Snowy Crumbly Acres

 It's been a busy weekend, but the garbage is out. I filled the feeders and it didn't seem too cold. Joe has taken the car to get our snow tires on. In the meantime, more snow! It's not worth shoveling at this point. We'll see.

The 15 cm had melted, partially. This is the view from across the street. I saw a robin there, singing. We've had them overwinter some years. It seems as if they are managing on the sumac fruit.

These are from January and February, 2016.

February, 2022:

The birds manage. It is lovely watch them. Junco:

Mourning doves:

Cardinal:

#75, who thinks he is a bird:

I like this arrangement, obviously. It captures a lot of the seeds they throw around. Plus I put cracked corn in the, which the mourning doves like. They are mostly ground feeders, but they like this arrangement.

It is great having a clean up crew!

More about the surprise birthday party tomorrow! (And the 8-hour power outage!) 

Crumbly Acres Critters

The bird feeder is going full tilt. I change it up over the winter. Here it is for now. I'm hoping the bears are close to denning up. 

The Blue Jays concentrate on the one at the left. They half emptied it during the day. 

Downy woodpecker:

The globe feeder is for the smaller birds. The big ones can't get in. 

Goldfinch: 

The mourning doves like to line up on the branch. 

The cardinal is peckish, as well. No sign of the female.

I don't know if this is #75. We have two Gray Squirrels, black morph. This one was under the feeder.

 I am quite behind on my videos. It's hit or miss. Feast or famine. Drought or flood. 

If you watch the video, you can see the bunny beside the tree, the deer staring at it. Then Labbit hopped up the driveway. It's two clips from two trailcams.

 

We've had a pair of coyotes hanging about. On the driveway and in the forest.

   

 The fisher was back. Two days in a row.

 

Saturday's Critters

The 4-legged critters have been more difficult to spot in the daytime. Which is a good thing! We don't want the coyote, bears, fox, fisher, etc., hanging out here. The squirrels are a different story.

The tray catches a lot of spilled seed. As Mr. Cardinal can attest.

'Deer' feeder!

 

Coyote in the dark

 

More deer, a doe

 

Butch is up to something!

   

 This video 'thumbnail' shows Joe in the day time. Most of our critters appear in the dark. I wanted to paint a picture! You can see the coyote on the back lawn in the dark.

 

Saturday's Critters # 572 <= visit more critters at Eileens meeting place.

The fliers!

Firstly, Lake Effect Snow is flying!

Snow flying 

Well, we aren't getting much snow here, just a skiff on Tuesday night. However, the Lake Effect Snow squalls in Muskoka resulted in school bus cancellations on Wednesday. Back in January, 2010, when we lived by the lake, you could see the wind picking up the snow. 

Dishes flying

We were happy to relax on Tuesday, after our medical trip the day prior (PART CXI – Bone density scan #8). Tuesday night, reaching for a cereal bowl, I grabbed the top one, but rather than lifting it up and out, I dragged the whole pile towards me, and 3 or 4 fell onto my newly cleaned kitchen floor! I counted, and we still have 4 more left. I'd bought them just after my 1995 divorce. They are blue iris corelle ware. The bowls are fairly generic. We'll pick up a few at the thrift store. 

Just for fun, a helicopter screamed overhead. 

But the other day, it was a military helicopter. They don't tend to show their call signs. The sound is quite specific as it roars overhead.

military helicopter from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

What else is flying?

 

morning doves from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

😼 Cat visitors

Then there are the jumpers. We've a new strange cat visitor. Dec. 11th.

 

strange cat from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

What isn't flying are the cats. Fur might be flying, and we are brushing them frequently. Nutmeg is happy to rest in her turtle pose.

Happy days birdwatching

Those poor old sumacs. I think the first home owners plowed them down to create more 'lawn.' It's been too dry for them, as they are on very shallow soil. This is the same with our other sumac patch in the backyard. They are lovely bushes.

Oct. 8th, 2016

The meadow with a touch of snow left:

The frogpond has gone to bed, the native phragmites bending over in the frost. 

The goldfish pond get a touch of ice overnight, and melts in the daytime.

The snow on the roof melted and filled the goldfish pond.

I emptied the water barrel, as we are below zero at night.

I've set up my bird feeder camera, again. I had 4 mourning doves here, at one point. 

Both cardinals have been around.

Bird feeder, frogging

That was a bit of rain on Friday. We had 14 mm. We have had about the same as last year in October, although we've about a week and a half to go for the month. It reminds me that I must do the eaves. 

Oct. 29, 2022, the bird bath froze. I'll have to put the heater in. It was 5 C. this morning.

Birding from the front window

The mourning doves:

The Blue Jays!

🐸 Moving Froggies <= Frog Count

There are quite a few Wood Frogs about. They are forest dwellers and spend winter under leaves.

We appear to have a whole new batch of frogs in the goldfish pond. I was outside, in the rain, checking on things and couldn't resist trying to catch more. They were a lot less spooked, and I counted 20+. I captured  22 yesterday, and chucked them into the wetland.

Somebody went shopping and found me a new fishing frogging net. I managed to capture two in the net at once. I was so pleased! 😲

The leopard frog was the strongest jumper, and thought he'd resist the move.

 

Moving the frogs from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Overhead, a skein of geese. Not too bad in the rain with the iPhone camera!

The wet wetland welcomed them:

 In 2021 I moved a grand total 64! Only one dead frog in April 2022. I cannot find any count for 2022.  

For the most part, these are leopard frogs and green frogs. 

Oct. 11  a.m.  –  7 frogs moved

Oct. 11 p.m.   –  7 frogs

Oct. 12 p.m.   – 13 frogs

Oct. 13 p.m.   –   5             = 32

Oct. 14 p.m.   –   3     

Oct. 18 p.m.   –   5       

Oct. 19 p.m.   –   3              = 43

Oct. 21 a.m.   –  10

Oct. 21 p.m.   –  12              =  65