Backyard Chad coyote visitation

<= That was chilly! This morning: 3 C. and it was raining.

I warmed up by playing Angry Birds! 

Fair warning, people. We've stories of people in pairs doing this in parking lots across the province: Belleville, Barrhaven, Kemptville, Carleton Place, etc.

Great excitement in the yard, Wednesday, Feb. 21st! JB was watching the deer out the kitchen window, and he spotted a pair of coyote ears peeking up behind the wood pile. I grabbed my camera, when he called for me. Coyote ducked back down, went behind the shed. 

This is what I saw outside, out on the back deck, while Archie turkey complained most miserably. 

backyard coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It warmed up, and the sunshine was delightful. I went walkies to fetch trailcam cards, and to see if I could figure out where the coyote came from. The first thing I found was some deer fur. Somebody got into conflict.

 

I wandered around, looking for evidence. Lots of tracks, they seemed to come from across the highway, along the drive, through the forest on top of the frozen snow.

This morning we are back to 'normal,' except the wind is really spooking them. They are vigilant. Duke, formerly known as Prince William, is hanging in. His ankle has been dislocated since Feb. 1st. He helped himself to lilac twigs. In spring the buds swell, and provide some food.

Duke and Archie have at it from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Earlier in the morning, they were here from 1:38 until 1:46 a.m., there are reasons they they gather in winter yards. There is safety in numbers. A coyote can't take down a deer on its own, here in the forest. There are no fences, and they just run faster. They came towards the camera only a couple minutes before and then stood here thinking about things:

Feb 21 deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

 Our deer trio, Momma and twins, resting and chewing their cud. This was prior to our 11 cm snowfall on Thursday.

Feb. 10th, dawn rose on disabled Duke and Archie.

sunrise on Duke and Archie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The silly Wingscapes camera captures a deer!

 

deer at bird feeder from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Our turkey, Archie, is a hoot. Feb. 10. Down in the forest:

Archie in the cedar corridor from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Por Duke, with his broken or dislocated ankle, is quite hungry. This is all the foliage that is around these winter days, cedar branches.

cedar treat from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They always pee in front of the camera! They are beautiful animals.

The forest can be dangerous!

 

coyote pair from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Lastly, the fisher. Feb 9 - 10, it runs by, and has a brief wash up!

fisher in slo mo from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters # 531 <= visit more critters with Eileen.

Rain, snow, and walkies

 💉 JB had his cancer treatment Tuesday, his Lupron injection, at our local GP's office. We are good for another 3 months. I drove home from my client's house in a snow fall on Tuesday. It kept on snowing! 

🌡 This is really messing with my head, the upsy downsies. We had a massive melt and then a deep freeze, again.   It was 10° C. Tuesday, Wednesday it was -13° C. this morning it is -15°, and snow covered, again. We expect a snowstorm tonight, too.

This was from Feb. 10th. I'd climbed the ladder to try fix the drips. There was a bit of debris, which I removed with my metre stick.

 

It's melting from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went walkies, as the icy snow crust had finally melted. 

The frog pond was melty. frogpond Feb 11 

  

The moss was green. In February!

I told Cinnamon it was cold and snowy, and he didn't have to come along. He didn't come any farther, and went back up to the house. I am quite certain he had an encounter with the fisher, and he's really careful.

Cinnamon walkies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Feb. 12th vs. Feb. 14!

 

Feb. 8, when JB opens the garage door, prepared to throw out some deer food, all eyes focus on him. Even Archie, the turkey.

 

deer friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Poor buck is hanging in.

Duke Feb 9 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Duke, a deer

Watching the deer provides much entertainment. I moved one camera, but I didn't get much. It does show how difficult it is moving around in the snow.

  

field doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They are curious, and like to inspect the camera.

sniffer buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Duke came by for a visit!

Duke Feb. 1st part 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Prince Harry had a split ear on Jan. 21. It is tricky navigating this world. We have both a Bobcat, and many coyotes. Most cannot take down a healthy deer, but running on the icy snow is awful.  JB noticed that Duke is missing part of his tail! You can compare with other deer. It should end in a point. I often wonder what happens to them out there. Otherwise he is holding his own. 

Dawn arises...

The kids had hot chocolate outdoors! Isn't that fun? They rented a hot tub in 2021 and it was a success. They are enjoying it for this month, as well. 

Saturday's Critters

Feeding the birds leads to all sorts of critters. We haven't had many deer at the bird feeder this year. Lately it has been poor disabled Duke, with his dislocated ankle. He is doing better, navigating this awful snow cover, with its frozen layer and slush, somedays.

Duke Feb. 1st from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thursday, Feb. 1st, we were watching TV at night, and Cinnamon heard a noise. He's been sitting watching the wall since the real cold began. We've mice in the wall, none in the house. We've had young mice other years. They learn there are cats, though. Here is Nutmeg in 2022!

That said, I went out front and looked for evidence of racoons. None. They don't seem to be awake yet. Going out back, I noticed tracks in the snow. I thought about it. They aren't very deep, and the snow was soft. It couldn't be a coyote. I couldn't see the tracks properly in the dark, but they were there.

Hooray for the Crumbly Acres camera. I thought of it as I was in bed reading. I used great restraint to keep reading and knew I would check it out in the morning. Such a search is not good for sleep hygiene! It turns out the fisher came by about 7:40. This is the first time.

Fisher at the feeder from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is the cedar corridor in the fall. I trudge through in my snowshoes, and the critters tend to follow my tracks.

Having managed to get down once to the trailcams, we had critters. The deer cross the path, through the rough snow, in the precipitation. At one point the fawn shakes like a dog!

deer cedar corridor from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters # 529 

Here we be: February

🌨 January was a month... Not as much rain as last year. We shall see how February stacks up! 

  

😷 I took my BP, 129/87, which is a good number for me. Still feeling vertigo, I'm wondering if it could be something to do with my secondary cataract in my left eye. We have some COVID rapid tests, set to expire today, and I was negative. This is what I thought. It is good to rule out certain things. I am feeling more energy and did some light housework. 

📺 What do you when the weather is poor, and you are feeling poorly? We watched the funeral of our late politician Ed Broadbent. He had a state funeral. He was an amazing man. It was a lovely celebration of life. He enjoyed classical music, and the musicians were amazing at the funeral. He made such a difference in the world.

♭𝄞 Singing at the funeral were terrific musicians. The NAC Orchestra and the Daniel Taylor and The Theatre of Early Music Choir participated, including Heather Lynn, who sang at our wedding. Can you pick her out?! She was my 38-year-old's girlfriend when he was in gr. 12. She was on a full music scholarship in New York the summer after our wedding in 2002. She's married, with a family. A delightful young woman. Daniel Taylor is a well-known counter tenor, with the red hair.

In the evening, I was playing with Cinnamon, and along came Nutmeg. She likes to sit on top of Clown Pants. Cinnamon likes to sit with his head in it, tail sticking out the back! 

It is the best toy!

clown pants from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There were quite a few deer, including Duke, our wounded buck. He is doing better. He can put weight on his ankle. He avoided the others the first few day, but is hanging out with them now. There was an altercation, and he rose up on his back legs and was whacking away at another buck. 

Duke the buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I hope February treats us all well. Good luck to you!