Monday, 15 September 2025

Crumbly Acres & miniFred

The big news. Our new friend, Rick, made it home to Lansing, Michigan. His cycling trip was about 1500 mi. long. The last part was on a train! Jeannie wrote about his homecoming!

New news, this is the last time we saw miniFred, Friday, Sept. 12th. (I think Momma Fred is sleeping in her winter home. That's been her pattern for three years!)

MiniFred's doing weird stuff with the tarp. Momma Fred dragged it into the hole I covered up in the summer. That's where the coyotes get in. MiniFred moved it... 

The youngster was dashing in the wood shed, grabbing leaves, and taking them into the burrow for a fine winter nap. They are true hibernators and once they are down, they are down until spring.

Joe sat and watched for miniFred on Saturday, no sign of her! He had a lovely sit, though. I put the garbage out at 6:00 a.m. and it was 8 ℃, no wonder she's sleeping. 

#75 has been out and about. He's a released Gray Squirrel (Black Morph).


 I found one on the trailcam way down in the forest.

I've a story about watering my hanging planters. The water was coming out really slowly. I unscrewed the pouring spout, and found a Gray Tree frog hiding in the water bucket. 



Joe went to Smiths Falls, and on the way home he brought some strawberries for us. They have a special type of strawberries that are ready in summer, not spring. Yummy! 
It is wonderful getting food from down the road. Today I'm going to get some pumpkins, as we've family coming!



I've a plan to bring in the fishies. The well water takes a long time to warm to room temperature. I filled it 1/4 on Sat., Sept. 13, adding another 1/4 on Sunday.  


Town is a bit of a mess, with roads being rebuilt. 

The trees are beginning to turn in Perth.






16 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Cute critter photos, I like the black squirrel.
The fall leaves are looking pretty.
Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead..

DrumMajor said...

Poor drowning froggie! Couldn't repeat that adventure. Linda in Kansas

Barbara Rogers said...

Good to see #75 is alive and well! Mini-Fred must be in for her long nap! You've fall colors already! And the temps to match!

Shug said...

Wow...that is a long bike trip.. Glad it was a safe one for your friend. Such beauty in the trees turning colors. Ours our slightly turning but they just do not have the beautiful colors like the ones in the Northern states. Hope minifred is safe somewhere.

Anvilcloud said...

The turning is gathering pace.

Jeanie said...

Summer strawberries! How fantastic! And thanks for the shout-out on Rick's return. I'm glad to have him back. Also thanks for your comment on the groundhogs and burrows and all that. Still trying to figure out what to do. I've decided my groundhog is named Hoagie the Groundhog. I just wish he/she would move elsewhere!

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Hi Jenn, loved the groundhog video. I seem to be down to one here now and he's looking pretty plump like your guy. How did your vernal pool do this summer. Our pond dried up completely for the first time as well as the well we use to keep it topped up. It really was a drought.

Lorrie said...

Fall is starting to look great out your way with the leaves turning. We were amazed at all the autumn colour when we drove across Canada 2 years ago. Gorgeous. It's getting chilly in the mornings here, too - 10 degrees this morning.

tz_garden said...

Gorgeous leaf! The strawberries look so good, a surprise summer treat. I just recently saw a black squirrel here, I'd never seen one before.

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
yes, this week the leaves are definitely turning here too. And very much single-figure temps. The year presses on... YAM xx

Hena Tayeb said...

Love seeing those leaves changing colors.
Sneaky little frog. Lol mini fred!

RedPat said...

I hope that miniFred has a good winter.

Lowcarb team member said...

Didn't Rick do well.
That leaf in your last photograph is a beautiful colour.

All the best Jan

Red said...

It's not easy predicting what Fred might do.

MARY G said...

I'm not sure we are going to get much colour with everything so dry. The daughter and I had a week at a cottage on Lake Opinicon, and it was really showing there - bushes and even trees with leaves browned and falling. We are a bit better off as we have had a couple of mini burst rainstorms, for a few minutes but intense. But my lilacs are not happy.
We changed the bird feeders to fall and winter positions, and JG put some whole corn on the platform. The blue jays went crazy over it and cleaned it out in jig time.

MELODY JACOB said...

It's so sweet that miniFred is getting ready for winter! It sounds like she's a busy little creature. I love the story about the frog in the watering can—nature is always full of little surprises like that. And it's so nice that you get to have fresh, local strawberries and pumpkins!

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