Winter settles in...

I used the blower on the driveway on Sunday, in the late afternoon. I knew it was still snowing, but it'd soon be dark. Monday is garbage day. When I was finished, it didn't look as if I'd done it! Pppfffftttt! 

The oak tree still has dead leaves!

You'd think, being retired, there is no pressure. I woke up knowing I had to put garbage out. PRESSURE! Checking the temperature, it was -17 ℃.  (This morning it is -19℃!)  I never sleep well, knowing I have a deadline! 😆 

It was bitterly cold. Taking off my gloves for a photo, my fingers froze! 

There were coyote tracks all across the driveway. This shows the coyote tracks checking out the path the voles took across the driveway! This is what coyotes eat, for the most part. 

We haven't seen deer much. The snowfall brought them out. I noticed one our the front window.

The 5 deer checked the deer feeders. Nada! I sent JB into town to get some deer feed. We don't feed them much, but they get a mouthful. It means we can see them, which warms the cockles 💖. 

I built these troughs in April, 2015 (to replace ones the previous home owner built), but they are wearing out. Maybe that is a spring project! 

They emerged slowly from the forest.

It wasn't very deep snow. I was done in no time. 

🎁 It's my birthday this month. We bought me two new trailcams. They are inexpensive these days. Most of them seem to be cellular, meaning you have to buy a monthly plan where the camera will upload your images directly. 
I find going out to the forest means I am getting fresh air and walking. Plus, why should I pay them for this? I need more SD Cards, though. I keep dropping them, or they wear out, or I put them in pockets and can't find them. Sigh. Ain't old age fun?! 

I am really excited! 

This new trailcam has sensors on either side (see arrows), which helps trigger the camera and capture the critters better! That is the theory...

 

Pumpkins, selfie, and critters

It's been a week since I got dressed. I went out to fetch trailcam cards in my jammies, wearing my long, winter coat. Sunday, I managed a lovely sit on the front deck, reading in the sunshine, under a wolf blanket.



Saturday, I posted about Maggie, our deer with the dislocated ankle. Today, the other critters. I switched from videos to still shots, just for a change.

By the time I went outside to collect the trailcam photos (2 days worth) we'd gotten 693 shots on the one camera! Note the snow cover.



The turkeys are so big.



I love the eye balls in the dark! Oh, and the butt!



From Nov. 20, the snow melted in the 4 mm rain. Then we had hail, Nov. 22!

hail from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Remember our four release raccoons?

pumpkins from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


Meantime, Friday morning...

Fri. Nov. 22 @ 11:30 am – Overturned pickup truck in Perth https://t.co/YeuOCMg9ZW

— Lake 88 (@lake88fm) November 22, 2019

Hobbies and my feeder project

Hubby's joke is: Dad would BBQ even in storms,
lashed to the deck. I carry on that tradition!

The news, of course, is horrific. Flooding in Kashechewan. A young man dead, another injured from a Sunday 4:00 a.m. collision in Ottawa. A young Smiths Falls man who went into the water at Peggy's Cove. They are still searching for his body. The tragic earthquake near Nepal, with thousands dead. Truly, one must enjoy each day.

My problems are insignificant! Hobbies take up some time and provide relief for worries, as well as giving me something to do. Part of early retirement is having something to do. It's peculiar but my hospice clients' families keep canceling. One of them is too healthy, the other too ill to leave the house for fun.

I've never bought wood before. My dad's stash in Bala had enough spare leftovers that I could work
on lots there. Here, I put the stash of wood, from under the garage workbench, out at the road with a for sale sign and $20. It was excellent wood, as the previous house owner was a furniture builder with several built-in saws and a workshop in the garage.

A woman picked it all up and agreed to build me a woodpecker feeder in lieu. I have yet to see one, lo, these 3 years later. It's hard not to be bitter. People make promises they fail to keep. It is predictable for many.

Dad, building his shed.
At the time it met the building code.
It was only later that the township made rules about
building close to the lake. Rightly so. 

It's fun to realize that I can figure out this project, based on watching my dad when I was a kid.
 He was always working on something at the cottage.

Anyway, I decided to build feeders for hubby. Off we went to the store, after my daughter explained how it works.

The wood fit in, and hubby didn't have to hitch hike home!!! He's so supportive of my projects. JB is off to deliver Meals on Wheels again today. He does this twice a week. It's great to give back.

Hubby snapped a photo after I finished
feeder #2! He was cat walking.