Fred Groundhog is here for the summer!

The grass is green and growing. I am itching to get outdoors, but we're on our 4th day in a row of rain. 

We have 16 acres of land. About 9 acres is wetland. I started tracking Fred, as he's disappear in September, and come back in spring. This is where I've found Holes by Fred. Yes, right around the house. He likes our lawn, I suppose. When I was ditch diving I found some holes across the gully, through the forest in the side of the highway. 

1.  I filled in the holes behind the propane tank, at the corner of the house. 
2.  The top right arrows show where the shed is, he has two holes there. 
3.  The three arrows show his 3 holes under the lower deck.
4.  The top left arrows show where he has dug into the edge of the yard, behind the fence.

Here are the details!

1. The propane tanks! He has stopped fussing here. I dissuaded him with logs. 

2. The shed is his current location. He knocked over the planter in his eagerness. He's dug two holes, an escape route, I guess.

3. Under the lower deck has been his preferred location. There was one hole here, then he dug another at the side, and then moved out prior to fall. 

Cinnamon knows he is in there, and keeps checking out the holes!

Cinnamon checking out burrows from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred dug an extension here at the side of the deck. It did not go well this year. I peeked in and could see water in the hole.

I don't know, but he might have dug into the drain that goes from the corner of the house, underground, to the lilac tree. I took out the pipe and let the water drain onto the driveway. Poor Fred!

4. Then there is the area beyond the septic bed. You can see it in the background. 

Here is the hole he's been working on. 

Several metres beyond, he's done an exit. 

What a busy beaver groundhog! 

I took Joseph Brian around to spot him! 

Fred Apr 9 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

For more critters: Saturday's Critters # 539.

Percy, Cinnamon, spring flowers

 Yes, we won and the appeal was denied for the gun range. The bad news is that the landowner told staff he would appeal the Ontario Land Tribunal decision. It's not over. You can read what we went through to prevent this in our backyard. Too bad the township can't recover costs from all this litigation. Our tax dollars at work. 

Back to real life. We continue to monitor Percy and his two pond mates. He is a sitting duck, you see.  

I tossed in the cedar logs to give him some protection. The pond temperature rose from 2 ℃ to about 4 ℃, the last time I took it.  By the end of the day, Percy followed the sun in the pond, he was a bit more active. 

Percy & Cinnamon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The Scilla luciliae is blooming on the lawn. It is scattered, and looks so pretty. However, you know how short a time spring flowers last!

Actual crocus! 

This tree has two interesting galls in the trunk.

We had a lovely walk. 

The lawn is greening up. I've uncovered the water fountain. Next project: clean and fill it. 

My client cancelled on Tuesday, I took the opportunity to do a bit more outdoor work. Our temperature rose to 24 ℃ by late afternoon. 

We had the bunny out front, and Fred groundhog out back. Busy times. 

 

The phoebe pair are choosing a nest site.

I've no idea what they were doing overhead, but I ran out back to watch it. 

Easier said than done!

This morning, I played around with a panoramic photo. I'll get better with practice, I suppose! 

A moment later, I tried again. 

Fred is a selfie star!

Here is Fred. He has stopped gnawing on the deck, and has made a tunnel under the shed. When Caitlin was here she heard him gnawing and stomped on the deck. I told Josephine, in a text, that he seems to have listened to her! 😏 

I am inclined to leave him all alone, now. This is a good place for him. I don't think we're getting any wood in, as we've enough with our downed trees, thousands of dollars later. Who needs to buy wood? I will stack my pile after the birdies fledge under the deck. 

In the shed, he began a hole, which he made into a tunnel. He cannot hurt anything. The shed itself has a cement floor, and this is just in the side of the building.

Here he is. I think he is a he, not a Frederika, but we always call our groundhogs Fred! 

Anyway, I've been watching him, and he's been all over the yard, especially at the back of the yard. I set the trailcam on the deck, just for fun. First he was lying down on the job. Then he has itchies!

Fred grooming from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

You can see his strong claws. They can climb trees, I've read. He dug a hole under the deck, which our cottontail rabbit used in the depths of winter.

Fred's Selfie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I saw him do this a couple of days ago, He did it on camera for me! You can see how bad the bugs are.

Fred's 8th inning stretch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I hope that made you giggle! 

Walkies, flowers, owl pellets

 I took Cinnamon walkies. He found a spot where something had eaten a bird. He was quite keen on inspecting it. The mosquitoes are really bad, hovering about a foot off of the ground all throughout the forest.

The wetland is greening up. 

You can see where the ice storm forced the trees and bushes to fall over.

This fungus is growing on some downed birch trees.

cinnamon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 I'd heard the barred owls, and we found TWO owl pellets. This is the result of the owls regurgitating the fur and bones they are unable to digest. Of course I took them apart to see what they'd been eating. I took a photo of the spot, just in case they are regular visitors here. When we had a pair nesting in the backyard, the male had a favourite tree. I took a photo trying to remember where to look again! 

Two vole skulls!

We went to the Smiths Falls market and bought some plants for summer. I planted JB's cherry tomato hanging basket.

The water is slowly going down to normal levels. We sat here waiting for the light to change on the Rideau Ferry Bridge! They are working on it until July, and there are traffic lights for a single lane.

Fred groundhog appeared. I took this through the screen, just in case he ran away when I opened the door. A cute little photo, I've yet to get a good one of him.

He went back to feeding on the grass.

Then he heard me, and fled the scene. Back under the lower deck to safety.

Here we go. Another sunny day. I've wood to stack, but I think I will wait until the birds hatch. The House Wrens are back, as well as the phoebe and robin's nests under the deck. The back deck is not too buggy, what with all our flying friends.