Happy trails abound!

The frogpond is waking up. The ice and snow are gone.

I looked out the kitchen window, and spotted a pair of wood ducks. It would have been a better photo if a) I'd cleaned the window, b) used the tripod, but it was a brief moment, captured for posterity. I've encountered a pair around the wetland, not at the frogpond, and wondered at placing one of the wood deck nesting boxes in a different spot.

This is great wood duck habitat, with lots of wood frogs singing at the point.

wood frogs at the point from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've set up the oldest trailcam at the end of the frogpond. It is a popular path for the deer walking around the wetland. It's not a bad video, all told. 

doe a deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We had a porcupine come through, and then two go back the way they came. In the first clip, it is snowing. In the second, you can see their cute waddling as they motor back along their way.

porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Along came the red fox. I could have shortened the clip, but like the previous clip, you can hear the spring peepers calling for love! It is such an iconic sound.

forest fox from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I've been watching the northern flicker. I think it is nesting in one of the big dead elm trees. I love hearing them call around the permieter of their area. They will start at the front, go to the backyard and call.

flicker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Chorus frog hunting, etc.

Thursday, April 8th

We're still at it, chorus frog calls last about 2 - 3 weeks! Off we went for another spring drive in the sunshine. It's a nice way to pass the time. 

Righty, back to frogging spot #300, Kenyan Rd. I was dubious. I ended up hear a few wood frogs right beside the road. 

It's a good sign to hear the wood frogs. Still no chorus frogs, though.

This little tree amused me. A splash of green! 

I am wondering about this road. It must be a municipal road, and not a private road, I think. Back in the early days farmers were responsible for maintaining roads around their properties. Municipal governments are now responsible.

I finally remembered to bring my phone, with the GPS, and the saved locations. It really helped.

The spring freshet is quick this year. This little babbling brook was a delight!

  

People are tapping trees, although I think the professionals are done for the season!

This is a pretty spot. You can see the lake through the trees. I hope you enjoy the scene. These are a combination  of 'cottages' and year-round residences.

JB parked and I wandered listening for love!

The mirror on the road indicates that it's tricky getting out of Major Lane!

I've begged off site #1661, Sundance Lane R1, as there is no suitable location for frogs. It's all lovely forest. This is supposed to be R5, site #1657, according to Google maps! They have not been updated. It's actually O'Meara Bay Lane.

This is site #301, the frogs are singing aways in from the road, on the other side of a forest to the right of the marker. 

Now, this is what I faced, the crow flew right over my head, and across the wetland. The frogs wisely shut the heck up, way back in the water. I think it has a sense of humour. frogging with a crow  

At home, the wood frogs are hopping to it, mating like mad.

Saturday: World Curling in Calgary

It has been good entertainment for JB to watch his curling. He made up his own chart for the results. He's a numbers man. Sadly, Canada is out of it, beaten by Scotland. I heard the results on the 4 am. news. sigh. It means, since JB taped it, I have to keep a poker face to not let him know who won! I'm pretty good at that. 

Also, they've shut the finals down Saturday, suspending play, as someone has tested positive for COVID–19. Not one of the 6 playoff teams, but they are all confined to their bubble barracks as everyone is being tested. There are several asymptomatic cases. They were all tested just before flying home. I believe they thought they'd be OK, but they all flew in from around the world. The bubble did not work.

The rest of Saturday was amazing!

COVID–19

Our COVID–19 numbers are rising, and thanks to the denial of the provincial government about the severity of the variant spread, our Toronto ICUs are full and hospitals are sending patients out of big cities to smaller hospitals. While Canada, as a nation, has universal healthcare, and we ordered enough vaccines (we get ours next week), our provincial premier told us a year ago to enjoy March Break, and many brought the virus home. Then, things went downhill.  Premier Ford should have shut us down 6 weeks ago, but he is in the pockets of his Old Boys Network pals, rather than listening to front line staff and the medical community. He quit high school and he's not the brightest light.

Our MPP is still up to his old tricks, denying the pandemic. Red says his MLA is the same way. Such dipsticks. The MPP is hosting a COVID Denial party. It was held in a pub, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission has suspended their liquor licence! Happy dance! 

AGCO suspends and moves to revoke the liquor licence of The South Branch Bistro, Kemptville

APRIL 09, 2021

Western Chorus Frog Survey

 It is chorus frog season here in southern Ontario. There are 514 volunteers surveying through this program. We've been sent an email to begin, as they are awake from winter slumbers and calling for love. This is what they look like, but I won't see any. It's a listening survey. They are off in the water.

This photo is from our handouts. It's impossible to see them!

It is a long-term survey, and this is my second year. This is what we are contributing to:

The conditions have to be right:

suitable weather conditions, above 10 C., no wind, little or no rain,

wood frogs and spring peepers singing indicate that conditions are ripe,

visit between 10 a.m. and 18:00 hours,

visit three times minimum, with 24 hours between visits.

There was a great deal of online training available, with sample frog calls, to help distinguish the species:

• western chorus frog, wood frog, spring peeper, northern leopard frog, American toad.

Head office sent a message saying the conditions are right, and to go to it. 

JB was going to have a nap, I told him I was going to go and check a nearby spot, where I have heard the chorus frogs, in the old quarry. Once I arrived, I could hear them. I couldn't see them, but there are thousands! This isn't an assigned site, but they were there last year. This is what they sound like in the video below: Frogging Apr 4 .

Uh, oh. I was near my one assigned site, #300, but forgot its location.  What I had forgotten is that I'd already put the package of materials on my clipboard. 

We are assigned sites, using GPS co-ordinates. I duly looked them up, created screenshots. Two are the same sites from last year, the others we had to find. It did not go well. Not enough detail! 

I had to go back to the house to access the Wifi from the car. Found it. Back I went. By now, it was a balmy 12 C., and sunny, but no chorus frogs, only wood frogs. We're not to trespass, of course. I headed home to volunteer my driver.  

I was assigned three locations on the other side of the lake. Off we went. I had a huge problem. I didn't have my phone GPS with me, the car GPS is old.

"Sundance Lane" – AKA 'R1' on Google maps.

frog survey  

frogging 

It's not easy! 

This lane is so bad, they've put a mirror up to look for traffic.

This is site #1661, Sundance Lane R1 

It was a lovely drive. I liked the burl on this tree, where we had to turn around. Wrong road!

A dead end, I never did hear any frogs.

As always, the twitterpated quail is on the road, looking for love. They do this every year!

It is typical cottage country, with names on the tree.

Back to civilisation!

Gramma Camp – Week 26

 Monday night, we adults were sitting watching our shows, with Cinnamon on my lap. I hugged him and said we had to tuck Josephine in. Down we went. Safely tucked in, Cinnamon stayed on the bed with Jos. This is an oldish photo, but happy boy, he is. Isabelle is sleeping in her office!

Tuesday Morning

I slept in. Grampa woke me up at 7:30. I was awake for a couple of hours at bedtime. Speaking of being late... Then, when the school bus was ready to leave, Isabelle was sitting on the throne reading! She missed the bus! She was only late by a minute! 

All this is keeping me busy. It's a good tired. I'm down 2.1 kg.

9:55 a.m. – I came upstairs after my workout and checked in on my students. I had to print off a worksheet for Josephine, she sends it to me in message as I cannot get her laptop to print from our wireless printer. Pythagorean Theorem! These are worksheets found online. 

I wonder, in all the new curriculum, and new plans for the Ministry to allow for permanent remote learning through TVOntario (what could go wrong?!), how well they supervise the curriculum. When I taught, we had to put together a full year's plan, when learning outcomes would be covered, what resources we used had to be on the Circular 14 list. This seems to be haphazard, now. The ministry is throwing these things out, leaking them, perhaps:

Anyway, I toddled down the hall to Isabelle's office, "You good?" 

    "Yep, algebra!"

    "OOh, I love algebra! Can I do your work for you?"

    "Nope, I love algebra." 

Wood frogs

Jos and I went down to the trailcam. We saw the wood frogs. This is the earliest I remember seeing them.

• April 10, 2017 It's a busy pond!
• April 15, 2016 On my way to the pond...
• April 18, 2014 Daisy and I took a walk down to the frog pond
• April 19, 2013 Tree frogs and wood frogs are singing in the wetland

They were quite vocal! Wood frogs Mar 30  

After that, we disdecorated for March, and put up yellow ribbons for April. Isabelle chose to climb her tree. She said is was a bit scary, but more exciting, since the wind was blowing her around up in the pine tree!

Our area has a three-year-old lost on Canoe Lake Rd., we've driven there many times [Apr. 7th => Canoe Lake Rd.]. It's forested, with poor phone signals. There is a fishing camp, and he'd wandered off. It reminds me to enjoy each day. It could get worse. The OPP have drones, heat sensing equipment, and canine sniffers. Volunteers are showing up, unwanted, blocking the roads and leading the dogs in the wrong direction. 

Hold your children close.