Deer, barred owl, goldfish...

It looks pretty, especially when the sun comes out! The doe was on the sidewalk. 

The doe was eating my Candytuft plant↑. They do this every year! Often they eat the buds waiting for spring. Little twerps. The bud don't come back. This is why I like the snow cover.

candytuft in Spring

  There is lots of action. Three black squirrels were roaring around. Spring fever and they are twitterpated.

 

Sitting in my easy chair, I spotted some commotion at the chestnut tree. If squirrels had 9 lives, #75 would be down one. Or we'd be down one squirrel. The barred owl was chasing 75 up the tree. It's a tricky proposition. Not so easy with a great big wing span. The owl flew off to this tree. Talk about camouflage! 

Happily I've lots of archived photos. 

 

She sat for a period of time. The birds and squirrels disappeared. Joe Brian was napping, but I was tempted to wake him up. His meds are helping him sleep.

I was a bit shaky. Tired, and my arm was falling asleep, but you get the picture!.

   

I leaned on the camera tripod, but it didn't help. Eventually the wee birds came back. We are down a chickadee, I think. I wrote about that adventure on Saturday. The kestrel came by.

 

In the meantime, not to neglect the fish. I cleaned the tank and the filter on Sunday. It should be done monthly. They'll go outdoors into the goldfish pond in May when we warm up. 

Warm up may be awhile! It was -24 ℃ Monday morning. I made a fire to warm us up. I plan to drive the garbage down to the road. It'd be good to get the car going. 

The moon was amazing. Clear skies for once. I should have gotten a proper photo, but this will do.

Have a good week. Stay safe. Stay warm. 

Saturday's Critters

 It's both hunting season, and mating season for deer. I noticed some deer scrapes in the forest. They scrape out a clear spot, and urinate on their glands to spread their scent. They nudge low hanging branches with the same purpose. They've 5 sets of glands, I believe. 

Sure enough, a young buck.

The does are hanging around now. We didn't see them most of the summer after the fawn was born in the front yard.

   

 I heard the owl, and figured out it was in the back 40.

 

Butch in the rain, they are bulking up for winter!

   

 I found this caterpillar on the driveway. I put it in the leaves, in a safer place. Time to sleep!

   

 The coyotes continue to take advantage of the driveway. Only in the dark.

 

Saturday's Critters # 621 visit Eileen's blog for more critters.

Crumbly Acres Critters

I have found, since the fox sighting, that Fred is moving between burrows. I think I spotted the remaining kit yesterday. This is from May 24:

I think this is a kit, rather than Fred.

Friday, in the afternoon, the fox came back. I yelled at it to go away, but it circled the garden where the borrow is hidden. A little later, I could hear Fred whistling a warning, even though I sat there for a while seeing if it did return. The fox came by in the night July 29, with something in its mouth! Also, July 4th.

As of June 25th, the one coyote still has a bad leg.

   

 June 26th – the fawn and doe appeared on the frogpond trailcam. I don't know where I put the video, but it showed the coyote going through about 5 minutes later.

   

 June 27th – the bear came back, ambling through the critter path.

   

 The barred owl chose to eat in front of the camera! June 28, 9 pm.

 

For more critters, visit Eileen's blog! Saturday's Critters # 603

Warm days!

 

Wednesday began with the threat of rain, but it was gorgeous. This storm covers the continent. It's like the political storm we are facing. 

(This morning it is 7 ℃. and I'm putting the heat back on.) 

 It wasn't raining! I wanted to cry, with the election news, but it wasn't raining.

"We are already walking down the same road as our [US] neighbours. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, BC Cons, Federal Cons. NS is going to re-elect a man who tries to deny he’s not like Pierre, but uses the same slogans and fights the same fights."

 We've been trying to come to terms with the shock of it all. 

Even the Canadian media are giving us some notions of how to get through this... 

🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸 🐸

🐸  Moving the froggies <= I've kept track of the data. We've surpassed 2023's count.  Grand total is 146 frogs! The keep emerging from the muck in the pond. The new ones that have moved in are much brighter green. Also, I imagine I'm getting some from around the property, looking for winter habitat.

OK, this was our stress reliever: Nov. 6 – Moved 5 + 6 + 5 + 2 (saw the Barred owl on 2nd trip) = 18  Wednesday. 

There was one large one, who was tapping on the lid as he jumped. He made it down to the wetland, though. Cinnamon helped on a trip! 

I didn't find any new owl pellets, but the three I found are nearly dry. I shall report on them shortly.

I did manage to get up on the roof (in the warmth) to clean out the last of the leaves in the eaves.  If you can see, in the middle of the photo, in the background, my other project. Moving that wood from the dead elm trees in the upper meadow. 

A lovely, sunny day.

🐸 Moving the Frogs

But first, let's get this out of the way. We went to bed before any results from the US election. I woke at 3:30 and listened to the radio. #47 was giving a speech. OMG

"Word of the day is ‘recrudescence’ (17th century): the return of something terrible after a time of reprieve."

I am gobsmacked. We are moving backwards.

There will be an federal election for us next year. We are worried about right-wing whackos in Canada, yet most of the damage done to our nation is done by a provincial premiers who deny climate change.  'Nuff said. 

Tuesday morning: 

JOE:  I'm going to shave!
Me:   You have fun!
JOE: That's the name of the game today!  

That was yesterday. 

We had an amazingly warm day on Tuesday. We kept busy.

🐸 Moving the Frogs

The result of all that warmth meant that the frogs kept waking up in the goldfish pond. They are now so sensitive to us, that I'll just walk by and they will hide from us. It's tricky. They think it is safe for winter, but it is too shallow.

I've found a pot with a lid, which really helps. The larger, green frogs can jump out, but the lid keeps them secure.

Down we went. Here is a frog who will have a much better winter in the frog pond. 

This is what I found for my troubles. A tick! I could feel something crawling, and picked it off with a piece of tape. 

 

 Nov. 5th We moved 10 frogs, then 7 + 3 + 10 + 3 = 33 froggies. It was good exercise on a lovely day. Joe helped and took turns taking them down to the wetland or the frog pond. 

 2024 total =  128 

I went down to the back 40, the wetland, and owl was there. This is the path I take.

I think she helped herself to the froggies. We all have to eat! I found 3 owl pellets under the owl tree. I'll let it dry, dissect the pellets, and then see what she has been eating. A beetle, for sure! 

I hope you can get out in nature. It's raining some today. We'll need a distraction. 

Saturday's Critters

We had a warm spell, and now we're back to 'normal' November temperatures. Our leaves are down. 

Coyote

 

The deermice are powering up for winter! They are happy the feeder is out.

   

 I moved frogs, again. I have to take a video in order to remember my counts! 

🐸 2024 total =  88

Oct. 30 – warm day, moved 19 + 6 + 7 = 32

Oct. 31 – warm day, moved 5, nearly caught Jeremiah! Tried again, caught him.

Nov. 1 – last warm day; 10 + 8 + 9 = 29.

It's only 1 ℃ this morning. 

 

It's been 3 days of temperatures between 15 and 24 and Jeremiah finally woke up. I snagged him and took him down to the frog pond.

Jeremiah is actually the third bullfrog I've had in the pond. We had Jeremiah 1, who was a female, renamed Geraldine, and she had a smaller male move in. Geraldine and Jeremiah both succumbed to the freeze/thaw from climate change in the goldfish pond. It was gruesome. 

Geraldine – Sept. 1, 2013

 

It was an epic few days.

 

Barred owl was in the owl tree on my last trip to the wetland to dump another pail of frogs.

 

For more critters visit  Saturday's Critters # 568, where Eileen hosts.

Forest walkies

Cinnamon was out exploring. I asked if he wanted 'walkies' and he did. We went to the back 40. This is a photo of me standing in the Aspen grove, June 2020. You can see the house in the background.

After being stripped of leaves, the Woolly Moth caterpillars didn't do them much harm. The deer have trimmed these for years!

Can you see how much they have grown?!

Along we went. Cinnamon headed to the wetland, I veered left. Hopeful anticipation that maybe the Barred Owl was there. She was! She kept her eyes on Cinnamon. I approached and Cinnamon ran over to me. It didn't like that. Off she went.

🦉Barred Owl

The lighting is awful, with her backlit. Fortunately, I have other Barred Owl photos. The key to finding them is looking for the white mute under the tree. No owl pellets this time.

They seem to like their regular perches. This ought to be the Barred Owl Tree, since many owls have sat here.

One year they were nesting back here. This is their call, 'who-cooks-for-you?'  – June, 2016

 

Checking the wood duck nest box, I think something has been scratching at it.

A dust bath, and back we went to the house. 

Barred owl sighting!

 The sweet, last warm days continue. I usually spend some time reading on the back deck. I take a break between outside chores. 

The Aspen grove is growing nicely. The previous owners cut the grass here, but after 12 years, I've let it grow. We need trees. They survived Gypsy Spongy moth caterpillars, and are taller than I am. 

The blue jays were having a caucus meeting in the back yard behind the Aspen Grove. What can one do, but go check it out. Raucous Blue Jays usually means a Barred Owl. There was!!!! 

You'll forgive the lighting in the video↑. It's proof of life for our owl.  I've been hearing it in the night through open windows. Such a sweet sound: "Who-cooks-for-you?"

The deck has provided some viewing...

Look at the trees! They are turning and dropping leaves. They are rattling on the driveway. Actually, they aren't necessarily turning colour, just drying up and falling off. There is a big industry in many places, like Muskoka, where 

The Hydrangea, trimmed nicely by deer, has a caterpillar on it.

Another caterpillar: Cucullia convexipennis, the brown-hooded owlet, is a moth of the family Noctuidae.

One must report on this fabulous orchid. The one bloom branch is beginning to dry up, and the blossoms are falling, their lives spent. The good news is that there is a new branch, the dark green one, and I'll have new blossoms shortly. The old blossoms were done, the stem turning brown. I chopped them up. There are already buds on the new branch.

 

I was out doing a walkabout, in the early morning when it was chilly, and found a 🐍 garter snake stuck on some wild aster. It was cold, but alive. This same is true of the frogs, they get cold overnight, and warm up in the day. The reptiles and amphibians are ectothermic or cold-blooded, and cannot control body temperatures.

I wonder what triggers them to begin to hibernate? Nutmeg brought this green frog up onto the deck to get warm. It was cold and stunned. I took it out front and put it with Jeremiah bullfrog. It is too big for Jeremiah to eat! 

The goldfishies are doing well! No leaks! 

I was trying to do my workout, and the TV went weird. I thought it looked like a painting.

🍁Fall chores

I should rent a power washer and clean up the flag stones before it gets cold. And we should stain the decks before it gets too cold. We shall see. 

Have a great weekend, it is Friday.