Happy rabbiting to all!

We had a bunny when I was a teen.
Sue bunny. Dad built her a cage.

snowshoe hare

Can't see me when Ise sleepin'

Toy rabbits are fun, too!
Kissy-kissy!

Amorous turkeys in full feathers!

Look at his blue face!!!

All critters are getting excited. Crazy bird chases, squirrel chases, too.

They are feeling particularly twitterpated! You can tell by the blue in the male's faces!

Jan. 16/13 'normal!'

Here, chicky, chicky! They praddle along, then realize they are hungry, eat some, then spot a female, and do their displays, again!

I must admit that they aren't totally in focus. I realized that my eyes are changing, again, with age. My long-distance is really bad, but it's slightly improved, rendering my current glasses less than useful and uncomfortable. My reading (and time on the computer) is getting difficult. I had my old glasses made into reading glasses, for bedtime. I've ordered a new pair of glasses with graduated lenses. News and film at 11:00!

They followed her, like twins.
This is a group of 5 we've been seeing all winter.

S.C. #68!

My cross stitch - framed

Framed!

I have been working on this furever! Many helpers, indeed. My late mother (Joan) had started it, but she died in 2006, leaving it unfinished. I don't have any idea when she started it. It's been a cross to bear for me, but a challenge in discipline. I've had to put it down when I've gotten frustrated. It's counted cross stitch, and much more complex that anything I've done before.

 It's been washed, and I've taken it to be framed.
 In the meantime, I feel a burden lifted.

Mom made these in 2004 or so!

2015

 April 4th was my mother's birthday. I'm sure she is happy that I finally finished it! She did a lot of this type of work, including some Christmas ornaments, which she made for a church bazaar, and which I bought!

I truly believe in celebrating the day loved ones were born, not mourning the place or the date they died.  My mom died on Mother's Day weekend, you see. It's a crazy thing, and I just put it out of my mind. I prefer to remember her on her birthday.

2011

The white and black fur on it doesn't help! March 2014

The hoop helps, I maketh progress!
March, 2014

 Happy birthday, mom. It was a life well-lived, choir member for 60 years. She worked hard inside and outside the home, from age 15 to 66, when she finally retired. She was a perfectionist, and her home was always meticulous, until her final year of life. That's when I knew how ill she was.

Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds 

-- all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have. 

-Edward Everett Hale, author (3 Apr 1822-1909) 

Herons have arrived

Great blue heron from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I thought I spotted a heron on the nest. The wetland water is still frozen on March 30th.
This rookery is just above an arm of a wetland. The lakes nearby are frozen, as well.

My Vancouver-based son told me about a Vancouver live Heron cam!

Porcupine sighting: a video!

This is her den area

porcupine Oct. 2012

She snuck away in here

I figured if I toddled over here enough I'd spot her feeding on a sunny spring day. (We tend to have females critters around here. I don't know for sure!)

It's so sad seeing them as road kill.

Slow moving, quiet critters.

They tell me that in winter they don't hibernate so much as estivate (sort of doze). In addition, they wake up, from time-to-time, to eat within 100m of their burrows. I found such a site.
Lots of trees with bark nicely peeled off, I wrote about this before. It's a big forest, and taking the bark like this, it won't harm the forest integrity. It might even do some pruning, allowing smaller trees to get more sun.

I spotted one in Oct. 2012, as well.

Anyway, while I don't want to bore you, I found it fascinating watching her shimmy back down the tree. She froze, at first, then decided to get out of Dodge.

It's densely forested

she's been after bark

Porcupine from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I knew there was a porcupine in here. I figured she would be out this day, a little bit warmer, and the sun shining. She climbed down and ambled into her den.

Book Review: stuff you already know

I'm on a book review roll today.  So many books, so little time...

Stuff you already know! 

Oops, sorry, we're sending kids off to college, as they call it in the US, they apparently don't need to know about punctuation in titles! I do have to punctuate the beginning of the sentence. Gosh, this gets me going. The title discourages me, I wondered about the editing inside the book.What does the inside look like?! 

Then, thinking it over, perhaps they want to appeal the the kids who discourage punctuation, spelling and grammar. 

Well, says I, why would I want to read this? I already know it! 

Then, methinks, perhaps they want to encourage the kids to read it. I'm not sure they will. Young kids off to university know everything, don't they?

My 'kids' are ages 30, 32 and 36 this year. I do have experience with kids off to see the world. I taught a semester at uOttawa, too. Student teachers who knew how I should be teaching them. Sigh.

Turns out the book is well-edited, and seem to be on of the books for the bathroom reader. You can pick up gems of wisdom and put it down again until next time. I suppose it would be a fun gift, for parents who have the big bucks to pay for college. 

There are many wise words, truth be told. I'm just not convinced the kids would read them!

I'm thinking it might be a book mom or dad hangs on to , and you send an email once a week. (Or Gramma - kids listen more to them than their parents!)
This one is good:

#147. Before choosing a major, spend some time in the student bookstore  to get a better sense of the required reading.

There are gems for parents, as well.

I.E., #239. Recognize when you leave home you're not the only one who grows and changes. 

Gina DeLapa

With college acceptance letters on their way, we are happy to announce Gina DeLapa's latest book:  Stuff You Already Know . . . And Every College Student Should.  For parents and students alike, Gina knows college years can be filled with promise and excitement—or filled with frustration and missed opportunities—depending on the choices you make.  From the right major to knowing when to ditch your roommate to preparing for the real world, think of this book as a friendly guide to making your college years count. Written in the same list and short anecdotal format as her first book, Stuff You Already Know … And Everybody Should, readers can expect to enjoy the same serious, humorous, and inspirational tips and thoughts in Gina’s latest instalment.

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@Barrie Summy

Book Review: Secrets of the Lost Caves

'I know you've been waiting patiently, but here it is!' so said my PR buddy! He was right.

It's the sequel to the Broken Circle, which I reviewed in March! It's a great one, especially for those knitting witches in my blogosphere! I know many of you raved about Broken Circle. This continues this wonderful quest, I know our kids love these books!

Secrets of the Lost Caves: Cheryl Potter's amazing young adult crossover fantasy that weaves brilliant plot and character development with excellent themes and a complimentary reading guide. Continuing the adventure begun in The Broken Circle, join the party of Six plus One in the race against the Dark Queen to find the Lost Caves and unlock the Secrets of the Crystal Caverns. 

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@Barrie Summy

Book Review: Owls of the U.S. and Canada

Wayne Lynch

This was my Valentine's Day present from the cats, published in 2007, it was highly recommended!

The photos are absolutely amazing, no question.
I found that the chapters were a bit disconcerting.

I think I am used to the guide books, which are organized by species.

It is beautiful, no question, but if you DO have questions, it's difficult to find the answers.  The chapters can be obtuse, i.e., Son et Lumière, Haunts and Hideaways, The Next Generation. Clever titles, but I'm getting old for games!

 The book has tables comparing species, as another example, e.g., Weight and Wingspan (Anatomy of an Owl, chapter 1, p. 6), Clutch Size and Incubation Periods (Family Life, chapter 5, p.157).
I have had to mark pages with sticky notes to find them easily. There is a marvellously succinct section showing each owl species, Identification Guide (Chapter 1, pp. 25 - 34).
Which leads me to the placement of the page numbers. Where do you look for a page number? Yes, on the bottom, in a corner. In this book, the page numbers are in the centre middle of the margin. Underneath is the chapter title. Now, I am an old dog and can learn new tricks, but I really found it disconcerting. It is clever and creative, and I feel fooled every time I look for something.

The references are clear, complete and extensive, as evidence of Dr. Lynch's professionalism. He began as an emergency medicine professional and quit this in 1979 to work full-time as a science writer and photographer. His photos and knowledge are amazing, both.

There is an index, but it is tedious and as an aspiring editor I would have loved to have had my hands on it, prior to its publishing. I searched forever to find the range of my saw-whet owl, and found nothing.

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@Barrie Summy