Snow Day Part 2, Monday!

Today looks to be a bit chilly. We shall see. I just hope we have sunshine. It makes all the difference.

I am terribly happy I chose to do the snow half way through the storm. The snow just kept falling on the weekend! That was yesterday's post for Part 1. The clouds cleared away, and the sun shone Monday. 

My second job was the sidewalk. I didn't do the sidewalk on Sunday, despite doing the driveway. It's  crucial for getting out in an emergency, not so the sidewalk. I knew, too, that the wind was going to blow, and move the light, fluffy snow flakes to end up on the driveway. 

This was Monday morning. There is a sidewalk there. Honest! We had gusty wind all night.

Storm Feb. 16

🌤Behold, the glorious sunshine!

How much snow did we get? Mebbe 30 cm. It's really hard to tell, what with blowing snow. A lot of this was blown off the roof, but it still had to be moved. I couldn't get to the bird feeder. That is a metre/yard stick behind the shovel.

There was about 30cm in the middle of the sidewalk. I took my time. I had to. The birds were winging, and singing. They were happy I cleaned off the feeders! The oak leaves are blowing everywhere. Someone in my house has to sweep out the garage.

That done, I had to start work on the driveway for the second day in a row. This is what the driveway looked like as I made it to the highway. It was daunting.

This is heavy snow, knee-deep. It took a lot of work. I had to take little bites out of it over several passes.

This is a respectable pile of snow. It's almost too high to blow it over the pile off the drive. Almost. Aside from the wind flinging it in my face, I made progress.

The highway wasn't too bad, but I'm going to have to wash my coat. When traffic roars by, it splashes the slush. Most drivers are kind and pull away from me at the side of the road. This wasn't true for the propane tanker. It flew by at top speed, and splashed me. Fortunately, I'd turned my back as I know what happens. 

The house looks cosy, nestled in the snow. We had a propane delivery last week. They'd never get through the snow to get to the tanks on the far side of the house today. It's about 60 cm on the front lawn.

I'm nearly done. Progress was being made until...

Disaster struck. I ran out of gas. Just metres away from the garage the motor sort of flickered and I put it in top gear to hurry. I had to resort to two extension cords to restart it after I put gas back in. 

Thanks to another face warmer from Jean in New Zealand, I lived to tell the tale. It snowed all day, into the night. My hat belonged to my late father. It was a gift from BJ.  It says Bee Jay's Grill Breakfast Club! That's where mom and dad used to get their take out meals in Bala.  

This used to be BJ's in Bala, Muskoka! Once dad had his licence taken away due to his brain tumour and subsequent dementia, they would phone in their fish and chips order. Mom would drive in. BJ would bring them their meal to the car window and they would take it home to eat.

This was BJ's place! He was a sweet man. His older parents helped him at the grill, as he was mentally challenged. Eventually it was sold. Ah, good times!

Cinnamon was mushy! After I'd shovelled out, and had a hot shower, I got into jammies and got my blanket.

 

I suspect we may have two Labbits! I'm seeing our bunny about, more on that later.

 

Sun and snow

We are on the good side of winter. Sunrise is earlier, and the sun, when it is out, has a warmth to it. My orchid is setting buds, again. Happy dance! They say not to put it in full sun, but the winter sun seems good for it. It is snowing again this morning, which is why the photos give me hope.

They didn't seem to know how much snow we'd get. We had a delivery Sunday afternoon and he said the driveway was OK. I left alone. Monday, my trusty blower was waiting for me! We had had more snow than expected and it required removal. I started her up and all went well. 

You can see where the mice friends came in under the door. The rodents have chewed it.

It looked lovely, with the sun shining.

Since I did the driveway, JB decided to work on the sidewalk. He did the back deck, as well. This is good, as his rotator cuff has precluded much of this for a couple of years.

Both the back deck and the middle deck were covered. The middle deck will have to melt. 

There is something about that blue sky and sunshine that warms the heart.

I had to use my snowshoes later on to fetch trailcam SD Cards. I haven't been down there in a week. 

There were lots of videos of deer and coyotes. I appeared in the cedar corridor.

 

snowshoes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Also, Caitlin did a walk by herself. I have evidence on two cameras!

Caitlin Feb 18 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We've a new buck!

We've had storms! The wind blew the snow off the trees and they lifted, again. Whew!

I shoved the metre stick in while I worked on the sludge at the driveway. I keep thinking, oh, around January, that I ought to put markers in to be able to tell where the edge of the driveway is. It's too late in January! The tires keep falling off the asphalt and I have to get it back up. But, of course, in the fall the thought is gone!

We had a nice surprise Wednesday. A 'new' buck! The wind blew the snow off the trees, and the sun shone, for a time.

Here is the new buck: a 12-point. Now, King Charles is our 8-point, and Prince Harry has 6 points.  The new buck turned up with King Charles and Pickle Stabber. 

We have to figure out another name! Seriously, though, they will lose their antlers in the cold depths of winter anytime soon (January/February)! By then, you can only tell them apart but how majestically they walk.

new big buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Another storm!

🌨A storm was coming. I cleared the sidewalk.

A storm arrived. I cleared the sidewalk. You can see Bambi in the background. She was no help at all!

The storm slowed down. I cleared the sidewalk!

It is a lovely winter coat, wrapping us all in the blanket of snowflakes.

 Do you know what we expect on the weekend? Yes, another storm! It was a horrid drive to visit my client for my 8:40 gig. The roads hadn't been done. I even had trouble finding the road. Thank goodness for snow tires. 

snowstorm from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Having sat with my client for a couple of hours, I came home, had lunch, then went back outside to use the snowblower. I have trouble finding the driveway, wandering on and off my path. There was ice under the 15 cm (6") snow, as well. 

  

A job well done! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐦 I had fun watching the American crow. I worked hard on the video, splicing the photos in with the audio of the outdoors. It is unusual to see the crow so near the window. 

Funny story. 

I had the camera on the tripod, taking several photos, and had trouble shifting it to face higher in the tree. I just saw the crow about to jump onto a lower branch and approach the bird feeder. Grabbing the videocamera, the camera lens flipped down, and made a noise on the tripod. Off went crow! 

 

Crow from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Indoor plays vs. outdoor play

Indoor play

The second 🥀amaryllis bulb is in flower. I couldn't pick just one photo. They were begun in December. Which do photo you prefer?! My clever photography peeps could make it perfect. I read up on it, and snipped the dead flowers off of the other bulb, and popped it in the fridge. It's supposed to be there 8 - 12 weeks. I wrote it on the calendar!

The polar bear has been outside for the holiday season, beginning in November. 🧸Snuggle bears welcomed him back in. They've been hibernating, but decided to see what was what.

Outdoor play

More snow. I'd put out the garbage, and realized that the slush at the end of the driveway could pile up, freeze, and be a mess. Later Monday I was out bright and early to do the driveway. We had 5 cm, and it wasn't much, but if it warmed up we'd have a nice skating rink as it cooled overnight. 

Down I went. Just after I snapped this photo, a driver in a compact red car slowed down. I should have been suspicious, they scream by at great speeds. I kept on going, however, made it to the end of the driveway, and saw that the person in the red car had stopped and was coming out of the driveway up the street. I know neighbours have had issues with people dumping their garbage here. I'll bet that is what happened. 

I kept on going!

I threw down a turkey carcass for the critters. The crows had a ball:

crows from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We've a trio of young 'uns. I think triplets. One has lost one antler, the others have not! It's just a matter of time.

young bucks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I often feature Richard Deer, but we need to watch for doe, a deer, as well! 

sleepy doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.