Cat walkies in the forest

 Cinnamon and I went walkies last Thursday, as is our way. He's a good companion. Meowing all the way, he followed the deer tracks. He led and I followed, until he made it to the wetland. The wetland was a little, erm, wet!

He stopped and went back to the tree. Raccoon poop!

There are lots of woodpecker holes.

Off he went...

The trees reflect the sunshine and embrace the warmer temperatures. The wetland melts from the shoreline in towards the middle, where the ice is thicker.

Can you see the Springtails (AKA snowfleas)! They cover the open water in the wetland. They are active at 5 C. and fill deep deer tracks. 

You can see them springing in this video. They are harmless, Springtails eat bacteria, fungi, lichens, algae and decaying vegetation, fertilizing the soil in the process.

Snow fleas from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Off he goes, off the point. I saw him sinking up to his armpits, and he decided to come back. I think he jumped over the water to come back, as I'd walked away at that point.

The deer paths go off into the wetland, through the meltwater. 

Fisher tracks on the snow...

Someone flung himself up the tree!

Here he comes!

He lagged behind, and I whistled for him. The chickadees answered me!

Cinnamon walkies 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

He looks left and right.

In the meadow, he pauses for washups! 

A good time had by both of us!

More forest bathing

UPDATE: Sept. 28th 

Before I continue on, sadly, one of the victims in the car that rolled near us is still in bad shape.  The driver has been charged with drunk driving. The two passengers are still in hospital. One 32-year-old is in hospital here, the other young man, 26, is in really bad shape. 

Zack Worthington's right wrist is broken, scapula/shoulder blade is broken, his face is broken: nose, orbital bone, forehead crushed. Bleeding from his brain frontal lobe is another problem, as well as some paralysis. He's in a medically induced coma, and on a ventilator. They are doing a fundraiser to help his girlfriend with expenses, as she is out of work. It's raised over $13,000.

I was wondering about the victims. These are all lessons in drinking and driving, especially on dark roads when wildlife is on the move.

OK, back to my tale.

Wait for meeeeeee! I went for a walk, and two cats came along. 

My buddy. 

Down in the wetland, at 'the point,' I had to creep to the edge of the wetland and duck under the tree branches and snap the pretty colours.

She is a dippy cat. Nutmeg tree climbing. Cinnamon just watches from below.

More little mushrooms.

This could be a painting! Can you see Nutmeg on the tree on the left?!

We had tree work done a couple of years ago. You can where the birch, in the foreground, was laid down. In the past few days, the birch in the middle ground came down.

The felled tree has lots of fungus!

I noticed the tree with a bit of a crook. Ten years here, and I'd not seen it before!

Look at those colours!

A man and his cat. She leads when he walks with her. Cinnamon leads when he walks with me!

JB in the forest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Poor Nutmeg doesn't seem to be feeling well. She's gone back to bed. I'm thinking she needs deworming. We'll try that. 

More walkies

As we ease into fall, cooler temperatures and some rain, Nutmeg and I discovered a maple leaf.

These old cedars make for a good climbing tree. Can you see her?

It was dark enough that the flash came on. She didn't like that.

I love the texture of the bark, 

cat climbing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 This is fun. Cinnamon, Nutmeg and I were down capturing the memory cards. We were captured ourselves!

Nutmeg looked off into the forest, and I knew something was there. Sure enough, two deer. I was only worried for a moment, as if it were something serious she'd be up the tree in a flash.

From there, as shown in the video, the two cats went into the water of the wetland. Nutmeg having a drink, standing in the water! 

cat walkies 1 1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I was distracted by the sound of the pileated woodpecker. The first video was too dark, so I moved under the tree to the other side of the path. It was throwing chunks of tree down below. I was lucky not to get hit!

  

pileated woodpecker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It's a miracle!

I finally had walkies with Cinnamon. He's been reluctant, until Monday, May 25th. I've missed my walkies with Daisy.

I went down to the trailcams. I was standing here, admiring my work on clearing the path with the lawn tractor, when I heard meowing behind me. The path leads to the empty duck box.



He's been to the pond alone. I've captured him on the trail camera focused on the dock. I knew he'd been down there.
Nutmeg still isn't comfortable being petted outdoors. We spent the winter keeping them indoors. I brought her a piece of wild catnip, called her, no way, and threw it towards her. She ran off. Cinnamon helped me find the lady slippers. He was so happy.



One lone male mallard duck on the pond. Now that the one duck is settled into her nesting box, the other two boxes are empty, we can walk around the pond again.



The pond is full of tadpoles!

tadpoles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.




I just read an article on kitten socialization. You'll recall our two were found at the side of a road, sleeping and huddled together. The vet, who sold them to us, estimated that they were about 4 - 6 months old at that point. It's no wonder their fears are huge.

Socialization Tips For You and Your Kitten

Kittens have a prime socialization window which occurs at 2-7 weeks of age but can extend up to 14 weeks. During this time, the kitten is most receptive to new experiences. ...  After the window closes, unfamiliar people, objects and experiences are approached with caution, and the kitten may become fearful. In fact, the most common cause of fear and aggression is lack of socialization.

I had trouble with focus, because of my cataracts, but once I remembered I'd had it on manual focus, I did better. sigh. There were only two. We've had 4 or 5 in previous years. Thanks to Eileen, who showed photos of her captures, as I'd forgotten about them. They are so rare, and last such a short period of time.



The Lady Slippers grow on the edge of the wetland.

 

I called him, whistled, patted my leg, and by the time I turned around, he was roaring up the hill in front of me.