It's a busy yard!

Well, my end-of-season chores are underway. Good question about the chestnuts, Patio Postcards. I don't eat them, I save them as decor and throw them out in winter. They red squirrel drops them, but doesn't eat them after they fall!

Yesterday, I used the kids' power washer on the flag stones. I'll have a new project next spring, (maybe!) lifting the stones and putting sand underneath. They seem to be sinking. 

🐠Today is goldfish day. It is supposed to be sunny, although we're at 2 C. right now. I'll drain the pond a bit, and give it a go. Tomorrow is supposed to be fine, as well, but tomorrow I'm getting my Spikevax shot. I'll assume it'll all go fine, but I will have two days to get fish in. They can be stubborn! 

😷Josephine is managing COVID. We texted yesterday afternoon and she said she was sniffly, cough and a runny nose. Mom says she was throwing up in the evening. Poor kid. This is going around the schools. 

🦌 I learned two new things the other day. We noticed that the fawn has lost its spots. A significant sign of Autumn. Then, I wondered, when do we stop calling it a fawn? I found the answer. They would be a fawn for the first year, and a yearling in year 2. 

I noticed pedicles on our fawn, where the antlers will grow. They are called spikes when a yearling has them. Caitlin calls them pickle stabbers! 

clover & fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🕷️ TICKS 2022

I had a tick, again. Just crawling on my hand. It's been stuck inside a piece of tape, and gone to tick heaven 😜. We've done pretty well this year, especially since the cats have their meds to keep them away.

Happily the turkeys are around. They eat ticks, bless their hearts. I spotted them out back.

turkeys from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The turkeys and chicks in the forest! 

  

Cinnamon has been out on Oliver's Lot. Nutmeg is still confined to barracks. 

Butch is fattening up for winter. They are omnivores and eat anything!

 

Butch + 3 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred groundhog is still around. I think he just shelters under the lower deck. When he hears us open the back door, he'll scramble to seek shelter, then peek his head out. I call, "Hi, Fred!" and he'll recognize me and come back out. 

He's made two holes, one in and one out. I don't think it's a burrow, just an escape plan. His burrow is at the end of the septic bed!

Fred under the deck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The buck turned up in the dark.

 

buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The doe turned up in the daytime. Gotta love that tail! 

 

doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's critters

It's been so cold. I had a lovely, lazy indoor day yesterday. 

Well, I usually run out and grab the trailcam, but hasten indoors. 

I've moved the trailcam to the feeders. The deer behaviour is fascinating. Of course, what do I get? Cottontail! 

The bunny appeared, hopping along. cottontail 

They love seeing me outdoors! They know something is up. workin' deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 

Deer hierarchy: there is a pecking order. The males boss everyone. The younger males even boss the females, other than their mothers. They never actually fight. You can see that this one lays her ears back, and the other respects that. deer hierarchy from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

One young buck and the does. He's lost one antler somewhere. buck & does from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is another young one with 'pickle stabber' antlers! pickle stabber buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

For more critters: visit Eileen's Saturday's Critters # 421.

Rain and snow

I love little pickle-stabber! I have no idea what he was doing, but I love his facial expressions.



I had 193 images on this trailcam. Most of them looked like this! The weeds waving in the wind, perhaps, maybe the heavy rain set it off. All day, rain. In the night the deer were out there when the snow began.



The thermometer fell for the morning!


My morning walkies revealed another small tree down. I must get to it.



The frog pond looks interesting. There was 18 mm rain, and then snow.   This bodes well for the sleeping critters.



The patterns in the ice look cool.



I summoned my strength, and JB reminded me about the end of the driveway. I decided I ought to do something about it, rather than waiting for spring! I had to get garbage out by 8 a.m. this morning. I'm glad I shovelled.

I've left the snow on the driveway. We shall see what happens.



Thy are still munching on the pumpkins.

First rain, then snow

That was a day of rain. About 18 mm (0.7"), and then it has snowed on top of the warm ground.



The frog pond had an interesting piece of ice. I had to zoom in to figure it out. It's quite full, which is good for spring.



I've moved the trailcams back down to the forest. As long as I don't talk too much, I don't cough too much. As I was walking down the hill to cross the meadow, a grouse flew from under these dead branches. Then another, and another. You have to picture them in your mind: wings flapping, that lovely sound of the thumping of their wings, and their tail feathers.



It was bird count day in our area. In the pouring rain!
sparrow from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


Then, there are the trailcam photos. My 2nd camera has a bit of rust on the mechanism that ejects the battery holder. (It's up for replacement with Boxing Day sales!) I cleverly decided to spray the rusted mechanism with some grease to loosen it. I smelled of this stuff ALL DAY, despite rigorous hand washing!

I've been using up a lot of battery power, so I switched the good trailcam to images, rather than videos.

Our 4 released raccoons are still sticking together! You can see their shining eyes in the dark!



This young buck, with pickle-stabber antlers, decided to do a selfie.



This is what we woke up to. Poor polar bear is dancing in the wind.



I put the large balls out on the tree. It had snow on it, and I was getting it up my sleeves. I neglected to reposition them when the snow melted. Too late!



We're good, with temperatures headed below zero. There are lots without power in the wet snow, though.

Winter scenes

It's a cold month. It's not for chumps. You just have to dress for it.

The pickle stabbers are doing well. There are two of them, the same age, hanging out together.

I think this is Maggie, just prior to our going outside.

Our medium-sized buck. The big buck is seriously gone.

I ordered my Christmas present... and it arrived. A new trailcam, but much better quality.
Two things to remember: change the temperature to C., and make it face south, as the sun triggered it in other videos! The first coyote seems wounded. Poor thing.


Last week we had a bit of a moment. A deer was killed on the road.  I assured hubby the one on the road wasn't Maggie. I was right! Sunday, hubby is happy that he spotted his Maggie, with the dislocated knee.




Daisy almost came for a walk with me. She watched me.

Our deer friends

We have several around. First, a doe with twins, then another doe with a singleton. Then there is Pickle Stabber, and finally, the buck with 8 points. We need a name for him! He has an obvious flesh wound, which my buddy Justin tells me looks fine. He seems healthy otherwise!

You might notice that I took down part of our fence. This lets us see down into the meadow from the kitchen window. It's really opened up the space.

I'm wondering if a single fawn lost its momma, because hubby saw a small loner being chased and tracked by the 8-point buck this morning. Lacking name tags, we can only ID them from their male antlers and their behaviour. The does, of course, do not have antlers. They are used in fighting for territory with other bucks.

When I say fawn, I mean the babies born only last May or so. Their spots are gone, and they are visibly smaller than the adults, depending upon their eating over the summer. The lone fawn is in the last photo in this set, beside the shed!

The buck was after Daisy yesterday. That's a switch, since she usually stands up to the deer and they back off. All 7 pounds of her!

I'm having trouble uploading iMovie videos. I'm so frustrated! I think I need an upgraded computer. I created a screen shot of our newest visitor. Their antlers fall off in December or January, when food is scarce, and grow back next year! Caitlin named him Pickle Stabber! These are screen grabs from the videos.

Then there is the 8-point buck.

buck Nov 23 15 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here are the deer sheds I collected last year. We had a skiff of snow last night, but not much. I ended up finding 5 antlers in 2014. And one of the bucks from 2014. We called this guy Sir!