The frog pond awakes

 I hope you aren't tired of the eclipse... I thought about the Crumbly Acres camera, and it shows a bit of our drama. The camera thought it was getting dark and clicked in to night mode! 

eclipse from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The birds are coming back. Our bug-eating birds tend to flee south since our bugs lie frozen under the snow. I enjoy the change in seasons. Tidying up for winter, then setting things out for summer. 

With the birds being back, we know the bugs are getting ready. The frog pond is amazing. It is a very busy spot, being a vernal pond. It'll likely dry up over summer. I went down in the sunshine and spotted mosquito larvae, fairy shrimp, just boiling around in the water. I took these photos back when I could manage a micro lens, prior to cataracts. I've a secondary cataract in my left eye. Eventually I'll have to get it done.

The wood frogs are done. This was the last I heard. Maybe I ought to see if I can find any chorus frogs! 

wood frogs Apr 6 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

mosquito larvae from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fairy shrimp from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It is a dog-eat-dog world!

 

damselfly larvae from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Yellow bellied sapsucker! He's banging on the metal, using it as an amplifier to establish territory and attract females.

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We've two days of rain on the way. That will help gardens!

These daffodils should bloom today. Maybe. Maybe not in the rain!

Saturday's Critters

A whirlwind week on  Crumbly Acres! (<= story is there)!   The critters are returning, or becoming more active. I heard gunshots yesterday, it sounded like a single gun doing target practice with 6 shots, a pause and 6 shots. Perfectly legal on your own property, but distressing to the wildlife. Not on the gun range. And shortly thereafter there was a barred owl in our forest. That was lovely to hear. 

Percy goldfish seems quiet, but it is chilly in the goldfish pond. 

We've still a leaking, broken outdoor tap, but they are slammed, like all the trades, and won't get a plumber until next Friday. 

Our arborists were to come today, but we've heavy rains. We'll see what happens. 

The gray tree frogs are awake! They call for females to breed, then hop down to the wetland to lay eggs.

When we were cleaning out the garage, I could hear it. I was worried it was in the garage, but it is inside the wheel of the garden hose!

froggie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I could hear the gray tree frog, it took a couple of days to figure out where it was! He was there last year, too.

tree frog in the water barrel! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've since removed this handy little bird bath, thank you AC, but before I did it had a visitor! Every time we are in the garage, it keeps trying to get in at the bird seed. There is only a little left, soon I'll wind all that down. Our bear hasn't come back, good thing.

 

Dratted Red Squirrel from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The cardinal is still banging away on the windows, fighting his shadow. No bugs there, just a possible rival for his mate's attention! He does this on our picture window, as well. The cats rush to the window!

   

 In and on Golden Pond:

 

Saturday's Critters # 489  <= visit more critters here! Thanks to Eileen for hosting. 

Saturday's Critters

Pond life

These are teeny critters! The pond is coming alive:  I love these little creatures: amphipod, AKA: freshwater fairy shrimp.

Mosquito larvae – from my old macro lens days!

Fairy shrimp and mosquito larvae! 

frog pond action from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Yellow-bellied sapsucker

Cinnamon and I were wetland walking on the shoreline, just beyond the trailcamera. I noticed a yellow-bellied bashing away at the tree. (This is the bird that bangs on the satellite tower to call for a mate!)

yellow-bellied sapsucker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Moving over to the tree, once it had flown, I could see why they call it that! The sap was oozing out of the holes. 

The trailcam tails

Not too far away, the trailcam showed a pregnant doe and her last year's juvenile.

pregnant doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Then, there is the porcupine!

porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The wood ducks walk between the frog pond and the wetland. 

wood ducks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is the turkey in his splendor. I don't know what triggers him to display. He went by another time, the second part of the video, and did not. His colours are amazing. Hormones on legs!

wild turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting Saturday's Critters # 437!

Frog pond, forest walk

That was a day. We need to find some laughter. This dude is doing 'pundemics,' and posts photos on instagram.



I cleaned out the birdbath.


Checked my tulips. They are growing, despite their haircuts!



I covered some up, put a pot on top. That worked!



The wood is getting lower. I have a problem if phoebe wants to nest here, again. (Here she was nesting in a previous year.) The high wood pile lets the cats and other critters get up to them. I know Butch raccoon can climb, but it's good to get rid of any potential ladders.

The frog pond is warming up.



You can see lots of critters. There are lots of little wood frog eggs attached to dead leaves and foliage.

pond studies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It looks cold and quiet, but I saw the fairy shrimp, as well as the mosquito larvae.

I love these little creatures: amphipod,
AKA: freshwater fairy shrimp.

Bad news: mosquito larvae!

The wetland



The trailcam isn't picking up too much. Just good old Maggie, with the dislocated ankle.

Maggie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Spring is coming!

This is the garden I planted last fall. I keep watching it! It has melted, at least



Guess who is in the frog pond?

Clip0 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Song sparrow, a sure sign of spring.

Clip1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Nutmeg had an interesting feeding strategy. Note the side eye, as she gave me that, "Don't take my picture." look.

As well as all that is going on, we have a flood watch in our area. We shall see what happens this year. The water is quite high right now. This photo is from a previous year.

It rained all day, and is raining today. We even had a thunderstorm! There were power outages, too.

How rainy was it? 

Even the dock spiders are coming in out of the rain.

I caught it with the bug catcher, tried to release it and it climbed on my camera strap.

Reality COVID–19

Even places like New Zealand are affected, right Jean?

We're going to learn a lot about the spread of disease. Canada has tested over 200,000 people. Quebec is more cavalier about it than Ontario. Ontario's population is higher than Quebec's, yet they have double our cases. Lots of RVs have returned to their province, and stories abound of non-isolation.

Stories abound... First Nations are complaining, rightly so, the stupidity and ignorance of white people!

Rider seriously hurt in ATV collision

Several ATVs had been travelling together, but one rider lost control of his machine and it rolled over, ejecting the victim. March 27.

This just shocks me. It shouldn't, since I've been hearing fleets of motorcycles passing on the highway. Ontario has a new law forbidding groups of 5 or more during COVID–19.

We'll end on good news:

One of the most unique things about Canada's response to #COVID19 is how it's being led mostly by women. Canada's Chief Medical Officer, the Deputy PM, and the top doctors for several provinces and cities (Toronto/Vancouver) are all women.
Canadians see them everyday.
🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/EiT58UFah7

— Muhammad Lila (@MuhammadLila) March 28, 2020

Outdoor chores

OK, this was an indoor chore, trying to hang this on the wall. It was a gift for JB at Easter. I have to use a small chain, and an old cat collar to hang it. It was tricky.


This was indoors, as well. I killed my first mosquito of the season, in the house.

Speaking of mosquitoes... larvae are in the pond. In the frog pond they are having a flipping good time!
Mosquito larvae from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I convinced hubby to bring home some pansies. Yes, it is cold, but they will tolerate it.

The goldfish pond is bubbling. It's a bit too cold to put the goldfish in, I think.


I brought the table and chairs up on the deck, from the shed.


This is funny. I managed to push the tractor from the shed, up to the garage and charge the battery enough to get it to start.

I put it away, hoping. Monday, I raked the leaves under the deck and off the garden and mulched them with the tractor. I'd put a tarp, originally protecting the wood, on the ground to dry. I stopped the tractor to move it out of my way. I've run over them before!
Sadly, it wouldn't start. It didn't have enough juice. I gave up. I'll have to wait until I have a bigger job to do.


Out went the decor.


I put out the new birdbath pump. It has lights.

The orchid cactus is still blooming.

More pond life - another mystery solved: amphipod

I love these little creatures: amphipod, AKA: freshwater fairy shrimp.
I was fascinated. It took me a bit of time. I picked up some bottles, and brought the water up to the deck to photograph it.


According to Wikipedia:
Mature females bear a marsupium, or brood pouch, which holds her eggs while they are fertilised, and until the young are ready to hatch. As a female ages, she produces more eggs in each brood. Mortality is around 25%–50% for the eggs. There are no larval stages; the eggs hatch directly into a juvenile form, and sexual maturity is generally reached after 6 moults. Some species have been known to eat their own exuviae after moulting.








Then there is the mosquito larvae... the spring peepers are peeping again, they've been asleep since March 23rd or so. This is a sure sign they'll be popping out soon.