We made it to Friday!

 We knew it was coming. This was still a bit of a shock! It is time to hunker down, put the flowers to bed, and prepare for winter. 

 I'll be happy for the Autumn harvest, and baking to warm up the kitchen.

The soda bread continues to be a hit. 

The sphinx moths are about. Several had paused prior to dawn and ended up sitting there.

The flying ants are right on schedule. They live around the goldfish pond, I think. I was fascinated watching them all take flight.

 

flying ants from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The frogpond is really done. All critters have fulfilled their life cycles. The wood frogs are in the forest, the leopard frogs are in the grass, tree frogs are everywhere, fattening up for winter.

 

frog pond from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred groundhog pops in and out. I put the trailcam on the deck and caught him coming and going.

 

Fred groundhog from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The hornets are very busy bees. Here is nest #2. In the same tree.

 

2nd hornet nest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The water strider is hanging out in the water fountain. I will have to break the bad news. Soon it'll be time to clean, drain, dry, and cover the fountain for winter! 

 

water strider.mov from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It was a nice day Thursday, if chilly. The fungus and the mushrooms in the forest are amazing. That will be another post. We've been watching The Brokenwood Mysteries, from New Zealand. It's a partly lighthearted, nicely done series that has some humour, and a great sense of place. The scenery is wonderful. The quality of the plots vary week to week, some are better than others. We are on to season 8 and it has evolved, with a diverse cast. They have begun to use Maori in dialogue. I like that. All in all, it's a nice 90-minute mystery. 

And there you have it, on a cool, rainy day, I've a volunteer gig. I hope I can manage. Mask affixed, I have to be a driver and an escort. We'll see how I last. 

The season is changing

 The season is changing. We've a cold spell coming. Overnight we anticipate 7 C. and this afternoon it bring weather from the northeast. These are the days when I watch the temperature carefully. I have to bring the goldfish in, and while they will be fine, I don't want to be doing it in the cold!

The temperatures are dropping, I've brought my orchid in and we have a blossom! I am so happy. I broke off the previous stem in March, and I crossed my fingers watching it on the back deck. The little light does a great job and looks pretty in the evening.

I brought in the cyclamen, as well as the elephant ear plant and palm. I haven't heard the tree frog again. 

Outside I am seeing Isabella tiger moth caterpillars (AKA Banded Woolybear), some in the dew. 

The rhododendron is changing colour.

The critters are mad for food, to plump up for winter. I saw Clover in the forest. She ran, then turned around. The fawn was with her, but took off.

Clover deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I last captured the fawn on the trailcam last week at dusk.

fawn Sept 4th from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went out back one morning, put on the spotlight, and found a huge bug. It looks like some sort of mosquito hawk. 

Checking the rain gauge (14 mm), I could hear a buzzing. This was pre-dawn, you see, and I was surprised. There were a half dozen hornets buzzing the light. (Wasps and bees don't normally fly at night.) They are HUGE, and LOUD. It was a bit spooky, even though I knew what they were. I wondered what they were up to. It was very strange. I hustled myself back in. 

Here they are in the daytime:

Hornets Sept. 8, #7 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

It was a banner day. JB asked if I wanted to go for a drive and look for things to photograph. Hah! There was lots to see at home. 

I'd done my morning workout, JB did his walkabout. He spotted a porcupine on his walk. After I posted the 📹video of our Porky with the gimpy leg, a porcupine was hit on the highway. I was glad to hear that he saw another one.

From there I decided I could hear a red-tailed hawk, or a blue jay imitating them, and walked down the path to the forest. It called, again, and I knew I was on the right track. Suddenly, it flew over my head.  Hearing the hawk across the highway, up I went to see what I could see.

red-tailed hawk Sept 8 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

From there, I skirted around the yard, headed towards the back. I've elm trees down and ought to chop them up for firewood (non-mental note). I have to dodge those leopard frogs, nestled in the dewy grass looking for yummy friends. 

As I came around the corner, I scared Fred Groundhog as much as myself. He's been appearing from time-to-time. I think he has abandoned the wood pile for a hole just in the forest.

fred Sept 2 #6 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

After Fred disappeared, I walked to see if I could see his hole and nearly stepped on a jumping forest mouse, who jumped to get away from me.

jumping forest mouse from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The few Monarchs we have sail on the summer-like breeze in the backyard. The robins are happy having a bath in the water fountain. There were a half dozen of them taking turns. 

The Robin was eating wild grapes:

robin Sept. 5 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

From there, they all needed baths, but the Cardinal watched them.

robins bathing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

cardinal & robins from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It is funny watching their behaviour. The cardinal watches. The other robin comes up and the first one chases it away.

The raccoons are active in the forest at night.

Butch & kits from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐝HORNETS

From there, I looked up at the Hornet's paper nest and found another one. Having seen it several weeks ago, I'd walked down to the lower deck but could not spot it. This time it was obvious. The large hornets are buzzing in and out. They leave us alone and we leave them alone. 

hornets Sept. 5 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've found out a bit more about these frequent flyers. From Iowa State U, I found out that there are about 100 - 400 drones in each nest, with one queen. They build up to 400 nearer the end of summer. The old queen will lay new queens, they will go off and mate, with the new queens hibernating after mating. The old queens and drones die off in winter.  

They have a typical four-stage life span: egg, larvae, pupa and adult. 

From Wiki: Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0 

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! 

Saturday's Critters # 456

Saturday Critters

The critters have been out about. The bug situation has helped, since breeding season, and the need for blood has diminished. We had the mosquitoes in May, blackflies in June, deerflies in July, then horseflies. This is all good for the bug-eating birds! Walks in the forest are much better, although there is the odd mosquito. Hubby finds his morning walks are much easier. I was bitten by a blackfly when weeding. That just adds insult to injury. 

The flicker on the trailcam was funny. I haven't seen too many of them since breeding season is over. 

 

flicker in slo mo from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Doe a deer.

 

doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Both the doe and fawn visited the backyard. That was lovely! Aug. 23, 2022.

 

doe and fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐝 HORNETS

Aug. 27th shows the hornet's nest growing. They leave us alone. We leave them alone.

 

hornet's nest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Aug. 28th – they are fascinating. All working together. All with a purpose, for the good of the nest. 

 

hornets 5 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The lone turkey hen walks through the trailcam field.

 

turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

P.S. We still have a tree frog in the house, as far as I know. Last I heard, it was singing in the bathroom. I sent JB into town to buy some food for it. Mealworms. I put them into a container in the bathroom. Caitlin suggested I leave a trail of worms along the hall, leading it to the door! I bet the cats would be curious!

I hoped to lure the indoor tree frog to the bathtub, where I put the container. Having looked up how to raise them, raising mealworms, I knew what to do. 

 Maple tree frog is still on the back deck. I thought I would test the mealworms on her. She ate one, and I thought I should video the 2nd one! Sept. 2nd, 2022.

gray tree frog from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

For more critters visit Eileen's blog: Saturday's Critters # 455.

Cinnamon and the porcupine, Hornets

Firstly , it is our 20th wedding anniversary today! Happy Anniversary to my beloved hubby. He is a peach! It seems like yesterday it was our 10th Wedding Anniversary! 

Secondly, to explain: 

I called them Freedimmers, because the disabled world doesn't like the 'dumb' description. It is pejorative, in that people who are aphasic (unable to speak), aren't dumb. They cannot speak. Language is important, and should be inclusive. When we know better, we do better!

Porcupine

OK, back to my stories. Saturday, Aug. 20, began in an interesting way. I let the cat out for his run, and I spotted a porcupine. So did Cinnamon. Nutmeg didn't want out, which was a good thing.

porcupine Aug 20 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon was approaching the porcupine with great interest. I just didn't know how close he was prepared to get. I honestly threw a stick beside Cinn, which didn't phase Porcupine. Cinn gave me a confused look, but retreated. Throwing another stick towards him, he retreated further onto the driveway.

While I was watching Cinnamon and Porky, I turned around and saw Fred. The groundhog disappeared. 

 

groundhog from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

To distract Cinnamon, I decided to take him Walkies. We went down to lot #3, past the trailcam and into the forest. There was a situation, with flicker feathers. He was quite keen on checking it out. He hasn't appeared on the trailcam, so I don't think it was him. He prefers rodents. 

Later, Cinnamon was sitting on the lower deck. The lower deck is busy, with Fred having dug a hole under the deck. Cinnamon was watching it. The hole. 

Not only that, but there were three tree frogs out back. One inside the rolled up hose, one above the kitchen window, and one, Maple, in her corner. The two males vocalized in the afternoon, which let me find them. They are so cute!

Cinnamon didn't come back in until 2:30, he followed me around, sat on the deck with me, but no way would he come in. 

hummingbird from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

You'll have to work hard to spot her. Just to the left of the red hanging basket.

Morning walkies for JB. Fortunately, the bugs have lessened. 

Hornets

I learned something on Sunday reading Twitter. Our 'paper wasps' are actually hornets. I don't think it matters. They are high and dry, even in our rain! Even in the wind, it bops up and down safely.

Wasps do this:

All hornets are wasps, but not all wasps are hornets, I read. The major difference is size. Hornets are larger, some species get up to 5.5 cm. Wasps are black and yellow, hornets black and white rings. Both are in the Vespidae family. The hornets have two sets of wings. You may recall The wasp saga and The Wasp Saga Part 2 (Aug. 2020), when poor Izzy got stung.  These are quite clearly hornets!

Well, you are up to date, almost! I was on the phone Sunday planning the hostage exchange with Caitlin – for later today. Momma doe and fawn showed up. (I'll put the images together later for a video.) 

After Isabelle's appointment, we'll meet up. We'd planned to all go and eat dinner on a patio, but it looks like rain. We had 10 mm yesterday. It is most welcome.