Made it to Thursday!

 'Spring' unfolds as it should. It is a tad chilly. The spring bulbs will be fine. Can you see the daffodils?! 

It snowed, not enough to accumulate, which is good. We expect heavy snow in three provinces today!

In our hot weather, I took away the heated bird bath topper (thank you, AC!), and filled the cement bird bath. As we watched the forecast, I realized that it was going to freeze. I ran out in the cold and the dark and drained it. Me bad.

 The snow blower is put away! The battery is shot in the lawn tractor, and our repairman is picking it up on Friday. I think it is the battery. I recharged it three times, and finally noticed a message: F03, which means it has leaked inside it. 

battery recharger

Bob will take care of it for us. He'll load the lawn tractor up on his trailer, after pushing it past all the tree debris, and have his dude in the shop work on it. He's not a young man, and I feel badly, I usually try to have it nearer the driveway.

Our arborists cancelled for yesterday. There are staffing issues, they've been working double shifts. The branches aren't going anywhere! I texted Caitlin: 

I summoned some energy, and toottled on down to the frogpond. I still hadn't remembered to check for the tool I might need to rescue the dead tree from the raccoon baffle. I took ANOTHER photo to remind me. When I upload the photos, it is my non-mental note, which doesn't work well these days! Anyway, I was sure I had stapled it to the tree, but I'd used roofing nails. The metal of both from a stove pipe, and the red bit from old eavestrough, were well stuck on the tree. 

Off I went up to the house, pleased with myself. When I arrived, I figured if not now, when? Back down I went, with my late father's red hammer, and ripped it all off. It looks so much better not being there. Incongruous, I thought. In hindsight, I should have taken gloves!

No more action on the part of the phoebes. The nest looks lovely. After I wrote this, I noticed them out back. This is where the lawn tractor is stored, as well as the snow blower.

phoebe nest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I found another partial nest under the deck. I wondered if it was a new pair or he was giving her a choice. It was somewhat chilly these last few days. 

They are lovely little nests, made of moss and mud and twigs. 

One of the goldfish is on its last legs. We haven't gotten around to a field trip to look for more. We've 5 left, and numbers are dwindling.

Pepper hasn't come back since April 12th. 

 

Pepper from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We shall see what today brings! I hope you have a good one.

Oh, February, give me strength!

 Here we be. Friday again. Tomorrow is Christmas in February! The kids are coming, finally, now that COVID numbers are down. We will celebrate my 65th, as well as Josephine's 14th birthday from December, too. 

The news is still horrid. Twas ever thus. Canada has a lot of Ukranians, and people of Ukranian descent, many with loved ones there. Our Prime Minister was joined by Deputy Minister Chrystia Freeland, Defence Minister Anita Ananda, and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to announce a second tranche of sanctions. During the press conference Trudeau and our three female ministers said that we were with the Ukranian people. Minister Freeland, with a B.A. in Russian history (Harvard), also has her Master's in slavonic studies from Oxford. She speaks 5 languages, including Ukranian. She said some comforting words in that language to the people. 

One person on Twitter wrote:

"Putin just got told off by three Canadian women and a leader better looking than him."

Here is advice from author and trauma survivor, Julie Lalonde, a woman who was stalked for 10 years. 

That said, things are bad in Texas, where their governor is having an all-out war on gay and trans people (Tweet). Abbott is all about charging parents of trans kids with child abuse. He wants teachers, doctors, and caregivers to snitch on them. This is 2022, right? 

⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄⛄

Things have been active here. Lots of birds. They know a storm is coming, I think! Today, more snow. 

🎾 JB has been watching tennis. Happy man. 

I've been watching some other things. For Black History Month, I decided to PVR the Women of the Movement (2022) series (6 episodes) that has been on W channel. It is an atrocious story, but one white people must watch to understand a piece of black history. It tells the story of Emmett Till, a young black kid murdered in the south by racists in 1955. His mother was empowered to make change in those horrid times of Jack Crow. She helped spur the Civil Rights Movement. We don't know how much freedom we have, we white people.

💘I've been balancing that emotional story with the February RomComs. This one, Mix up in the Mediterranean (2021), is a light plot, a competition by chefs, filmed in Malta. The scenery is grand! Nice to see beaches from this frozen north.

🧊Going to fetch the mail, the ice accretion sparkles in the sun. The trees are happier in the sunshine, although you can hear them creaking and clacking as the wind blows. 

It is crusty snow cover, but the land is covered which is important for the flora and fauna in these temperatures and freeze-thaw cycles. The mailbox had a goodly amount of ice on it. I couldn't bash off the ice at the back. It'll melt. Someday.

The sidewalk is icy, since the warmth of the February sun melted the snow and ice rain. I put some salt down for safety.

I had a plan with the bird bath. I ordered a replacement heater, but they were out of stock. I recalled that John gave me a heated bird bath he wasn't using. (Thank you, John, I couldn't find the right place for it till now.) Anyway, we'll give this a try for now. It's -13 C. this morning, and despite the sun I don't want to fool around too long with the water. 

📱Has anyone been totally bothered by ridiculous phone calls? I had three Wednesday, and another Thursday. Most of them don't engage, and hang up. The one told me there were bad charges on my credit card, press 1 to get them cancelled, 2 you accept these charges. Both numbers are blocked.

I hope you have a descent day. I have some house cleaning to do, although I did bathroom and kitchen floors, there is more to be done with actual family coming! 

Robins and other birdies 🐦

I'm back to bird watching. There are hints of spring. The goldfinches are showing a tinge of yellow. Their antics are fun. I put the zoom lens on the tripod, and set it up in the bay window. Nice, warm bird watching! I prefocused and just have to push the button. 

I love capturing them on the fly. There are several who photobomb, as well! Can you spot them?

 

The birdbath is popular! Our robin (I think there is only one) is a heavy drinker! The mourning doves watch it carefully.

The mourning doves had a debate:

            "What do you think, dear? Should we join them in the tree?"

        "They look pretty cozy!"

        "Well, I'm going!"

        "OK, see you soon. I'm still thirsty!"

Thirst satisfied, off it went to join its partner. 

The mourning doves have it right. Snuggle in the shelter of the evergreens.

🐦Robins

I don't know if it is a him or her, but the robin has been visiting daily. It's fun to see. It's overwintered, and it isn't a sign of spring, to be honest. The flock of starlings I spotted were hopeful.

 

For more critters, visit: Saturday's Critters # 425. Thanks to Eileen for hosting us in one big critter family!

The bird bath

It's a ⛄SNOW DAY! Today, Monday, we are snowed in with a blizzard. I'm not even going to put out the garbage. Schools are closed, although they are just continuing online. 

Cinnamon spent a good 20 minutes outside in the early morning Saturday in the extreme cold. Eventually he came back in and hunkered down. They keep going door to door, hoping it is nicer out there. 

The day before, in the afternoon, I'd cleaned and topped up the water in the bird bath. Overnight, you can see how much evaporates in the cold. 

I had evidence to the contrary, though. King Henry the buck has a drink:

You Two deer munched on chestnuts and junior had a drink:

We are keeping busy indoors. JB had football on the go. I built him a fire to keep him cosy in the basement. There was tennis on TV, which we watched together, but in between we played curling! This was a birthday present 3 years ago, I think! With the train put away for the season, we have a place for it. curling

 

Critters caught on camera

There is more action on the trailcams, now that the bugs have lessened, and it's not so hot in the sun. The raccoons have appeared more often. Suddenly, 6 raccoons, although we lost kit one up the highway.

 When I went down to the meadow, I spotted a leopard frog and a wood frog. meadow frogs 

 

Butch hopping after the frogs in the meadow! This makes me laugh so much! Butch raccoon hopping  

The birdbath has been a hit with all. 

The birdbath in the dark is lovely to see in the night. This video took two tries! birdbath  

There was a bird at the pond  who showed that not all the bugs have gone. 

Doe and fawn  "Wait for me!"  

Fall chores

I am slowly progressing with fall chores... 

• Remove vines, wash rails, glass
• Shut down fountain
• Heater in bird bath
• Goldfish into the fish tank
• Move Muskoka chair to shed
• Bring battery in from lawn tractor (Dec. 19th)
• Burlap on bushes
• Rake middle deck
• Drain hoses, put them in the shed
• Fix the eavestrough downspout
• Cover fountain
• Clean up gardens

The goldfish are in, but I had to put a barrier in as Cinnamon likes them. We're down several, but no one seems to be able to get in new supplies. They are fancy goldfish, not Koi, but by July [Critters are all around us!], I was down to six. 

Soon, I will dead head all the plants. I still have petunias!

I washed all the glass and the railings, taking down the vines. It was excellent exercise! The vines grew right up to the roof. They are wilting in Autumn, having served their purpose, and hosted many critters.

UPDATE: downspout

I rejigged the support straps. I added one, moved another down and the other up. There was blood! Those straps are sharp. We really need larger downspouts, what with the dumps of rain.

I used a rivet gun to firmly attach two sets of pieces. I just don't have the arm strength, though.

Birdbath

One morning I awoke, and there was ice on the bird bath. I put in the heater. It's tricky, since the raccoons and deer like to disconnect it from the extension cord. 

This is what Nutmeg has been up to.  I am hoping she can't catch them. 

Nutmeg birding from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo. She usually grabs rodents, at 90% or her catch. Very few birds, and some snakes. 

Water fountain

Oct. 18 there looked like rain. We change up our days, well, I do, to plan my outdoor chores. I'm still waiting for the fountain to dry before I can cover it up. 

Not a drop of rain! Then, Oct. 16, we had 12 mm. I'm back to square one, waiting for it to dry! It's decent to have projects!

Rake middle deck & drain both hoses...you can see why.

Every morning I trek on down to the trailcams. It's good exercise for a senior, as it involves up and down hill, stepping over forest debris, which sharpen my balance. JB continue to walk 2 or 3 times around the property for exercise and stress relief. His rotator cuff is still giving him horrible pain. He is at physio as I write this. He has exercises, which he does faithfully several times a day.

We had winds, which took down the leaves. I did grab photos, though!

The clouds