Spring, flowers, frogpond, goldfish pond

We're greening up! The girls are here for April break. Izzy promised to help me take the Christmas tree down. Soon, the bird feeders will have to go. 

 The daffodils Isabelle and I planted are beginning to grow. Deer don't like them! I put the trailcam out here. It's in the middle of the photo, to the left of the laundry tree.

This is phoebe, flying from the top of the camera! I thought it a hoot. They are choosing their nesting site, but still undecided.

OK, to my winding tale... Jebbs Creek is high and flowing.

Friday

Permit me to vent, or skip this altogether! I took JB in for an eye appointment. He's getting new reading glasses, just like the old ones. I sat and read in the car. It was a lovely day, warm, my car windows were open. A truck pulled up behind me. Suddenly, I could smell cigarette smoke, though. He kept his cigarette outside of the truck and the breeze wafted the smell towards me. I thought I had to move up 3 parking spots and then took a photo. With COVID, it could waft, as well, being an airborne virus. 

Boats in their coats, likely until the May 24 weekend.

Boats in their coats at the marina.

I'm wondering what this is all about. They've cleared this land along highway 15. This was from my trip to the dentist Thursday. Do you know anything about it, Anvilcloud?!

On our way into town, the 😷Tay River Health Centre is coming along. I've been taking photos as the building grows up. They are landscaping, and working on the outside.

Springtime! 

I often miss the forsythia, being behind a tree in the front yard. It's not in full bloom, but I bet I forget to check it! 

Cinnamon has been a hoot. He was down at the pond frogging. It's all melted, and teeming with life.

We spotted a blood sucker,  leech in pond . Nothing like the one I found in 2015: when have you seen a leech? That one was huge and swimming around my ankles when I was cleaning out pond debris.

Cinnamon caught a frog, and let it go. Then gave his paws a good wash. Cinnamon frogging

I started up the goldfish pond pump. Cinnamon approved. he loves wandering around the pond, chasing the frogs into the water, where they belong. I think I might put them in this week. 

It was a good winter for the goldfish pond. There were only two dead frogs after it melted. By December, I'd moved 19 frogs to the frogpond. [More froggies in the goldfish pond]

I found these floating in the goldfish pond. They didn't make it through the winter. I can see larvae in the  water, though. They survived the freeze-thaw spring. Understriped Diving Beetles primarily eat dead things. 

Critters in the wetland

JB went out for walkies. He came back. Apparently, Nutmeg had gone with him to the point, a narrow piece of land in the middle of the wetland. It's a lovely spot. Part way there, Cinnamon was sitting on a log jutting out into the water, with his tail in the water. JB paid a bit more attention, and spotted something. He hustled back up to the house to tell me. Cinn stayed put. He thought they were otters. I grabbed the videocamera, put the zoom lens on the tripod and went down. I thought he'd said the frogpond, for some reason. The zoom wasn't much help. I should have known. They are spritely critters, always in motion.

He showed me the spot. Cinn was still there. I moved along, as they don't stay put too long. Turns out, it was a pair of muskrats. I didn't capture a photo, but mystery solved. Here he was searching!

They were right here! Honest!

My tale is done! You're all caught up. Thank you for following along. The week begins anew.

Video: ALERT: Not for the faint of heart... when have you seen a leech?

Freshwater leeches or blood suckers, as e called them. Annelida Hirudinea
We used to have them all the time on Long Lake, where our cottage was. This was 1960, prior to pollution and humans killing them. I remember keeping a jar of salt on the shore, for when one latched onto us. It killed them instantly.

This one was huge. My frog pond is a perfect habitat for them: still water, dark under the dead leves and vegetation.
There are several website on leeches. FCPS is a school board. Biokids is a good website for kids, from uMichigan.  USEPA, another reputable site.

They have teeth on its head, which bite into its prey. They are parasites, they inject an enzyme into their victims, which makes blood flow (an anticoagulant) and have an anesthetic. They don't need to eat for a year or two, in some cases. There is a sucker on its nether end, too. You can see that on the video.
I've seen leeches attached to turtles, the ones crossing the road. This one had several snails attached!

Snails also attach to turtles!

The earliest evidence of freshwater leeches was in the Jurassic period (~200 million years ago) in Bavaria. While they gross many people out, I wanted to learn some more about them. I still remember panicking as a child. This helps me understand them.

They used them, in ancient medicine, for blood letting. One of those dark arts.

Medicinal Uses 

The European medical leech Hirudo medicinalis and some congeners, as well as some other species, have been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years. The use of leeches in medicine dates as far back as 2,500 years ago, when they were used for bloodletting in ancient India. Leech therapy is explained in ancient Ayurvedic texts. Many ancient civilizations practiced bloodletting, including Indian and Greek civilizations.

I found this leech in the pond. I took it out to look at it, putting it in the birdbath. It was gone when I went to show the girls. Being a mid-level critter in the life cycle, it is both prey by birds and other critters, and is parasite for critters in the water. I suspect, however, it crawled its way out.

The leech raised it's head up over the lip of the birdbath and searched for a way out.

Leech from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I haven't seen one of these in years. I found it in the frog pond.