September is nearly done!

As we head into October, a peek at September rains.  

rainstorm Sept. 17 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've been having fun with outdoor decor. Scarecrow sits atop the cat. 

Just before I placed her there, I found a dock spider attacking a caterpillar. 

dock spider from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Some birds migrate, like phoebe. I heard one a couple of days ago. 

Some of our birds do not migrate.

I have heard our hawk in the forest. It is a juvenile rough-legged hawk, and has figured out how to fly and eat prey!

The crows and blue jays are having issues. They are calling to one another. It made me think of West Side Story 1961, The Jets and the Sharks.

 

crows & blue jays from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I heard quite a few motorcycles making a lot of noise on the highway on the weekend. For someone with anxiety (triggered by noise), I got so irritated. I am glad to know what the point was. There were 400 motorcycles in Perth to honour veterans.

   

Another storm!

🌨A storm was coming. I cleared the sidewalk.

A storm arrived. I cleared the sidewalk. You can see Bambi in the background. She was no help at all!

The storm slowed down. I cleared the sidewalk!

It is a lovely winter coat, wrapping us all in the blanket of snowflakes.

 Do you know what we expect on the weekend? Yes, another storm! It was a horrid drive to visit my client for my 8:40 gig. The roads hadn't been done. I even had trouble finding the road. Thank goodness for snow tires. 

snowstorm from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Having sat with my client for a couple of hours, I came home, had lunch, then went back outside to use the snowblower. I have trouble finding the driveway, wandering on and off my path. There was ice under the 15 cm (6") snow, as well. 

  

A job well done! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐦 I had fun watching the American crow. I worked hard on the video, splicing the photos in with the audio of the outdoors. It is unusual to see the crow so near the window. 

Funny story. 

I had the camera on the tripod, taking several photos, and had trouble shifting it to face higher in the tree. I just saw the crow about to jump onto a lower branch and approach the bird feeder. Grabbing the videocamera, the camera lens flipped down, and made a noise on the tripod. Off went crow! 

 

Crow from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

It has been cold, snowy, cloudy, sunny. Mostly we watch our deer friends. 

I have been bird watching at the feeder. (See yesterday's post for those!) It has been hit and miss for critters. The American Crows seldom come close to the house. This one came by, headed for the feeders. 

 

Let's us begin with some energy!

fawn zoomies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They are called a 'fawn' until they are a year old. Their 2nd year, they are called yearlings.

That's the way to start the day! The herd moves a little more slowly.

deer herd from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

doe and squirrel from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The deer is as curious as it is concerned, stamping its hooves in warning. Sometimes they will do this to me, and I just stamp back! This must be a fawn!

This was during our recent snow storm. They are hardy critters! Thick fur, coarse coats!

deer in storm from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

deer friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They are headed for the bird feeder or the spring lilac shoots.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! Saturday's Critters # 480

Yard critters

The robins hatched, brood #2 under the deck: July 5th.

The hummingbirds are happy with fresh food. 

The crows still pop around. I threw out part of a bagel. This is a screen capture from the video. It was quick!

The goldfish are good, although with the heat the water is green. I accidentally dropped the fountainhead off of the pump. I won't be able to find it until it gets cooler!

If a tree falls... A dead birch had the biscuit. I spent days cleaning up debris to make walking paths in our first few years here. I gave up, because we've been having highs winds in the past years, and it seems futile. I think it good exercise to step up and over the tree branches. 

Our Canada Day was different here. Out of respect for Indigenous People and the Sixties Scoop, many of us reflected on the past, the present, and the future. This beautiful flag was designed by the late Curtis Wilson,  who lived in Campbell River, B.C. He died of a heart attack.

Curtis "Mulidzas" Wilson (1980-2019) Mulidzas is the traditional name handed to Curtis Wilson during a family Potlatch held in 2001.

The robins were bop-bop-bopping in the serviceberry bush. It is laden with berries.

The sumac are surviving, barely. The wild grape vine is covering a couple of them. The integrity of the entire patch was compromised when previous owners raised the brush in lieu of open field. I've been letting it grow.

 

A coyote whipped by in the dark. Don't blink! coyote  

  

The racoon was doing the worm dance. She managed to find several. I was fascinated. She stomps with both paws to scare them, or something, and tugs the great long things out of the ground. Racoon worming 

 

She was searching in the backyard for food, as well. I'd chucked out a yucky apple. The funny thing was, the camera tipped over and I missed a few critters, I think. The dragonflies, in the daytime, managed to trigger the camera. I was impressed. backyard Butch 

 

We watched the storm come in on the radar last night. It was a wonderful 25.6 mm (about an inch). Thunderboomers in southern Ontario dotted the lightning map.

Summer is creeping towards us

I am amazed with plants like the hops vine. It has reached the roof. I continue to pick about 50 LDD caterpillars off of it each day to preserve it. The reptile tongs are terrific, now that the caterpillars have spiny things that can give one a rash.

I put out the kiddie pool, but I have a leak. I'll see if I can find a repair kit. I fill it a little each day, so as not to drain the well. It gives it a chance to warm up, as the well water is about 4 C.

🌩We had lightning last night, moderate temperatures, but no rain. I keep hoping.

Sitting on the back deck, I was watching a pair of red-eyed vireo have been playing in the lilac tree. In and out, chases back and forth from the shrubs to the trees. It is delightful!

red-eyed vireo from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I like their nests. They weave birch through it.

I managed the baby crow noises on tape!

 

In the frontyard, a sparrow pair on the spruce tree. I had a bit if trouble finding it! 

 

sparrow

I'll leave with a laugh. I realized my mistake in putting the trailcam in front of the flags. I was hoping to catch the doe, but I moved it as it'd waste batteries!

flagging from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Chores, Butch, ducklings, and crow

Yesterday, after fighting the fairy lights and the gypsy moths, then recognising poor JB's allergies, I turned to him and asked if maybe we should just find ourselves a nice bug-free condo somewhere... Thing is, it seems as if EVERYONE, even in the city, are noticing a LOT of mosquitos. 

I've 5/6 fairy lights working. I used rubbing alcohol to clean the contacts. It worked for one, but not the other. Perhaps, I should give up!

These gypsy moth caterpillars are a losing battle. I think they are slowing down.

Supplies

Home Hardware won't let me order the stuff I needed for the water softener online. They have an option, email the store. I did an email order at our local hardware store. They emailed back to say it was fulfilled. I printed off the email, and JB went in for me. The poor man. There was some fooferaw. HE told me he was glad I didn't go in what with protocols and lineups. Everybody is so tense. 

This is my task. We need to repaint the door frames. I am fighting, trying to summon the will, the energy, to do it.  I so lack motivation. I've been thinking about this task for a year! I'm not sure whether to sand it, or scrape it, or use paint remover to start fresh. The frame has to be about 35 years old.

Happy news, I thought the robins were gone. Apparently, they've been out in the forest to make whoopie! She is on the nest. I felt badly, thinking I'd scared them until she returned. One egg yesterday. I'll bet the cowbird contributes. They've been hanging around.

The milkweed are growing! We'll see if we get monarch this year.

Another chore: there is a little opening after the raccoons attacked the bird feeder last year. I saw a large wasp go in. Not good. I have to grab the ladder and reattach it. I haven't quite figured it out. Maybe a screw?

I was feeding the ducks down at the pond, as I was hoping for wood duck nesting box candidates. (I have three and only one was used.) I sent JB for another bag of cracked corn before I realized they'd flown. 

They have to go from the shallow frogpond, which will dry out this summer, into the deep parts of the wetland. They took the long way around. 

I heard something in the back garden. I was wearing my workout gear (short yoga pants and t-shirt) and ran outside with the video camera. This garden has some hibiscus (which the deer LOVE), and I've wrapped them up in chicken wire. When I arrived I saw Cinnamon there. Not good.

One little duckling was stuck in the garden, while its two siblings were taking off into the gully. I know they follow the momma's sound. They cheeped all the way along. I set it down in the wetland, where they were headed off following the siblings. Down there, I could hear one coming along from the left. It saw me and headed up the hill, rather than into the wetland. Getting behind it, I escorted it in the right direction. I hustled back up to the house, where Cinnamon was resting in the heat.  Farewell wood ducklings !

I've been using up the rest of the cracked corn. Soon it'll be gone and that'll be that. Butch has been busy at the dock. I noticed two hanging out together, but they don't get along at all! Butch food fight  

 

This one was alone, but it fell in! I have to admit, I laughed! They swim all the time, so it was funny. Butch fell in  

 

 The crow is intimidated by Butch. Butch and crow  

   

There's my tail. Things are hopping, cheeping, and buzzing.