Blackflies, fallen tree, LDD

The blackflies and mosquitoes continue... my arms are a mess. You'll read why. I have blistery boils on both my arms. 

I happened to have taken a photo of this tree in March, down in the wetland. It was quite holey!

Lo, and behold, it finally fell over. I fought the bugs, and hauled it out of the way. We've blackflies, as well as mosquitoes. They are wicked biters. I should have gone back to the house for long sleeves. You don't notice them landing, unlike mosquitoes.

Happily, it did not take out the two lady slippers that are in bloom just beyond (in the sunny spot on the left, below).

Have you ever frozen a milk bag? We had extra milk last time when the girls were here. We put it in the milk container and I noticed it was leaking Thursday. Plan B: the blender. Thing was I had to put it out overnight, as it didn't fit into our fridge. It was still there in the morning. This is the morning. We had frost overnight.

Yes, FROST. I thought to bring the cherry tomatoes, but didn't think to cover the squash. They are a wilted mess.

The goldfish are good. They've been joined by two leopard frogs, who seem fine in the sun.

The monarchs have arrived! I saw my first on Saturday. I was examining this milkweed plant. I'm wondering if I should just remove this plant, as it is right on the sidewalk, and will get smucked eventually!

I looked at said milkweed, and realized there was a Lymantria dispar dispar (LDD) moth caterpillars, otherwise known as European gypsy moth caterpillars, on it. ("Gypsy" is politically incorrect, as it is considered a pejorative term. Gypsies, known as Romani or Roma, were called such, as Europeans thought they came from Egypt.)

Some of them have made it to 15 mm, and a couple more intars to go until they reach 38 – 50 mm. They have reached the stage where they have the red dots, and are clearly identified as LDD. (Not that I had any doubt! They are 'flying' all around and under the trees on their gossamer thread. 

They are on the elm trees in the meadow, we'll see how that goes.

Down they went

We had several trees that had to come down before they fell down. There were several leaners in the forest, as well. They took them down for me. The elms we harvested for firewood. I've stacked some.
First, this pair have succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. It will let more light in, and open up our vista, sad as it is.



One down, in this pair. One to go.

I have a bit of wood to stack.


They chipped the two big ones, onto the sumac field. I'm trying to grow it up, it was razed when the house was built 30 years ago.


Around the side of the house. This one was leaning on the house and tried to go through the bathroom window in November. It needed to go down, too.

November!

We shall have to replace the outflow from the eavestrough, it's a bit smucked. It could have been worse!

We just threw the brush into the small copse. I'll stack the larger pieces.


Timber from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Timber 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They took down this leaner, as well. Old video, but Daisy is feeling better, still on drugs.
Daisy climber from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

A sunny day! Whoopee!

Yes, so off I went. I went to check out the owl's favourite tree. I keep track, just for fun. He's visited and left evidence on these days. Some days he'll poop, others he'll leave an owl pellet (undigested bones and fur of prey), but I haven't actually seen him since December.

Dec. 23rd – One out hunting in the afternoon sun (video).

Jan. 22nd – BLue jays clued me in. Photos and video!

Jan. 24th – Near the nest, blue jays alerted me again.

Feb. 24th – Found an owl pellet under his favourite tree!

Mar. 29th – Pooped under his tree in the night.

As I returned from the farthest part of the back yard, the geese flew overhead! Then they aimed at the lake, then veered.

What a glorious sound! They are a bit miffed, as our lakes are still frozen. They are in corn fields all across the region, hoping for a melt.



If you like the sound...
Geese on the fly from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The turkeys think it is mating season. They are displaying to entice the females. Bambi doesn't quite know what to make of it all!


Daisy and I went walkies. This fallen tree has proven to be entertaining for all. Hubby took Annabelle there the previous day.




The tree sits in a group of five. I think of them as the Cinq Soeurs. They are a group of five trees, and one, eventually, fell over, June, 2016. I watched the tree sway in the wind. It creaked for months. This is what it has looked like since then. The cats love it!


Daisy is a climber. She ran for yards, then flung herself up the tree. She was so happy!


Outside, the snow still melts. Although, today, we have had snow since 5:30 a.m., and now, at 8:30, it's rain.


Inside, my Orchid Cactus is beginning to bloom in the strength of the afternoon sunshine. I look forward to its huge blooms! [ It blooms for a couple of months! My Orchid Cactus blooms!] I put it outdoors in May. That's the second photo! I shall anticipate such blooms!


Oh, yes. Sitting inside, I spotted a chickadee swoop across the window vista, swiftly followed by my sharp-shinned hawk!
He is a frequent flyer, and often appears in the afternoon. He wasn't watching me! I have an archival photo of him on top of the bird feeder stand! At the time of the 2nd photo, April, 2015,  the experts told me he was a juvenile.

When a tree falls in the forest

BEFORE:

It was in the fall that Daisy and I watched the tree sway in the wind. It was top heavy, and very tall. The trunk had split, detached part way, and it was just waiting for a big wind.
 

AFTER:

There was no wind. I was sitting on the back deck on June 4th, I heard creaking, several times, as did JB over the course of the day... I was a bit worried about the bear being there. Then, a HUGE BANG!


Dorah and I went down for a walk. She thought this was a pretty cool tree and a treat.



Down after lunch, I took off some of the branches to clear the path. You can see a small sapling holding up this large branch. We've got a man coming who'll lay it down for us. Most of the wood isn't usable, as the top half was rotten.
 I like the way in which the canopy has let a lot of light into the forest.