Mail delivery has stopped!

 Things are interesting around here. This is a  Community Mailbox Unit (CMU)! Canada Post originally began stopping home delivery, and new developments have to have these installed for customers. 

We get our mail in our mailbox. Well, not now! There are issues, as Canada Post workers are on strike. The issue is, as I'm sure you're aware, is that people just aren't getting the mail they used to. The question is, is it a required service, or is it outdated? They are losing so much money, something has to change.

I like crossing the road to grab our mail! 

My problem is that I pay all our bills on my laptop, which requires my thumbprint to open it. Joe keeps the paper bills, and files them. If anything happened to me... ???  

Back to our little world: someone managed to snag two mice friends on the same day! They thrive in the field.

The skies have been lovely.

I got silly, and went at my hair. My arctic white is now purple. So is my pillow case! It washes out, however. 

 In the meantime, we had a massive dump of rain. It's a relief to see it. It poured much of the day.

Autumn joy

This is how Thursday began: a tad chilly. We expect a high of 22 C., though. Weird variation in temperatures. I could see my breath this morning. Still no rain. I must water the garden today. 

I toodled on down to the trailcams. Hooray for BirdNET. They told me this was the flicker. That makes sense.

flicker 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It seems logical, –look who I caught on the nearby camera!

 

flicker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I heard phoebe in the forest yesterday. While many birds have left, or are leaving soon, we have many that stay.

 

chickadees from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I was on the back deck, reading under a blanket. It was too hot in the sun out front, too cool in the shade out back! Cinnamon hung out with me. If you watch the video to the end, you'll see him washing up, and a fuzzy caterpillar was looking for the hops vine. The caterpillar seemed to be following him, and he jumped up in fear.

 

Cinnamon and the caterpillar from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

iPhotos created a movie for me of fall colours. They music they add is quite lovely. 

 

Fall Colors - Over the Years from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Leaves and hornets

 HORNETS!

As I was walking towards the shed, I noticed what I thought was part of a wasp nest on the ground. My thinking is that a critter got up there! I don't know, it could have been our fisher, weasel, or other nocturnal visitors. 

The pieces were all scattered under the nest. This one wasp was the only one I could see.  All the cells look empty. It appears as if the queens have mated and the new queens have gone underground as is their way. 

Also on the ground was a little red-eyed vireo nest. 

Falling leaves

The leaves are well on their way to leaving us.  

My SIL says they look like cheesies! 

I was all hot to trot and mulch the leaves with the lawn tractor. Sadly the battery was dead! I plugged it in overnight and it was good to go. There is no point in raking, just mulching! 

There were several wood frogs I had to avoid. Critters everywhere...

It is difficult getting work done! This looked like a buccaneer. 

 

airplane from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It's Thanksgiving!

 

The kids wanted to come over Saturday for Thanksgiving dinner. They are hosting their respective brothers for dinner on Monday. Saturday/Sunday were our days! It reminds me of the Thanksgiving dinners Jesse, my middle kid out in Vancouver, who would host an orphan potluck dinner for his single friends when he was in Toronto, and those away from home. 

I toodled on down the road to grab our turkey, and some more squash and a pumpkin from Diane. Once home, I washed it, prepared it, and got the turkey into the oven.

We planned the menu... Caitlin brought stuffing, but forgot the pie. One year she forgot the stuffing! She made a fresh one from scratch that year. This year she forgot the cranberries. JB planned for this and we had a can of cranberry sauce. He doesn't like turkey, but can tolerate it with cranberry sauce.

The kids arrived, and all the way here Josephine was hoping to find a snake. As soon as they parked their electric car, Caitlin got out of the car and found a wee Northern Ribbon Snake. Jos was thrilled!

They unpacked. I helped the girls blow up the bed in the basement, and then we all sat and chatted. It was good to see them. The girls have been doing well in school. We anxiously await the vaccine for kids Isabelle's age (11). that will make us all feel safer.

Isabelle is doing a cross stitch for Girl Guides. Caitlin held it up for a photo-op!

I popped the turkey in the oven at noon. I didn't have to truss it, as there wasn't room! Sadly, I forgot to take a photo of the beautifully browned, yummy finished product. We'll be eating it for days! I shall freeze most of it!

I have some gourds from down the road, as well as a pie pumpkin and did my usual turkey centrepiece.

Caitlin brought a yummy dressing. We didn't cook it in the turkey, since they eased themselves into the weekend Saturday morning, arriving after lunch! 

We had a lovely visit. It was decided that we should pass on JB's Effy desk to Caitlin. I thought, since he was standing up in the kitchen to use his laptop, that it would help his back and his arm. It did not. Then, his laptop (my old one) gave up the ghost. 

 It wouldn't fit in their car, but it did fit in our car. The kids loaded it up after breakfast, and took off for home before lunch. We had lunch, and then I drove us into the city. We unloaded it, and life was good!

Caitlin is still working from home most days, looking out her front window! It fits perfectly. With the push of a button, it raises and lifts if you want a standing desk.

JB drove home, and I took photos. The geese were ubiquitous!

The trees are magnificent.

In Nepean, there were a few decorations!

They've added turtle fences, having redone Moodie Drive. 

The golf course was busy, and the river was high!

There were more decorations nearer to home.

JB spotted this sign on the way into the city. He thought it advertised Muskoka's Santa's Village, and it does! It's in Bracebridge, and we used to go, but it is a five-hour drive away from here. 

Santa's Village back in the day. It's now all high techie, and has bigger rides, and a zip line at the aerial park! Here we are at Santa's Village, back in the day!

The starlings are getting ready to migrate.

🐻SNUGGLE Bears