Buds & blooms

While we are back in the coolish weather, the buds are doing their thing! This is the horse chestnut tree:

lilacs

The trillium are in bloom in the forest. Tulips and Grecian windflowers are in bloom.

More good news, the lily bugs are awake. I shall have to dig out my bug collector.

The Forsythia is at its peak.

The pileated woodpecker is doing a number on the tree. I haven't noticed it but I have heard it.

Aster and a beginner's driver's licence! She drove part way home!

Trailcam, flowers and birds

 I am so excited! I bought me a new trailcam. It uses Wifi and connects to the smart phone. No fiddling around with SD Cards. I can upload images directly to my iPhone and my photo stream, from the back deck. It's a game changer! 

 

You can see the camera on the purple pencil. 

The skies have been dark and ominous. 

Hellbores:

Forsythia:

I am down to one bird feeder. I am waiting for the grosbeaks to arrive before I put them away. 

In other news, Caitlin took Jordan back to Kingston. They stocked up on groceries, put together the new bed frame, Caitlin went back to Ottawa.  

Jordan made himself some shakshuka for dinner! Our country is so rich from foreign cuisine. I think Jordan got the cooking inspiration from the parental unit!

Aster was on a camping weekend with Trex, Caitlin & JL had a date night at Zoe's in the Chateau Laurier. 

These flowers are made of Lego!

Sunday we attended Caitlin's Spring concert. More on that later once I curate the photos.

Daffodils and Osprey

 Despite it being 'Spring' we had a cold spell. That said, the Forsythia is in bloom. It is in front of an evergreen, which helps one see it.

My daffodils are thriving. 

The daffodil garden out back:

This patch has had a shock, as it is 0℃ this morning. They are drooping!

I did some work. Every year I promise myself I will research whether one has to remove last year's growth on the ornamental grasses. I figured I'd just get rid of them. That way the new growth will get some sun.

They are terribly sharp, the stems, and you can get 'paper cuts' from them. I left them until the next day. Pacing myself. It was colder, and long sleeves and gloves weren't too hot. Soon the mosquitoes and black flies will be out. I preferred getting this done now.

The ospreys migrate from our territory. They eat fish and snakes, so winter isn't a good time for them when the bodies of water freeze over. 

This one visited our front yard one summer for some reason. Maybe trying out its wings. It pooped and flew off.

We've quite a few human-built nests around the area as we reintroduced them. DDT did a number on their populations. Oh, humans, such harm we do. 

This is what precipitated my post, a fly by of one osprey.