Cinnamon Walkies & cat traps

Cat visitor

The Harlequin Tabby who visits us at night, I've been trying to trap it, it continues to visit. I've taken to calling him Harley.

Harley from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'm not having much luck! I didn't even catch Cinnamon. I need to try something else.

cat trapping from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I put out some old, dried up cat food as bait. The mouse took it away. There is a joke here, but I had a long afternoon with my client yesterday, and my brain is fried.

 

mice friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 Cinnamon and I went walkies. He was happy the snow is gone. (It is back. We had a cm of snow last night!) Cinnamon found a wood frog on one of our warmer days. I buried it in leaves after moving it. The deer was concerned. Tuesday we woke to -6℃., so froggies are sleeping, again.

Apparently the sand is a good place to roll. This is what Fred Groundhog dug up from under the shed. I figure Fred will be back. 

Down we went to see if the owl was there. It was! 

It is very difficult to photograph!

barred owl March 14 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Closer to home, I found this jaw bone in the forest. 

This is the rabbit skull for comparison. 

Percy is doing well. It will truly be spring when I can put him out into the goldfish pond. We've 4 fish left. 

And still the leaves fly!

 We've still a few leaves. I think I spotted my last snake, Oct. 20,  when I blew the leaves prior to our rainstorm. We are getting down to single digits overnight. They get close to their wintering spots in preparation. The prairies was hard hit with snow. I am not quite ready for that, but neither were Albertans, I'll bet. 

Today we are going to be warm, though, with a high of 19 C. Plus rain. You never know who or what will be out and about! More frogs, I am sure. I moved another yesterday, and counted at least 10 more. 

The catalpa tree leaves are massive. Amazing trees. They are the last to come out in spring and the last to fall off in the fall.

JB out doing walkies.

It was unusual, but Oct. 23rd, I looked out the kitchen window and saw 4 deer. We haven't seen deer other than on the trailcams all summer. JB had walked right by them, concentrating on his feet on the slippery leaves. They watched him intently. I called his attention to them!

Can you see the trailcam beside the deer on the right? This is what I captured!

deer friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

While JB was out getting groceries, I did some yard work. I moved all the logs behind the fence, ones too big to fit into our wood stove insert.

I ran the lawn tractor and blew leaves off, again, know rain was on the way. The tractor won't hold a charge, I had to plug it in, again.

 

Finishing my chores, I drove the tractor into the shed. Look who was watching me! They like the shed.

 

deer mouse from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It is September...

🍁 Autumn approaches, despite 30+ C. temperatures. Another day of this heat.

 

🦨 I think I've found the skunk den. It is likely an old Fred groundhog burrow. I don't know where Fred has gone, but he did this last year, as well. This one was built into the soft sand of the built up area around the septic bed. 

You may wonder how I found it, but the nose knows! I was cleaning and filling the fountain, and that whiff told me something was up. Beyond the flower sculpture, down the hill in the gully.

I was suspicious, and cautiously waded through the bracken down in the gully, to find the hole I could see from above. It is really well-hidden.

Here is an aarchive photo

I went down to the trailcam, having put bug spray on my lower legs. It didn't do much good! You can see three mosquitos on my leg. The point of the photo was the white fungus, but as I looked down, I was a bit surprised.

Both cameras are slightly tipped. I had high hopes for critters.

There was a doe and she seemed spooked by coyotes.

DOE AND COYOTES from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I put out the garbage Monday morning, and spotted these two. Cinnamon doesn't like the heat, and has been indoors for a few days.

Another invention I dearly love.  This is a tool meant for particular BBQ cooking, when you want the lid open for slower cooking. I realized it would help me. I have a problem BBQing. I am too short to lift the lid, then let it gently go back. I risk singing armpit hairs. It is a BBQ too big for the two of us, but it was a COVID purchase. Need I say more?! 

I can flip the meat, and close the lid easily, now. JB thinks it look like a Klingon tool. Mebbe so.

🐭 Mice friends

I noticed both Cinnamon and Nutmeg giving much attention to the guest room. Hmmmm. 

It was in a corner in the bathroom, shaking miserably. I scooped it up in the butterfly net, and took it outside. It is a young one. 

🕷️ I found myself a tick, Sept. 3. It was on my foot. We don't have too many this year. One year Daisy brought home 200, this was prior to the invention of the cat goop to prevent them from staying on cats. 

Tick bites get itchy, and itchy painful. It'll soon heal. You can see the bandage on my foot on the right. My tenosynovitis acted up, too. Ain't old age grand?! I stabbed my finger with a needle. I'm working on a felting project for Christmas.

I heard two barred owls hooting to each other Saturday night, Sept. 2nd. "Who-cooks-for-you?" I hope we have a pair next year. I haven't seen one in a dog's age. These are from my archives.

With Autumn comes season-end chores. I spotted Percy goldfish. It is a chore getting him inside for winter. My little, mostly hand-dug pond, isn't deep enough and it will freeze. Not good for a tropical fish.

In the meantime, enjoy the shoulder season. I think it is a great time of year.

We do have adventures!

Wednesday in the wee hours

JB arose in the wee hours to powder his nose. The cats had cornered a deermouse in the bathroom, between the cupboard and wall. He just came back to bed! They are on the move, our mice friends.

Wednesday evening

We were sitting watching The Repair Shop, Or Landmark, or was it Portrait Artist, on TV. We tape them and relax in evenings. Suddenly, Nutmeg roared in the room. She was chasing a deermouse. It ran under my chair, around the room and behind the TV. It was good entertainment. We went to bed, figuring they might get it later. Cinnamon was snoring on his cat stand. She is the hunter. 

In bed at 10 p.m., JB was asleep and I was reading. I could hear fooferaw down the hall, but I ignored it! In the morning, in front of my chair, a dead deermouse. Poor thing. C'est la vie! 

There are lots of mouse tunnels exposed since the snow melted. These are likely field mice or voles.

Signs of spring are slowly emerging. It's a bit too chilly in the mornings, but it warms up during the day.

Checking out the trailcams... When I walked down Thursday, there were at least a half dozen ducks on the pond. I moved the trailcam, as it wasn't capturing them. 

🐻SNUGGLE Bears

JB set up the bears.

He bought outside bear a new t-shirt. Poor bear is falling apart, but then aren't we all?! 

We've had about 11 mm rain over three days. Not much, but lots of cloudy days. Not as bad as Manitoba, who just had a massive snowstorm (20 - 30 cm).

I was inspired to do a sketch by all the artistic shows!