Another deer update!

This isn't for the faint of heart.
I told the story about the carcass we found beyond out mailbox. Not knowing what to do, I buried it beneath some dirt. I knew it wouldn't do much, but with Hurricane Sandy arriving, there wasn't much time.   
Yes, covered it with dirt, and hoped for the best.
Yes, totally inadequate. Hoping for a solution later as the MNR doesn't haul them away.
I went to fetch the newspaper on Wednesday morning and no carcass. It had been hauled away back into the sumac bushes. You can see the drag marks.
It wasn't a small one. I was amazed.
All that remains of the remains are a few tufts of fur, only one small piece with hide attached.
Then I found a few bones, then a leg, including the hooves.   

More searching, and I found scat, with a ton of fur in it.
Not only that but some nice big tracks about 4" wide. And I was worried about the vultures going to it and having to see the body every day!

Deer collisions S.E. Ontario: Mississippi Mills on the increase

Our faithful OPP patrol the roads, but they cannot prevent stupidity.

While I have expressed concerns about reckless speeding, illegal and unsafe passing, and people following closely enough to examine the contents of my trunk, another factor, deer collisions, continues to be on the increase in some places.

Habitat loss, hunting season, rutting season, all cause them to be on the move. 

Happy hauntings and pumpkins!

Our local gas station, Gore St. & Scotch Line, always has a pumpkin carving competition.

They asked me to cover it, and I was glad to do so! They have a great spirit at the store.

Little lights inside the pumpkins help add to the spookiness.

From Hallowe'en Photos

The eyeball has my vote!

Last year's competition!

From Hallowe'en Photos

 Westport has a competition for Hallowe'en decor on the part of store owners.
 Many pumpkins for sale in these here parts! 

Port Carling G8 Signage

Before G8

After G8 Funding

ZOMBIE BEES - have you heard of them?

WHAT ARE ZOMBEES?

They are honey bees that have been parasitized by the Zombie Fly Apocephalus borealis. Fly-parasitized honey bees become "ZomBees" showing the "zombie-like behavior" of leaving their hives at night on "a flight of the living dead." 

Read their discovery paper

Pretty bizarre behaviour. Normally they do not fly at night. I've had huge bumblebees in a groundhog hole in a nest near my veggie garden back in the olden days. It was a trick to try to work with them there. The guard bees would buzz me.

ZomBee Watch was initiated as a follow-up to the discovery that the Zombie Fly Apocephalus borealis is parasitizing honey bees in California and possibly other areas of North America. The Zombie fly lays the egg in the bee, the maggot emerges, pupates and then becomes a new Zombie Fly Adult. You can (of course!) watch a video of all this.

 Honey bees infected by the Zombie Fly leave their hives at night and are attracted to nearby lights where they become stranded and eventually die. The presence of fly larvae in up to 18% of active foragers in some California honey bee hives makes the Zombie Fly a potential contributor to hive declines.

Wawa, Ontario - floods and damage

Don't forget Wawa, in the precursor of Hurricane Sandy.

A beautiful town, they have had floods and terrible damage a few days before Hurricane Sandy.

Smack in the middle of the western boundary of Ontario, it is truly a tragedy for all.
Visit here for the photos:
Wawa Now | State of Emergency – News, Photos, Updates

Read more about Wawa on Wiki

They have created a webpage that shows the terrible damage on the highways, from bird's eye views. A major highway, cross Canada highway. Many of us have used it to go from the south to the west of Ontario.
Wawa, Ont., damage from rain may exceed $10M CBC.ca‎ - 19 hours ago
The destruction that heavy rain caused in the northern Ontario town of Wawa is worse than feared, the community's mayor says, after the freak...

The Municipality of Wawa made a Declaration of Emergency late Thursday evening (Oct. 25th) due to heavy rainfall in the area. The Ontario Provincial Police notified the Municipality and travelers on Highway 17 that the highway was closed in both directions near Catfish Creek while Highway 101 east of Wawa had also been closed due to flooding. The Municipality of Wawa determined that Tremblay Flats Road had sustained severe damage and it was closed to all traffic at about 11:00 p.m. last night while Infrastructure Services crews attempted to address the issue. 

 All I can offer up, beyond my sympathies, are photos I took on our visit to this most beautiful part of Ontario on June 23rd, 2009.

First Female Miners in Ontario

1st Female Miner in Ontario
-there was a marvellous tribute
to a grandmother who helped forge the town.

Fungus on pump stump

The pond was active a few days ago.

You can see the bullfrog and leopard frog in the water! 

Without a hard frost to date, the fungus is blooming!

Canada's Weather Office - great satellite images!

She's a comin', Hurricane Sandy!  Its weather service--the Meteorological Service of Canada--has been doing this since 1871.

18:15 Saturday, Oct. 27

12:15 Saturday Oct. 27

Direct access to important hurricane and tropical storm information is available on the Hurricane Centre section of the Environment Canada’s website.

The latest track map

 On the site you will find:

• The latest track map

Detailed forecasts of the magnitude, path and other important characteristics of existing storms;

Real-time satellite images;

Storm-track graphics.

Current Storms Here is where you can find all of the Canadian Hurricane Centre products and services and other Environment Canada weather watches and warnings.

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How to Prepare Here you will find everything you need to know about the dangers of severe weather and how you can prepare for it.

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Look at the Past Here you can find summaries of storms, summaries of past hurricane seasons and climatology reports.

8/21/09 Gravenhurst