Crumbly Acres Maintenance

 There are things to do for spring!

The snow has really melted. The winds have picked up. An oak leaf was crab-crawling down the driveway. It looked animated! 

I was rinsing out cat litter buckets for reuse. The spigot is cracked. Why didn't I bring it in? I cannot reach the indoor shutoff valve. Sad thing. 

I may have jinxed it, but the snowblower is in the shed, away for the season. 

I don't know why, but we brought this back from Bala. It belonged to my parents. It has had its day. We'll have to take it apart and find space for the pots and stuff in the garage.

Indoors, the orchid is happy.

I have had a disaster with my fish tank. It is leaking in the one side's corner. The light stopped working in February:  Percy's new aquarium light! It was a floor model and on sale, and it has served me well. All the lovely green I had (fake plants) have had the biscuit. Just fell apart. I've gone through 3 tank pumps.

I put on Gorilla Tape, I thought it was Flex Tape, but I was wrong. It kept leaking. We bought this one since it fit so nicely into the corner!

Percy and his pals have been popped into the goldfish pond outside. The tank was drained, with JB's help.

Can you see the skiff of ice on the goldfish pond?!

The next morning I checked on him and he looked quiet. I gave him some food, and left. When I came back the food was gone. Good sign!

I have time to do some research and figure out what to do. They don't make this shape any more. Most of them are a rectangle.

I had this tank in Bala, Muskoka, in 2007.

It fit so nicely into the corner. I found an interesting one, 150 lbs., thick walls (1/2"), and requires 'freight shipping' whatever that is (big $$$?). I shall pass on this one! 

The curtain was soaked where the tank leaked on it. I spread it out over the railing to dry. 

From British Columbia, here is Bernie, Jesse's Vancouver cat in his outdoor front porch cattery at their cottage.  They call him Bernie Houdini! 

A mish mash of tales

Tragedy

I must acknowledge the passing of an 18-year-old young man early Sunday morning on Rideau Ferry Road. A young man on an early morning ride in the dark, the rain, and the cold. Such a tragedy. A young woman on Facebook commented on what a great young man he was, as have other relatives. He hasn't been named in the press. The online comments are heartwarming in his obituary, in that he led a good life. 

🍂 Taking a forest walk, the colours were amazing. This was prior to Thanksgiving weekend, I wanted to enjoy the leaves before they fell.

Down in the forest one of the last mushrooms. Something ripped it out of the ground!

🐦In the meantime, while we were away, I brought in the one (new) bird feeder, just in case. The other I left out. The bears have been good, and we haven't seen any up here near the house. I left the one feeder out front, with a minimal amount of seed, for cat entertainment while we were in Ottawa.

I'd put the one feeder safely in the garage while we were away overnight for Thanksgiving. This is what my mice friends did! They certainly helped themselves! 

Monday was officially Thanksgiving, which we'd celebrated with turkey on Sunday with the kids. I heated M & M's frozen chili in the crock pot, after I put on a fire. As dinner neared, I made 

Proper English Scones

. JB really shouldn't have them, dairy and eggs, but he seemed OK. Maybe his system is handling it! That will change things up for us. He's avoided dairy, yeast and eggs for a few years.

🥀  I brought in the plants Sept. 15th. The Amaryllis (red pot) has not chosen to bloom, despite fresh, summer air. The orchid flowers have only a few blossoms left. With any luck, and patience, it will come back with more blooms.

 

We came home with another pair of Caitlin's home made 2005 curtains! I like the red with the gold. Since their renovations, she replaced hers. They really brighten up our place. There is one pair in the bedroom, and I'm working on hanging this pair in the dining room. I'll have to figure out if I need a new curtain rod, and new rings, or make do with the old. I was thinking of putting my old curtains down in the basement. We shall see. Percy seems to approve!

🍁 Fall Chores: I did some more clean up work Tuesday. The list is coming along. The water fountain is shut down. 

One water barrel has been emptied. I took a photo as I waited for it to drain. 

After my work, I hopped in the shower. Look what I found. Now, without reading glasses, I could not see it well enough to figure out it was a beetle, not a tick, like the one we found on Nutmeg on Monday (in the photo at 11:00 o'clock). 

  We've still ticks. JB bought us some cat goop for them, as ticks can be active when the temperature is above 5 C.  We aren't doing too badly this year, all things considered! 

Just for fun, Caitlin and I play our morning games and post results to one another. We cheer one another on, or cheer one another up, depending upon the results! This one was hilarious as we had the same pattern! The scientist amongst us likes symmetry.

Then, there is Scrabble!

Cats, snakes, garden, new curtains!

 We had an emergency Friday morning. We were out of canned cat food. Nutmeg was not amused. She lobbied hard, threatening to call the SPCA. JB visited the vet, and bought some more. WHEW!

She was the cutest little kitten

When I washed floors prior to the kids visit last week, I did something just for fun. I know in some better Zoos and rehab centres they provide games for the animals to entertain and challenge them. I switched the cat food dishes. Normally, Nutmeg eats on the right from the white bowl, and Cinnamon eats from the dish on the left. The certainly visit the other dish if the other cat isn't around and their bowl is empty. The dry crunchies I only put in one bowl. 

What I have found is that the dishes do not matter, the right side is Nutmeg's. She is the boss. She'll nudge him out of the way. He had his fill and she worked at his side for him.

 

Poor Cinnamon hasn't been going outdoors for his morning run. Now, it has been up to 34˚ C. outdoors, and that might have explained it. The other explanation is that Pepper, our visitor cat has been, or he had an encounter with something (skunk, Fred, coyote, etc.). The cats don't like the dew on the plants, either. They spend a lot of time grooming after their dewy walkabout.

Whilst at the vet getting food, I asked JB to pick up some deworming meds for them. That could explain why he has been housebound. Normally they go out for a run, come in for breakfast and stay in. 

The had their meds Friday, and Saturday morning he bounded outdoors with his sister. Good news.

The silly cats love quilting. JB set this out, a lovely gift from Jean, via the kids' visit in New Zealand. 

I knew I best get my act in gear. Even indoors, with the air conditioner on, I have been somewhat lethargic. I finally got it together. Isn't it lovely?! She is so talented. I am so grateful to have met her online!

The kids have renovated and redecorated their home, and I was gifted their former living room curtains. I was so happy with them. Caitlin made them, and then hung across their large picture windows. You can see them at their house back behind their orchid. I just love them.

The other bonus is that they are very heavy and keep the light out. I am sleeping better, not being wakened by the moon or dawn. The second photo was from Caitlin's living room. She works from home some days, still.

Also, another project. Poor old Frosty, his hat had fallen apart. We commissioned Jiny's husband, Kim, to replace his hat. Jiny sells Korean food at the Saturday Market. I am pleased. This was my late mother's Frosty, and there is an emotional attachment. Frosty dates back to (at least) 2010. I shall get a ribbon, and some white chalk paint, to dress him up. This is Josephine with him in 2010.

 

I was out front working on the garden, are my glutes ever sore bending over. There are still flowers, thanks to the hibiscus. My roses are hanging in, as well. 

Looking down, I spotted a wee ribbon snake going after the crickets. Heaven knows we've millions of crickets. See it peeking out at me?!

I'd pulled a bunch of spent phlox to toss on our empty lot, and a 60 cm garter snake whipped by. They are so fast. It's getting cooler, and they will be coming closer to their hibernaculum for winter. Once I spotted it, it totally disappeared! I giggled.

I hope life is treating you well.