Fall chores

UPDATES: 

1. Our American cyclist/visitor, Rick, made it to the St. Lawrence River, cycling from Ottawa. 
2. Jordan has safely arrived at Queens University. Caitlin, JL, and Aster drove him there. (Our other 3 grandies begin school this week. )

I am working on 🍁Fall Chores. There may be some warm spells between now and fall. I keep records, since the change in temperatures really impacts us. Also, it's good to know the patterns of the seasonal changes. The big thing, for me, is bringing in the goldfish. 

We've got someone coming to pump out the septic tank, someone to check the chimney, and clean the fireplace (every two years). 

This is something I forgot about. The down pipe came off this year in March. I fixed it, but not very well. It was cold that day. The bugs are bad in Spring and early Summer, and now is the time. 

Our Gray Tree Frog was there supervising. 

Joe spotted me on the ladder, and assisted by handing me the drill. I dropped the drill once, it landed on the flowers, the battery popped off and ended up on the ground above the old drain spout hole. Sigh!

The Hibiscus are falling over with the rain. Soon they will be done, too.

I am tracking all sorts of 'last spotted,' although these two I only heard and did not see. (Hooray Merlin app!) These are photos from May, when they returned to us from the south. It was warm enough to sit reading on the back deck, albeit under a blanket!

Great Crested Flycatcher:

Also heard, the Northern Flicker. This is one of the woodpeckers that migrates. It prefers to forage on the ground, and soon ours will be frozen!

Northern Flicker in Spring

I found a Monarch on Friday, Aug. 29.

 I've been watching a series: The Spy. It takes place in Portugal, during WW II. Caitlin and Jean-Luc went to Portugal for their 20th wedding anniversary this year. 

Joe and I are watching Munch. It is fun, and a light mystery. A great way to end the day, in between tricky tennis tournaments! 

Saturday's Critters

 We have critters on the move! During the drought, things were pretty quiet out there. I am happy to report lots of them are on the trailcam. Some both come and go, maybe a day or two apart, others rush by headed for somewhere!

Cinnamon and I went down to fetch the memory cards. Just for fun, I videotaped Cinnamon as I asked him about going 'walkies!' He also knows the word, 'dinner!'

   

 I found our porcupine. 

   

 We haven't seen the fawn since I spotted it on the Crumbly Acres camera, just after it was born out front.  Here they are in the forest at the frog pond trailcam.

 

Fisher Otter Aug. 16  I think Jim is right! 

   

 3 turkeys

 

Then there is the skunk!I love that bushy tail.

 

Saturday's Critters # 611 <= for more critters, visit Eileen. 

Last view of critters & RAIN!

 We were quite happy to have rain on Thursday. I did a quick outdoor job, removed the out-of-hand burdock, then rested on the back deck. All morning, no rain, despite the forecast. This is a non-mental note to not let it get so big. I waited until the blooms were done, for the insects.

August, 2024 – shoulda removed it then.

I watched the clouds, then, finally, the rain began.

As always, I have to check the eaves for leaves. Yup, overflowing. Non-mental note for the To Do List. The goldfish pond was overflowing.

 

 🚲 Our friend Rick, cycling for 1500 miles, rested in Ottawa on Wednesday, did bike repairs on Thursday. I emailed to see where he was, then checked his Facebook page:

"Tomorrow I will be camping on the St. Lawrence River after a big ride of 115 miles. The rain is stopping and the wind will be at my back. No problem. September is coming and the days are getting both shorter and cooler."

🐸 The goldfish pond is hosting a green frog, now, in addition to the two bullfrogs.

We'll say farewell to the insects, bees and wasps, who will sleep for the winter. Others migrate.

The goldenrod is busy with bugs! 

How much rain did we get? A LOT! Two dumps, about 43 mm (~1.7") for the day. We were so relieved. 

The tail end of summer!

 Well, back to 'normal' for us. I have been so busy, highly unusual! I am happy to have a quiet day. My arms are sore, now, with all the staining. Repetitive strain stain injury, since the paint roller on the heavy extension arm gave me some aches. Not until the day after, though!

Nature really slow down in September. The grass is dry and not growing. The plants are done. I leave the plants to fall over, as I know the critters use it as winter habitat and protection. 

I meant to show my new swimsuit! A two-piece, but I have enjoyed a couple of swims after all this heat in the beginning of the month. I'll have to wash it and put it away for winter. 

I thought this a sort of artsy photo of Aster fetching something from their  EV Leaf last week. 

I was quite happy to see three raccoons, as I figure a couple are grown kits. I hadn't seen any this year. 

Soon we'll see the last of the tree frogs! Can you see it?

The phlox is doing really well. In past years I think it needed water, sitting under the smaller catalpa tree. I did water it prior to the drought. It smells so pretty! Soon the moths and other insects will go to bed, in the meantime they are enjoying the flowers.

And I always like to get an image of the last hummingbirds. This may well be it! The flowers have lost their petals, and are settling in for fall and winter.

Last view: hummingbird Aug. 24

 

 The hibiscus is the last to flower. 

 

Another last photo: of Rick. I was at a meeting the morning he left. Joe escorted him down the driveway to the highway.

We wished him well on his journey.

   

  Here is his adventure with us in Lanark County! 

We anticipate heavy rain storms for a few days. He wrote that he was taking a rest day. Good idea!

Deck work, Part 2

 I worked on restaining the upper deck, next job was the lower deck. My window of opportunity was closing. We needed no rain, and temperatures above 10 ℃, and our September overnight temperatures are getting lower.

I didn't need to sand it, just use the power washer on a few boards where they get moisture from the foliage on dewy nights. I know I should have done this last year, but I wasn't in a good mental space for that. And I missed the window. Why stain decks when you cannot sit on them in our short season called summer?! 

I worked as fast as I could, trying to be frugal with the water. 

I waited for the deck to dry, and began with the drip line under the railings. Dew drips onto the deck and I wanted to do a good job there.

I used the little roller under the railing:

There we go. That looks much better. 

Of course, we had a pop-up rain storm! It didn't last long, and didn't dump much rain (5 mm/ 0.02") so I hope for the best.

This morning, I woke to 11 ℃, and 10 is the lowest temperature they recommend for 24 - 48 hours. I think we'll be OK, although I can still smell the stain. We'll cross our fingers. What a relief to get it done. Finally!

🚴I've updated the post on our friend, Rick, who rode from here to Ottawa on his bicycle (Google map). We helped him pick out a trail, going east through Smiths Falls, and up Prince of Wales by the river. It's the route we take for our Ottawa urologist/surgeon visits. 

It was nice of him to check in with us. He had a great ride, even though his ride here was the worst on awful trails. Whew!