Terrarium, weather, et al

     Well, I'm not ignoring the awful news, just taking it in in small pieces. It is healthier that way. I look for the stories about the heroes and First Responders, all have stepped up. Many Canadians have given their moral support, or delivered flowers to local mosques in support of their Muslim communities. Then, others have sent their condolences to New Zealanders.
     Social media has been both a bust and boom. Both the white supremacists and the conspiracy theorists have promoted lies. I seek the stories of the heroes. The key is in unpacking and reverse engineering through social media platforms, to prevent them from spurring troubled people from promoting what they are doing.
     The horrific loss of the plane in Ethiopia resulted in heartbreak for many. We lost 18 Canadians. One Canadian man lost his parents, sister and her children. It is tragic.
     Even St. Patrick's Day was marred by arrests and people taken to hospital in Waterloo, there are a lot of university students there. It gets out of hand. The police worked very hard that day. It seems so incongruous, but then many are discouraged with what is going on in the world.

Happily, our kids arrived home from their vacation in Florida. They were visiting grandparents. Josee, as is her way, sorted, tallied and did a report of the shells she found. She is amazing. I live vicariously through our kids!


Also, I had a great video chat with Jesse, Cluny, and Bryony. They were outdoors on their patio in the 18˚ C. sunshine in Vancouver, they came indoors for a chat! (My DIL was out gardening in the co-op, lucky woman.)  You can see me in the lower right corner, trying to make Bryony laugh. Jess said, "Wave to gramma!" and she picked up his hand and made him wave. It was so cute.
 Cluny bopped in and out of the picture, too fast to capture!

I think I spotted the yearling wounded by the coyote. I saw a mark, just in its left armpit. [A bloody mystery Part 1] It's none the worse for wear. 

Hooper is full of beans. We knew that. He was outside all night Sunday. He bolts out the door, sneaking by us, and we don't see him. It was -11˚  C. Monday morning.

Soon, the snow machine trails will be shut down.

It's chilly. In the day the roof snow melts, at night it all freezes up, again.


The deer continue to trim my lilac bushes! We've been having 22 visit us in the mornings.


I was up that morning at 3:30 a.m. and checked both doors, as well as the garage. No Hooper. He came in, hungry, and was roaring around when JB got up at 6:00 a.m.

He seemed pretty wary indoors, and I saw 6 young raccoons picking away at the bird seed under the feeder, at night, in the dark. It's all compost for the garden. I swept it up. Bless their little hearts! We seldom have them about in the other seasons, when food is plentiful. 

We released these little guys in 2017: Skunk and Raccoon Release Photos. They were rehabbed, and all 8 took off out into the forest. 

I did some work cleaning my new/old terrarium's copper. It really brightens up the piece. I trimmed the palm plant. It is Hooper's favourite. This is the before...

There are a number of pantry options for copper cleaner, but I ended up using a combination of salt, flour and vinegar. I don't have much Brasso left, I might give it a go with that. I might not!

OK, I tried the Brasso. It's so much easier to use! I only have about a tablespoonful left.

I'm fighting a cold. My client's family has been passing it around. I'm ready for warmer weather, which will help both my spirit and my body! It's awful walking in the forest. Spring is on the horizon.