How to build a pond 1b

I had a delay, as we had some trees taken down.
We hired a neighbour and his assistant, to do the work.

I've been stacking wood for three days. Finally done. Had to visit a hospice client Saturday, did an hour before this in the a.m. and a couple of hours of stakcing in the afternoon.

This pond uses a preformed solid liner - much easier!

The lawn tractor is magic. I loaded up the wood, and took it behind the house. So quick. The sticks and branches I chucked onto the field where the deer chew up our new sumac, hoping this will dissuade them.

I was inspired with this little pond in Rideau Ferry.
Quite a few frogs.

I'm still at it, with my pond. NO help today. Kittens were a hindrance, diving into the hole with the rocks.

JB called them, and gave them some food to get them out of my hair.

I managed to wrestle this rock out. It seems to be the smaller half of the one in the hole.

I tipped it over onto the dolly, and sort of slid it upwards. It worked. Took me some time.
I don't mind hard work.
I had Lake 88.1 on the solar-powered radio, which worked until the rains came and the clouds meant i had to crank the sucker every once-in-a-while.


I think I might have to hire a neighbour and his backhoe. It is satisfying work, digging, but fruitless now, until rock #2 is removed.

I've bought a liner, 2nd hand, from a garage sale. Funnily enough, we listed our old frige on freecycle, and one of the guys helping the man pick it up mentioned his sale. I bought it. There is also a pump. The liner is huge, 9' x 16'. But I plan on making the pond 3' deep in the middle. With enough greenery I won't need any thing else. Shirley is having a grand time in her half barrel. With a small pump circulating the water, she is GROWING!!!!


Now, how much dirt is in a hole 4' x 4' x 2'?
Putting aside the rocks, of course.

How to build a pond 1a | How to build a pond 1b | How to build a pond 1c | How to build a pond 2

Cats are sneaky

How delightful!

How to build a pond 1a

rocks, must be checked out

The first thing is to find good helpers. Mine are somewhat distractible. But they taught me things.

Here is a nice bed

We need a break!

helpers are important

Things I know for sure:
1) Good tools are important
2) It is easier to dig when the ground is wet


3) Rocks are important,  but fighting with my brother is fun, too.

How' she gonna get that rock outta there?

The rain starts.
thunderstorms mean we retreat.

(I'm still working on the rocks. Exhaustion drove me in!)

Whaddya think? Stay under the eaves?

4) Resting up is good.

stage 1a incomplete - still a work in progress. 

How to build a pond 1a | How to build a pond 1b | How to build a pond 1c | How to build a pond 2

Reduce, reuse, recycle

I believe in this concept.

We also love to watch TV. Retired, we are happy to stop, drop and relax at the end of a volunteer day. We tape a LOT of shows, to watch in the evenings.

Yes, our TV died. I bought it for hubby 6 years ago. Wandering through a Sears store, it was last year's model and on sale.

It worked out to $100/year, far less than we pay for satellite in our rural home.

I told hubby, bless him - he's a good man with back issues this week (from lifting my Dad in long-term care) after sneezing, that he deserves a new TV.  It doesn't take much for me, either. I have a fragile back, too.

We cruised the stores in town. It turns out that the universe is looking after him again. Another on sale, last year's model TV at Sears. What a good deal. What is a hoot, is that the woman working there told me that Recycleyourelectronics.ca was going to be at the Perth Fair. What a great thing we can do. Off we went.

I love giving feedback!

To divert potentially hazardous materials from our landfills, the Ontario Government has designated Ontario Electronic Stewardship, a non-profit industry organization, to manage a program that encourages responsible reuse and safe recycling of old, used and unwanted electronic equipment. 
Visit their webpage for more info, or to find recycling spots near you in Ontario.

A delightful crew grabbed our old TV, and added it to the pile. I'm sure I have more lying around.

In just a little over two years, awareness of the electronic waste program in Ontario has increased from 22% to 65%. And thanks to you, since beginning operations on April 1, 2009, the program has diverted about 50,000 metric tonnes – that’s roughly 6,250 tractor-trailers full – of electronic items from landfill. In addition, the program encourages economic and job growth in the waste industry. Residents of Ontario welcome a safe and responsible solution for dealing with their unwanted electronics.

Happy man! Very personable.

What's Included?

• Amplifiers
• Audio and video players and recorders (DVD and VCR players)
• Cameras
• Cell phones
• Computers and peripherals
• Copiers
• Fax machines
• Monitors
• Pagers and PDAs
• Printers
• Radios
• Receivers
• Scanners
• Speakers
• Telephones and answering machines
• Tuners
• Turntables
• Televisions
• Video projectors

Download the Recycle your electronics brochure (PDF 767 KB) - French (PDF 770 KB)

Goldfinches dance in the wind

 Round and round they went! This turns in the wind. A male and female...
My video was a bit blurry, I deleted it, but they looked so cute swinging around and around.

Beware of bears!

Bear I spotted in Gravenhurst, running across the road.

Don't feed the bears.

Don't feed the birds in summer, when the bears are active.

Bear encounters down from last year: MNR
MUSKOKA -- The Ministry of Natural Resources is reminding campers, cottagers and hikers to be on the lookout for bears, and to take the necessary steps to keep them away. To date, the ministry’s

Bears do not USUALLY attack people, it is unusual. Black bear attacks are extremely rare — since 2000, there have been two fatal incidents involving black bears in British Columbia.

One Muskoka resident had been feeding raccoons, and shot a small bear at the feeding station. Bear Wise tells us to put away all bird feeders in summer.
IN AN IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY in Ontario: contact your local police force or dial 911

TO REPORT BEAR PROBLEMS: contact the Bear Reporting Line at:
1-866-514-BEAR (2327) (TTY) 705 945-7641

• Make garbage and composting inaccessible to wildlife: 
  
  
  • Use heavy garbage cans with locking lids
  • Fasten lids with bungee cords
  • Put garbage out the morning of pick-up, not overnight
• Use motion-sensitive floodlights to startle and scare away wildlife
• Keep pet doors locked at night
• Do not leave pet food outside overnight
• Keep BBQ grills clean and close BBQ lids after use
• Close your doors, screens won't keep them out

The Tea Party Libertarians in Ontario

This is a frightening prospect for me. The Tea Party is rampant in my riding Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington.
I have written about it earlier, the race in near-by Mississippi Mills.

Close race in Ontarios Conservative Carleton-Mississippi Mills

Locally, there is some fooferaw around the provincial Conservative nomination run in Carleton-Mississippi Mills riding. 

UPDATE: Jack MacLaren won the nomination. 
Candidate who toppled Norm Sterling is a ‘bully,’ PC riding president says.

There is much going on behind the scenes in a political party whereby incumbents are forced to step aside, especially someone like MPP Norm Sterling, with a long history of serving the area. 

(Ernie) Eves attacks Ontario Tory 'Tea Party' elements

...from one of its own.Former premier Ernie Eves said Wednesday there are "Tea Party...challenges."I don't care who hears this," Eves said at a recent tribute dinner for Sterling...he said at the time.


Manipulating a nomination election has to be the worst form of corruption. The articles says,

"Just weeks after Sterling fell, in fact, the Conservatives convinced two candidates to bow out of the race in Ottawa West-Nepean to acclaim Citizen columnist Randall Denley as its candidates. When a third candidate balked at that demand, he was dumped by the party and told he would not be allowed to run.
Ade Olumide said he was initially summoned to a meeting with a senior party official and told that 'to think this is a democratic process is a fallacy. This is a private club. It's a business.' "

The Libertarians in this area are fighting for little government intervention in land use, fighting against same-sex marriage, and all the other issues that cross into the US-based Tea Party.

The Tea Party is an American populist^[1][2][3] political movement, which is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian,^[4][5] and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009.^[6][7][8] It endorses reduced government spending,^[9][10] opposition to taxation in varying degrees,^[10] reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit,^[9] and adherence to an originalist interpretation of the United States Constitution.^[11]

Lanark-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington

8 Aug 2007 – Lanark—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington. Electoral district description: Population: 113077.

Roadkill - slow down

porcupine - September 1st

two racoon kits - this is one. I put them in the ditch,
covered them with sand to keep the vultures away. August.

Beaver, Aug. 20

porcupine

Slow down. You drive too fast. Gotta make the morning last.

Gopher - May 22, 2011

deer - July 21

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

-Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948)

August roadkill: two raccoon kits, one beaver, one large porcuine.

We keep scraping them up off of the pavement: a ground hog, deer. MNR won't remove them.

He who listens to truth is not less than he who utters truth. -Kahlil Gibran, poet and artist (1883-1931)

 Why did the turtle cross the road? Most to lay eggs. She was alive and snapping. I put her in the ditch. The vultures hovered.

Hi-jacking Mr. Jack Layton

Amazing how the different groups, agencies, authors, have hi-jacked Mr. Layton. (Excuse the pun.) He is the unwilling poster boy for prostate cancer.

E-book about Jack Layton set to debut soon

...funeral, but the first book about Jack Layton will soon be on store shelves - or...if we were lucky enough to have Jack still with us, what would he be...youth initiatives, as designated by Jack Layton's widow Olivia Chow."
The book will be available by the end of September. All proceeds from the sale of the book "will be donated to aboriginal youth initiatives, as designated by Jack Layton's widow Olivia Chow." 

Meaning, the publisher will get its money back. This means that the book was in progress while he was dying. What are they thinking?

Jack Layton Tribute Page

cancer.ca

Canadian Cancer Society pays tribute to The Honourable Jack Layton, friend and cancer fighter.
They continue to speak of Layton's 'fight' against cancer. The Cancer Society has Facebook ads to bring attention to their cause. The Society is noble in that, aside from dumping money into administration for fundraisers (as opposed into research itself), they have amazing services for both those with cancer (volunteer drivers, peer counselling, research services), they also provide peer counsellors for people, like myself, who were dealing with cancer in their family.

Many who are facing cancer do not want to be labelled fighters. Mr. Layton engaged medical interventions to get rid of cancer. We truly must pay attention to language, and what it means to those with cancer.

There are no wins or losses, only lessons. Those who face this head-on must be given dignity. 

Gardening, caterpillars, frogs, rural delights.

I worked in the forest for several hours today. My little black furry twins were good for moral support. They were fascinated with the sticks and stones I was throwing about.

A tree had to be brought down, one that will surely fall in the next storm. A dead cedar, it isn't good on a walking path! The kittens similarly helped. I chased them away.

Weather began to change. Hauled in my axe, saws, put away the tractor that was dragging the rocks out of the bush, and decided to garden awhile. Noticed animal poo on the table under the table umbrella.

Oh, boy, more poo photos for Jofee!


Opened said umbrella. Lovely brown bat rubbing bleary eyes, swore at me and flew into said forest. It was a beautiful flight, lovely translucent wings flapping it to safety.

bat house; bat

We have two bat houses, as well as many trees with holes.

What's with this?
Was it out late at the bar, forget to save money for cab fare home?
Everyone left before s/he knew it?

Anyway, there are lots of little friends in the forest.

In an update: I didn't take the time yesterday to pursue the identity of the caterpillar.
I have since done so. The above link is a great one. You can search by colours, location, hairy or not!
My caterpillar seems to be this one: but I will look again!
Trichordestra legitima Striped Garden Caterpillar


Nope! No red stripes...from chattnaturecenter.org Henning Von Schmeling
The final word: The caterpillar is Cucculia alfarata, camphorweed moth, feeds on, you guessed it, camphorweed, Heterotheca subaxillaris. Did not know they are found that far north. See them a lot down here in the south and further west.