Saturday's Critters

 Can you see him?! 

 Fred has been weeding.

  

Fred has been excavating. He's been busier than Barry Beaver! Barry hasn't been seen since we had the path cleared!  This is his new hole, 6A. 

I peeked over the edge into the corner looking for Fred, and I found a large Milk Snake. They get to be 1.3m long. This one was a good size. We don't have poisonous snakes here, and it was quite fearful. 

The critters have been busy. The red fox continues to patrol for leopard frogs, while she can.

 

 She likes to patrol the backyard.

   

 Even porcupine has been through, attracting 6 billion moths. 

 

Saturday's Critters # 662 <= Many critters to visi.! Eileen is our faithful host!

Flora and fauna

 We made it to Friday, again! I am still getting my head around being retired. Isn't that ridiculous?! I retired in 2007. Others are achieving great things in old age, it's great if you have your physical, mental, social and emotional health. I'm just not good in groups anymore.  I don't have to be productive. 

I've been trying to find a home for this executive portfolio. I used it so often, taking it to endless meetings. I've sat on so many boards, executive positions, union steward, and such. 

I am trying not to rush Autumn. The garden is in that strange stage, just a few flowers left. The birds are beginning to migrate. The Monarchs are about to take their long trip to Mexico. 

Sure enough, it turned dark Wednesday. Thursday it eclosed.

Here you are, A/C! 

Aug. 26, 2019  

The Asiatic Lilies have such a fragrance! The hummingbirds like them, too.

 

Summers of the past

July 2021 ↑   how they grow!

My veggies are done. A couple of zucchini plants, two hanging baskets of cherry tomatoes, and a basil plant I gave to the kids. (I wasn't using it!)

Out back, the daffodil garden is still going well. I chucked something out here. Maybe squash? It won't have time to grow and ripen. Looks pretty though.

Dinner plate Hibiscus! 

I've been reading on the back deck, and taking time to sketch. 

Fall is in the air!

Chilly mornings...  I posted yesterday about finding two Monarch chrysalis. Yesterday afternoon I checked on it, and it is turning dark. That means it should eclose today! 

Something knocked over the branches of the hydrangea! I'd say Butch or Fred. Who knows?!

Soon the Freds will slumber! In the meantime...

Aug. 3, before I readjusted the angle of the camera.

   

 I don't know if Fred is teething! He's chewing on a carpet.

 

This was 13 years ago! This feeder eventually fell apart.

 

People on a nearby lake have complained that a bear knocked their bird feeder over.  I learned not to feed birds in summer here! Here we were in 2017!

This was a two-year-old sent away to find his own territory.

Ah, memories!

🛩Sad news.  UPDATE: Aug. 20

Missing pilot found dead in aircraft submerged in lake in Kawartha Lakes region, OPP says

What a job these people do. Heroes doing search and rescue. There was no transponder in this home-built plane. 

Summer days

Things are winding down for summer. Leaves are thinking about giving it all up for a rest. Cool nights and warm days have been heavenyl.

🛩 Look for the helpers

I've been following the search for a small, home-built plane: ✈Search & Rescue, lost in Kawartha Lakes. They found debris in Wolf Lake. It'll be OPP Search and Rescue that will have to canoe in (?) and try to find him. It is terrible territory for searches. Local camps are offering support and resources. I am curious to know who found it, in pieces in a lake. So sad. Each red square is a QE II Park campsite. 

Wolf/Victoria Lake - QEII Wildlands

Little, teeny garter snake was looking at our black cat art piece! 

 Proof of life: Auntie Fred (left) and MiniFred by the lilac tree. Auntie was in a brood of 4 last year. So was MiniFred, this year. I think Momma is gone. I wonder and worry about them all. 

The sky was quite something as I popped into the library. I like the flowers, maintained by volunteers, but the sky!

Nutmeg does 'turtle.' She likes to watch TV this way. We're into the latest season of Professor T. 

It's been a slow year for monarchs. I've had several caterpillars, but I don't know if MiniFred has eaten them or not. He likes to eat milkweed. Obviously, one escaped and managed to build a chrysalis! I have to work on photographing this one. It is tricky with the bright sky and dark wood.

I found a second one!

I was in mind of the one who created its chrysalis here on frog! (August, 2019) See it on its chin?!

Some people raise them for release. I am dubious about this, though. I'm not sure they are viable if they are raised indoors. Port Carling library, July 8, 2010:

I managed to use the power washer the kids loaned me. I moved the metal hanging bracket here to the back, as I can't put anything on it at the front. It sets off the camera. 

Another rain storm on its way. The gutter drains into the goldfish pond through the water barrel. It is full. I've two water lilies in bloom. They stand so tall since the water has been high and low. 

Here is to the last days of summer. I do enjoy them. water lily,

MiniFred seems to be cleaning up the front garden. It's only milkweed and native sunflowers. He likes them!

 

He is getting chunky. It is hard to believe that he was born this year. This was Aunty Fred and siblings last June. They grow up so fast!

Book Review: Last Call

Sometimes you pick up a book and wonder... This was quite the read.  

It is a novel about addictions, and trauma, and what family and friends go through. I found it illuminating. I nearly couldn't finish, but persevered. It was heartbreaking, what people go through. People are quick to judge, and this really helps people understand. There is so much negativity around addictions. People are quick to judge. This let's those of us on the peripheral to better understand the hows, and the whys, and the nature of addiction. 

It is a story of redemption. I am glad I read to the end. 

 Fundraiser for Manie Daniels Centre in Maberly taking place ... 

Former drug user to open rehab centre in Lanark County - CBC 

Last Call is a story of redemption. It follows the life of Tommy Boyle, an addict whose life has spiralled to a low bottom and seems to have lost all meaning. The story is told by a third party unrelated to the events within the novel. He is a man named Joe who receives what is to be the last in a series of calls Tommy Boyle is making from a pay phone to members of his family. Joe was never meant to be the recipient of the call but the call would impact him forever.

Book Review: Caller Unknown

 What a great read! A new publication, 2026, I devoured it.

I finished it on the back deck, glued to my chair. It is a novel that is very much centred around the mother/daughter bond. I found that something to give me food for thought. 

She writes of cognitive dissonance. When we visited Jordan at university, it was very strange. How quickly they grow up, more so than one's own kids. The big question is, what would you do for your adult child? I found it riveting. A good read.

Gillian McAllister has a great body of work