Serendipity – if a tree falls in the frogpond

 I'm still wrestling with getting the ducks on the frogpond on the camera! 

I managed to capture the deer. No ducks.

frogpond deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The camera on the dock bounces in the wind. It's on a pole inside the support post for the dock. I wedged a large stick in to keep it still. 

You can see the tree stump in the above photo. The stump has proven to be a great attractant. Cinnamon I videotaped walking along it. I posted that the other day. 

The pileated woodpecker has been after it. I noticed the wood shavings,  two holes, and reset the camera.

Sure enough, the pileated woodpecker was looking for bugs. It rained, the wood ducks were keen. Maybe the shavings looked like cracked corn?!

pileated woodpecker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Not only did the woodpecker like the stump, but the ducks thought the log required some inspection!

wood ducks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, Butch walked along the log. I picked them up on both cameras at the same time. The light from the one camera. I thought it quite artistic!

Butch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

More of our snowy day

Monday the sun shone after the night storm. The frost on the back deck caught my eye. I went out in my slippers to capture it. Today we anticipate rain!

This could be my new header! The backyard...

The front yard:

I noticed a cat has been skating on the goldfish pond!

By the time I went outside, after my workout, the sun was gone. I wish I'd seen the cat on the ice!

The driveway was beginning to melt when the sun went away. Cinnamon and I went down to the trailcams. Cinnamon was quite happy to come walkies with me. 

Cinnamon roared down the hill, amid the coyote tracks!

Cinn headed to the end of the dock. It is a ritual! I was going to pop him onto the ice, to show him it was frozen. I thought better of it.

The coyotes headed along here, off the dock, onto the ice. You can see Cinnamon's tracks compared to theirs. He kept sniffing everything,"Doggie, Cinnamon! Smell the doggie!" I guess that was silly. He's never met a dog, he may have encountered a coyote.

You can see where the coyote slid on the ice! 

Heading around the frogpond to trailcam #3, I could see where they had crossed the ice.

This spot, under the trees, and with the warmth of the sun, was a bit wet. You can see another coyote skid mark!

Cinnamon seemed pleased the ice is frozen. I doubt he remembers from last year, he was quite put off by the temperature change. Little twinkle toes, sliding gaily on the ice. He approached, quick and sprightly! Lo and behold, look who figured out the ice was safe all on his own!

The driveway didn't require shoveling. 

The tracks remained from the wheelbarrow, in which I took out the garbage.

I chucked out some cinnamon raisin bagels. Apparently they were popular.

Today we anticipate rain. I'd rather have snow, but that's just me. British Columbia is still cleaning up after the rain and Storm Damage. 

More snow, new desk!

Good news!  Hummers are on their way! We awoke to pretty cold temperatures this morning, after about 8 cm of snow yesterday, so I don't expect them too soon.

I ordered a new desk for JB. That meant I had to move his old desk, which belonged to the previous owners (we bought it from them), into the guest room. It's just a particle board thingie. Isabelle will use it.

It was a heavy box, with another box for the table top. It's from a Canadian company (Effy Desk), although manufactured in China. It was well-packed, and I could barely lift this box. 

I had the base done, I thought, when I realized I had to switch the two bars that hold the power box. I had to take it apart, and redo it. I'm stiff and sore from sitting on the floor for so long, despite a break! Funnily enough, I've a massage booked for this afternoon. 

It's electronic, it raises up and down with the push of a button, and can hold up to 220 lbs. It's sturdy! He's been standing at the island in the kitchen to work on his laptop. This, I hope, will be much easier and provide some more options. His neck and arm are still sore, lo these many months. I loathe seeing him in pain. I warned Caitlin, there goes the family fortune, again, but it's only money and if it helps...

Outdoors, the snow began to melt in the afternoon when the sun came out. 

This morning, we're back to freezing temperatures (-2 C.) and a skiff of snow. The poor daffodils are hanging their wee heads in the cold. I can't bear to look at them!

Yesterday, Cinnamon and I went walkies to fetch trailcam memory cards. One wood duck box has eggs, another box has had a duck in to settle the wood shavings. The oldest box doesn't seem to have a candidate. I've been really careful to stay away from the box with the nesting wood duck, as it's too cold for the eggs to be left for long. She'll come down out of the box for food, and hustle back in.

We met up with You Two . This is what JB calls this pair of deer. He'd go out of the house for his daily walks, and say, "Hi, You Two!" The doe hangs around, and has for a couple of years. Her yearling won't be with her long, as its a male, and they go off to their own winter yards, splitting up for the summer, as well. 

It's funny, seeing Cinnamon on the dock. I've been putting cracked corn in the flower pot for them. I think the ducks  were hopeful that he was going to feed them. 

March brings rain, snow

March 2

It's such a range of weather... March 1st, -16 C., then 2 C. March 2nd! I love the changes. I love the snow, but it is time...

We had a couple of cm of snow overnight, but I'm not bothering to shovel it. We are getting rain...

Health

Poor JB picked up his report from the GP's office. It's telling us he has a 5 x 2 x 5mm tear. He went to physio for a diagnostic assessment. No ultrasound or lasers for people with cancer, so that will slow recovery and healing. It could be months.

He bought himself a posture support duhickey. The physiotherapist said it was OK to use.


After that, he brought me a spinach salad for lunch, then he took a pain pill. He's continuing to take anti-inflammatories.

Pillow prop him up! Cinnamon is in the cat bed on the left!


He has a friend, who wants his bologna sandwich.

We ended up with 2.54 mm rain (about a tenth of an inch). I'm glad I didn't shovel! It's really wet snow. The driveway, of course, is a skating rink March 3rd.



Winter walkies, there is always something new to see. The evergreens have lots of holes, critters looking for bugs, but still they grow.

The dock is there. Honestly. The rivers are full. We'll see if we get spring floods this year...
This summer photo is from my post: Dock on the frog pond, where I showed how I built it (Jul., 2015).