Curling and frogging

 🥌We had a busy week watching curling. It was very sad watching the blatant cheating by China's team. It was an important tournament, leading to the Olympics. 

The article 'blatant cheating' states that the Chinese denied the infraction. You can't touch a stone with your brush. There are no rules or anything they can enforce. 

China has done other things, kicked a stone in their game against Germany. Germany complained, but nothing could be done. 

Devin Heroux posted video of the incident on BlueSky. Replay video isn't allowed during the games. No one spotted it after Norway complained. There is little they can do. There was a conversation between China and Norway. Again, Norway complained, but the rule has no teeth.

🐸 Chorus Frog Surveys

We tried frogging, Monday, April 7th. It didn't go well! Too cold. Too early for this cool spring.

I programmed my sites onto the map. Then transferred it to my phone. 

You can see ice on the lake still. Not everywhere, but that dark streak is ice about to sink.

This is too open to the lake. 

There is no possible way there is enough water here.

This is a possibility. There is a vernal pond behind the dead tree.

May I complain about Google Maps? I loaded up my 10 assigned spots. Then Google kept interrupting me to evaluate my experience with it. argh

I don't think a beaver dam is suitable, either!

We'll try again on another day. This morning it is -5℃! 

A few important notes about weather conditions to optimize your chances of hearing the calls for Western Chorus Frogs:

• Wait until the temperature reaches 10°C before conducting surveys
• The wind speed should not exceed 20 km/hour during survey.
• Please conduct surveys when there is no rain, or light rain only.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 We had an early Thanksgiving last weekend. Our SIL, Jean-Luc, was going to be traveling to Las Vegas for business on a last minute basis, and we were worried about him bringing COVID back. 

Many of us have a holiday on the second Monday in October, on either side of the border.

From my reading, some Americans are marking Columbus Day today, yet there have been changes. Of course, Columbus' and his men brought disease and they put native into slavery. He didn't actually 'discover' this land. Nor did he have any respect for its people. 

Some states have replaced this day with Indigenous People Day or Native American Day. I  like that. 

Back to us! I sent Grampa out for a turkey. He couldn't lift it, and staff were very helpful in putting it in the cart, and putting it in the car for him. This one was 9.4 kg. It thawed in our little refrigerator. We have two bar fridges. The previous owners put the regular fridge in the basement, we gave it away. We've a chest freezer in the basement. 

I worked on the table. There were adjustments. Did you see it?

They arrived. While dinner was cooking, we were catching frogs. This took me back! The days of kids and nature. Jo and Aster took them down to the pond.

As they were headed down the hill to the frog pond, Jo found a ribbon snake. He came back to show us. Aster held onto the frog bucket.

Back down he went...

JL stuffed the turkey with Caitlin's stuffing, and then put the turkey in, I could barely lift it! (9.4 kg/ 22 lbs.) Then he used the power washer on the sidewalk. He was soaked. He loves a project, Caitlin says!!

xxx

The turkey was great. JL did a really good job. I sent home half the leftovers for Caitlin. 

We had a surprise dessert. Aster decorated it for us. Jo turns 17 in early December, but we seldom are able to celebrate it since things are busy at school. Both kids are in the musical, The Addams Family, in the chorus. Rehearsals after school for a couple of weeks. Also, Jo has to train the tech crew. Then, there is school work! 

His gift was a piece from an artisan in the Sundance Art Festival in Maberley. You can hang it on the wall. 

🐸Moving the froggies

 🐸UPDATE: Saturday, Nov. 13, I found #46 and the girls took it down for me.

UPDATE: Frog #39, Thursday, Nov. 10, while I was stacking wood. Also, 6 more, after Nutmeg found one = 45 total moved to better winter hibernation spots. 

UPDATE: I moved another frog Nov. 9th, that makes 38!  

I made four trips down to the wetland last week to deliver a total of 18 frogs. I had recovered enough by Oct. 19th to go frogging again. I captured 3 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon. 

The water is getting colder (4˚ C., which is air temperature this morning), and the freeze/thaws of Climate Change doesn't bode well for my froggies. They get trapped under a layer of ice, and then it thaws. They rise to the top and freeze overnight. It's a horrid thing to see.

That makes 26 froggies I've trucked down to the wetland, which is wetter than it has been. We had another dump of rain overnight. (15 mm or 3/4 ")

 

I counted them, there were 7 still visible. I gave up for the day, though. They are getting a bit wary and hide when I just approach. It's a good challenge for an old girl!

Oct. 20th – I moved 5 more in the morning = 31 froggies moved from the goldfish pond to the wetland.

Then there was the toe biter incident. I couldn't believe it. Toe biters prey on frogs, you see. Here is one from 2014 in the process of sucking on its prey. [I did not scream like a girl!] I released this froggie, back in the day. 

"It has a penetrating semi-retractable proboscis. Think of it as sort of a mosquito way of feeding. It has digestive enzymes... seizes prey in its arms like a praying mantis would.... then jabs its pointy bit into the prey.. and slurps out the goop like a spider."

The little twerp was accidentally captured in the net with the frog. It is amazing it didn't get the goldfish. I didn't want it to stay in the bucket with the frogs. I put my hand under it and whooshed it out onto the ground. Picking it up in the net, I took it down to the wetland with the frogs.

After lunch, 5 more froggies. This time Cinnamon helped me. That makes 36 froggies. My buddy came with me. What a wonderful days it has been. It's about to get cold, though. Here he is running to keep up with me. (He gets distracted!)

I wandered outside, again, and found one more frog. To save my foot, JB took it down to the wetland for me, I was done for the day. That means 37 frogs we've moved.

Oct. 21st I noticed two small frogs, but that is it for a few days. 

Fortunately, my foot brace arrived, and I could put my foot up! It's not cheap, but it really helps my tenosynovitis, which I developed in 2011. Ah, ain't old age grand?!

Autumn continues to unfold. The magnolia has gone to seed. It's amazing from flower to fruit to seed pods.

The milkweed have gone to seed. I shall anticipate them for next year, as well as the monarchs!

We still have some colour, although they are falling fast. Soon I'll have to go up the ladder and clear out the eavestrough.

Western Chorus Frog Survey

 It is chorus frog season here in southern Ontario. There are 514 volunteers surveying through this program. We've been sent an email to begin, as they are awake from winter slumbers and calling for love. This is what they look like, but I won't see any. It's a listening survey. They are off in the water.

This photo is from our handouts. It's impossible to see them!

It is a long-term survey, and this is my second year. This is what we are contributing to:

The conditions have to be right:

suitable weather conditions, above 10 C., no wind, little or no rain,

wood frogs and spring peepers singing indicate that conditions are ripe,

visit between 10 a.m. and 18:00 hours,

visit three times minimum, with 24 hours between visits.

There was a great deal of online training available, with sample frog calls, to help distinguish the species:

• western chorus frog, wood frog, spring peeper, northern leopard frog, American toad.

Head office sent a message saying the conditions are right, and to go to it. 

JB was going to have a nap, I told him I was going to go and check a nearby spot, where I have heard the chorus frogs, in the old quarry. Once I arrived, I could hear them. I couldn't see them, but there are thousands! This isn't an assigned site, but they were there last year. This is what they sound like in the video below: Frogging Apr 4 .

Uh, oh. I was near my one assigned site, #300, but forgot its location.  What I had forgotten is that I'd already put the package of materials on my clipboard. 

We are assigned sites, using GPS co-ordinates. I duly looked them up, created screenshots. Two are the same sites from last year, the others we had to find. It did not go well. Not enough detail! 

I had to go back to the house to access the Wifi from the car. Found it. Back I went. By now, it was a balmy 12 C., and sunny, but no chorus frogs, only wood frogs. We're not to trespass, of course. I headed home to volunteer my driver.  

I was assigned three locations on the other side of the lake. Off we went. I had a huge problem. I didn't have my phone GPS with me, the car GPS is old.

"Sundance Lane" – AKA 'R1' on Google maps.

frog survey  

frogging 

It's not easy! 

This lane is so bad, they've put a mirror up to look for traffic.

This is site #1661, Sundance Lane R1 

It was a lovely drive. I liked the burl on this tree, where we had to turn around. Wrong road!

A dead end, I never did hear any frogs.

As always, the twitterpated quail is on the road, looking for love. They do this every year!

It is typical cottage country, with names on the tree.

Back to civilisation!