Cinnamon Walkies

 As the temperatures fall, I've been feeling like a couch potato. Finally some sunshine, and so I dressed for the temperature. Tuesday it was 4 ℃, actually above zero and SUNNY! 

I called yelled for Cinnamon: CINNAMON, WALKIES!!!! He roared around from the backyard to greet me. He was game. 

First we checked out the deer scrapes. Both sites had been rescraped after the snow. It's kinda cool to see, although maybe not for my dear readers! Most of the time I'm looking for signs of critters, as they avoid the house for the most part.

Here is a sign of the pileated woodpecker! They've been hammering away on the tree root. What could go wrong?! I didn't see the bird, of course, as we bumbled through the forest me an' Cinnamon. (Archive photo!)

 

If you click on this and enlarge them, you can see Cinnamon on the ground, coming towards me in the distance near the middle. 

This is one of my favourite parts of the forest, the cedar corridor.

The wetland freezes overnight and thaws in the daytime.

Cinnamon decided we would explore our lot #3. (That's where he led me.)

A teeny pine tree starting to establish its roots amongst the rocks.

The moss looks a brilliant green:

Cinnamon found another great spot. He likes to run along the horizontal fallen logs. 

This tree needed to be climbed! An important skill in the wild.

I found this in the forest. Some metal thingie. 

The frog pond is a bit chilly. And quiet! 

He was proud of himself. A great run, and we both needed a rest after that.

Nutmeg didn't go walkies, she doesn't like to. She spent time after breakfast doing 'turtle' on the floor.

Walkies on Crumbly Acres

I took a walk down to the frog pond. I hadn't been down there in ages, there was such deep snow. There were two things on the Spring To Do List: clean out the wood duck nest box at the frog pond, and set up the trailcam. Cinnamon came along for Walkies.

This old pine tree has had it. We'll see if it crumbles and/or tumbles. 

We have fun in the forest. I heard the owl, saw some owl mute. I hope she mates this year. These are both archive photos!

There are trees down everywhere. I can't lift them. maybe I'll get the reciprocal saw out. 

Back up at the house, he found a nice spot. I was working on Mamma Bear, and rilling bird feeders. Snow on Saturday, I'll wait to remove the plant coats. Plus it was below zero overnight.

The daffodils are beginning to show!

sunrise

March 19th it was 21 ℃ and I sat and read out front! It has cooled off since then.

In the night, this mysterious orb was shining! One must admit to wondering what the heck it was, at first. 

The spider web is back on the camera! 

I hope spidey goes back to sleep. It is -10℃ this morning! It's only 16℃ in the house, as the thermostat has an overnight setting. I am under a blanket with my coffee, but the furnace is on!

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.