We're on a roll!

The kids helped me clean up the ditch on Saturday. I was so grateful for their help. We've spotted others cleaning up along the highway. The ditches are fairly dry, which doesn't bode well for summer. 

The tire is from a car incident, maybe the September, 2020 one. It was horrible. Seeing the tire in the ditch bothered me. Young legs managed the hilly ditches. I left the bags out for garbage day and they were all picked up. Whew!

Ditch diving I found about a half dozen holes in the side of the road. I think this is where Fred goes in the winter!

 Fred came back March 30th. I noticed him by the shed, and then he'd been digging out his hole beside the rock.  Anyway, here he is! 

Fred is back from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went ditch diving again. There was a section I wanted to clean up. I found a pillow. 

I swear the traffic passing one another just gives me anxiety. They roar by, picking up speed. 

My total is 8 bags of refuse. The cigarette butts I let be. There are way too many, including a handful dumped at the end of our driveway. What kind of animal does that?

Back at the house, the crocus are blooming! Well, some of them. 

Phoebes are back. They are hanging outside and inside the shed. That may be their nest spot of choice for 2024.

The wood frogs are singing up a storm in the frog pond. 

Percy is a bit slow in the cold water.  Throwing food pellets in – he was not interested.

It is crocus time! The first crop are in bloom. Lots more to come!

The daffodils are doing well, despite the cold.

This is a baby bunny I nearly ran over with the lawn tractor in 2011. We have two hanging around this year. I'll bet there will be more...

I was reading out front and spotted our bunny. 

 

Labbit March 28 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Spring ditch diving!

The kids came over for Easter Dinner. 

I planned ahead, and set the table.

I had asked for help Ditch Diving, my usual April 20th Earth Day work. We are early, since spring has sprung and the ditches are quite dry. 

Drivers, for the most part, were really respectful, veering into the opposite lane so as not to kill us. One guy, in a big pick up truck, decided to pass another vehicle and headed straight for me. He managed to pass the car and hurry on to a very important something or other.

Look at those cleaned up ditches!

ditch diving from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Six bags full!

Technology is grand. Caitlin has a smart watch. We worked one hour and 45 minutes. 

We rested after that, then chef JL put together dinner: ham, roasted carrots, broccoli and I did smashed potatoes. Poor Caitlin was looking for the mustard, but someone was hiding it!

Aster, formerly known as Isabelle, had snackies. She wanted a goldfish plant. I bought her a new pot. Grampa bought them bunny rabbit cookies.

Caitlin found a geodetic marker. ← Now I know how to check it out. 

Isabelle has asked to be called Aster now. I shall have to remember. She was reciting some funny jokes.

    Q: Where do bad rainbows go? 

    A: Prism, but's a light sentence so they have time to reflect!

Dr. Watt made an appearance. We haven't seen him in ages.

 

Dr Watt Reprise from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Dr Watt Reprise part 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We had a concert, too!

Concert from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We watched The Great Wall (2006) after dinner. It was epic. We collapsed in bed by 10!

Ditch diving

Saturday Morning 

Yes, it is time for clean up. Prior to mosquito season, after the ditch snow has evaporated is ideal. I took off around 10:30 and returned at 12:10. I ought to book a massage this week! We'd rain coming Monday, and I thought it prudent to go out now.

Lots of birds, 3 song sparrows, crows, a pair of ducks, geese, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and the kestrel screaming as it flies overhead.

Several people waved, one honked his horn, one couple yelled encouraging words. Then there was the woman, in a small car, holding up her pink iPhone photographing me down in the ditch! Most cars and trucks pull away from the line, to give me space. One large camper went by, having come from a nearby road, turned onto the highway and gunned the engine. Motorcycles, singles, doubles, and couples, as well as groups. One dude had his radio blaring. What is with that?!

I came up with a new strategy. Leaving the wagon near my starting position, I walked in the ditch and threw stuff into my yellow bags. The ditch is wet in spots, but mostly mucky and bumpy. As I walked, I tossed the beer cans up onto the shoulder of the highway. Then, I walked back to fetch the wagon, and picked the beer cans up as I moved along to my next spot. It was a better strategy, as I didn't have to sort what I collected. Only one beer can drifted back into the ditch.

There was the roaring of traffic, but I could hear the wood frogs in the swamp, as well. 

Sunday

I went out for another hour and a half. Starting at 10, this time. There was more traffic as the time wore on. People passing, noisy motorcycles... 

I did see a couple biking. The dude was in front, he said "Hi!" The woman following actually said, "Thank you!" I thanked her back, sort of a You Too moment! ! 

One dude on a bike didn't even see me. I said, "Morning!" and nothing. He was 10' away from me! I don't think he was focusing on his environment, except for the cars! Perhaps.

I keep my wheelbarrow on the shoulder of the road. It's a bit of a marker for my presence. Not that it stopped the truck, second in front, from passing the white car right near me. You can hear them gun the engine, and pass. I plug my ears.

Rather than showing you the garbage, how about seeing a clean ditch?! You can see how steep the ditches are.

 

Three bags full, and two containers of mostly beer cans. I think I sunburned my shoulders! I cleaned out 815 metres on both sides of the highway – over the two days. 

Monday

I heard a barred owl sing at 6:30 a.m. Just the long call, not "Who-cooks-for-you!" Up I popped, getting dressed. It was garbage day, here is my haul. We pay if we put out more than two bags of garbage. Tim Horton donate the bags, that are free for us to put out. 

This is a selfie with the new phone. It was only 12 C. Monday morning. I am glad I was out in the warm sun on the weekend.

Still ditch diving: 6 bags full!

 More ditch diving Monday morning. I filled three more bags, which gives me a grand total of 6. There were the remains of 2 - 3 boxes of 6-bottle packs of beer, strewn across a longish debris field. I was happy they didn't break, at least. Me, either. I didn't fall. There is a lovely slope in the ditches.

Proud of myself, I had to go back down for a Tim Horton's cup chucked there since last week's ditch diving. Just to add insult to injury. I did the ditches in October [Fall chores], and began for Spring cleanup April 4th (my late mother's birthday, 1925 - 2006).

Just as I began, I heard, then spotted the yellow-bellied sapsucker! They are so funny! The males have learned to bang on things to appeal to the females. He usually starts here, then moves to the metal Internet tower. He banged on the shed, as well as the arbour. 

yellow-bellied sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The traffic was anxiety-provoking, but I burned on through it. I have to cover my ears, sometimes, or turn my back. Noise is my trigger, and they really burn on through on the highway. Roaring their engines, and passing the larger trucks. 

traffic from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There is talk of an amalgamation, or an extension of Perth's town boundaries. It might give Perth a bigger tax base. Right now they have a population of 6,000. There are many lakeside communities, with both seasonal residents, and large mansions just outside town boundaries. I don't know what that would mean to our services. We are a small municipality. Our recycling isn't as robust as Perth's, and we cover a larger area, hence the community ditch diving. We shall see!

My other project, Western Chorus Frog survey, began Monday. I could hear them! More on that venture later.