enjoying playing 'snake' with me. 

We've got a storm approaching. The colours show a variety of precipitation approaching. Oh yay. Rain, snow, sleet or hail? 

Family Day in Ontario

I did Facetime with our Ottawa kids and our Vancouver kids! 

 ⛷️Jesse's girls roared off, eventually bored with our conversation. They've mostly settled into their new home. They have been skiing regularly, Jesse teaches the littles. He's doing a 15 km race in 'Master's' level. It's great fun. 

From there it was an Olympic marathon for us! We watched figure skating. It is so pretty, most of the time. I told Joe, I'd be afraid of someone chucking me up in the air like that. Good thing none of them could lift me! 😆

 

Standing on tippy toes!

  

I love the snow on their faces on a stormy day.

   

 You can see how the coyotes stick to the paths. It's much easier trotting. Still, he kicks up some snow as he trots.

   

 I was on my way to the frog pond trailcam, and forgot about this camera trap. 

  

Checking in!

 We've warmed up! It's -8 ℃. and I survived putting out the garbage at 6:30. It's Family Day here in Ontario. Provincial stores are closed, or have limited hours. Amazingly, we were at 5 ℃. on Valentine's Day. The sun feels warmer. 

Jordan is home from Uni, and they cooked for themselves while the parental unit went out on date night.

On Sunday they made taffy on the snow! 

Aster made herself a guitar from a kit! She's quite the skilled young person.

   

 Out west, atop a mountain, Cluny had a race. This was Jan. 25th. Hollyburn Cross Country Ski Club

 

A new week begins, we approach spring. The worst is nearly over. I content myself with feeding the birds.

Deer, Good Bunny Labbit, coyote

That was a night! I woke at 1:30, you know how that is. Sort of got back to sleep. By 4 a.m. the chirping of the smoke detector telling me its battery was low made me rise again! I couldn't a leg up on the chair.  Fetching the step stool I had success. Oh my. Joe supervised.

It was a lovely day on Saturday. The sun was out, and on the front deck it felt like 4 ℃, which is amazing! I tried to walk down to the frog pond trailcam, but the soft snow and I had a meeting. Back to the house for snowshoes!

I did this while Joe Brian was navigating the Olympics for our viewing pleasure. We get it on Rogers/Shaw cable: 144 Ottawa CBC; SNE 301 – 304; TSN 311; TSN 314. We check the Olympics website to see who is competing from Canada, or our favourite sports, and when. It is a marathon!

Yesterday there were 14 deer, and 3 turkeys hoping for breakfast. Their wishes came true.

There were several deer beyond the shed, 2 just down the hill.

More snow, just a skiff.

Happy dance when the sun came out.

Good Bunny Labbit visited again. Great that we have messy birds! I did toss a handful of deer food under the bears and the bench. I hoped she could eat in safety. 

Out walking I could see that our big coyote availed himself of the driveway. I grabbed the trailcam cards and ran indoors to upload videos and see if I could spot him. 

Can you see the snow bank? This is from our young man who plowed for us. Remember that hill! The coyote had to jump it. 

I feel like I achieved something. I caught him on 4 cameras. Eight seconds in you can see him jump up on said hill, don't blink. Then he appeared on the other cameras. 

 

Saturday's Critters

Happy Valentine's Day! We always had fun in school. Valentine's Day puns, games, puzzles, etc.

The deer still gather. Friday morning there were 15.

They are quite wicked with one another. They just figure out who is top dog deer and just glare when the hierarchy is fixed.  

 I haven't seen Good Bunny Labbit for a few days. It's been cold. She was eating deer food from under the feeder, as well as the bird feeder.

 

 

 I made my way to the trailcam in the forest. I was rewarded by this video. The turkeys murping or chattering. I've not had this on video before.

 

Saturday's Critters # 635 <= for more critters visit Eileen's blog.

Driveway clear out!

 Well, we had to buy a new printer/scanner. We use it a lot, considering we are retired! We scan a number of thing. It refills with ink bottles. We'll see how this goes. I did a print of an article I wrote on animal tracks, and the photos came out really well. 

We had the snowblower taken away, and it should be repaired next week. A part is on order. A new machine is about $3500! It's a great workhorse. 

Feb. 16, 2025!

Things can be quiet indoors. Not in the morning, as they roar around chasing one another. Nutmeg likes to sit on the railing, then jump down loudly on all four paws.

By night time, we hope we've worn them out.

The young man who did our driveway was terrific. In the dark, 8 pm! Very conscientious.

I wandered down the day before. There was a lot of snow from the snowplows. I couldn't even attempt it. 

We are free!

I did the steps twice Tuesday, once on Wednesday! Spring is coming! 

JL took Aster to the ski hill this week. She goes snowboarding while Papa skis. This is almost like being there, without the pulled muscles. 😏

We're having fun watching the Olympics. Again, with all the horrid news out there...  We wondered how they cleaned the half pipe. This way: