An unusual bird behaving strangely at the feeder!

He eyes me carefully

They tell me it is an American Goldfinch. They change colours in the fall. It was

unusual, in that it was nestled in the dish of the feeder. At least for a moment. Once the blue jays came around, it flew off into the catalpa tree. Then it headed back to nestle in.

Daisy hung about under the feeder watching him. He'd eat, then rest. It was a cold one, yesterday, starting off at -10 C., but not as bad as this morning.
It's -20 C. today!

In summer, picking at my sunflowers

Whoops. I meant to do that!

Here is a summer goldfinch
in its glory

Oops, don't fall off!

I'm cold, and I'm not moving

Beginning to change
colours in fall.

A journalist in Antarctica meets an elephant seal pup

This is a delightful video. The journalist's glee as the pup snuggles, "remarkable", he says. Indeed.

A journalist in Antarctica meets an elephant seal pup who just wants to play and cuddle with him. Just listen to the absolute joy in the man's voice!  Full VIDEO 

Snow cleared, cats are antsy wanting out, then in, birds galore!

She loves my chair

The cats wanted out to play, so out they came.

First was Daisy. (Dorah is more of a fair-weather cat.)
 Daisy followed me onto the driveway, while I checked out my work. I'd noticed some caterpillars blown off of the dead Elm trees onto the white snow. They've disappeared.

Tough Daisy, up to her arm pits!

Hurry up, Mom!

doggy-digging, again!

Ears back, on the run!

A job to do..

See the height of the snow bank?

He's happy with the cleared walk!

Buster woke up after his morning nap. He'd been out from around 10:30 p.m. until, perhaps 2 a.m., I forget exactly!

Next, a word from our friends, the birds -anxious to fill up and keep warm. The birds are very busy.

First on the right

Then around the tree to the left!

What's up, woman?

This would have been a great shot.
But the junco flew off before I'd focused...
Yes, the windows need cleaning!

Peek-a-boo!

I'm having a heckuva time photographing the junco.
They are very shy. Also, clever!
They clean up dropped seed from under the lilac tree,
where the chickadees eat their treasure.

Through my dirty window.

sparrow

sparrow

Mummy, let us in!

Dark-eyed junco

Holy Hannah - that was some snowfall

Here is a photo from Tuesday!

Yes, after the snow fell overnight Tuesday, I dragged out the snow blower. My shoulders
are somewhat out of practice, lifting that sucker about, but sidewalks are clear, and the driveway fairly bare. I went outside around 8:30, happy to play in the heavy, deep snow. Whilst we slept, the snow came in.

She didn't like the snow machines,
400m across the lake.

Hubby and his cat, Sadie,
 our for walkies on the lake ice, 2009

Here is Sadie in Feb. 2010
in Bala

Then, I remember the good, old days when we walked cats on the ice in -20 C. temperatures!





But back to our Wednesday morning...
I knew I had to get it cleaned off before it froze. I used the blower on the driveway and the steps. Then went to fetch shovels and the roof rake.

About to clear the side walk, first, before footprints packed it down and made it more difficult to shovel, I realized that all of the shovels were in the backyard shed. Crikey. What was I thinking?

Thermometer: 4º C.

 It's a shame for the Americans who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. There are hundreds of delays, many accidents across many regions.
They estimate 30 fender benders in Ottawa. Dummies, and those who cannot afford snow tires.

Heavy winds are on their way to the Maritimes, perhaps to exceed 100 km/h. It's quite a time across many areas, with a 40-car pile-up near Edmonton due to the fog. I'm not complaining at all with 20 cm (8") of snow!

After getting soaking wet, with sweat and melted snow, I went to the back, and removed snow from the trees, as best I could. There is a trick to that.

• Firstly, wear a coat with a hood. 
• Next, run around the tree and do the lower branches first. 
• Then, grab the roof rake. Yes, sounds silly, but it works well. I found that out last time we have heavy snow and lost more than a dozen branches off of my huge, old pine trees. 



Here are the heavily laden trees at 7:49 a.m.

• Keep your head down!

Here are before and after shots!

Here they are 'after!' 

Hopefully, we'll get some winds that will blow the snow from the tree tops, but they won't overload the lower branches this time.

Next, thinking I was done, I went indoors to warm up around 11:15. I popped on the CBCNN, to check out the news. Bad news everywhere, the satellite dish was covered in snow. Put on wet coat, grab wet gloves (why get another set of clothes wet?!) and back outside.

My angel looks pregnant!

My angel a month ago!

Back out I went, up the ladder with the snow rake to clear it off. Finally, a hot shower and maybe a coffee. Where did the day go? It's about 4º C., and I hope the snow melts a bit more from off of the dish.

What a storm across the continent!

Tuesday afternoon prediction for Wed.

There were quite a few warnings on the news and weather websites. Tuesday, Nov. 26th they warned that a couple of fronts were meeting. One warm, one cold. I hope that it give us some nice snow cover to insulate critters and plants.

This being Tuesday, the Wednesday snowfall accumulation is only a prediction, but I dashed out to replenish the bird seed, just in case. I keep it in a metal garbage can, an old one of my dad's, which keeps out the critters.

Cold front meets warm!

The snow blower is up from the shed, in the garage, and it even started for me! The Pagan lights are up. So-named when I had to convince a then-atheist, tall son to help me put the lights up outdoors!

Und zo... here we are, Wednesday morning, and it was as predicted.

It would appear that we managed close to 8". I use my late father's ruler, as it sits in the snow. He used it for the work he did: architectural hardware

Just shy of 20 cm (8")
on the driveway.

consultant. He would read architectural drawings and create lists of the hardware required to build the building. He was precise, meticulous and methodical.

The cats were in shock! As is the city of Ottawa. School busses cancelled, hydro wires down, people in the ditch.

I'm having my coffee, then breakfast, then preparing to clear us out.
There are winds on the way. We can expect another few cm of snow, which is not a big deal.
The radar says there is ice in Brockville. I'm happy for a good old snowfall! That I can shovel.

Buster eyes the snow between the railing.

Looks left, then right, in disgust!

Daisy ventures down the steps.

My poor decorations!

Daisy tries staying close to the house.

Then there is the back yard!

Blue=snow, red=ice, green=rain
/last night's storm marches in.

Heavily-laden branches

I shall have to use the snow rake
on the White Pine

 This is the Environment Canada warning:
Snowfall Warning for: Smiths Falls - Perth - Eastern Lanark County

First snowstorm of the season coming to an end today. A deep low pressure system tracking up along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States has spread snow, heavy at times, into Eastern Ontario as forecast. 10 to 15 cm have already fallen in many areas. Total snowfall amounts of 15 to 25 cm are quite likely by the time the snow comes to an end later today as the winter storm centre tracks across New England into Eastern Quebec. Hazardous driving conditions from very low visibility in areas of heavier snow and accumulating snow are expected to continue until the snow eases off later today. In addition with temperatures remaining near the freezing mark in the Cornwall and St Lawrence River Valley areas early this morning, the snow may be quite heavy and wet resulting in some falling tree branches and power lines and associated local power outages.