Cinnamon Walkies

 I took Cinnamon for Walkies. He knows the word, and either waits to go out at the door, or runs to follow me outside. He's so fast, the image is distorted.

The mosses are lovely. It began to precipitate. Cinnamon, if you look closely, is blanketed in graupel.

Back up to the house we went. Of course, 'walkies' might better be called 'runnies' as he roars around to catch up to me, and runs to be the leader.

 

From there, I asked if he wanted to go to the back 40. Apparently so.

Off we went to the owl tree, and I spotted some owl mute and a pellet. Mute is the white, but you can see the pellet on the right. They regurgitate rodent fur and the bones they cannot digest.

I looked around the owl tree and found a total of three. This is the limb where the owl sat. I'll let them dry, then dissect them to see what it's been eating.

I posted the pellet photo to our Crumbly Acres family photo stream, and Aster was quite keen on dissecting it. I said I'd save her one, or did she want me to mail it to her?! She's on the rugby team at her high school. 

We kept going in order to inspect the wood duck nest box. I could hear the pileated woodpecker banging away in the forest, across the wetland. It looks like it's been at the nest box. Non-mental note, I need to reattach the baffles. I'll have to remember a ladder and the staple gun. 

I think the cardinal pair are ready for spring. He's been singing atop the trees.

Our good news is that tonight's ice storm will be a snow storm. Sunday's predicted ice storm is still in the forecast.

Crumbly Acres – in red

 It is a sweet spot: I'd love to know how the corridor came about. Maybe a path was trod and, of course, the tree branches are acidic, and other saplings didn't survive beneath and around them. Ain't nature grand? We had a big snow storm, and all of this is now under 10 cm of snow cover. I thought I'd post these before any more snow photos!

I love this cedar corridor. I put the oldest trailcam here. You may be able to spot it in the second photo, on the right-hand tree. It's a pretty lane. It's high traffic for critters.

This is the frog pond camera. If you look closely, lower right, you can see a firefly! As of Jan. 2nd, for the previous 34 days, we've had sunshine on only 31 of them, plus warm temperatures. That has since changed. 

On my walk, I noticed a lot of owl poop, AKA Mute. This is a clue that an owl pellet may be nearby. They sit on the branch above, poop backwards, and regurgitate the pellet forwards. I did not find one. I'll keep checking this location, though.

A good amount of mute, and near to that, pinecone remnants, in a nice pile. Obviously, Owl was on the watch for a rodent of some sort!

Actual blue sky!

Now for the reds! Indoors, we depend upon our plants for colour. Joseph Brian brought home some tulips.

🥀 The Amaryllis bloom I broke off is doing well in a mug of water. I will have a total of 6 blooms from this one plant. It is heartwarming.

I finally got my butt in gear and made up a one-pan meal. Pork chops, red and yellow peppers, a Spanish onion, rice, broth and spices. I made banana bread, as well. Susie Homemaker, last week.

Our old toaster was a bit of a disaster. I sent hubby in for another. I thought red to go with our designer (2nd hand) curtains by Caitlin! At first I wondered, as there wasn't a 🥯 bagel button like our old toaster, but it works well for my morning bagel.

 Politics – 'lightning from the sky'

I have comforting words for my US blog friends. The crazies are here, as well. You aren't alone. 

Our opposition leader (PP) is a whackadoodle, having supported the Convoy people. After this speech was posted (below, left), we've heard nothing more from him. He is MIA, while his cronies diss our Prime Minister for taking his family to a friend's place in Jamaica. 

Trailcam tails and hooligans

Last week, Caitlin, Josee and I went down to the trailcams, Caitlin wanted wetland walkies. We found an owl pellet! And mute, the white stuff. 
 

I found another pellet the next day and looked at it. Obviously, the owl had been getting the meadow voles that Annabelle keeps finding. She left this one on the sidewalk. I think the raccoons ate it that night. The vole teeth are quite distinct.

They like their selfies!



Down the hill, beyond the meadow, we put out the turkey carcass. I left the box, as the coyotes like to play, and I wasn't sure what else to do with it. It was a juicy turkey!



Off I went, Dec. 27th, to check the trailcams. Hooligans! I love them!



It was our ubiquitous raccoons who scored. It was drama as they dragged pieces of the carcass around.



I hope you've flipped through the raccoons, I know hubby likes their antics. Next up, the red fox, surprised by the trailcam.



Then, to my surprise, the barred owl. Remember the owl pellet and mute (the white stuff). I was amazed. There were a couple more photos, but they were blurred. I'd put both trailcams on the spot to catch the action.



The next day, all 4 of our rescue raccoons, the fox, again, and a coyote.



I moved the 2nd trailcam back to the pumpkins. Everyone quite likes them.



NEXT DAY, a fisher.