Snow Day Part 2, Monday!

Today looks to be a bit chilly. We shall see. I just hope we have sunshine. It makes all the difference.

I am terribly happy I chose to do the snow half way through the storm. The snow just kept falling on the weekend! That was yesterday's post for Part 1. The clouds cleared away, and the sun shone Monday. 

My second job was the sidewalk. I didn't do the sidewalk on Sunday, despite doing the driveway. It's  crucial for getting out in an emergency, not so the sidewalk. I knew, too, that the wind was going to blow, and move the light, fluffy snow flakes to end up on the driveway. 

This was Monday morning. There is a sidewalk there. Honest! We had gusty wind all night.

Storm Feb. 16

🌤Behold, the glorious sunshine!

How much snow did we get? Mebbe 30 cm. It's really hard to tell, what with blowing snow. A lot of this was blown off the roof, but it still had to be moved. I couldn't get to the bird feeder. That is a metre/yard stick behind the shovel.

There was about 30cm in the middle of the sidewalk. I took my time. I had to. The birds were winging, and singing. They were happy I cleaned off the feeders! The oak leaves are blowing everywhere. Someone in my house has to sweep out the garage.

That done, I had to start work on the driveway for the second day in a row. This is what the driveway looked like as I made it to the highway. It was daunting.

This is heavy snow, knee-deep. It took a lot of work. I had to take little bites out of it over several passes.

This is a respectable pile of snow. It's almost too high to blow it over the pile off the drive. Almost. Aside from the wind flinging it in my face, I made progress.

The highway wasn't too bad, but I'm going to have to wash my coat. When traffic roars by, it splashes the slush. Most drivers are kind and pull away from me at the side of the road. This wasn't true for the propane tanker. It flew by at top speed, and splashed me. Fortunately, I'd turned my back as I know what happens. 

The house looks cosy, nestled in the snow. We had a propane delivery last week. They'd never get through the snow to get to the tanks on the far side of the house today. It's about 60 cm on the front lawn.

I'm nearly done. Progress was being made until...

Disaster struck. I ran out of gas. Just metres away from the garage the motor sort of flickered and I put it in top gear to hurry. I had to resort to two extension cords to restart it after I put gas back in. 

Thanks to another face warmer from Jean in New Zealand, I lived to tell the tale. It snowed all day, into the night. My hat belonged to my late father. It was a gift from BJ.  It says Bee Jay's Grill Breakfast Club! That's where mom and dad used to get their take out meals in Bala.  

This used to be BJ's in Bala, Muskoka! Once dad had his licence taken away due to his brain tumour and subsequent dementia, they would phone in their fish and chips order. Mom would drive in. BJ would bring them their meal to the car window and they would take it home to eat.

This was BJ's place! He was a sweet man. His older parents helped him at the grill, as he was mentally challenged. Eventually it was sold. Ah, good times!

Cinnamon was mushy! After I'd shovelled out, and had a hot shower, I got into jammies and got my blanket.

 

I suspect we may have two Labbits! I'm seeing our bunny about, more on that later.

 

Crumbly Acres critters

💉 That was a day. Firstly, Joe had his quarterly Lupron injection. He buys it at the pharmacy and takes it to the nurse at our GPs office. Our government subsidizes the cost for seniors. Healthcare visits are free in Canada.

She pokes him in the intramuscular hip area. It hurt this time. It doesn't usually, he tells me. From there he bravely went shopping. We had to stock up for the storm.

Knowing there was a storm coming, the cats bought me flowers! 

The paperwhites had about 6 bulbs, but only one plant blossomed. 

It looks pretty in the dark. The camera gets triggered by snow. I'll have to shovel it later. 🚌 School busses are cancelled here and in Ottawa. 

I do enjoy birding. 

This beautiful starling has been around all winter. I love the markings. 

This is a photo from Feb. 23, 2003. In March we can expect some migratory birds to return, hopeful for spring.

Feb. 3, 2003

🇨🇦 Flag day in Canada is Feb. 15th, Saturday. All things considered, we're celebrating Canada. I put on my snowshoes to access the arbor. Two Canada flags designed by the late This beautiful flag was designed by the late Curtis "Mulidzas" Wilson (1980-2019), who lived in Campbell River, B.C. He died of a heart attack. 

Canadian flag sales are soaring with this Economic Terrorism from our neighbours. This is good, as people were turned off with the Truck Convoy. 

The Facebook ads are landing with a resounding thud. Many are cancelling plans to go south to the US. You'll notice they limited comments, knowing how we feel. 

Since I already had my snowshoes on, I checked on the bunny. I think Labbit is in another of Fred's burrows. She's moving around.

Most burrows have two entry/exits. The one hole looks open, but unused. 

I expect she'll be hunkered down, waiting for clover in the spring. 

Here is the main entrance, under the tree. The evidence is evident!

We have a good snow base. It protects flora and fauna. I wonder how deep it will get today?!

🦌I don't expect to see our cottontail, or any other mammals, other than Dratted Red Squirrels (DRS) today. OK, probably a deer or two! I haven't seen a male deer in weeks. Since rutting season. They hang our by gender.

Turkeys are trotting. I forgot about them. We still have four males hanging about.

October has been busy

🍂 Fall Chores

There is lots to do outside. I'm just taking my time. Someone put his back out and he's still looking after it.

• Tuesday I did the leaves, mulching them and the pine needles, and did some lawn. 
• Switched out the bird bath for the heated bird bath. (Thanks again, AC!) 
• Tried to put the bird feeder stand up. Crooked. Gotta try again. It started raining after I rested. Pfftt.
• I caught another little frog. Almost. No luck. I missed. Twice. Jeremiah sleeps for the winter.

The water fountain is covered, and ready for winter. The pagan lights need some help. A couple of strands are not working. Nothing lasts these days. You have to be really careful in matching the plugs. (Non-mental note!)

 I had wrapped up the bench swing, then the winds blew! I started again and secured it a little more effectively! I don't mind doing a job once.. 😏

Back to it. THIS is secure!

The sun has disappeared for a few days. No precipitation to speak of, but there is a chill in the air. The sun warms me up enough to manage outside, but it's been hiding. I played with these two images. I could not decide which I prefer.

Dark skies! I mulched the leaves again. It is terribly satisfying.

Joe has been watching football on his TV. Nutmeg likes to keep him company. It's not cold enough to put a fire on, but that day is approaching.

Just for fun, a brief power outage. All the clocks had to be reset! 

The good news is that the biting bugs are slowly going to sleep. We've ticks. Nutmeg brought Joe one, and Cinnamon shared another with me. Since they invented the anti-tick goop for cats, things have improved. This year is about the same as last year.