Paperwhites

Many, across the continent, are welcoming spring, some are harvesting winter kale, I'm creating some beauty indoors!

This is an amaryllis bulb and paperwhites around it. One paperwhite must have been given a booster, as it is much taller than the others.

 79 CM TALL! (31")

I don't know why the tall one grew like this! 

 

I had to tie them up, they were falling over.
The smaller ones have begun to bloom. I've been playing around with the camera settings. I really should read up on this, as it is a bit of a battle. But then, I read up and forget the dratted settings!

Robins, red-winged blackbirds, woodpecker, cardinal

The birds have been busy. The February thaw was a shock to all. We lost a ton of snow.

They are early, the red-winged blackbirds. Hubby spotted them just as he was on his way out the door to dispatch and deliver Meals on Wheels. Good eye! He spotted several of the hawks on our Wolfe Isl. trip, as they seemed to favour his side of the road!

There are the robins, eating up the sumac berries. I don't think they actually left the region for the winter.

Mr. & Ms. Cardinal are making whoopee. They have been more frequent, and the mister was singing his "this is my territory, back off buster" song! You can listen on the video, if you are so inclined! Today it pours rain, so I suspect spring will be early this year. Not a good thing, since we need the late snow melt to carry us through the spring.

Mr. Cardinal from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Birds are pretty confused with Spring-like temperatures!

Stunned by impact

Daisy and I found a nuthatch that had hit the window. She was outside on the front porch, and I heard it from indoors. I keep lots of items hanging outside the window so that they don't hit it, but every so often...

All About Birds has a good post on
1) Why Birds hit windows,
2) How to prevent the birds from hitting windows, and
3) What to do if they have hit a window.

Apparently, it is illegal in North America to handle a critter that is on the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 (MBCA), unless you have a licence. Who knew?
I recall delivering a loon to a rehab on Lake Ontario. Loon on the frozen field – missed the 'go south' memo

As a student teacher we caught and banded birds at the Natural Science centre. That was in 1981!

That said, the bird is on the ground, I cannot let the cats at it. I do ensure it has a safe place to recover, wait for it to assure it can fly, and let it take off. With Daisy out, that meant waiting and watching. Of course, if it has a broken wing, or other issues, you take it to a rehab centre.

I sat with it for a bit. Daisy was highly curious, she took a sniff. Highly curious.

We did a selfie video! It was simply stunned, and flew away. Just after this, it shook its head, and flew up to the eaves. Fit as a fiddle.
Nuthatch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Busy times in the forest

In all our travels, well, our trip to Wolfe Isl., I've neglected reports of things at home!
I have several reports.
Raccoon sighting! It's unusual, as they should be snoring soundly in February.

Firstly, Feb. 24th, the owl was at his favourite tree in our back 40. I found a pellet. Owls eat prey whole, then throw up a pellet of fur and bones. In the pursuit of science, I let it dry, then opened it up. You can see a little shoulder bone sticking out of one end.

I posted it on the owl FB site, said my owl caught a 'mouse,' and was educated by a wise person: Amanda Guercio who took this in university! (Who knew?)

Perhaps more interesting than a mouse, the prey item was actually a shrew! I suspect Northern Short-tailed (Blarina brevicauda). Their skulls look superficially like those of small rodents, but if you look closely at the jaw bone in the centre of the photo, the premolars butt right up against the base of the incisors - in rodents, there is a large gap between them called a diastema. Shrews also the lack zygomatic arches ("cheek bones") present in other mammal skulls. Really neat find!

Next, I found one small deer antler. Not the conflagration I was banking on! SIGH.


We had a major dump of rain last week. Annie wasn't thrilled, but was happy to sit in the box under wraps. RAIN. In February! Yikes.



The deer are still out and about. They hunker down on the pine needles, under the trees in the sun.


The wetland is nice and wet. Thankfully. My bridge to the wetland was navigable finally, albeit under a bit of ice and water. This bodes well for the lakes, which the wetland feeds. The trees have been attacked by porcupines or woodpeckers.


Now, not for the faint of heart. I hadn't been down to the point, since there was ice on the paths. What a mistake! There was a deer kill at the point. I could have set up the trailcam and watched them. There isn't a bone in sight. Simply blood and fur. They process it all rather well. I would suspect it is the deer with the broken leg, as they cannot take down a healthy deer.

I'm trying to pin point the timing, but I cannot admit to being down at the point in a week or 10 days.
They are hungry coyotes, feeling a little more full.

Book Review: The Blue Satin Nightgown

The Blue Satin Nightgown

Seriously, there are a great many who are managing having lost a partner. This memoir is a fun read. It's not easy when your life's circumstances changes, suddenly, or not. What I enjoyed about this story, is that she didn't dwell on the caregiving. Karin leaps off into the void, with wings and bells, revisiting Paris.

What I found intriguing, is that hubby and I went to Paris for a holiday. He's been several times, as he loves the city. This was the case for Karin and her late husband. I love the stories of the city. It is an amazing city. It was a great read.

The Blue Satin Nightgown (Non-Fiction / Memoir)
Karin Crilly's new book offers a delightful recipe to inspire you to turn your dream into a reality. A widow at 78, Karin Crilly decided to fulfill a long-held, cherished dream to live in France. Without knowing the language, the culture, or anyone there, Karin embarked on a daring adventure on her own to reinvent herself, bring passion to her life, and make her dream come true. Her courageous story takes you on a remarkable journey where she discovers the French recipe for life that establishes herself as an Aixoise in the quaint village. You will be perplexes as Karin about the French men, but you will be treated to plenty of joy, laughter and mouth-watering French recipes.

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@Barrie Summy