Walkies, frogpond, Crete

I haven't done walkies with Cinnamon in awhile. Cinnamon was out, and wouldn't come in. I thought I'd take him down to the forest, and wear him out. These days he is content to sit on the front deck and refuses to come in, just watching the yard. His sister is a different story.

As we approached The Point, a piece of land that juts into the wetland, I could hear what I think was a deer. That's why Cinnamon sat and stared. 

The swamp is slowly drying up from the spring thaw. Here is the water at the dock. It's not deep, but enough for the critters. The second photo, below, shows the path through the wetland that the critters take.

The foliage is so rich and green. The bird songs lovely.

As I finished up at the trailcam, I realized I'd lost Cinnamon by that point. I found a doe. I think the deerflies drove Cinn back to the house. 

Clover, the doe, and the frogpond.

doe & frogpond from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I finally found Maple, the tree frog, she's been hiding under the goldfish plant.

Onward to Crete

Meanwhile, I know some of us are living vicariously through our intrepid travelers, they took the overnight ferry from Athens, Piraeus port to Heraklion. You can see the ship in the harbour.

It is a huge ship. Sadly, the pool wasn't open. That, in the 35˚ C. heat, was going to be amazing.

They arrived at dawn, to the island of Crete. 

Flyers and critters large and small

 We had the nicest young man come to inspect our furnace and A/C. With backwards ball cap, long hair to his shoulders, he complimented us on the gardens; the biodiversity and our ornaments. It was so sweet! 

OK, the flyers. The eastern comma and question mark butterflies are doing their thing. There are caterpillars on the hops vine. 

They are such amazing butterflies, with camouflage when wings are closed, and lovely colours when they are open.

The scarlet tanager was dancing, doing water ballet in the fountain.  It attracts a lot of birds I wouldn't normally see.

The doe and fawn amble in the dappled forest.

doe and fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The young buck wandered along, as well:

buck in the forest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I put a dead sparrow down by the trailcam. Nutmeg brought it to us. Normally we try let her out at 5:30, and bring her in for the day. Cinnamon just sits on the deck escaping the deerflies. We are part of the circle of life. 

I put the little body down in the forest. The barred owl took it. I was amazed. 

BARRED OWL from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Athens

The kids, now in Athens, are enjoying their trip. They have another day there and then take an overnight ferry to Heraklion.

Their room has a built in sauna! The water and the architecture amaze us all. JL snapped his fingers, and the kids up in the theatre seats could hear him, he writes on the family photostream.

Josephine's camera was fixed, she's a happy girl.

This is an amazing photo, with the rainbow. The ancient civilisations trod here.

Lions Gate, c. 1240 BCE

Stormy, cloudy, and sunny skies!

July 12th – That was a most peculiar day, with rain on and off. Clouds would roll in, I'd retreat into the house and then head back out.

I am reminded of my favourite cloud photo, this was over Bracebridge quite a few years ago.

Rolf wrote in Twitter:

The YOW airport reported a wind gust of 141 km/h at 1:52pm today. That would be the fastest wind ever recorded at the airport. I'm not convinced that it's accurate; but there are power outages in the area so ...

 Ottawa had some power outages!

Kingston got it bad, lots of lightning strikes. We only had a few, but lots of rain.

I love a good storm!

clouds from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

storm from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Later, a plane went overhead. I wondered where it was headed and if it missed the storms.

It was a relief to get rain. It's been a bit spotty. I haven't had to water, though.

The skies are horrific in Ukraine. 

I've been watching the skies over Ukraine, and the Black Sea. The US, and NATO are patrolling overhead. This is comforting, although Ukrainians are suffering so much, I don't know what can be done. 

The kids, now in Athens, are doing the tourist thing! Their photos are amazing. I picked a couple from the family photo stream that fit my theme of skies.

Trip to Brockville

We were on a mission. Off to Brockville for lunch, and then back to Augusta to pick up a piece from the auction house. It was for my daughter. We were waiting for a delivery, which arrived at noon, and we left around 1 p.m. We'd planned to eat in Moose McGuire's. It has a nice view, and we've been several times, not since they've changed hands, though.
The top of the building are condos, and the like. At the ground level: great seats for looking out at the lake.

We took the grandkids during Gramma Camp in 2016.

I emailed them on Messenger at 9:26 a.m. and heard nothing back by the time we left for Brockville. We figured we'd just pop in. There are several pubs in Brockville!

Athens

Yours for only 

 ATHENS, ONTARIO, $184,900

I love the mural! I've never been quick enough to take a photo.

Brockville

More senior's housing!


The Catholic students were walking to stop poverty. "Thoughts and prayers?"


Lots of spires.


We made it to Brockville. Just like last time (May, 2017, Brockville), the restaurant was closed, but set to open for 2 p.m. It was just about 2. The door was opened, and in we went. They said they had a propane leak and would open at 2:30. The repair person was on the way. We looked at one another, and I said we were pretty hungry, and didn't want to risk not eating for another hour or so. (Wait'll you hear what happened!)
We went across the street to the pub.


This was up over my head!


There are lots of interesting homes. Lots of sources for sketching ideas!


We made it to Hands Auction house. It's all online. Bidding and all. I picked up a piece: Carnival Glass Fruit Bowl for Caitlin.


I love the stone work at this house.


Then there is this place.


These next two homes are right beside one another. Lovely old homes, with solar panels.


Nearly 4 acres, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, only $327,000.


More solar panels. I wish we could afford them!


Heads up!


Back in Lombardy, they are still working on this house! It's still for sale. Here is the tale of the renovations. Otter Creek Antiques: Store Deconstruction in Lombardy. $249,900. 


When I arrived home, I found a note on Messenger. They said that they would be operational by 5 p.m. We hedged our bets, and rightly so. We couldn't imagine sitting their while waiting for a broken propane pipe. Who knew when they would arrive to repair, or how long it would take!