⛄ Snow Day on Crumbly Acres 🌨

You can see how the Great Lakes moderates the temperatures, with ice rain. Here in Eastern Ontario, we had only snow. The red shows where the ice rain fell. Toronto, and the Golden Horseshoe, were a mess. There was 1" coatings of ice here and there.

You can see where the ice and ice rain impacted Southwestern Ontario. Some 29,000 without power. This morning, 13,000 remain awaiting their Hydro to come back. School busses were cancelled Thursday, but things were cleaned up for today.

Let's set the scene. Feb. 21st, all was readied. We had a bit of snow, 3 cm. All I did was the sidewalk, knowing the next day's snowstorm was coming.
 

This is how far the cats went Thursday morning, Feb. 23rd! Just on the front deck, just off the doormat, no further. It is cold, too. This morning it is -14 degrees C.

What does a retiree do on the morning after a storm? Bide her time. Watch the weather radar, figure out when it was done snowing, and get on with it. I took some indoor photos while I waited. Setting the zoom on the tripod we enjoyed the morn. JB is watching curling, while I did my thing.

An American tree sparrow and two chickadees!

At one point we had 4 male cardinals around the feeder. Yesterday, there were two pairs. 

I love the morning doves! Queen of the castle, for a moment!

This is an image that shows how the birds are paired up. The male in front, while the female was in the chestnut tree, just to the left of the male. I tried so hard to get them together!

I like action photos! 

One starling. 

The fuzzy fawn was hoping for bird seed!

This was a bit of a fight. I noticed them going after my candytuft plants. They remember they are there, and dug down in the snow to trim them! 

Ears back, the dominant one gives a warning, while the submissive one eases off. That's how they roll!

Look at its face!

Eventually I gathered myself up, shovelled the back deck, the sidewalk, and used the blower on the driveway. We had 8 cm, not too much, dispatched forthwith. Ta da!

Oregano visited prior to the storm!

 

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Sunrise, and critters

The sunrise was amazing.

I spotted several mosquitos down at the frozen-ish frog pond the other day. They looked like this. The birds will be happy! It seems as if spring will be early.

Dratted Red Squirrel:

"Porcupine Chatter" is a great video made by someone I follow on our Facebook group. Sound on, for sure, they are really sweet!

Doe a deer:

 

doe on the driveway from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Raccoons don't hibernate, per se, but the do have extended sleeps. Depending where you are and your climate. Ours seem to sleep when the temperatures are below zero, once winter sets in.

Butch is awake! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

😼 Oregano

Who else is awake? This is a screen capture from nearly a year ago.

He has to live somewhere nearby, but our nearest possible neighbour is a km away, across the highway. I haven't seen evidence of him since December 26th!

 

Oregano is back! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Monday comes around, again!

Here we are, Monday, although it is the dread I used to feel. No pressure to get up, dressed, and try to entertain educate kids all day. Time means something different these days. We get snow tires on – on Thursday. 

 Caitlin is still testing positive for COVID. She is feeling better, now, however. She has sniffles. Happily she is able to work from home. 

🎾 We spent Sunday watching the Davis Cup tennis, the last game. I didn't know it was on TV until the final game. Felix Auger Aliassime was playing for Team Canada. Denis Shapovalov had just won his game. Then, the TSN satellite feed from Spain pooched out. I had to quickly pull up the real time scores. They won the cup. 

⚽ From there we watched World Soccer, and the Canadian men's team lost 4 - 1. They are out of the tournament. The announcer said that this is "the greatest moment in Canadian soccer history." Janine Beckie gave him skank eye after he said that. She was on the women's Olympic soccer team when they won gold. He then corrected himself and said it was "on the same level" as the women's win. 😳

Women have fought so hard for equal funding!
And to sit at the anchor desk.

🌦I did my chores prior to the rainfall. We had about 9 mm Sunday. I set up the water barrel, again, as I said I would. The goldfish pond is full. 

I'll have to dress warmly, as I have to put the garbage out. It is chilly, but tonight it's going to -6 C., so I have to think about draining the water barrel. We expect another 15 - 20 mm on Wednesday. Decision, decisions! 

We haven't had as much snow this November as in other years. (Blue is rain, gray is snow.)

We have many dead elms. I'm inclined to leave this one here. I ought to gather some kindling from it, I suppose.

Polar bear is having a grand time hanging out with goldfish.

Oregano was back.

 

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Butch

 

Butch treed from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The best protection for raccoons is to climb a tree. They seem to be traveling in a flock, now! Or would that be a herd?! Nope, looked it up. I think the best collective noun is a committee. They argue and snarl over food and disagreements abound.  

butch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

OK, garbage detail calls. I might not get dressed, but just put my winter coat over my housecoat and jammies! 

Oregano cat and the magic stick

 I've taken in all your comments about our visitor, 😼Oregano <= I've tracked my sightings of him there. Having two tabbies, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, it is funny seeing him on the trailcams. I agree he is a healthy (intact) cat, and likely has a home. I tried feeding him when he first showed up in January, 2021. I put out cat food, which he quite enjoyed. It began to freeze. (The raccoons were sleeping by then, so I wasn't feeding them.) I put the heated cat house out, but he wasn't interested in it. Then I cleverly put the food in the heated cat house, which prevented it from freezing. 

I think I've only seen him once in the daytime, and found this video on my computer. Most of our 'wild' critters don't come around in the daytime. They know to avoid humans. This is from 7/6/21.

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

My frogpond trailcam is doing its best. You get what you pay for!

 

Clover & pumpkin from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon begs to go out in the predawn. This is when he is most vocal. He knows 'walkies,' as a cue word. They seem to know 'out,' and 'Muskoka Room' as well. JB is teaching Nutmeg 'treat.'

They both went out for an hour in the -7 C. dark, looking for mice friends. No birds in the dark! They hustled back in, quick and sprightly. It was chilly. We let them out into the Muskoka Room for fresh air. They like watch the leaves blowing in the wind across the snow.

 

cinnamon meows from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went for a walk in the forest. This was the strangest thing! This stick was apparently swaying in midair. 

 

magic stick from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🌬Monday was really windy. It seemed to increase over the afternoon. I was going to go out and pick things up and tie them down, but I thought I'd best wait. The wind wasn't letting up. JB agreed. Baby bear fell over! I retied them to the railing yesterday, putting them up on the bench. Now we can see them through the window at night. I ought to cover the bench. Something bright red would be fun. The snow does pile up on it, then melts. It was a lovely time putting out some new Christmas decorations. 

A package of greens from the grocery store, and made myself a pretty planter. It requires tweaking, but the soil is frozen! This half barrel is on its last legs. The bottom is rotten. It's going to be decommissioned in the spring!

I took Daisy's Christmas tree down to the driveway. This is the one she kept chewing, until she burned her tongue and couldn't eat or drink. That was a lovely adventure figuring it out at the vet.

Managing prostate cancer

📱We had a phone appointment with the surgeon Monday afternoon. All is going as predicted. A Bone Mass Density test will be scheduled in Ottawa. (Our local hospital has a one-year waiting list.) The surgeon is in Ottawa. JB's been having injections here in town with the GP. Sadly, as of Dec. 1st, OHIP won't let doctors bill for phone calls anymore. For a 5 minute conversation, it saves us driving an hour and a half into the city, parking, figuring out how to manage meals, and gas costs. It is discouraging. But we are still smiling! 

Saturday's Critters

I introduced you to Peter yesterday. Today, some more of the old gang.

Oregano came by in the dark. I've no idea where he lives, but he's not ours!

Butch is fattening up for winter. She wanted to get into the pumpkin!

  

butch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is a quick view of Coyote, down by the frogpond.

coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And Oregano comes and goes, following the driveway and crossing the highway.

oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Both Butch Raccoon and Peter the buck came by!

raccoon & buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Visit more critters here:

Saturday's Critters # 465

It is Second Summer!

 It's been an interesting few weeks. We are still working on preventing this gun range and it's difficult to turn it all off. Another early morning that not even a radio show on flatulence in animals could send me to sleep. 

We had a neighbour come by with a petition she and another person created. I have high hopes. More to come! I mean, I 'say' neighbour, but they are on the lake, somewhat removed from us. We are becoming a community.

It makes me happy to see Felix and Sir John in the guest room! I smile every time I go to 'powder my nose!'

It was a high of 22 C. yesterday. When I was first up it was 4 C. Just a glorious second summer after some frost. What did I do? I put out our winter lights. What better time to be putting up winter lights in the sun and warmth? There have been some bitterly cold days when I wished I'd begun earlier. It was Diwali yesterday, the Hindu Festival of Lights! Perfect!

I cleaned, dried and wrapped the water fountain. This setup is taking some work. The biting, invasive Lady Beetles didn't help. They are swarming for winter hibernation. Our native Lady Bugs do not bite.

The top string of lights isn't working. I might just remove it totally and tighten up the string. JB bought us a lovely sparkly globe light for the top. He took off on a scavenger mission and did well.

I selected a clay pot on which to fasten it, which makes a tree shape of sorts.

I have lights for the front. Having tried and tried to repair the wires the mice chewed last winter, I couldn't find the correct extension cord, nor match the specific amps. There was a glue gun involved. I gave up. I brought the tree out yesterday. JB bought us a string of white lights, and I think it does the job. We may just get another string, though.

I took a lovely walk in the forest, grabbing trailcam SD cards. I watched this mouse hole all winter and nothing happened. It's as if it is a three-season exit and entrance. 

It's been a beautiful few days. I know the cold is coming. People have been out flying and enjoying the weather.

The skunk has been up and down the driveway. It was 9 p.m., not a.m., but I'm fed up with resetting the time! skunk from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

In the night, 😼Oregano is back, trotting up the driveway. I haven't seen him all summer, not since May. The light scared him the first time, but now he just dashes by. I still don't know where he comes from. 

He came, again. 

That was a fine day. We've another fine day today. I'll cross off a few more things off the 🍂Fall Chores list.

Saturday's Critters

 When did it get to be Saturday again?! We are taking great joy in watching our critters. I say 'our' as if we own them, but we are happy to watch them, watch over them, and share their antics. 

We've had an uptake in critters on the cameras, as they seek food, look for winter yards, and deer hunting season ramps up. Sadly, hunting season is here. When we lived in Muskoka we would all be very aware of the seasons and avoid walking on Crown Land. Here, I prepare just so I know what the guns are about. Our neighbour hunted, he's since sold, and we could hear it. We had our property properly marked so he'd know his boundary. 

Of course in Muskoka there was moose hunting. We don't get many moose here. We had to make a special trip to Algonquin Park for that.

First you figure out your Wildlife Management Unit on the  WMU map. We are 67. Then you go to the Deer season (Nov. 7 - 20 here). 

🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾

I hope you liked my chipmunk video yesterday. (I've never seen a chippie doggie digging!) Here are Clover and her boy.

 

clover and fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Wait until the end when the fawn bounds into view! We should have a name for the fawn, but once he grows a tad, we may not be able to ID him!

I'm thinking the baby porcupine has taken over Fred groundhog's den. Fred has disappeared, I haven't seen him in a few days or week. (You know how time passes!)  Josephine has named the baby porcupine (porcupette) Charlie! I like that. 

baby porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

↑ Oct 18 in the backyard. What is fun is that Clover and her fawn come into the yard. The fawn seems interested in the baby, but loses interest, happily! They all go back to grazing. The porcupine just ignores all of us!

↓ Just for comparison, this is the adult porcupine we saw in the front yard Aug. 20!

 

porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And the tabby who visits us. 😼Oregano

 

oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! 

Saturday's Critters # 462

Porcupine, Oregano, Coyotes

Here we are settling into Autumn. I'm making progress on 🍂Fall Chores. I am getting old and forgetful, so a list was crucial! I am comforted by all those with similar issues with insomnia. We are not unique, and being retired we have realized that it's not so bad as we can sleep in. No alarm clock to worry about, or having to be nearly human for a work day.

Well, we had snow in Ontario on Monday! We only had rain. I am glad I mulched the leaves the day before. The water fountain is cleaned and once it dries out I will cover it. 

We've had frost. Once it warmed up I did some garden work. Bye bye flowers!

I gazed out back, and spotted a critter on a rock. It turned out to be Cinnamon. He was looking for mice friends. He came in shortly after.

It was necessary to take leaves out of the rain gauge, in preparation for the incoming precipitation. We had a total of 21 mm (0.83"). It was a long, rainy day. 

I've taken the top off of the swing bench. Yesterday, I covered the bench and furniture with a tarp and put away the table and chairs. During COVID you know store shelves had issues. JB had brought me a 6 x 8 m white one (20 x 28'). I was so tired after wrestling with I had to go indoors and rest! 

The leaves are quickly falling. Enjoy them while you can!

There was graupel in south eastern Ontario. Actual snow up in northern Ontario. Us, just rain. 

Just before the rain, a young porcupine!

porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

In the night, strange cat 😼Oregano popped by the trailcam. I thought he might be feral, but I really don't know. There is lots to eat here: shrews, field mice, forest mice, voles, moles.  Our cats were safely tucked in bed. We don't know where he is from, but he is an intact male who likes to visit. I called him Oregano, since we have twins Nutmeg and Cinnamon, also tabby cats. I found the name following Janis Irwin, a very cool Edmonton MLA with a cat named Oregano. 

 

Oregano from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Not to be outdone, Coyotes appeared!

coyotes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There were two coyotes for sure, but I think another was trailing after them. What do you think? They are healthy pups. We never see them in the day, thankfully! They know lots of humans around here have guns, with lots of farms and farm animals who need protection. 

It's a lovely mixed community, with landowners (some with 600 acre 150-year-old farms) who have cows, sheep, chickens, goats, and two horse farms, including Ian Millar's. The nearby lake has cottages, a mixture of seasonal and full time residences, as well as AirBnBs and rentals. Some people commute into Ottawa to work. I've found a couple of people who have moved here for the peace and quiet, like us.