Deck refurbish

We have three back decks. It's a bit of a mish mash. I repaired the lower deck with Aster in 2016. Then, we replaced it in 2018.  I worked on restaining the upper deck, next job was the lower deck. 

 I'd repaired one plank on the middle deck, but things just wear out! It was time. One plank rotted. The previous owners had a cat and a dog. The yappy dog needed a total enclosure. We do not. It won't keep out Butch raccoon!

Friday night was the deconstruction.

Nutmeg was deeply suspicious. 

Saturday morning, Cinnamon wasn't amused. He was afraid, and hid under the BBQ cover in the corner. I brought him inside.

Cortlin began work!

The cats were OK with it. Cinnamon likes to sit here at the top of the steps.

Cortlin came back to replace two upper deck boards for me. He left his truck here. I texted his mom, and asked if he was one of those men who could take their trucks seriously, or if he had a sense of humour. She said the latter. I guess if you were the youngest of three sons, you'd have to! He liked my joke.

I'll have to stain them, but ironically we've a rainstorm on the way. We haven't had any rain this month. We last had rain September 25/26. 

There we go! 

Monday was a lovely day, and we took off for Brockville for lunch. More on that anon. 

Meantime, my late father would be amazed with his Blue Jays!

Backyard tails

I featured the front yard yesterday. Today, the back deck and backyard. 

 I wrote about this strange bug last August and, thanks to iNaturalist, someone figured it out. I watched it lay eggs over many hours. Of course I took a video📹.

Arthropods Phylum Arthropoda

The egg sack was there all winter in rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow and hail! Now little larvae are coming out. Mystery solved. The spider is on to them. Uh oh!

I have to juggle my plants out back. The pine trees have lost so many branches in ice and snow storms. I rely on the hops vine to shade my plants here. That pine tree used to be thick with branches and the morning sun couldn't get through.

The Hops Vine continues to climb.  

Dawn does what dawn does!

Somebody worked itself to death working out! That was my second thought. My first thought was, 'well done cats!'

After the storm (nearly 2"), that made the goldfish happier, as well as the resident Green Frog.

She sure looks pregnant! We shall see. If you choose to watch the video you can see the last of the phoebe parent flitting about for bugs. They have flown!

Fred June 3 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I checked on the phoebe babies and they flew off. That is a relief. The storm cleared the bird poop off the lower deck, and they are done.

I had to be careful putting out laundry. They managed to avoid it, though! The parents grab the poop and take it out of the nest. The nest itself is pristine. 

A bee that wasn't bumbling.

Our provincial premier had complained about the previous government having 29 cabinet members. For someone who campaigned on smaller government, it is ridiculous. Quote of the week from TVO: 

"At the same time, nearly half of Ford’s caucus will now find themselves doing double duty as ministers, too, as the cabinet swells to 36 members; there’s a minister for red-tape reduction, but apparently no one in charge of irony."

In the air and on the ground

 I spotted Percy. I'll bet he is growing. 

We needed our septic system pumped.  We'd phoned it in, booked a date this week, and no sooner than a bit later, the driver popped by asking if he could do it right away – he was passing by and had room. Why not?! 

The planter is doing well. The dahlia is standing tall amongst the other bulbs. I have to water it daily.

The hydrangea

We've wild raspberries! 

Sweet pea vine

Tiger moth, I think, on the Hops vine. It hosts so many critters.

The Hops Vine is growing like mad. It is habitat for a lot of critters. It shelters my indoor plants while they enjoy summer on the back deck.

The gun range application was denied. We keep telling them, it is about the noise, not the guns. The Open House and gun demonstrations are on, latest article about it. OPP cannot stop it. We will watch and listen. I decided not to comment. There is no point. The Millar Brooke Farm paddock is much closer than he tells us. I have it at 933 m, whereas it is claimed they are 1.8 km away. Either way, the gunfire is atrocious. It is unexpected, and scares domestic and wild animals.

I had fun watching the skies the other day.

They were out our backyard, too. 

plane July 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.