Wednesday 30 November 2022

The buck, doe and Butch raccoon

 That was a long day. We were anxiously awaiting the Planners report on the gun range. Watching the US/Iran soccer game kept us occupied. I finished off a sketch. Sort of a testament to my mindset right now.

I knew a dear young woman on Twitter who loved my silly sketches, Erin Gilmer. I would dedicate them to her, and she would giggle. She ended her journey, and I miss her. 

Yesterday, the notice came:

DNE Township Council have three options; vote for the rezoning, vote against it, or defer.  


The Planner's recommendation is to defer. They await a Peer Review of the Acoustic Survey. 

OK, back to waiting! In the meantime, this is the lightning map around Tennessee. I was quite shocked. 


Today will bring us some rainfall. Quebec has some snow on the way. British COlumbia is facing a snowstorm. Such a mess. "Thousands Without Power!" I think our kids are OK, according to the outage map

I usually get far fewer critters on trailcams when it is raining. We'll see what happens.

 

Buck 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I had videos of the doe during both day and night!

Clover doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Butch Raccoon doesn't feel the same way about rain, however. They waddle about, wearing their winter fat store.

Butch Raccoon & doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Tuesday 29 November 2022

Indoor and outdoor tails

For the third day out of 4, I forgot to put the trailcam to the 'on' position after reinserting the fresh card. I am still unable to get a video of the buck marking his scrape (below, right). One is supposed to turn the camera off when removing and reinserting the cards. I thought I was being prudent. Whoopsie. 😳 Don't tell the kids. 

The one day I remembered, all I got was the doe and a raccoon.

Deer scrape from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This is where they mark territory, it is rutting season. Nov. 26/22

Then, I contacted the wrong person, enquiring after something online. I thought it was, for example Dave Jones, when it was Don Jones. 😳 Don't tell the kids. 

Finished my workout, fetched trailcam cards, came in for a shower, and found I'd been wearing my t-shirt on inside out all morning. 😳 Don't tell the kids.

I did think to send flowers to Caitlin. They are there beside her tissue box! Covid has settled into her nose. Each day she is better, which is good news. She texted a 'thank you' and a photo!


In the fall there was lots of fungus and many mushrooms. This seems to be the last of it! I bright spot of colour.


I finally remembered to remove the house wren nesting box. It looks a bit the worse for wear. It's actually a bluebird nesting box, but I haven't seen one in years. They have flown south in search of live food! 


Grampa thought Polar Bear looked cold. He fixed that.

More rain tomorrow, they say. And winds. I need to clean the goldfish tank, too. Maybe that is a good rainy day activity. Percy-the-pooper is on the go!

Monday 28 November 2022

Monday comes around, again!

Here we are, Monday, although it is the dread I used to feel. No pressure to get up, dressed, and try to entertain educate kids all day. Time means something different these days. We get snow tires on – on Thursday. 

 Caitlin is still testing positive for COVID. She is feeling better, now, however. She has sniffles. Happily she is able to work from home. 

🎾 We spent Sunday watching the Davis Cup tennis, the last game. I didn't know it was on TV until the final game. Felix Auger Aliassime was playing for Team Canada. Denis Shapovalov had just won his game. Then, the TSN satellite feed from Spain pooched out. I had to quickly pull up the real time scores. They won the cup. 

⚽ From there we watched World Soccer, and the Canadian men's team lost 4 - 1. They are out of the tournament. The announcer said that this is "the greatest moment in Canadian soccer history." Janine Beckie gave him skank eye after he said that. She was on the women's Olympic soccer team when they won gold. He then corrected himself and said it was "on the same level" as the women's win. 😳

Women have fought so hard for equal funding!
And to sit at the anchor desk.

🌦I did my chores prior to the rainfall. We had about 9 mm Sunday. I set up the water barrel, again, as I said I would. The goldfish pond is full. 

I'll have to dress warmly, as I have to put the garbage out. It is chilly, but tonight it's going to -6 C., so I have to think about draining the water barrel. We expect another 15 - 20 mm on Wednesday. Decision, decisions! 

We haven't had as much snow this November as in other years. (Blue is rain, gray is snow.)

We have many dead elms. I'm inclined to leave this one here. I ought to gather some kindling from it, I suppose.


Polar bear is having a grand time hanging out with goldfish.

Oregano was back.

 

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Butch
 

Butch treed from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The best protection for raccoons is to climb a tree. They seem to be traveling in a flock, now! Or would that be a herd?! Nope, looked it up. I think the best collective noun is a committee. They argue and snarl over food and disagreements abound.  

butch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

OK, garbage detail calls. I might not get dressed, but just put my winter coat over my housecoat and jammies! 

Sunday 27 November 2022

Cinnamon and Frosty

That was quite a week. Now, why do you think Facebook suggested this ad for me?! 

I laughingly told Caitlin that I was watching the broadcasted hearings, on the government response to the Truck Convoy, as a break from our municipal issues. The next protests are against the provincial government of Ford, who wants to pass Bill 23 to be able to pave across the Toronto Greenbelt wetlands and make his developer buddies rich. Sarah Harmer was in Smiths Falls protesting at our local MPPs office for a protest.

The federal government enabled the Emergencies Act at the time, to put in some laws to freeze occupier GoFundMe funds ($10 million), and force trucking companies to tow away the culprits. The tow trucks were bribed and/or threatened not to do so. The law requires the government to hold a hearing after the fact to determine three things:

  1. Why did the federal government declare the emergency?
  2. How did it use its powers?
  3. Were those actions appropriate?

Ottawa citizens, who were the victims of the lockdown of the city spoke. Local politicians spoke of what their citizens went through, racism, anger, the smell of diesel fuel and the noise of 24/7 honking. We heard about a baby being treated for frostbite by paramedics. This last week we had the final week, during which 7 cabinet ministers testified. On Friday the Prime Minister testified. The lawyer for the convoy occupiers read some testimonials from said occupiers. One said, "We just want to be heard!"  

The Prime Minister replied with this, 

"It was it was clear that they just didn't want to be heard. They wanted to be obeyed. They wanted us to change public health policy designed to help Canadians and were going to occupy locations across this country and interfere with the lives of Canadians until such a decision was taken."

πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„πŸŽ„

Back to nature. Saturday morning we had red skies. Of course, by the time I would have looked up the proper camera settings, it'd be gone. Here is the best I could do! I just used the automatic setting.

Cinnamon went out for about 90 minutes. Nutmeg an hour until she got hungry and came in.


I went down to fetch SD cards, and realized I'd forgotten to turn one camera on, after resetting it. That's the one at the deer scrape. Oh well. Maybe today I'll capture the action. 

Who do you think this it? I could not see it, but I could hear it.
 

who goes there? from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


The pumpkins are popular along the driveway. I can see the trailcam light up in the dark, in the background. 


It should be frosty out there, but we expect rain today. I'm thinking of reconnecting the water barrel, just to fill the goldfish pond a tad. That will protect the 3 little goldfish I couldn't get in. The deeper the water, the better as it doesn't freeze and thaw.

I've put out a few traditional seasonal items. Frosty is an old faithful.

Cinn and Frosty from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday 26 November 2022

Saturday's Critters

It's Saturday, again! Thanks to Eileen for hosting.

Saturday's Critters # 467


The doe quite likes the pumpkin seeds. She really gets into her work!

 

doe & pumpkins from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This little one had a great doggy shake as it was about to move off!

young deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I inserted new batteries in this trailcam. Much better view of the coyote.

coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Butch has been a less frequent visitor, depending up the temperature. They do sleep in the wicked cold, but they don't truly hibernate.

Butch raccoon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Friday 25 November 2022

Cats, birds, doe

 I finally managed to wash the kitchen floor. I'd been resisting the urge. Instead, I was put out Christmas decor! Monday I tramped in and out of the kitchen and garage bringing in groceries. Stuff to do Tuesday, I thought Wednesday was the day. The deed done, I patted myself on the back. Thursday morning, Nutmeg threw up on the floor! As JB said, "No good deed goes unpunished!"

Who, me?

JB's back is slowly getting better, but we thought we'd play it safe. He is now managing a cold. I made chili to warm us up. My late mother wrote out a chili recipe for him, and I have some fondness for it. He retired before I did, and was doing groceries and house cleaning. She thought she'd help him with a recipe!

Another giggle for you. I did a massive grocery order Monday.  I ended up with ONE brussel sprout! Thinking I was ordering one unit, I learned my lesson. I did put in the notes, two handfuls, but my picker missed it. Oh well! A fun moment, and I laughed so hard at myself.


I managed an evening photo of JB's bears. They were a gift from the kids to JB.


😷OCDSB debates mask mandates 

Ottawa's public school board (OCDSB) trustees tried to vote on a new mask policy. Anti-maskers stormed the meeting, police were called and it was cancelled. The anti-mask Facebook group that organized the disruption of this school board meeting is also talking about going to the intensive care unit at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)  and getting video footage proving there is “no issue.” Our pediatric hospitals, i.e., CHEO, are over capacity with flu, RSV, and respiratory viruses, including COVID. CHEO’s chief of staff explained that non-ICU hospital occupancy is at 185%, ICU at 200%, and heart and cancer surgeries being cancelled.

OCDSB went to a Zoom meeting format yesterday, and the motion failed. Our grandkids have all worn them. It's not a big deal for most kids. 

🐦I'm not seeing a lot of critters these days, except for the birds at the feeder. Too busy to take photos this week, I will set up the tripod, and try for some good photos. We had several evening grosbeaks Thursday. They are pretty birds.

 

The weather is up and down, freezing one day, rain the next. Sometimes all of it on the same day! It's freezing rain in Ottawa. Yuck.

Happily, I can still see the deer about. The doe is really getting into the pumpkin! Those seeds are yummy. 

Thursday 24 November 2022

Pumpkins and deer

 We have had some cold temperatures, and some snow. A lot melted the other day, and walking in the forest smells like fall, again. The pumpkins are quite popular. 


I was on my way to grab the SD cards, and Clover and her fawn were in the forest watching me keenly, ready to roar away. It was a quick trip, and I didn't take my camera with me. I knew they'd be on the trailcam! 

They wisely kept their distance. Unfortunately, they kept heading in the direction I was going. It's a highly traveled path that they all follow. The best place for a trailcam. It's properly called a camera trap, since we are trapping their images, I've refrained from using that word. It is good that they fear someone in the forest. 

The deer scrape was uncovered, again, as the buck marks his territory and propriety over the doe hanging about. We had a doe grazing on the grass behind the house. Another in the front. I put a camera there, but didn't get any action yet. 


I love their leaps and bounds. 

 

deer flee from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

These are a bit of a glitch, I think my batteries were low!

buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This is only a few short clips, in slow motion, the batteries were low. 

coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

😷We are all trying to keep healthy. Caitlin is managing COVID symptoms. Her brain fog is gone, she has some chills, and she is achy, sneezy and coughing. Thankfully she can work from home, sleep in their basement guest room, and recover. She had a positive RAT Sunday, another yesterday, but she is feeling better. 

Wednesday 23 November 2022

Oregano cat and the magic stick

 I've taken in all your comments about our visitor, 😼Oregano <= I've tracked my sightings of him there. Having two tabbies, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, it is funny seeing him on the trailcams. I agree he is a healthy (intact) cat, and likely has a home. I tried feeding him when he first showed up in January, 2021. I put out cat food, which he quite enjoyed. It began to freeze. (The raccoons were sleeping by then, so I wasn't feeding them.) I put the heated cat house out, but he wasn't interested in it. Then I cleverly put the food in the heated cat house, which prevented it from freezing. 


I think I've only seen him once in the daytime, and found this video on my computer. Most of our 'wild' critters don't come around in the daytime. They know to avoid humans. This is from 7/6/21.

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


My frogpond trailcam is doing its best. You get what you pay for!

 

Clover & pumpkin from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon begs to go out in the predawn. This is when he is most vocal. He knows 'walkies,' as a cue word. They seem to know 'out,' and 'Muskoka Room' as well. JB is teaching Nutmeg 'treat.'

They both went out for an hour in the -7 C. dark, looking for mice friends. No birds in the dark! They hustled back in, quick and sprightly. It was chilly. We let them out into the Muskoka Room for fresh air. They like watch the leaves blowing in the wind across the snow.

 

cinnamon meows from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


I went for a walk in the forest. This was the strangest thing! This stick was apparently swaying in midair. 

 

magic stick from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🌬Monday was really windy. It seemed to increase over the afternoon. I was going to go out and pick things up and tie them down, but I thought I'd best wait. The wind wasn't letting up. JB agreed. Baby bear fell over! I retied them to the railing yesterday, putting them up on the bench. Now we can see them through the window at night. I ought to cover the bench. Something bright red would be fun. The snow does pile up on it, then melts. It was a lovely time putting out some new Christmas decorations. 


A package of greens from the grocery store, and made myself a pretty planter. It requires tweaking, but the soil is frozen! This half barrel is on its last legs. The bottom is rotten. It's going to be decommissioned in the spring!

I took Daisy's Christmas tree down to the driveway. This is the one she kept chewing, until she burned her tongue and couldn't eat or drink. That was a lovely adventure figuring it out at the vet.


Managing prostate cancer

πŸ“±We had a phone appointment with the surgeon Monday afternoon. All is going as predicted. A Bone Mass Density test will be scheduled in Ottawa. (Our local hospital has a one-year waiting list.) The surgeon is in Ottawa. JB's been having injections here in town with the GP. Sadly, as of Dec. 1st, OHIP won't let doctors bill for phone calls anymore. For a 5 minute conversation, it saves us driving an hour and a half into the city, parking, figuring out how to manage meals, and gas costs. It is discouraging. But we are still smiling! 

Tuesday 22 November 2022

Monday was a busy day!

The cats aren't thrilled with the change in weather. Their toy, 'Clown Pants,' was sitting on the floor. We've had Clown Pants since 2012. Cinnamon likes to sit in them, with his behind hanging out.

 Nutmeg has been sitting on top of it. Last night, Cinnamon, ever the gentle boy, went over and sat beside her. She is bossy. She'll nudge him away from the food bowl. He wanted her off his Clown Pants. We fed her a treat and she moved off! 


 Monday morning began bright and early. First job, putting out garbage. I like the new camera. 

 

 Fetched the trailcam memory card. Cinnamon went out for about 10 minutes. 

 

Just when I thought it would be a quiet day... I did an online grocery order Sunday. Tootling into town Monday, I picked up our groceries, got 4 bags of kitty litter, and got chores done. 

We are protesting a gun range

I checked out the signage the group put out. These are from the dashcam.


Having made a crock pot of chili, we hunkered down, smells wafting about the house. Just as I thought things were calm, an email went out. There was a sighting of someone removing the signs, the perp was in a recognizable truck, logo on the side. They went out and determined that 8 signs were gone, 2 were damaged. So much for peaceful protest! 

It has been reported, and people are not amused.