More repairs!

No bat last night. Whew! It happens once a year, usually. The juveniles need to figure out a better home!

I talked to a police officer about our stolen flag. It has been reported, at least.

Repairs: sympathetic restoration or an honest repair?

It poured rain on Wednesday. Time for indoor chores. I've been working on regrouting my fish tank. An honest repair. Cinnamon isn't much of an assistant. I've been scraping the grout out of the corners. I needed the step ladder to reach in and I'm just a few inches short. Next I'll have to use rubbing alcohol to super clean the corners.

The trees are leafing out. The blossoms are lovely. 

We're near the end of the daffodil season. The maples are leafing out.

The frog pond is greening up. 

Muskrat is still building under the dock. 

At least s/he is cleaning up some of the native phragmites. 

I repaired my pooter and caught another couple dozen lily bugs. You suck on one end, and the other end sucks in the bug.

Fred has been a hoot, gathering leaves and grass in its mouth to take into the burrow. Fred takes breaks to eat, too.

Fred in the daffies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred burrow #5 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Wood duck, lost egg, clouds, young buck

June 8th – the wood ducks have hatched and flown. No dud eggs, either. I am happy for that. It means they have safely made it to the wetland or the lake. I've tried to check only every 2nd or 3rd day. This was my last view of her, Sunday, June 5th. By Wednesday they were all gone. They only stay in the nest for 24 hours after hatching, then take off in the afternoon, bouncing out of the nest. You can see that the native phragmites have grown over the pond. 

wood duck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

  This is from 2017, when I thought they had all gone and I was prepared to clean out the nest! I scared us all!

We went into town for gas for the lawn tractor. I noticed the invasive phragmites had been mown by the county, at the side of the road. It's only mown as far as the county owns, and there is a large patch beyond it to the creek. They are working on this stuff. They are making progress, around the county with little robot tractors. 

I noticed something white on the last slab at the end of the sidewalk. It looks like a phoebe egg taken from the nest. I wonder the story there?!

There was yolk. I don't know. It could be nest theft. It was peculiar.

It's sad to document damage, but noticed this lovely lily, lower left, and a bug of some sort had rolled the leaf and snapped off the flower bud to make a home. The one beyond, and on the right are still intact. I cross my fingers. I've wrapped my chicken wire around it, and hope to actually get a bloom. 

Bambi ate them several years in a row until I figured out the idea of putting up a fence! 

During Tuesday's rough weather, Caitlin went to Toronto for a two-day leadership conference. I live vicariously through my children, and I watched the plane online. I checked the radar and, sure enough, more storm clouds. It had to veer around the storm. This was the 23 mm rain day! 

It was funny that JB having traveled a lot for work (i.e., Montreal once a week, Frankfurt quarterly, etc.), just commented that he didn't miss the travel, but sure loved seeing clouds. I know he'll like to see these, Caitlin's photos! Her iPhone takes snappy photos.

The Devil's Paintbrush are starting up. This is why I don't mow too much. 

I managed to capture 17 videos on the trailcam, after hauling myself down there with bugs flying madly. There were 15 videos of crows, one of a blue jay, and one of the young buck.

young buck 2 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Phragmites in the frog pond

Well, nothing on the trailcams, except us. I still don't have the setting right on the new trailcam. 

A full day of snow, then rain. I've been sitting on this post for a bit. Isn't it nice to see the green?

 

I've been concerned about our frogpond, with the plants growing in the shallows as the water evaporated over the summer. I've found out what it is. A native phragmite.

This is what they look like now.

Then, there are the invasive ones. Our country is getting rid of them. I saw them, they were using a remote tractor. 

Someone was harvesting them for something or other. How safe was this??!!

Goat's beard and garden

Paint Party Friday, too!

I love all the green. There are a lot of weeds that flower in my garden, it's sort of eclectic. Also, the milkweed is thriving.

JB doing his twice daily walkies. You can see the path lined with Devil's Paintbrush, as he walks into the Aspen grove!

Milkweed has a frollicking pair. 

I managed to move the table to the middle deck. The previous homeowner made it, I think. I bought the umbrella at a garage sale ($20)!

JB's been faithfully watering his fountain and the blueweed.

I have to remind myself, the flag has come off the bottom fastener in our big winds. (Non-mental note! Those seem to dissappear in my scattered head!)

Finally, some critter video. It was lovely to see a raccoon mama and three kits. I really grossed my grandkid out with a video showing a raccoon pulling up a huge worm! "Eeeeewwww!"

I went down to the frog pond and could see a brown colour in the middle of the green phragmites. Thankfully, my videocamera is much like binoculars for me.