Saturday's Critters

 There is a wee baby ribbon snake in the garage. Joe called me over as it headed into the garage, and I tried to catch it. It slipped away. I don't think it will starve, as there are lots of bugs in there, but it won't be happy in winter. 

I did (at great risk to my back), grab a wood frog who was hell bent to get into the garage. It hopped into the tipped over pot and I got it. FREEDOM!!!

Fisher

   

 Coyote 

   

 Bear came by! 

   

 I put the Birdcam on the sidewalk after skunk visited twice. I was rewarded! I've only ever seen skunk on the cameras at night. They pretty much ignore people, anyway. 

 

Saturday's Critters # 563 <= visit more of Eileen's critters here.

We're on a roll!

The kids helped me clean up the ditch on Saturday. I was so grateful for their help. We've spotted others cleaning up along the highway. The ditches are fairly dry, which doesn't bode well for summer. 

The tire is from a car incident, maybe the September, 2020 one. It was horrible. Seeing the tire in the ditch bothered me. Young legs managed the hilly ditches. I left the bags out for garbage day and they were all picked up. Whew!

Ditch diving I found about a half dozen holes in the side of the road. I think this is where Fred goes in the winter!

 Fred came back March 30th. I noticed him by the shed, and then he'd been digging out his hole beside the rock.  Anyway, here he is! 

Fred is back from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went ditch diving again. There was a section I wanted to clean up. I found a pillow. 

I swear the traffic passing one another just gives me anxiety. They roar by, picking up speed. 

My total is 8 bags of refuse. The cigarette butts I let be. There are way too many, including a handful dumped at the end of our driveway. What kind of animal does that?

Back at the house, the crocus are blooming! Well, some of them. 

Phoebes are back. They are hanging outside and inside the shed. That may be their nest spot of choice for 2024.

The wood frogs are singing up a storm in the frog pond. 

Percy is a bit slow in the cold water.  Throwing food pellets in – he was not interested.

It is crocus time! The first crop are in bloom. Lots more to come!

The daffodils are doing well, despite the cold.

This is a baby bunny I nearly ran over with the lawn tractor in 2011. We have two hanging around this year. I'll bet there will be more...

I was reading out front and spotted our bunny. 

 

Labbit March 28 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Skunk report, et al

That was a bit of a shock this morning. I'd brought my indoor plants in from the outdoors, thankfully. They enjoyed being out, but this morning it was only 5 degrees C. Just in time! I put on the furnace today. 

The orchid is doing really well. The orchid was been repotted in June, and it really makes a difference.

You can see the cats' basket of toys. Cinn will hop up and select one. He is happier being indoors these days.

 Here it is today, compared to Jan., 2020.

I've been looking for another book series. It's just so much easier reserving them and picking them up from the library! I finished #10 and I liked it. (I don't like reading novels set too much in the past!) A good murder mystery, cowritten with a man and woman, which makes it better, in my eyes.

Also, I bought this book for Joe. It tells the history about deep sea diving, and the story of a deep sea rescue of Pisces III, from Aug.  29th, 1973. It's an interesting history of diving bells. I haven't gotten to that part yet, but it is a good read about the backstory. After the recent deaths, Titan submersible implosion, I was curious about this story. [

List of submarine and submersible incidents since 2000

]

I took the book to my new client's house, yesterday, but we happily chatted for three hours. I put on make up and did my hair, dressing in one of my favourite dresses, black, smattered in colourful butterflies and flowers. 

Last sightings

The milkweed is hosting Milkweed Tussock Moths. I think I've seen a couple of Monarchs, but not many.

There are a ton of frogs in the dewy grass. Leopard frogs usually stay in the wet grass, but the wood frogs like both the grass and the forest. They are getting larger, having been wee tadpoles in the frog pond and wetland, and headed for the hills. 

What with today's temperatures, they will be looking for shelter for winter. Tree frogs shelter and hibernate buried in leaves. Other frogs bury themselves in the mud in ponds. I'll have to check on wood frogs. 

Skunk 

I love it when a good hypothesis is confirmed. I first spotted a skunk out back in April. She ran by lactating, so I knew she'd be around. The den is just over the fence, in the ditch on the side of the hill. It is a perfect spot for her. 

I had the idea about strapping the camera to the can. Of course, it tipped over. I took the strap and attached it to a stick, with an old topper from the water fountain. Perfect!

I put the trailcam out the day prior, plus one more day for fun. The camera light didn't bother it. Now that I am sure, I'll stop recording her. I haven't seen her at all during the day, which is good for us! She knows we are here and tolerates us. We can all get along.

She had itchies!  SKUNK video 20 sec.  

skunk from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

On the ground and in the air!

I am feeling happier these days. Maybe it is the temperature change, or things slowing down in the garden. I accomplished a lot, despite waking up with a really bad bought of bursitis in my hip.  Dr. Ho helped, as did some stretches and some Advil. 

I've been working on old Frosty. He has standing issues! I'm not quite done, as he still needs several more coats of paint. 

I made an apple crisp. This is a treat. 

I split the front of two of Joe's sweatshirts and inserted a zipper, as requested. For some with a persistently sore arm, it makes a difference in dressing. The material was pretty stretchy, but this is a practical solution!

I wrote previously that Monday was garbage day. It was a foggy morning, and a bit creepy! The crows were ready. They like to eat the garbage, ripping it apart. This is why we use a metal can. Fooled you, crows!

Monday morning from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There are spider webs everywhere. They look lovely and dewy. I always take a camera when I put out garbage. Out early, you never know who or what you will encounter.

The skies were busy in August. I thought things were slowing down.

 

airplanes Aug 20 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Another helicopter zoomed by. I wondered if it was related to the incident in nearby Smiths Falls, where there was an OPP request to shelter in place, but it didn't seem to be an OPP helicopter. "3 people in custody following police investigation in Smiths Falls area" It wasn't on the radar. It was pretty low. 

 

Helicopter Sept. 12, 330 p.m from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

What a day of rain!

Firstly, to answer a question  re: 🐻 BEAR WATCH... (<= I keep track of sightings just for fun.)

I don't worry too much about the bears in the forest, CanadianGardenJoy, as they are good bears and know to fear humans. It is very rare to have a bear attack in Canada. Soon they will settle in for winter and I can put out the bird feeders. I've come across a couple of coyotes and a large fisher over three separate incidents. They run away quite quickly!  They tend to skirt the land, on the edge of the forest overlooking the wetland.

If you haven't seen it, the bear scratching her back📹 on the tree was a hoot! Then, there was Junior Bear last spring, 2021. I found an old shot from 2018 where the bear was just off camera!   I'd forgotten about that one.

I am noisy with Cinnamon doing walkies, I talk to him the whole time. That said, we're very vigilant down in the forest and he warns me if something is there. OK, he doesn't warn me so much as watch, and pays attention to things he doesn't understand, and I know I am safe. Funny story: once walking Daisy, she paused, looked off into the forest, and ran like heck up a tree. It was just a doe, probably running from a coyote. She was the canary in the coal mine.

That was a storm. Tons of rain all day, then more in the evening. The thunder and lightning makes you think about how small we are in the big world.

My goldfish pond was overflowing. The eaves drains into the water barrel, which drains into the pond. I wish we'd had it in July, when we needed it!

rainy day from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

 My hanging basket has been host to lots of critters, hummingbirds were the first, and now caterpillars. I think they are some sort of tussock moths.

I must have tossed a cherry tomato over the lower back deck. It sprouted! 

 

This is a big old dead pine tree makes me sad. They just aren't growing that big anymore. It's lost its branches. This tree is on lot #3, at the far end of our paradise.

The tree is dotted by woodpecker holes! 

I was thinking about cutting the lawn, but I realized that the wood frogs are all over it. I'll wait until I have to mulch the leaves!

We still have our Rose Mallow Hibiscus in bloom.

Up at the house, more rodent holes, the second dug out by the coyote or raccoons.

Then there is this, just to make you laugh! Poor Heath Hiscox, paid big bucks to be overseas covering this solemn occasion. Her camera operator did their best, but the selfish, silly man tried to make his point! 

There we are, Happy Tuesday. It's meatloaf day!  

Nothing like putting something in the oven to warm the house on these chilly days.