Saturday's Critters: more Freds

The siren seems to work to keep Fred out of the front garden. Maybe! For now. Plus extra barriers. 

 The big news is that Fred has given birth to FOUR kits again. We've only seen three at a time so far. Last year she had 4, as well. This is my first photo of the four plus Momma Fred. It was taken through the window, and a bit fuzzy. At first they were really spooked by seeing us on the deck. 

Eventually, they were content to let me take photos without hurtling themselves down the burrow hole. 

It is interesting seeing their personalities. One ventured further than the others. Which may be dangerous. The coyotes haven't been around so far. They will figure it out, I am sure.

One wanders off! There is always one that leads the pack! They are like toddlers who wander a bit away from mom, then come rushing back to safety.

If you want to see a precious family, watch this video! The kits are hoping for food or attention. They are eating grass around the burrow opening. 

Fred is continuing to wander to the lower deck. The kits watch her from the shed. 

I checked out the wood pile and one log fell off, and the while pile was leaning. I shoved it back up somewhat. For now. I think they've been climbing up there! There is a 2nd burrow entrance in the middle foreground.

I found a dock spider in there. I left it alone. Eat those bugs!

We had a massive wind storm come through. Our power went out around 2 a.m. but we were back up shortly. Still thousands without power this morning. 

Power outage and surprise party!

We'd had a quiet dinner on Saturday, with a candle in the banana bread. Happy birthday Joe! The actual day of his birth. We had a Facetime with Aster, JL, and Caitlin. Later on, we had a Facetime with Jordan, from his dorm room at Queens! He had two midterms on Thursday. Crazy busy!

 

That was a fun day Sunday! Someone got up at 5:30 a.m., since we expected the power outage from 6 - 10. Joe wanted coffee, as I did. The lights woke me, so I figured I'd get up. By 6:15 the power went off. We had our 2nd coffee in the dark. 

I made another mistake. I neglected to have breakfast. I was hungry by 10:00. It was cold, but I thought they'd be accurate, since they usually are at HydroOne, figuring I'd have a not breakfast then. Nope!

 

I followed the power outages online as 6 a.m. approached. There was ice rain, and winds, across the province. We were worried. It got worse, too. 

⏻ Our power outage was planned, we had email and phone messages to this effect. In hindsight (20/20), I should have done what I usually do, fill up the watering cans and put them in the bath tub. This is just prudent, and since we lose our well water pump, it means we can flush. I thought that since this was planned, they would be one and done in the 2 hours it normally takes. HAH!

🔥I didn't make a fire in the basement, as I thought we'd be good. I didn't make one until noon, when I realized it was getting cold, and we weren't going back on line until later. It was getting cold in the house.

🎉 🥳 We were sitting there in the amazing quiet just reading. I knew the three of them were coming. 

Fortunately, Caitlin and I had planned shrimp tacos for lunch. I heard them arrive. Well, they have an EV, I heard the car doors slam. I waited as I saw Aster go by the window. Grampa saw her. I think Aster is the only red-head who visits us! 

Aster brought her guitar and played for us. She has a playing exam on Tuesday, and she has written a song, as well. She played those. She has a lovely voice. She thinks she is going to take Physics in university. We had some great chats as we waited for the power to return.

Jean-Luc cooked the shrimp on the BBQ. He loves to cook. Fortunately. Also BBQ!

Caitlin made a 'crazy cake' (AKA Cockeyed Cake, Whacky Cake, etc.).' Joe can have these, as there is no dairy, yeast, or egg in it! (His food intolerances.) They think it came from the 1940s (<= read more here), when used during cooking demonstrations. I've had this book since the 80s, I think.

Peg Bracken died in 2007. She had a wicked sense of self-deprecating humour. Here is a piece she wrote in the Saturday Evening Post in 1958. 

This is from the 1960, I Hate to Cook Book!
I found some research on Peg Bracken↑ !

Aster had iced the cake, she lit the candles, as well. Not 76 of them, but we got the gist.

The kids gave him a gift card, and read him a poem they had collaborated on! It was really touching. Grampa's gone by Brian. His mom did as the priest told her, and named him Joseph for a saint, but his second name is Brian. She always called him Brian. When we moved here, he went back to being called Joe.

Grandpa Joe’s Birthday Poem

There once was a Grampa named Brian

Who had lots of funny hats to try on.

He’d charm the cashiers

And bring them to tears.

In the aisles they’d be laughin’ and cryin’!

We know this particularly fine gent

With a penchant for puns - heaven sent!

His ‘stache white as snow,

Sometimes he’s called Joe,

We feel all his love at every event.

Dr. What as he is known by some

Brings us chuckles and laughs and fun

He’d wear a fun costume

Make us all join the tune

When the Ballad of Tom Dooley is sung

He takes a walk every day,

So sprightly and quick,

With a laugh just so warm,

Always a joke in the mix,

He’s got stories galore,

And told a third time to be sure,

A guy full of so many tricks,

We’ve loved you for so many years,

Congratulations on the big seventy-six!

We had some lovely conversations. I had a text at 10:30, saying power would be up at 11:00. Then, another text, up by 12. Another: 1:00 p.m. Finally, they texted saying it'd be up by 2 p.m. That was a long haul. It came up after 2:00, and we were relieved.  

The furnace came on, and we were able to flush. Life was good.

Power outage, critters

 Monday, I had a plan. I was going to wash sheets. I didn't begin until after lunch as somebody in our house went back to bed for a nap. He's fighting a cold. Sheets done, bed remade, Suzy Homemaker wins again. 

With that, and the looming tariffs, it was a helluva day. Many are angry and unsettled in Canada. USA, what are you doing? 

We're getting tired of explaining ourselves! Americans aren't listening to our news. Finally some of your media are getting it and providing push back.

Our countries have been connected. There are a lot  of goods and services crossing back and forth on the border. Ontario sells electricity to 3 states, for example.

Grampa has new regalia.

☔Rain all day Tuesday, more today. Well, truthfully, we had rain, snow, ice rain, and graupel.

I am trying to find solace in nature. If you have a conscience, what is happening in the world is devastating for many. I continue to think of those facing war, famine, diseases, and then North American citizens who are suffering, with the 1% having vast wealth, and sucking more out of those with less. Then there are tariffs... 

Here is Labbit and a deermouse. 

🔌 We were thinking about dinner. Abruptly, our power went out. My first idea was to check the outage map. We weren't on it. And then we were! 

At first it was declared to be 'planned work' but we are always informed of that in the past. Nada. Next, they changed the restoration time to 7:45, then 8:00 and at one point 8:45. I reported it on the phone, which was down to 29% power! Whoopsie. 

🔦Joe got out lanterns and flashlights. I made a 🔥fire, just in case. 

We scrambled for dinner. Reading by flashlight isn't so bad. I texted the kids to let them know. Suddenly, you know how it is, various electronics came on again. That was about 6 p.m. Not so long after, I could hear an alarm going off. It wasn't the smoke detectors. It was the carbon monoxide detector in the basement. Who would you call in that case? The company that installed the furnace? Fire department? At least we had lights. My instinct was to get out of the house, but what if???

Down we went. Flashlights in hand, just in case. If we were gonna go, we were going together! It occurred to me that it may just be that the detector needed resetting. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. No alarm. It took awhile to calm down. 

Monday was garbage day!

I went into town on Monday. The wind was throwing around the garbage cans. Mine were rolling around. I threw the can behind the fence, the recycling bin (in the ditch) I'd pick up after I shopped.

I like online orders. Stores still give me the heebee-jeebies. 

Arriving in the designated parking spot, I grabbed my phone to let them know I was there. Then, I reopened up my wounded finger. I wrapped it in a tissue, while the employee and I loaded up my car. 

Thankfully there is a First Aid Kit in the car! 

Back home, I had to bring in the garbage can and recycling bins. It was cold.

The snow blows onto the roads, and it is suddenly slippery. When it went to -14 overnight, everything froze. Black ice on the road is dangerous. 

 A storm!

Power was out for a lot of homes, very spotty, which is more difficult for Hydro to repair. I checked it to see if we should get our flashlights out! 

We are south of Perth, and kept our power.

Not everyone was so lucky. As I sat in my chair, I saw four emergency vehicles zip by, lights flashing. I wished them well., out there in the dark.

Cinnamon was bored. Nutmeg had already gone to bed all by herself. She is a loner.

We had another 7.5 cm overnight. I have some work to do! See you on the other side.

Smashing out from the ice accretion!

The Ottawa high schools are in exam mode. All exams are cancelled Wednesday, and shifted a day forward. Josephine had an exam to write Friday, Isabelle had a PD Day, and then both girls were to take off to Florida to see their paternal grandfather. Bye-bye beach time. I am so sad for them. They have to cancel.

School busses are cancelled again today. What a shame. I know the kids wanted to their exams done! There is another 10 - 15 mm rain on the way on top of knee-deep snow. 

Yesterday the ice accretion was about a cm. The ice pellets had melted and there was a layer of ice on everything. The back deck was an ice rink at 7 a.m. I managed to scrape it off later in the day when it warmed up. By then everything was dripping and you could hear the ice falling.

My first worry was losing more branches. They were OK, except for one touching the ground.

The sun rose, as it tends to do... Squirrel was being cute.

The trees are snow and ice covered. 

The ice accretion if obvious on the bird feeder! It warmed up and everything melted off the trees and the trees relaxed. (So did I!)

After using the chipper on the sidewalk, the ice was gone. The driveway was still a mess. But I worry about slipping on the ice. 

Back to bird watching as I caught my breath. The Hairy woodpecker was being an arse. She kept on scattering seeds until she found the perfect one. You can see the seeds flying to the ground. She knocked all these down!

The sidewalk: Before and After! My arms are sore, but it was a good workout.

I was ready for a shower. Happily I did not wait. At 3:00, we lost power. It came back about about 3:45. That was a relief. It was still light out and we sat and read. There was a tree on the line...

Now I have to get caught up on reading my blog newsfeed. Who knows was today will bring! Hope you are warm and dry.