September is shoulder season!

  We made it! Kids back in school, tourists back to the city. Garbage day Monday was fun. 

Joe Brian went down to collect the garbage can. The recycling was still there, as well as some extra things. I was royally pissed off. The last time this happened coyotes got into it. It was a mess. JB removed the oil can and the pole, which they wouldn't take. 

Just to vent, once more, this person passed a white delivery van as well as us at the same time. I hope it was important. It gives us some anxiety. Which I don't think we need or deserve.

Summer continues to finish up, and fold up the picnic blanket. We went out for a summery early dinner.

The phlox is coming along. 

There are fewer days left to sit out back. I sat and did a drawing.

People are out and about! I noticed a low flying plane.

Crumbly Acres Camera

 I researched my issue with the camera lens.  It stopped working. Full stop. I cleaned the contacts three times (I found a Youtube video), and it did nothing. It's a fairly old lens. The body of the camera was used, from our local camera shop. There is a used camera store near us, and I bought a second hand lens. Yippee. [Canon 28-135 zoom lens #4302341F] I am happy to support a local business person.

To test the lens, I checked out the new off-leash dog park. We often drive by, and see half a dozen dogs and owners frolicking in the enclosure. Fresh air, and exercise! Socialization for humans and dogs.

I was quite pleased with it. This is my old camera body with the big zoom lens. The latch doesn't work for the battery and SD Card and the door always pops open. What the heck. I tape it down if I need to.

Tiberius guards it.

Mourning doves (23!), cardinal (3), chickadees, downy woodpecker. Proof of life, world peace for a moment. 

We're back to 'normal' in the house. Everyone is back to school and work. Except for us old farts. The Ottawa Canal is open for skating. This is both early, and unusual. We've had so much Climate Change. 

I'm off to put out the garbage. We in Ontario are moving to a provincially-controlled recycling system. The theory is that it will be up to manufacturers to pay for this. We shall see! They have tried a bunch of things, our Premier, and the licence plate fiasco was a good example. They couldn't be seen at night. 

[General ​Provincial gov't info   |    ​Pamphlet (PDF)]  

It is -17 ℃ and I think I will drive it out. We had an ice storm last Monday. There are extra bags.

Garbage Day!

 This household had trash out last Wednesday, Sept. 13th, when garbage day was the Monday prior. Of course, the critters got into it. The top floor of this house is being rented. It is also for sale. You'd think they'd do better than this in rural Ontario. 

It was still there Sunday, Sept. 17th. The trick to putting garbage out in rural life is washing your recycling, and waiting until that day to put it out. Keeping a cover on the green bags is essential. Mostly the crows get into it. It looks like plastic has blown down the highway. 

I put my garbage out at 7:30 a.m. It is lovely looking across at the empty lot, seeing the colours change.

I transplanted the forget-me-nots from the planter to the garden. This is a non-mental note so I can find them in Spring. I've scattered seeds for them for years, but never managed an actual plant. 

The planter looks a bit lonely, but the petunias and lobelia are still OK. I could see my breath when I put out garbage Monday morn. Later on, the bees were out.

We had a surprising 13 mm rain on Monday afternoon. We are affected by the aftermath of Lee, formerly known as a hurricane and then a tropical storm. The storm is turning counter-clockwise, as it moves northeast. There was some thunder and lightning.

I am still tidying up the garden, and thinking about transplanting some stray lilacs to the front yard, when it rolled in. Up above, there was a flock of geese, then two more with 16 and 21 geese in two more formations. I was really glad to get more gardening done first.

Canada Geese Sept. 18 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I made another apple crisp, some hockey puck biscuits, and heated up some chili (frozen, from M & M's) for dinner. If anyone has a good recipe for biscuits... sigh.

BTW – I've come to the conclusion that it was the fisher who terrorized Cinnamon. It popped up on the trailcam. 

Indoor plays vs. outdoor play

Indoor play

The second 🥀amaryllis bulb is in flower. I couldn't pick just one photo. They were begun in December. Which do photo you prefer?! My clever photography peeps could make it perfect. I read up on it, and snipped the dead flowers off of the other bulb, and popped it in the fridge. It's supposed to be there 8 - 12 weeks. I wrote it on the calendar!

The polar bear has been outside for the holiday season, beginning in November. 🧸Snuggle bears welcomed him back in. They've been hibernating, but decided to see what was what.

Outdoor play

More snow. I'd put out the garbage, and realized that the slush at the end of the driveway could pile up, freeze, and be a mess. Later Monday I was out bright and early to do the driveway. We had 5 cm, and it wasn't much, but if it warmed up we'd have a nice skating rink as it cooled overnight. 

Down I went. Just after I snapped this photo, a driver in a compact red car slowed down. I should have been suspicious, they scream by at great speeds. I kept on going, however, made it to the end of the driveway, and saw that the person in the red car had stopped and was coming out of the driveway up the street. I know neighbours have had issues with people dumping their garbage here. I'll bet that is what happened. 

I kept on going!

I threw down a turkey carcass for the critters. The crows had a ball:

crows from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We've a trio of young 'uns. I think triplets. One has lost one antler, the others have not! It's just a matter of time.

young bucks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I often feature Richard Deer, but we need to watch for doe, a deer, as well! 

sleepy doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Scavenger crows & traffic

JB went out for early morning walkies and came back in for a news bulletin. The crows were into our garbage. He had to rebag it. I took down a garbage can and stuffed our bags into it. I caught them in the act down at the neighbour's garbage.  

crows & garbage from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The traffic is phenomenal around here. Everyone is in a hurry, and have important places to be after morning fishing. 

passing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

That wasn't the only thing this week. There was an ATV on the road shoulder, racing with a white car. We were doing 80 km/hour in an 80 km zone. We couldn't keep up.

Zoom...

ATV from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I am sad to note, they were spraying BTK, again, around the nearby lake. I came indoors. 

I am also happy to note that there don't see to be many of them this year, nor are there many where my friends live in Muskoka. They are pretty little things, but so destructive. Most of our trees have recovered. Here are two of the instars. The pine trees look amazing with new needles. It's causing havoc with allergies, the rain might help. I just washed all our railings, too! 

I was out back, cleaning and refilling the water fountain, there was a lovely scent. It wasn't my white iris, nor the dogwood. The Wild Grapes are in bloom! Here I was wandering around the backyard sniffing things. 

Soon, there will be grapes like this outside the bathroom window! OK, not soon, September... 

It's a great spot to bird watch.

I was down in the forest and heard a bird. BIRDnet identifies it as a black and white warbler <= my video of the forest. It was just a few phrases, and the video wasn't great. If the bugs weren't so irritating, I'd do a proper search. That, and the pouring rain we're having. I'll try and revisit it. 

Finally, on a tree frog note, this little guy seems to be enjoying the back deck. He is a frequent flyer. Well, jumper. I scared him the other day and he leapt into the Bleeding Heart plants below. Apparently, it didn't bother him. He was back yesterday. Today, he is in hiding. They don't like the rain, the frogs all disappear off the goldfish pond when it pours.