🎃 Happy Hallowe'en!

There are folks who really get into this, young and old! I am always impressed with the efforts. We don't have any kids around us, besides, the rural kids tend to go into town to get more bang for the buck! In the past I've carved pumpkins, some years painted them. My energies are elsewhere. 

We drove through Perth and found lots of participants!

My indoor plants include the orchid cactus and my orchid. The afternoon sun has been lovely for them.  

The afternoon sun means that JB has to switch chairs if he wants to watch his afternoon curling or football. Cinnamon did not mind. My chair! 

Poor Joseph Brian accidentally stepped on his glasses. You know how you need your glasses to find your glasses?! They are bent, and won't sit properly on his face. He's taken out his penultimate pair, and they will work for him until he gets into the optometrist. 

We are still researching our options for this gun range. A new article has come out and finally the OPP are talking to the media, if not the township. It's an article about the gun range clean up. The condition of sale was that the OPP clean up the metals. This is a good thing. We are across the wetland from it and we were concerned.

My mother's generation were crazy mad with cleanliness, warned about germs. Living in a forest and wetland, I'm not too worried about it! They were obsessed by bacteria.

Here is proof of my outdoor efforts, aside from the debris in my bra and on the bathroom floor just before my shower. (I find it difficult to keep that floor clean!)  Atop the ladder I'd taken a couple of photos. I'm not sure what to do about this. We had the eavestrough installers in thrice, as I recall. Maybe flashing? What do you handy people think? The hole just invites bugs and woodpeckers!

It's bare wood where they finally re-installed the fascia to allow the proper drainage angle. 

eavestrough from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

"Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results."     – Einstein.

Red squirrel went up the post and came down. I grabbed the videocamera, and caught it doing it again!

red squirrel from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The birds have been wonderful to watch: a cardinal, 3 female evening grosbeaks, blue jays, chickadees, several goldfinches. I videotaped them on the feeder last year. 

 

Sadly, a nuthatch flew into the window, and it has gone over the rainbow bridge. I decided to replace the now wilted hanging basket of flowers with my goldfish. The window, with these light levels are like mirrors.

Chipmunk has been busy. The 'bird bath' I could rename. We get a lot of birds drinking from it.  

I crossed off another chore: cleaning the hops off the back deck. It created a habitat for so many critters over the spring and summer. The railings are washed and the deck furniture stacked under the overhang.

We are making progress with 🍁Fall Chores! 

Morning walkies

 No, not me! Joseph Brian usually walks in town in the morning. He took his camera – and look what he found! These are from Friday morning.

It turned out to be a frosty foggy day. Water has temperature inertia, and takes longer to lower its temperatures. With the sudden - 4 C. morning, it was the perfect time for fog.

Then, Saturday morning! It's not bad for a little pocket camera.

Just on the ground was a heron. Our heron rookeries we can see from the highway have been deserted. I haven't seen any flying, but this one was right by the river.  It took off in the time it took JB to get his camera turned on!

🍁Fall Cleanup

I finished off cleaning the eavestrough, chopped off some of the dead plants, mulched more leaves. I am endlessly sweeping out the garage, what with the blowing leaves. All of the hanging baskets are done. I've set them in the garden, until I figure out what I'll do with them. 

I still have to figure out how to prepare the canna lily for winter. I think I have to dry it and put it in a paper bag in the basement. I have deferred that project, although I've dug it up for winter. In the back ground, I've cut down the catnip. I should have brought some in and dried it for the cats. Maybe today!

Have yourself a fine day, if you can. 

 

Saturday's Critters!

It is feeling like fall, again. I woke to a bit of a surprise. Running out in my jammies and housecoat, I snagged a photo to show you. This morning it is -3 C., yesterday it was -4 C. in the a.m., with a serious layer of ice. The old heater is clearly not working. Out comes my back up. Cleaning out the ice, and draining the water, I covered it up and placed the working heated bird bath on top. We are good to go for winter!

 There is much action outside.

6 turkeys from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

barred owl from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Oregano was back, just a blip on the camera!

The coyotes have suddenly been around. OF course the last one pees on camera.

coyotes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The junco put on makeup for me!

junco from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This one was quite the capture.

The one coyote trotted down the driveway with something in its mouth. I'd noticed some blood near the end of the driveway, it was a bit strange!

coyotes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting Saturday's Critters! 

Chores, dentist, Carleton Place

 What a day we had the other day. This morning it is -4˚ C. and a bit chilly. We have had some mild weather, but this might be it! It was a good day. I redid the outdoor lights. JB bought me some more white ones. It was a bit sparse. Plus I reconfigured the backyard ones. The tag on it really should come off. Maybe I'll read it first!

The problem with outdoor lights is that none of them have any standards for connection. It's like VHS and Beta. Poor JB and a clerk were trying to find a new string, I adapted it with an extension cord.

It was a good day's work. I cleaned one side of the eavestrough on the garage, the maple is done. I'll do the other side once the catalpa loses all of its leaves! Laundry, and vacuuming were done. I did some more gardening, more leaf mulching. I like my lawn tractor! 

This morning, at 4 a.m., there was an interesting Ideas show on the discovery of the Erebus and Terror. It was too good to sleep through. It was fascinating that Inuit had the knowledge of survival, but Franklin's men didn't know how to hunt or fish in the Arctic. Inuit found a cairn, with a note regarding the date of his death, and their knowledge led to the discovery.

The next show was about civil wars in Sri Lanka. I thought I might as well get up. We've been so wrapped up in research on this gun club proposal that I haven't had the energy to visit all of you. I shall remedy that. Also, I had to go to Carleton Place to have a teeth cleaning. On the way, I spotted a crew cleaning up the ditches. Good to see. I did ours in the spring. 

I just love the red roof, don't you?

Along the highway, a crow carrying its Tim Horton's takeout.

Some bush hog action!

I like Carleton Place. These are condos. What a clever way to repurpose a church. At least I think it was a church! (Do you know, AC?)

This lad was a bit of a mystery. Barefoot, and carrying a skateboard.

During my appointment, JB kindly went to Boulton House to grab me some takeaway. He wanted to show me the restaurant that had the fire in September. There is still debris. There were tenants living upstairs, similarly displaced.

On a happier note, sumacs are on their last hurrah! They are beautiful!