Another snowy day!

 The cats were to go in for their annual exams and shots. We deferred it to a day without 7 cm snow. 

It was quite a snowy day. 

I noticed a rock I that wasn't very snow covered. Turns out it was Labbit chewing dead weeds and plants.

 

I posted photos of little Nutmeg the other day. This is her quiet spot. She didn't get the memo that I was washing sheets!

This is their daytime spot, in the sunshine. 

The cats get pretty tired squirrel and bird watching! I had 4 house finches, amongst others. 

chickadee

There are two pairs of cardinals!

The two males at the same time!

We finished off 🎥 Darby and Joan (AU) this week. The new one is a 6-show series: Protection (UK 2024 - miniseries) 6 episodes. I was quite happy to have a hot shower and put my feet up having done the driveway and refilled bird feeders.

Saturday's Critters

The 4-legged critters have been more difficult to spot in the daytime. Which is a good thing! We don't want the coyote, bears, fox, fisher, etc., hanging out here. The squirrels are a different story.

The tray catches a lot of spilled seed. As Mr. Cardinal can attest.

'Deer' feeder!

 

Coyote in the dark

 

More deer, a doe

 

Butch is up to something!

   

 This video 'thumbnail' shows Joe in the day time. Most of our critters appear in the dark. I wanted to paint a picture! You can see the coyote on the back lawn in the dark.

 

Saturday's Critters # 572 <= visit more critters at Eileens meeting place.

Here come the bucks and the cottontail!

 I went into the hardware store in town for supplies to work on my new bird feeder tray and the door jam, which is leaking cold air. In the store Friday, I picked up some sale items, as well as new weatherstripping. I was hoping to get that done before the cold weather came back, but that didn't happen. The front door leaks air. 

I wandered, looking for sale. Someone either broke, or stole one wine glass out of the 6, hence the discount. I don't have 6 friends, wo this is perfect! Also, a flag for the mailbox for the summer. We have to look forward.

My new, green bird seed catcher, intended to reduce waste seed, had 3 holes but it didn't hang well. It really needed 4 chains for balance. The mourning doves really like it. 

Action!

Darkness fell,  and look who appeared! We need a name for Labbit. 

cottontail from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'd set up the camera with the zoom and tripod to snap feeder photos.  

I never have time to figure out the proper settings in the dark. By the time I'd research it, I forget again for next time.

My amaryllis had a problem. OK, it wasn't a problem. It was assaulted. By me. I lifted it out to better see it on the window sill, and broke off one of the 3 blossoms. I feel so badly! You can see Nutmeg, peeking up behind it, wanting in for breakfast.

Anyway, a new week begins. JB kicked me out of bed to put the garbage out. He has one bad arm, and that is my job. I was awake from 4 - 5 a.m., and managed to get back to sleep. We'll see what trouble I can get into today! 

The deer have been around, we've King Charles, Princes William and Harry! William is a 6-point buck, Harry is younger, maybe 2-years-old, with single point pickle stabber antlers. You count all the points on both antlers, even the brow tines. Sometimes they have a different number on the second antler.

 

doe a deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The wee twins are so fuzzy! King Charles wanders about. He is a 10-point buck.

 

fawns and buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Let us see what the week will bring.

Outdoor chores!

 Cinnamon sure slows me down!

Autumn chores: washing windows before it is too cold, and water freezes on the window! With the sun lower on the horizon, it points out my work. OK, maybe today! There is to be a high of 24 C.!

Buckthorn berries, you'll find lots of these in raccoon poop!

I promised to explain my felting work. This package came from Amazon. I think, just like my other project, I'll do my own design. I can't quite form the petals.

Thank goodness for the translate function on my phone. The directions were less than spectacular.

Susie Homemaker, as my mom used to say. I managed to repair JB's jeans. I even had several jean patches in my sewing basket. All I can do is hint: 'liar, liar, pants on fire!'

The frogs are gathering in the goldfish pond. 

The colours are not as spectacular as some years. 

I spent the weekend working on outdoor projects. It's too early, but I figured out how to hang this bird feeder. Hopefully the bears stay away. They haven't appeared anywhere but in the forest all summer.

I did some of my spray painting for winter. It's a pretty harsh climate for metals!

Cats 'n rats 'n elephants

OK, no rats or elephants, but lots of other critters...

Things are pretty busy around here, even for the bird feeders. JB went out and got us some bird seed. Happy birdies! The local seed and feed doesn't have the fancy bird seed. I don't want to place an online order with local hardware stores. It's all too complicated for us. So they plunk the big bags into the back of the car, and since my back is better, I can get it out of the car and put it on the workbench.

I have three different bags of bird seed. A richer mix for the globe feeder and the little birds. The glass feeder has a finch combo of nyjer and millet, etc. Finally, black oil sunflower seed. We've lots of redpolls, chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, a few blue jays, but my fave are the pair of cardinals in the chestnut tree! You'll have to bigify it to see them!

Out I went to do the sidewalk. It was approaching zero, and at first the snow was melting, then it rained for a bit, and stopped. 

Down in the meadow, the branches were quite drippy!

The snow cover is deep enough, the flora and fauna are protected. Our lakes and river are quite full. Spring will be interesting.

Well, it was a vole that Nutmeg found. Somewhere. In a snowstorm! She growled at me as I tried to take it away. I let her be. It was only about 4 cm snow, not too bad.

You'll recall my video from yesterday, Nutmeg and Cinnamon playing on the front deck in the warm sun. This is a screen capture.

The trailcam works well here. Oregano Feb 5  is a big lad, and feral. He runs about 2 km to us for food, so we're giving him a handout. 

The forest critters are amazing. This is a short clip, I repeated the clip in slow motion. Cinn and I went  out in the slush, and could not find any tracks. The temperature went above zero today, and we left it too late.

On our walk, Cinn and I went down to the island, again, there were two deer  watching us!

 

The trek down to the camera, and back up the hill, was worth it. I love deer selfies!

 

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Saturday's Critters # 373