Gramma Camp – Week 30

That was a night, Wednesday. The TV refused to work. Long story short, the basement TV worked. Jos brought the basement TV upstairs, we tried it, and the old satellite box. Nope. We tried the basement box and it worked. Then I tried contacting Shaw. She insisted that we reattach the old box, and try again. SIGH. Jos unhooked and rehooked it all up. It worked. Go figure...

The day dawned, Thursday. Phoebe continues to look after its nest. 

Phoebes and the cowbird hatched Monday, May 24th. I took a peak Thursday, they would be 4 days old. They fledge in a couple of weeks. phoebe nest  

The crows are still feeding in the nest. We had a big wind yesterday, clouds, but little rain. (We could use some!) I still could not spot the crow's nest. It's been too cold to sit out, but their behaviour is interesting. One sits in the tree and looks for predators. Crows 🐦

I mentioned forgetting to get a tall plant for the blue planter. Caitlin gifted me a spike for my flower pot. She was shopping for herself, and she thought of me! She is a peach. I love her so much! The water fountain is pretty busy these days. busy birdbath 

Phlox is in bloom, as well as the rhododendron! 

The 11:00 a.m. 'nutrition break' came. I could hear one girl preparing her lunch soup. Ducking out to the kitchen, I looked and just one girl. "That's not like Izzy to miss a meal!" Bless her heart, she was working on school work and lost track of time. Jos ate her hot soup outside. Isabelle had leftover tourtière, I told her to nuke it for a minute. That was too long, so she took it outdoors to cool. The roasted carrots disappeared at dinner.

During the afternoon session, I caulked around the window where the ants were coming in. There was a significant gap. Our avocados aren't growing yet. Jos and I planted those. 

I asked Isabelle if she'd ever used a sander. She has not. Jos was still working, but she has, Izzy assured. Turns out, we needed more sandpaper for the sander. I ordered it. In the meantime, Isabelle collected grass seed from the lawn. She made a pile of them. I love seeing her outside playing the way she used to as a wee one.

Hopeful of a volunteer, I grabbed the clippers to do the overgrown grass. (JB's arm isn't well enough to do this.) Isabelle asked if she could help. Of course! 

The jack-in-the-pulpit is growing, and much taller than last year. 

The vine is growing nicely! The day before I poked it up to the deck, and Josephine pulled it up to the railing.

I decided to work on the 6th fairy light that doesn't light up. Isabelle offered help, again. She took it all apart for me, but we couldn't find an obvious fix.

It's been a busy few days. After dinner, Grampa Joe  put on a Dr. What show. Puns and jokes galore! It was much longer, but this is the gist.

Friday, it's a cold one. I brought in my cherry tomato planter overnight. The temperature is 3 C. and we could have some snow, if you look closely. This is unusual in May. 

Both girls discussed their schoolwork. They have a couple of things due today, and then, a weekend. They had a pretty good week, despite the bugs. I went down to the trailcams alone. My arms are covered in blackfly bites, they are bad down in the forest. There was an issue with a tree, to be disclosed later! 

Josephine is working on groundwater, en français. 

Hungry crows with mouths to feed

 The crows have hatched, I'm pretty sure. We cannot see the nest, but they are coming and going more frequently. They are at the top of the white pine tree, amongst the needles.

 

I have a story about the crows. It was a cool night and, after a couple of hot days, the doors were open. I could hear the crows. JB mentioned that Nutmeg was on the deck, doing that weird little trembling jaw meow thing that cats do when they see birds. I didn't think too much about it.

I kept hearing the crow, and I believe that the eggs have hatched. I went out on the back deck. I could hear one on the front deck. crow's nest  

Now, I was curious. I went out front, and spotted a dead squirrel on the sidewalk. Looking up, I saw the crow fly off. Hhhmmmm. Nutmeg came in and was locked in the Muskoka Room. I went back outdoors, and put the dead red squirrel onto the edge of the garden stones. I thought I'd take it out into the forest later, where some hungry critter would avail themselves. 

Too late! The crow took it off the stones, and dragged it across the driveway. Warning, the crow is after the carcass! Nothing is wasted. crow food  

I could hear the crow, still, then spotted two. Out front, again, the crow had dragged the squirrel across the driveway, and it was eating. It flew off. I took the carcass into the forest. 

I noticed one crow scare off the kestrel. They have to be vigilant. Setting up the zoom lens, I watched, fascinated, as these two wandered around  the backyard looking for bugs.

backyard crow  

It is Gramma Camp - Week 30. 

It has been a good week, shortened by our Monday holiday. They'll be glad to get this school year over. Jos graduates from elementary to high school. Isabelle is working on Gr. 5. They've had their fair share of teachers in virtual school, as they burn out. Keeping in touch with friends has been managed with Zoom meetings. Isabelle does virtual Girl Guides. 

So far, we've had our first vaccines, the parents have, as well. Josephine is scheduled mid-June for her first shot. She's in the 12 – 15-year-old group.