Crumbly Acres tracks

 The day began with an actual sunrise. It's been cloudy, it seems, for ages.

I decided to go for a snowshoe and fetch trailcam SD Cards. I caught myself on the camera! 

Who else did I catch on the trailcam? The fisher and the deer, running!

 

I love the forest. The deer, coyotes, and I follow the paths critters create. 

Did I mention how nice it was to see the sun?

The coyote use the deer tracks and seem to step right into the centre print. 

There are lots of reasons for them to follow the path. It's easier than trudging through deeper snow. It saves energy.

The critters feel safe on the frozen frog pond.

Actual blue sky! There was a plane roaring overhead, but it is the sky!!

We had our hydro metre replaced. It was starting to fail, and took him 10 minutes. It is supposed to connect with a satellite to deliver readings to the company. It doesn't work out here in the country with trees. 

I warned him not to fall into the goldfish pond. He asked where the goldfish were, and I said I bring them in for the winter. 

I remember showing Aster the frozen pond one winter. She was wee. She wanted me to dig them out! 

Look at the snow on them! Hopefully we have had the last delivery of propane for the winter. The dude asked us to clean out a path.  (The last dude didn't need that, he told me. He had snowshoes in his truck.) 

He said to just use the snowblower. As if. I couldn't get it up the rise and around there. Mind you, Hydro does like to hide these around the side of the house, but it isn't convenient for those who deliver the propane. 

 I created a path with my snowshoes. They are terrific. I've had them for years. They were a present from my kids. I think ~25 years ago!

⛄ Winter carries on...

I did enjoy bird watching from the front window, again, but the thermometer told me I should get out. I managed to avoid the urge until the afternoon. Cold in the morning, it warmed up. I thought about making a snowman, it was that kind of snow, but I have photos of the old snowpeople!

This morning it is -4 C., and it is hovering there. I have to put the garbage out by 8 a.m., I shall bundle up.

I was curious about Richard Deer's wound. It seems pretty good. I used the zoom and the tripod to get a better photo.

You can see where the antlers used to be attached. I haven't a hope of finding them. I am sure they are not on our property. They shelter deep in the wetland.

Look at the doe on the right (below), those legs are so strong. She is clearing out snow to uncover the small amount of food beneath.

The colour of their coats is so pretty. 

I tried to convince Cinnamon to come walkies, but he was reluctant. No wonder. I began without snowshoes, and fell twice. You sink in the snow, at temperatures above zero. I went back for them. I noticed, after my walk, that the dead leaves, oak and maple – finally flying in the wind. They land in the footsteps from the deer who follow my snowshoe path.

It's fun watching the deer.

 

buck branch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

After I took out the garbage, Jan. 30th, they were there to greet me. One was having a rest. I talk to them. 

morning deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Forest walkies in the snow

 Poor JB. He was going into the drug store, so I asked for some eye liner, just for fun! I looked it up on the drug store website and found a brand. As if I care, but it points him in the right direction. He's really good at women's products. They usually pounce on him to give him help. I think he ought to tell them he is non-binary and it's for himself! 

Where am I going to wear it? OH, I know. The hair salon called, I'd missed an appointment in January, due to our shut down. I have an appointment in two weeks, in March. My regular young woman is off on Maternity Leave, so that will be fun. I'm not doing too badly with my scissors, though. I did a practice run, for fun. 

I'm having a massage today, too! I am spoiled rotten.

🎶🎶🎶It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood!

I still have my crisp edges! I met JB, returning from town, it was a bit tight. Can you see him?

I thought I'd help JB and tamp down his walking path. I gave up on that part. We may get another storm at the end of the week! It was really good exercise... 

Scott's arbour!

Picture this, I'm walking down the path and Otto and Stan turkey were on this dead tree. They grew quite irritable with me walking by. They flew before I could grab a photo! When they fly, they are massive, and the sound of their wings is amazing.

The frog pond...

It struck me that these are a pair of photos that Anvilcloud could fix. I had no idea if it was in focus or not, at the time. It's just too bright, and I didn't have my reading glasses. The first is foreground focused, the next, background. sigh. 

It was hard slogging. It's pretty deep snow!

Home and safe. Nutmeg was on the railing in the sunshine, to the left of the door!

When I arrived back at the house, my t-shirt was soaked with sweat, my pants were soaked from snow, snowshoes were snowy, and I put my boots on the floor vent after my hot shower. 

Well, despite overnight temperatures, Oregano Feb 16  was back for a bite of food. He was back last night around 8 p.m., too. 

 

 There is more snow on the way! What the heck. It helps keep an even temperature for our plants. The freeze and thaw is the worst for our gardens. Our farmer neighbours down the road are happy with the snow cover. It protects the land. They wrote on Facebook:

Although some of you may not be happy with all the recent winter weather, it is a blessing for us farmers. We suffered a severe drought last summer and went into this winter with very few water reserves. With no ice cover on the hay fields this year and this blanket of snow, we shouldn't see too much winter kill on the crops. Farmers always referred to a good snow cover as poor man's fertilizer, it has nitrogen in it. An added benefit is when it melts it will soak into the ground and give our soil some much needed moisture. In the end it will help us continue to put good healthy food on your table and everyone will be happy.

Also,

It is also really good for our maple sugar bush. And it helps keep the ground colder, which can help prolong the season on a year like this with little to no frost in the ground.

🍀We made it to March!

I like March. The sun is warming us up. We had snow the other day, and the icicles melt as the trees bask in the sun's glory.



My goal was to change up the decor to green for March. It required snowshoes, as we still have snowcover. They are forecasting rain this afternoon. Yuck.

Frosty is all dressed up. JB bought him a green mustache. Next, I put green ribbons along the fence. It's a nice bright spot. I know people notice it. Some mock me, saying I have too much time on my hands. Others say their kids look to see what Frosty is wearing.



I worked on bear, as well. He's got some issues. The woodpeckers have been after the bugs attracted to the rotting wood. I've been trying to figure out how old he is. I babysat a grandie in Muskoka, while they went to the market. Then sat him outside the door, rang the bell and ran away. It was about 2009.



I noticed coyote tracks making their way along the driveway. You can see them where they come from the forest, onto the nicely snowblown path. He managed to avoid both trailcams...




I can imagine him in the dark! Here he was last March, trotting along the trail., and January, 2015.

I love the turkeys. They are so funny to watch. We have about 16 on a regular basis.