Celebrate summer!

🔥The fires out west are horrific. The last two Alberta premiers cut firefighting budgets, specifically the elite Wildland Firefighter Rappel Team. The current premier said Jasper, as a federal park, wasn't her responsibility. She's changed her tune. Provinces have to request help from the federal government. This is the chain of command. She's asked for help. 

Current fires: July 30th
right down to the US

Fire danger in Canada
About 1000 km from Albert to Saskatchewan
in that big blob of red

I am looking for the helpers. Thank you to people who care for one another. Who show kindness. The politics and lies around Climate Change, health, and all the other issues, is appalling. Politics can't trump science. Canada, again, will rely on other countries for firefighting help. Even New Zealand, so far away, Jean! Happy birthday, young lady!

🌪 Our tornado

Do you remember our tornado? The Tornado path was confirmed by WesternU scientists.  It was 4km to the south of us. 😧😬😳 There are lots of trees down. One smucked a cottage, so I heard, on the nearby lake. No one was hurt during the storm. Many people hunkered down in basements. 

Back to flora and fauna...

The frog pond is doing well. Our big storm filled it up via the water barrel. There should be 3 goldfish in there, but I am not healthy enough to look for them. They are the least of my worries. 🐠

He's holding his own, Mr. Bullfrog. It is a male, as the ear doohickey (drum?) is larger that his eye. (My poor brain!) Do you remember Jeremiah and Geraldine?! <= They froze in my shallow goldfish pond one year. 😥 I'll have to take him down to the frog pond in the fall. Silly git. Meantime, he is happy.

Water lilies! It seems like two different species. One has a scent, the other does not. Don't ask which. I don't remember.

The Asiatic Lilies! I wish you could smell them. The deer fences works really well! I am over the moon about that. You can barely see it. The flowers flourish. Heaven knows there is enough foliage for the deer to eat out there.

Don't gardens give you joy? My garden is a bit wild. When we first moved here, Joe has always said that 90% of gardening is weeding. Now, I won't say that 90% of my garden is weeds, but that twitch grass!

😷COVID

Still coughing. My cough has lessened, however. Joe is less tired, he has sniffles, but not as bad as last week. Thank you for your kind wishes. We appreciate it. I have tested negative. I wish the symptoms would go away. I feel for those suffering from long COVID.

I went out front to check on the cherry tomatoes, which have required twice daily watering. I began to cough. Suddenly, our buck, in the forest just off the driveway, chuffed and took off into the forest. I laughed. Me scaring a big buck! They sure aren't tame. 

My long time elementary school friend, who lives 500km away and I haven't seen since high school, said this on Facebook:

"The big guy was on Covid alert! 🤣"

She asked if it was 'too soon' but, no, if I take all my meds (Ventolin, Advil, Symbacort), I can find humour in the odd moment.  That is progress.

I tested negative for COVID on July 24. On Day 15 of lung issues, I am coughing less frequently. I cannot imagine what people went through before the vaccines. All those deaths. 

I do wake up (4 a.m. today, again) with what feels like bronchitis. Ventolin is my friend. The side effects of Ventolin is one of the least of my worries, or this is the Symbacort (steroid for my lungs to reduce swelling). That said, I'd give my eye teeth for a bidet! Thank goodness for Always. I think it is the meds, which I can live with. I've lost 3.5 kg, that is not a bad thing! 

Both of us are truly grateful for having the Olympics to watch. 

Nature's Critters

I checked on the wood duck boxes, now empty. This one was full of cobwebs. I opened it up, it has a hinge on the side door, and will clean it out when the bugs die down.

Lone bee mason house. 

These lilies are done, but just before the petals fell I noticed spider webs and baby spiders. You have to look closely! They were launching themselves on a silken strand and flew up on the breeze. 

The Angel's trumpet blossoms, Brugmansia, only seem to blossom for one full day. 

The water lilies are just getting going!

My little pottery worm is missing its middle. It broke, sadly. I lifted the head where it was on the ground and a bug flew out. Reaching for the tail, which was on its side, a sweet little red belly snake slid away from the hooman. 

This dude was somewhat loosey goosey on the lines. He was distracted, swerving nearly ran into a parked car further down the road. 

Then there was the truck and trailer. He'd turned right on a red, as the truck in front was moving through the green light. The truck pulled around him, I let him in. We ended up parked at the red light at the bridge is being repaired. I couldn't turn left to get into the parking lot. I shouldn't have let him in! 

Back at home I've been enjoying the robins eating berries. Critters are scarce on trailcams. I've heard this from other trailcammers. The bugs are horrid, the heat terrible. You can hear the House Wren in the background.

robin from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Visit Eileen's Saturday's Critters # 449 to see more critters!

Water fountain, A/C, critters

What a heat wave we have! This was first thing in the morning, overnight temperatures...

By the afternoon...

Our air conditioner doesn't seem to be able to lower the indoor temperature below 25 C. As I edit this, yesterday's  indoor 'low' was 26 C. I wonder how much a new one costs?!  About $3500. Ah well. This one is over 20 years old, according to the sticker. It doesn't owe us anything. We're getting a new one Monday. We've a slush fund for emergencies. 

I posted about our lilies, Lawn and Flowers. and Wednesday morning, the flowers in the first photo, and more, were nipped in the bud! The third hosta was partly targeted, as well. Oh, my. She's a pretty little deer.

I've ONE left, and I DID bring it indoors! Goofy deer. She has a whole forest.

COVID–19

We're still doing well lowering the COVID–19 cases. I'm happy with the southeastern Ontario results, as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) had most of our Ontario cases, which are now going down. 

We need testing, information, and contact tracing. This has done us well. The poor US. A couple of days with 50,000 new cases, then, yesterday, 60,000 new cases. 

Their infectious disease expert, Dr. Fauci, rumour has it he's not allowed to appear on TV anymore. He speaks truther, oops, no the White House is full of truthers and liars. He speaks the truth.

Forest Critters

Down in the forest, the fawn was yelling at the camera, or the bugs! We'll call her a she. She's awfully cute, and likes her selfies.

I knew something was at it. This is how the camera usually sits, with a small stick to angle it, to keep it focused on the ground. It was missing when I arrived. I knew something was up. I was quite excited, actually, as I often wonder what goes on in the forest. 

Sure enough... a curious bear. I laughed. 

Walkies

JB went for his regular early morning walkies in town. It's cooler at 6 or 7 a.m., and a lovely walk. My back hurts too much, walking. I've been exercising indoors.

JB spotted some friends. A pair of muskrats, but also a snapping turtle, who chose not to surface for a photo-op. I really like the first one, rather artsy! The texture in the water is wonderful.

This is the fish that got away! A biggie. Honest, he tells me...

And, a hare.

Perth Wildlife Reserve & Tay Marsh

It's a nice walk about. RVCA charges $6 per visit. You can buy an annual pass, too.

They have a new system, you can pay by phone, texting them money, or using your Visa.

We prefer cash, but there weren't any envelopes, so I wrapped it in the map we printed off the website.