Trees, fall leaves...

 The poor dead pine tree. 

I think this looks spooky! Pareidolia 

I thought I'd explain my pooter! It looks a bit weird, but it works. We've invasive aggressive lady beetles, unlike the native ones.

The colours continue to astound!

We're losing lots in the backyard.

The goldfish pond is so quiet! The froggies are sleeping. We're expecting rain Thursday, which will fill it up.

I saw two snakes on my walk to fetch the trailcam memory cards. The ribbon snake is so pretty. It was about 60 cm! The photo isn't great, but the second is from my archive.

We've lots of snakes preparing for winter. They will find a hibernaculum, underground, where they can stay warm, or at least not freeze during winter.

I met Clover on my walk.

 

clover in forest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Tonight is the big meeting regarding the proposed gun club. My speech has been written and revised. Despite being somewhat agoraphobic, this has to be done. After the meeting 'staff,' AKA the Planner, will get back to all of the councillors and recommend it or not. Then there will be another public meeting. sigh. 

Lady beetles

We love ladybugs, AKA ladybirds.  Back when Isabelle was a young, she was Isabelle Coccinelle. It rhymes, in French.

Life cycle:

In 2015 I made a dress for Isabelle Coccinelle!

They like the hops vine, since they can find the aphids they prey on.

They cluster. One year (2014), when we had our new front window put in, they didn't caulk it enough. I caught 200 of them over a few days until I found where to fill the void.

I caught a bunch of them who tried to overwinter in the umbrella. 

Isabelle drew this once.

It's that time of year! They have been ubiquitous. They are biting, also. I went out to film them, and one flew off the roof, landed on my cheek, and bit me. 

Lady beetles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Summer was back yesterday!

That was a glorious day. A gift from the Universe.
Except, I was ready to shut things down: the goldfish pond, empty the rain barrel, the water fountain.

I began by doing a workout, having thrown a load of laundry in. Probably last time I'll hang laundry outdoors. It just been too cold! Hubby was off doing Meals on Wheels. He's doing that twice this week. Bless his big heart!

The lady beetle are merciless. They tell us they are Harmonia axyridis, an invasive species the Americans brought in to kill off aphids in 1988. They are Asian beetles that bite. I was working on my bird feeders, and couldn't sit on the front porch in the sunshine. They kept landing and biting. They are currently seeking warm spots where they will over winter. The sudden warm days brought them out.
We had our front window replaced a couple of years ago. They lady bugs found nook and crannies, which I since filled. I captured about 200 of them. It was Oct. 14th, 2011, when they appeared!

We had a blue jay smuck into the window yesterday. It was so sad. It was a hard hit, instant, a bit of blood. We don't have this happen very often. In fact, this is the first since I began keeping track. We had one die in the April, 2013, I sheltered it in the shed until it passed over.
Birth, life, death. It's all pretty certain. We all want a good death. Most of my clients want to die at home. This is a family decision, as it takes a hard toll on loved ones.
The Supreme Court comes out with a decision on physician-assisted death today.
PM Harper refuses to deal with it. For the very few who would choose it: those with difficult disease trajectories, like ALS - where you drown in your phlegm, unable to cough, perhaps it would be a gift from a society that understands dignity of life and death.

Laundry day!

The last Hibiscus to bloom!

A little baby snake, too fast to catch.

Daisy was trying to catch the blowing leaves.

Daisy was making eye contact with Geraldine,
in the flower pot.
Gerry didn't want to come and play!

Proof: thermometer is over 25!

Bad little biters!

Blue jays dominate the feeder.

Daisy, just hanging out
in the sumac!?

How to treat bug bites

lady beetle

A few days ago, I wrote about some techniques for avoiding and preventing bug bites. Once you have a bite, relief is a beautiful thing. Most bug bites are simply an irritation.

Bugs are everywhere in nature. Where we live, in rural Ontario, and regularly walk in the forest, they live and breathe and attack in that quest for survival. I've even been bitten by lady beetles!
Yesterday, while checking my cat for burrs I spotted a tick. He was bringing home 2 or 3 burrs each time he went outside, each time he went out into Oliver's Field. The tick was teeny, and looking for a home!

Hubby's black fly bite! Huge rash.

While prevention is the best way, sometimes you have to treat bug bites. The danger, for dogs and cats, is getting heartworm from mosquitoes. There are many once-a-year preventative chemicals that your vet can recommend. Truly, the danger to us is that your pets will bring these critters into your home. Now, mosquitoes are a pain in the house. They'll buzz you all night. Black flies are better, to my mind, as they don't like being in your house and won't bother you!

Of course, once bitten, you are likely itchy.

There are several products, like After Bite, which relieve the itch. If you apply it early, it'll lessen the effects.

Wash off the bite sight, then apply them. Some are far better than others. The alcohol kills any bacteria. A local pharmacist (Perth) makes his own itch relief. Rural living!

If you are bitten by a tick, there are ways to remove it properly.

snow flea

Taking tweezers, pull it up from the bottom.
This is what we had to do for our cat.Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) and American Dog ticks Dermacentor variabilis). The black-legged tick is the one that carries Lyme Disease.

Sady has a Dog Tick which we removed.

Creepy little thing that hangs on.
They have eight legs.

I think this is the Brown Dog Tick, ironic, that, seeing as it planted itself on hubby's cat! It was fully engorged and 3 times its disengorged size. Poor old Sadie was more upset with us trying to remove it than with the tick itself! The vet has publications, mostly published by companies that sell tick prevention chemicals. Good photos, nonetheless. Pick up a brochure, they'll show you what you need to identify.

Mosquito!

Butch, our raccoon, has fleas!

This is a beetle that lives in the water,
or flies about! About 3" long at my back door