Fall colours Part 1

 We took advantage of a nice Monday (Sept. 28) to go for a drive. The colours never last long. We're in the middle of a big storm front.

The sumac are the brightest red.

These are almost all drive-by shootings. I just hang out of the window. 

This is cottage country, and most cottagers are back in the city. I love the cottage signage, all lined up on the dead tree.

This red car, sitting by the maples about to turn red, was fun.

This is Old Kingston Rd., with such beautiful trees. You can imagine it as a horse and wagon path, eventually widened in the 1800s.

We travelled down a dead end, just for fun. You can see someone sitting quietly in his sun room. It looks so peaceful.

Then there is the art! I had to describe it to JB. 

The bright colours are dazzling.

                                

Upon arriving home, there was news, on Social Media, of a road closure. Galbraith Rd., off Wolfe Grove Rd., was closed as someone drove into a tree. We were happy to be home and safe. One person is dead, another in hospital. It is tragic. There are too many unnecessary incidents. 🚓LANARK COLLISIONS

Poor 😿Nutmeg is off to the vet today. She's still not eating, and slept all day yesterday. We think she ate something that disagreed with her, aside from the vet food we buy. 😖She's had Laxatone, which helps dissolve stuff and aids digestion, but she'll likely have an ultrasound at the vet's this afternoon. The last time this happened, May 2nd, it was $350.  She had undigested bones in her digestive system. JB said, "Some people go for cruises on the Rhine..." Ah, he loves her and his walks with her!

More forest bathing

UPDATE: Sept. 28th 

Before I continue on, sadly, one of the victims in the car that rolled near us is still in bad shape.  The driver has been charged with drunk driving. The two passengers are still in hospital. One 32-year-old is in hospital here, the other young man, 26, is in really bad shape. 

Zack Worthington's right wrist is broken, scapula/shoulder blade is broken, his face is broken: nose, orbital bone, forehead crushed. Bleeding from his brain frontal lobe is another problem, as well as some paralysis. He's in a medically induced coma, and on a ventilator. They are doing a fundraiser to help his girlfriend with expenses, as she is out of work. It's raised over $13,000.

I was wondering about the victims. These are all lessons in drinking and driving, especially on dark roads when wildlife is on the move.

OK, back to my tale.

Wait for meeeeeee! I went for a walk, and two cats came along. 

My buddy. 

Down in the wetland, at 'the point,' I had to creep to the edge of the wetland and duck under the tree branches and snap the pretty colours.

She is a dippy cat. Nutmeg tree climbing. Cinnamon just watches from below.

More little mushrooms.

This could be a painting! Can you see Nutmeg on the tree on the left?!

We had tree work done a couple of years ago. You can where the birch, in the foreground, was laid down. In the past few days, the birch in the middle ground came down.

The felled tree has lots of fungus!

I noticed the tree with a bit of a crook. Ten years here, and I'd not seen it before!

Look at those colours!

A man and his cat. She leads when he walks with her. Cinnamon leads when he walks with me!

JB in the forest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Poor Nutmeg doesn't seem to be feeling well. She's gone back to bed. I'm thinking she needs deworming. We'll try that. 

Doe, a deer and fawn

I've put a couple of feeders out. I've been bringing them in at night.

The colours are amazing. Oh, but who is that? 

Momma and fawn.

What was absolutely delightful, I spotted this doe on the trailcam before, I thought I could see a full udder. Is that what they call them on deer?! Sure enough...

Feeding fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

COVID updates: Ontario, Canada

 COVID–19 continues to rise here in our LGL District Health Unit. "Cumulatively, there are 189 community based cases in LGLDHU." Nearby Ottawa has quite a few cases, as well. Quebec is the worst, with 886 cases yesterday, Ontario had 495.

Our granddaughters in Ottawa are homeschooling. Sadly, there aren't enough teachers to go around. There are 30+ in their online cohorts. Not great for those in French Immersion. They seldom speak, my daughter tells me. Also, there are a couple of thousand kids still waiting for an online teacher, as parents continue to withdraw kids from schools.

School Tracker has a map of  cases.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25th - COVID-19 in Ontario Schools

• 1 in every 24 schools in Ontario has had at least case of COVID-19
• There are 70 cases in Ottawa schools 
•  Confirmed Cases: 2️⃣4️⃣0️⃣ (+30) Schools with Multiple Cases: 2️⃣8️⃣ (+5) 

               –

@imgrund

“That is the biggest issue right now: We don’t know where these cases are coming from,” said Ryan Imgrund, a biostatistician at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket."

Ontario has the following hospital statistic:

This is what Canada looks like...

Our Dr. Drummond and Hillier are still disagreeing. I think an ER physician's opinion holds more weight than an old politician.

Forest walkies

Down to capture the trailcam memory cards, I was startled by a barred owl. It's been hanging around, hooting in the night. Perched on the tree, upper right, I didn't see it. It flew right across the pond to the other side, or so I thought. I could see that it was the barred owl, that wingspan, and the distinct pattern.

 

As captured on the trailcam, I was looking for the owl. What I didn't know, as I walked looking up, is that it was perching on a tree on my left, behind the large tree off centre-right. It was a hoot! I practically walked by it. At that point I gave up to just enjoy the walk.

May 21, 2016 – a flashback, since I didn't see the owl!

What a gift, watching our Barred owl having a bath in the wetland. He knew I was there, I've been watching him for more than a month. In the background you can hear the rose-breasted grosbeak, blue jay, grey tree frog, etc.! Just before he went for a swim, a chickadee was trying to talk him into taking off. I thought I heard the owl chick, but I'm not sure. The siren at about 2:00 startled him. He sat a long time grooming. 

Barred Owl bathing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The colours around the pond, and in the meadow, are starting to show!

This is our Lot #3, which drops right off into the wetland. It's a great spot for critters, as they trot along the trails on the edge of the forest. You can see the colours of the changing leaves across the way. 

These big, old white pine trees are falling into decay. 

More mushrooms! I love the texture in the close-up.

I walked around the pond, coming back around to the front yard. Things are colouring up nicely.

Back up to the house, I checked out the last of the hibiscus. A caterpillar was munching on the last blossom. Enjoy, little caterpigly!

The potato vine fooled me and came back to life after our frosty nights. The begonia (?) has just begun to bloom. I looked for a plant tag, and couldn't find one. I started breaking off branches. Please correct me, if you know.

Nutmeg

The froggies like the low water situation in the goldfish pond. Cinnamon finds it harder to reach them, though! He creeps up to the edge, peeks over, ears flattened, and one-by-one they hop and dive. We expect rain this week, and I won't refill it from the well. 

Finally, the wild grapes are attracting all sorts of birds. A robin was here the other day. It wasn't amenable to a photo, hiding from me.