Walkies, Cinnamon!

Cinnamon has been such a character. He sleeps on the cat bed in the office. We enter the room, and ask if he wants to go 'walkies.' He'll rouse himself. He knows the word. He'll stretch, take his own good time, but come to the door for the walk.

I love this old white pine tree. JB took Cinnamon walkies, and up he went. His little camera isn't great, but you get the idea.

The old pine tree is falling apart. It's such a shame. But we're all getting older and falling prey to time. This tree is on Lot #3. It's a great place to play, once the bugs are done. It's both forest and wetland.

The garden had a bit of rain this morning, only 2 mm, but it is something. 

 JB returned from walkies and noticed Cinnamon on the front deck. Behind him, crossing the driveway, were some wild turkeys. As I went for my woods walk, I picked up a feather. "Aha!" said I, hoping they are on a trailcam. I tucked the feather behind my ear and carried on. As I walked, I found my ear was somewhat irritated and wondered why. Oh yes, that's the feather. Isn't old age grand?! Short memories and all.

Sure enough, the turkeys went into the forest, crossed the meadow, and were on all three trailcams! 

I made a mistake editing the video. The first part of this video is one of the inexpensive trailcams in the forest, the second part is an older, more expensive camera with double the batteries (at the far end of the frog pond). This is a lesson. People often ask me to recommend a trailcam. I tell them to buy the best you can afford! wild turkeys 

The meadow trailcam had 23 videos on it. I was most excited when I uploaded it. I edited them down, and will show the rest tomorrow. In the meantime, it shows one of our fawns with the turkeys. 

Gramma Camp – Week 25 Monday

Sunday was Pi day: 3:14. Grampa bought us a blueberry pie to celebrate. Jos can cite the digits for 20 digits.

Monday morning was busy. I put out the cardboard recycling (which Isabelle helped me bundle) and the garbage. Fed the deer. Grampa kicked the girls out of bed. Monday had begun.

Josee's computer was not recharging. I think it was the extension cord. We found a new cord, and we were good. Crisis averted! 

Eggo Waffles for Izzy; toast, Jos.

Josephine's class was interesting. They are studying circumference and area. Caitlin told me that the teacher had mentioned my two favourite math books. I liked reading to my students, back in the day. It's would be a nice start to a lesson. Isabelle asked for these books for months, back when I read to them at bedtime.

There were only 4 or 5 of them had their videocamera on. 

Here y'are, A/C, this is how they do word problems these days. In fact, as is the way, they knew the right answer, and had to show their work. They check the answer and see where they went wrong. Jos had forgotten the 'divide by 2' bit. She then fixed it up. Next, she took photos of her work and her answers and virtually handed them in. It is time consuming, and really dependent upon bandwidth and internet speed. 

It's hard work!

Drone flying. It was cold. 

Tree climbing. Izzy went out in her snow pants, gloves and hat. It was so cold, she came back in for her coat. 

Josephine got herself outside, she filled the feeder for me, replaced the battery in one trailcam, and inserted the memory card in the other. It was still brisk. She decided to go back to asynchronous work early, as she loves the math, 'was bored' and there isn't time to start anything else!

Jos asked her sister to assist her in hauling wood indoors. She declined. I helped. After all, Isabelle is sleeping in the guest room. Josee is enjoying her fire, privacy, and had tidied the entire room to her mathematical satisfaction. 

Grampa fetched us some tulips, to help celebrate the anticipation of spring.

We watched a show, all about the Irwin's Australian Zoo, and saw an ad for a new movie, 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.' The girls are keen to see it. Grampa explained about the Sunshine Patriot and the Winter Soldier. It is from a speech by Thomas Paine. Back during the American Civil War, the men who needed to get back to their farms, to feed families, were called Sunshine Patriots. The men who stuck it out, the Winter Soldiers.

Grampa did a post-dinner show, which will be revealed tomorrow. I have to process and edit the show for brevity! There were song sheets, however!

Both girls took themselves off to bed to read, prior to bedtime. They'd worked hard. I tucked them in, and went to bed to read, myself!

In February was had 24 cases of COVID–19. Our COVID–19 cases are up. Mon., March 15th - 74 cases, with 32 in Lanark West, up from 8 last week. Not good news.

Afternoon wetland walkies with Daisy

She wanted to go far,
deer/coyote trails are good.
I didn't need snowshoes,
as I've walked this path several times.

right across the wetland,
on our way home

 It was a lovely day for a walk. Daisy led me right across the frozen bog. She is a trail buddy with energy.

The deer carcass, beside the house, is slowly being picked at by crows (by day), coyotes and wolf at night.

On our walk, I found spots where canines had dragged a piece and had a meal, with fur everywhere on the trail.

It was a strange walk, as normally we don't see much evidence of their kills.
Yes, normally lots of tracks, but there was deer, coyote and wolf scat all along our usual backyard walking trail. Daisy would sniff at it and move along. It confirms the cycle of life, how we are all connected by this long, cold winter, and how many survive.

Exhausted, she fell asleep after walkies,
dreaming of fish?
Her favourite nap site.

Lovely spot, under the pine tree in the sun.

Back home, Buster had had a morning nap
after his evening jaunts.
He decided to sit under the pine tree in the sun.
The cats love this spot.
Just after I snapped this,
he did a giant leap, snagged a mouse,
which he duly brought onto the front deck to chew.
I had to clean off the blood later.

Coyote tracks beside the house!

 squirrels are busy

Touch-me-not saga, Cottage Friends, Cosmic Joker

Touch-me-not or Jewelweed: 
Impatiens capensis

Back in 2007, after my father died, I was looking for work. This was before I had healed enough to channel my energies into hospice volunteering.



JB waiting for my shift to end!
I signed up to work for a lovely woman, an artist/designer, who has a successful shop in Bala, wanted to open up another Cottage Friends shop in Port Carling.

I tried my hand at it.
I retired 'early' with a penalty, and could use some more income.

I wasn't great at it. Unlike teaching, which I loved, I either didn't work fast enough, or forgot how to operate the cash, or the bank machine failed, had a snotty customer proceed to teach me how to wrap her parcel. I adored researching and planning curriculum. You can't plan for a line-up of several customers.

'Vanna' models some of Carolyn's works

There were lulls in the day; having cleaned shelves, I would sit on the porch. I began watching the plants, and bugs that thrived there.

The front porch!

Beyond the railing were a number of plants, called Touch-me-nots. I loved them! They are delightful. Lovely flowers, they can be orange, pinks, that form seed pods. When they dry out, if you touch them, the seeds pop out and scatter!

 I always have my camera, and I captured photos of these plants. They were near and dear to my heart.

Spider in Touch-me-not

You see, we had quite a number of these plants in our old house, left behind in Nepean, ON. Sheltered under a big evergreen, they thrived.

We sold our lovely home, with skylights, and a big backyard, and garden, in order to move to Muskoka and care for my dying parents. Mom had cancer, and Dad a brain tumour. It was unsettling, to say the least.

'Emily' sits on the grave

When we moved here to Lanark County (Fall, 2010), I brought many seeds with me. Thing is, I planted them in full sun, and they didn't thrive. I transplanted the two that were growing into the shade. I was hopeful. Then, we had our back deck repaired. The workers had no idea, and they accidentally trampled them. I was so sad.

Where Mom & Dad's urns lie

Well, back we went to Muskoka in 2011, to check out Mom and Dad's gravesites. I went back to the place where the store had been, and knocked on the door. The former store was being rented as a home. No one was home. I scarfed some of the seed pods, hoping for the best.
Planting them in the backyard, in the perfect shaded spot, I waited for spring. But, wandering down by out 'point', I spotted the plants. It was heart-warming.

I watched eagerly, this year. The seeds did not seem to take. Nada. Nothing.
I was sad. We visited mom and dad, again this year, but the flowers would not have created seed pods yet. I was ambling around the backyard, walking the cats. Watching the chipmunk tease them on the rain barrel under the great pine tree.

Chipmunk teases the cats!
See the rain barrel where s/he perches.

I walked closer, and lo and behold... there is a Touch-me-not growing in the rain barrel. What a mystery. I have no idea where the seed would have come from. I just hope Bambi or Labbit don't find it tasty! They've been eagerly munching on my sumac (deer) and hostas (rabbits).

I look at it as a gift from above, or Above!
Maybe my parents, who taught me to love my  gardening, sent me a gift, or the Cosmic Joker thought it a fine joke, or it is a reward for working with my various hospice clients!

I shall have to make sure I water it!