Walkies – last one of 2018

Farewell
All this beautiful snow melted in our above zero temperatures and rain in.
The male cardinal is ubiquitous.

On our lot #3 I had two bucks.

Frozen wetland! It's not entirely frozen.


On the frogpond, I noticed the coyote was slipping. Hooper came by, and did some sliding, too.



We went to the island in the wetland. You can see the water is so high. There was a hole, with water seeping out. The turkeys had walked by, perhaps taking a drink.


Hooper sort of followed me. Here he is on the mainland. I called and looked. Suddenly he had skootched around the island, to the far side.


The bridge I'd constructed for the crossing. Just about flooded.


Hooper took the easy way back to the mainland.


Then he came back to climb the tree beside the bridge.



The wetland has an important role is recycling water. It drains, eventually, from the frogpond and the surrounding areas, and into the lake, again.


Frozen, the wetland renews the water, recycles it, and it's a major transportation route for critters, like mice!


Nearer the house, you can see where three deer bedded down during the snowfall.


Farewell, 2018. Welcome 2019! I hope the new year brings all you can wish for. I don't do resolutions. These are things we all know we could do.

The top New Year's Resolutions heading into 2019, according to English Tweets: Exercise Reading Learn something new Healthy eating / diet Volunteering & charity

I had to recharge the iPad, but here is my sketch!

Forest snow walkies

It was quite the snowfall. Everything looks so pretty. All shoveled out, I was free to play.



I went down to the island in the wetland. Well-traveled tracks, as Bambi visits from the neighbour'sproperty.

Annabelle

The 'island' in the middle of our wetland is such a pretty place. Usually, Daisy loves it, but she doesn't have her snowshoes yet. Apparently, cat toe pad are like human fingerpads. They'll toughen up with the cold, but meantime, Daisy, Dorah and Annie have been antsy in the house. They've been roaring around, happy to be indoors.

Annabelle prefers hanging out on the deck, or in our laps. As a rescue cat, she knows what's what!
Dorah prefers a lap, too.

Dorah & JB

Off I went on my own! This is the island. You can see the wetland sunshine in the background. It's a lovely place.

Daisy and I did wetland island walkies

I love this little island in the middle of the wetland. It's a neat little spot. Totally surrounded by bulrushes. The deer, coyotes, and our Eastern Coyote (coywolf) use it for rest, or a spot to eat their prey. It's also inhabited by a red squirrel or two.

I didn't discover the island until I snowshoed in it in the winter, when the land and water were quite frozen. A couple of years ago I built a bridge, a ladder-like structure that lets us get to the island. (See: Building a bridge in a bog with a frog!)

I leave a chair here, although Daisy doesn't like me to sit. She's on the move!
I spent an hour cleaning off the bridge Thursday. The foliage has fallen, and made the bridge rather wet and slippery. My shoulders are still sore, but it was good outdoor work!

Daisy loves the adventure!


There are a lot of trees, also some dead and fallen over. The fungus tree has lost its top, and the fungus look so beautiful! This tree sports a lovely piece of fungus, now some lovely colours.

Fungus, after a few years of growth!

Fungus Sept. 13, 2013

Daisy is jealous of the other cats, and prefers to walk with me alone. 

Daisy walkies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
Daisy and I went for walkies on the island in the middle of the wetland. It's a unique place, but one must be careful during hunting season. I've put the Trailcam here as I know it is a path for deer, coyotes, as well as sanctuary for squirrels. This is a 360˚ view of the island.