Sunday 5 May 2024

Crumbly Acres catch and release

 First, our precious LGBTQ flag is gone. They ripped the pole off the fence, screws and all. It wasn't a good day, yesterday. 


I don't know where this came from... it is poignant. 


I did some yard work. Both the goldfish pond fountain and the bird bath are going great guns. There is one little goldfish in the pond. I'm still figuring out if I can repair or should replace my 60 gallon tank. 


I peeked out, and saw a little lump on the chair! A gray tree frog was sitting on the chair.

There was another on the railing. JB and I sat there watching the birds.
🦇Going Batty
The bats are out from hibernation. I thought I saw one out of the corner of my eye Thursday night. We both looked around. Nothing. 
Friday night, I'd gone to bed at 10, and at 11:30 I heard someone call out that there was a bat. I am losing my touch! Cinnamon stayed on guard in the Muskoka room. (At least he was out of the way!) I kept tripping on Nutmeg as I went from the dining room to the bedroom, and back to the kitchen. I caught the bat three times, but my net is too shallow. It crawled out. Three times! It's not my first rodeo , but we'll see what happens when it gets dark.
Saturday night I closed up all the curtains to encourage it to come out when the house was dark. Sure enough. Sunset is around 8:15, and I knew something would happen. The poor little flying mouse would be hungry. I used the net with the more depth rather than the fish net. 
Finally, it landed on the wall, where I could catch it. JB held the door, guarded for cats, and VOILA!

🕷To top it off, after working outdoors in the warmth, I had a tick nymph in my armpit. I plucked it off with tweezers, and doused us both in rubbing alcohol. No worries. 

🦆Wood duck nest box

🐦It is with sadness that I report that a weasel or mink has done in my wood duck nest. I'd taken a video last week. The nest is abandoned, 4 or 5 shells on the ground. Two left, cold, in the nest and no adults. 





I think the bunnies have nipped all but one of my trillium in the garden. Happily there are more in the forest. Silly Labbit.  The bird feeder is done, all cleaned and no more bird seed. They are adorable, and there are two. We'll expect more bunnies.
 



12 comments:

Tom said...

...it sure is poignant!

Barbara Rogers said...

Good going with bat rescue. That’s really sad about the flag.

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Nature is cruel sometimes. I hate to see the wood duck eggs, hopefully they renested somewhere else. I saw a few frogs at our pond yesterday. Have not heard them yet as I think it is still a little too cold at night for them to stay out.

eileeninmd said...

I like your pond! The frog and bunny are cute.
Take care, have a great day and happy week ahead.

Anvilcloud said...

How nice to see the tree frog, but what a pity about the flag.

Jeanie said...

It's a tough call -- bunnies or trillium! I love them both. You'll have lots of new wood duck babies soon!

Far Side of Fifty said...

So sad about your flag and the Wood ducks nest. Hard to make sense of things sometimes.

Cloudia said...

Your heart is in the right place. Don't let it be dimmed by the shallow stupidity of others. I feel bad for those types. Hold your head up high and keep being a loving, positive person. You are! Aloha dear Jenn

DrumMajor said...

Rough life in the wild! Glad you caught the bat. I have a butterfly net ready, since I saw one once on the car parked next to me. Linda in Kansas

The Furry Gnome said...

I always enjoyed the yard work, and always enjoy reading about yours!

Lowcarb team member said...

Nice to see the tree frogs but sad about the Wood ducks nest.

All the best Jan

DeniseinVA said...

Oh my, you are so lucky to have bats! I think they are the most fascinating little darlings, and your rescue of the bat held my interest. Bat Whisperer? Bat Angel too! We saw many toads on our walk at the park yesterday. It was lovely to see them, the first time for us this year but this area is a wetland and a great habitat for them. Good to know everything else is working out at the pond. How sad about the duck nest though. The little rabbit is so cute! I wish I could see one, haven’t in such a long time. Great post Jenn, very enjoyable!