Gramma Camp Week 4.4

Easing into the day, we decided to make masks. We took the day off school, since it was Good Friday! They didn't work very well, as it wasn't the right size for kids, but it was fun.



Josephine mushed Nutmeggie. You can see her paw "making dough!" You cannot hear, but she was purring mightily. Nutmeggie, I mean. Well, maybe Jophee was purring, too!



Next, Jos videotaped Cinnamon! She used my camera, which is a bit awkward to use. She did well.



I thought Tiberius should get into the spirit.



They checked trailcams, brought in wood, and kept quite busy.
They played with the cat. Twice he rolled off the shelf, held on to the ladder by two arms, and once hit the ground, but he got back up.

Cinnamon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Grampa went into our GP's office, where a healthcare worker stabbed him with his cancer treatment injection, in the parking lot, in the snow. (He's had a cough since November, and they have strict rules.)



After breakfast in the snow, on the front porch, Josephine was birding, identifying birds by their sound, as well as sight, wrapped in a blanket. It was peaceful.



The girls fetched the trailcam memory cards. The first section is the site in the day, with the wicked winds. Next, the coyote ate something. I think it was a frog. You can see it dangling.



Butch raccoon was there. There was a group of three. I hope it was our 4 release raccoons, who have stuck together all winter, with one off-camera. Taco, burrito, Mary Kate and Ashley.


Stay safe. Stay well.

Saturday's Critters #330

Butch was here

The weather has been nuts for us. It was nearly 20 C. one day, pouring rain thanks to a Colorado Low, then the temperatures dropped to -12 as a cold front rolled in. The poor critters.


I enjoy our raccoons. My philosophy is that they were here first, we took over their habitat. I know how to raccoon-proof the house, keep garbage secure, for example. I know, but sometimes forget!

The bird feeders are my luxury. We balance our desire to bird watch, with the bears and raccoons.

I loved them in Bala, we moved from there in September, 2010.



This is our original 'Butch.'  We named her Butch before we realized she was a lactating momma!

I love tracking them.

Happily, in the night, our raccoons. Their behaviour is really interesting.

 

As I said, I know what to do but sometimes forget. The deer food was attacked.



There is a cat door into our garage. I'd unlocked it in winter after the raccoons settled in. Our 4 raccoons are pretty roly poly and wouldn't fit in.
There were two of them. They are small. I heard them, and opened the garage door. The one ran outdoors, this one decided to shelter in place!

I had a heck of a time trying to get it to leave! It went down to the bottom of the stairs into the basement. Instinct, I guess.



This time there were 6 raccoons. Mar. 14 interlopers. It wasn't pretty!

 


This is really amazing. Two raccoons popped their heads up, looked around. The next video on the trailcam showed a coyote!



I'm still see this cat, from time-to-time. Only in the dark. I don't know if it is feral, or comes from the summer residents who have moved to cottages for the duration.




Barred Owl Tracking
As an aside, when the girls were here last week it was rather mild, and the fire they needed in the basement made the upstairs a balmy 22 C. I opened the bedroom door a tad, and in the wee hours I heard the barred owl! (Archive photo!)

Butch is awake!

Tuesday, March 3rd

They visited again. At night. One bailed right away. Since they won't wear name tags, we figure our our critters by their behaviour. I think these are our 4 release raccoons. We never see 4, unless it is a momma with triplets. I think she lost one back in the fall.

By their behaviour, and number, I think this is Mary Kate, Ashley, Taco and Burrito! (We released them last October from our local rehab: Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary Release) They were after the bird feeder under the eaves!

Wed., March 5th

Last night, there was a raccoon on the back deck. Nutmeg noticed it. I went out, and the cat food tin, with kitchen grease, has been found! I meant to freeze it and then throw it out. Well, it is gone! I'll likely find it in the forest somewhere.

First rain, then snow

That was a day of rain. About 18 mm (0.7"), and then it has snowed on top of the warm ground.



The frog pond had an interesting piece of ice. I had to zoom in to figure it out. It's quite full, which is good for spring.



I've moved the trailcams back down to the forest. As long as I don't talk too much, I don't cough too much. As I was walking down the hill to cross the meadow, a grouse flew from under these dead branches. Then another, and another. You have to picture them in your mind: wings flapping, that lovely sound of the thumping of their wings, and their tail feathers.



It was bird count day in our area. In the pouring rain!
sparrow from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


Then, there are the trailcam photos. My 2nd camera has a bit of rust on the mechanism that ejects the battery holder. (It's up for replacement with Boxing Day sales!) I cleverly decided to spray the rusted mechanism with some grease to loosen it. I smelled of this stuff ALL DAY, despite rigorous hand washing!

I've been using up a lot of battery power, so I switched the good trailcam to images, rather than videos.

Our 4 released raccoons are still sticking together! You can see their shining eyes in the dark!



This young buck, with pickle-stabber antlers, decided to do a selfie.



This is what we woke up to. Poor polar bear is dancing in the wind.



I put the large balls out on the tree. It had snow on it, and I was getting it up my sleeves. I neglected to reposition them when the snow melted. Too late!



We're good, with temperatures headed below zero. There are lots without power in the wet snow, though.

Cinnamon, bucks, raccoons

This is Cinnamon! He's yawning, lying on my grandmother's quilt. It's a tough life.



He escaped into the garage yesterday. I know we have mice in there. Then, trying to get him in, Nutmeg joined him. Later, bringing in wood, he escaped out the back door.

This is before our melt.

 

Watch for the eyeballs on the left. They have such spirit, climbing just for fun.

raccoons from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, all melted in the rain.


They are still after our pumpkins. Two handsome bucks.



Next, a cold front roared in. This was a shock this morning.

We made it to Friday!

Poor JB is worse. The cough is into his chest some more. Mine is better. I can sleep several hours in a row! We'll get through this soon.

We've had a chill settle, not to mention winds. I'd rehooked my water barrel up to the eavestrough. I wanted to get some more water into the goldfish pond. Then the temperature sunk. And the winds came! Whoopsie. I removed the ice and set it against the wall.



In the meantime, we still have lots of pumpkins left, attracting our friends. Note our lovely arbour.

Watch where they go!

4 raccoons 5 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Did you see them? They are young raccoons, having some fun up on the arbour on the upper left. I had to point it out to JB, but he's still fuzzy with his cold. I'm glad they are still together.

4 raccoons and some deer

I bought some pumpkins. This part of the yard is pretty shallow soil cover. I thought it'd be fun to grab the leftover pumpkins from the farm down the road.



I've been pretty sad after Hooper was killed Tuesday night. It helps to keep up on top of my trailcams.

The critters like the pumpkins. The buck was quite happy with the pumpkins. So much so that he neglected to keep up his scrape.




These appear to be our four rehabbed and released raccoons. They are having a grand time. They are on the trailcam every day! There is a momma with 3 young 'uns, but you can tell the size difference.

4 raccoons 4 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The snow fell! The fun part about the trailcams is that I can tell when the snow began. sadly, I've still forgotten to change their times over with daylight savings...


I love the snow. I like tracking our critters, too.



It's a popular spot! The bucks kind of fling the heavy pumpkins, breaking off a piece. At 1:33 he chews up the apple, too, then uses his hoof to uncover something.

bucks nov 7 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

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Saturday's Critters #308

Deer scrapes and trailcams

I had chores. I wanted to fetch the trailcam cards and tidy up from the storm a bit. As I looked around, I realized that there is another tree down. It was dead as a door nail.
The wetland is nice and wet.



Chores: bringing in lawn ornaments. The freeze/thaw isn't good for them.





I mulched these huge catalpa leaves with the lawn tractor, which hubby swept off the back deck. We don't rake too much, we mostly mulch.




This was really exciting. Hubby came back up after his morning walk and told me there were two fresh deer scrapes. Sure enough! The first scrape is at the back of the yard. They've scraped there before.

The second was RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE TRAILCAM!!! This is a new spot.

 

It was a busy Sunday. I had failed to recharge the batteries and they were down to 40% after all the buck action. Can you believe it?  I had to run down in the daytime to put in charged batteries. With all this action, they really drained the battery.

Note to self

First job, insert the fresh batteries, remember to check that the clock is correct. I even checked the time on the videocamera, just to get the correct time. Sadly, I'd forgotten about Daylight Savings. It's an hour off.

First they scrape out a clear spot with their hooves, then they urinate on their tarsal and metatarsal glands to put their scent on the scrape. They also nudge the branches above to put scent there from their preorbital and nasal glands. From October to December they aggressively scrape as testosterone levels are high. Charlie Alsheimer has written a lot about this. He says there are three placements of scrapes: boundary, primary and random scrapes. This scrape is a primary one, I think, on a major trail all the critters use. (You don't want to look up too much of this, as some of the images are pretty gruesome.)

buck scrape from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Meantime, our four raccoons are still around. We threw a potatoe and some left overs down there.

4 raccoons 3 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.