May tales: backyard trailcam

May are firsts. First one back from migration, first one seen from hibernation.
May 3, first male rose-breasted grosbeak was spotted. Soon, they'll be nesting. I put a female beside for comparison, but I haven't seen her yet!


Every year, I dig out the pathway stones, lovingly laid be previous owners. This year, a blue-spotted salamander. Now the condition of my hand tells you this. I tugged one bit of moss, thought I should go get gardening gloves, then tugged another, and it led to this. What was the point, then?!


The phoebe has settled in the shed for their nest. They had trouble making up their minds. First two attempts were on the deck beams.


This is so funny! The same backyard...
A skunk, Hooper, raccoon, two raccoons, chipmunk, bunny, Hooper!

What happened to the tulips?

Last fall I planted a kazillion bulbs.

The crocus are coming up, so are the tulips and the daffodils. To my friends to the south, it's lovely seeing your daffies bloom. To my friends further north, things are on the way to blooming!


You'll note the daffies on the left, untouched. The tulips in the middle have been chopped off. Several were uprooted. sigh. There is beauty in the chopped off swirls of stem.


Mystery solved! The trailcam told the tale. I attached it to the stump. In the second photo s/he laughs! She needs a good brushing!


The daffies show such promise. I saw this photo in the catalogue, where they talk of 'naturalizing' and you have a carpet of beauteous yellow! That remains to be seen...


I pulled the bulbs and put them in the garden near the house! Wormie is guarding them...

Festival of the Maples

April 28, 2018
I think Maplefest is the first festival of the season. Spring is here! It had dumped rain overnight, and we expected more, everyone took advantage of the break. It was packed! It's all about food and maple syrup. We have quite a few producers in the area. JB bought some from this beautiful young lady at Oliver's Mapleworks.
After this, we went home. The kids were coming for a visit and for dinner.





They were making smores!!! How hot is that?! Home heating is pretty important in Lanark County!


Lots of colour!



There were lots of food booths.


We both had a chicken fajita in a pita bread. It was messy and delicious!


Lots of fundraisers...


There is always a kids' area, with firefighters and big trucks.


The OPP always have a big presence. You can check out the trucks, and talk to them.


The signage is clear:

The church should charge for parking during festivals! The parking lot was packed.

Wood ducks in the yard!

I've been following the ducks down on the pond. We have three nesting duck boxes I hope will be filled. We have had some rain. There was a little river running down from the driveway. Somebody yelled at me to come look out the kitchen window!

.

Just as I posted about them at the pond, they turned up in the yard!

2 wood duck pairs from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Usually, they are down on the pond!

Mergansers from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Trailcam ducks from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Wood duck landing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Ducky weather from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.