Trailcam tales

The fisher has been back. I was quite excited to see the tracks in the snow. They are big paws!



When you study animal tracks, you are supposed to look at the distance between one paw and another. This is research from a previous post.

This specialist says to:

• Establish the Line of Travel - heel in back, leading toe in front
• Length of Track
• Width of the track -from outer toe to outer
• Stride- toe to toe
• Straddle - distance from the centre
• Pitch- orientation of the paw print towards the line of travel

I thought this was unusual. When you look at the end of the video, below, you'll see why!



It marks the box!



I'm glad I switched the trailcam to video! What the surprise when coyote spots the lights, twice!




I'd thrown out some of JB's dry organic whole wheat crackers. I left the box down there, it'll decompose. Also down there, raccoons!



The deer, including Pickle Stabber, jake, and a pair of twin bucks, and the raccoons, squirrels and mice are enjoying the pumpkins.

Up at the house, we're happily living in the present moment. We watch news until we get caught up, then have to turn it off.

Australian Fires: "look for the helpers"

Canada has sent firefighters to help. It's quite complex, with the winds, and the pyrocumulonimbis clouds that have been creating its own weather. Horrific visuals everywhere.

Muskoka has a friend living in Australia, former mayor Susan Pryke. She has been keeping us informed of the dangers in Narooma on Facebook. They'd moved into a  hotel in town, where it is safer. They lost power, and send updates on a limited basis.

Her latest post, 10 hours ago, has good news:

Hi everyone. The good news is that the fire did not reach Narooma. In fact it did not advance much at all. But I am weary of the looming threat of it should the winds and weather combine as they did the last 2 days. We are ok. Our house is ok. We are all allowed to return home. We have no power, no internet or mobile telephone coverage but they are working hard to restore those. Food and supply convoys are on the way to reprovision the town. I can only contact the wider world through a wifi portal in the centre of town so do not be alarmed if you do not hear from me for long stretches. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. I think they may have worked because we truly thought we'd have the fire on our doorstep last night. ❤❤❤❤❤ Love to you all.

Then there are the animals. I heard on the radio about a koala rescue, Port Macquarie Koala Hospital (Facebook). They did a GoFundMe page, asking for $25,000 for water stations. Donations have reached $3.2 million. The water stations they are building help all of the animals.

Hormones...

Thursday, Jan. 2nd

Things are hopping in the house. You can see Annabelle up in her caterpillar. Cinnamon has been quite busy, and popped up for a visit. Cinn changed his mind.

What we have figured out, is that the kittens must be older than we suspected. Perhaps 8 months. Nutmeg is in heat. Cinnamon is grooming her, then grabs her neck, and then... well, 'nuff said! He's been up all hours in the night, then they fight. We are quite relieved that it's just hormones, not some evil plan to drive us nuts. (Not a long drive, not even a short putt!)

We were afraid that Annabelle was instigating things, but she's not. She comes to break up the 'fight.'

We had them booked to be 'doctored,' as my client calls it, but not until Feb. 12th. I explained the problem to them at the vet. Now, we have an earlier appointment, Jan. 14th.

We are boarding Cinnamon, to take the pressure off of all of us. We were up at 2 and 4 and 6 a.m. this Thursday morning, while Cinnamon answers the call to his nature. He was locked in the bedroom, but she was upset he was upset. Annabelle was chasing them, too. You get the noisy picture.

We locked her into the office, her favourite spot to sit and sleep is on top of the dresser. She peed on JB's office chair. sigh. She sleeps, bird watches, does kitten things.

It'll be about $200+ for boarding, but we spent $1000 trying to calm Buster down, then $1500 on Dorah. I forget how much on Daisy. sigh. These danged rescue cats!

They sleep calmly, then things get weird. The grooming, then he grabs her neck and climbs on top. I finally figured it all out.



We stopped on the way home from dropping him off for take-out chicken and pizza, just to give us a break. We found twin bucks at the pumpkins.

Friday, Jan. 3rd

Another early morning like the previous one, only Nutmeg peed on JB's chair, again, when she was locked in the office. She mrrppps away, and calls, grooms herself. She has to be in heat, although I don't remember having a non-spayed cat.

Annabelle spent the night chasing Nutmeg under the bed. Poor JB. I'd taking sleeping meds and didn't hear a thing. We have a plan B, and popped Annabelle into the cat hotel with Cinnamon. This boarding will cost us $470. I also asked them to do a grooming for Annabelle.

That was a lovely, peaceful solution. Cinnamon has relaxed the most. He was shaking when I dropped him off on Thursday, but better Friday. Annabelle likes him. She will be good company.

At home, Friday afternoon, Nutmeg has begun to relax some, and came out from under the bed where she cowered most of the night, away from Annie. She snuggled with JB.

Friday night she spent on our bed, slept there all night!

 

More critters via Saturday's Critters #316

Of all the things I've lost...

I miss my mind the most!

I had a wee problem. For the third time in the past while, I've lost another SD Card for the trailcams. The good one (32 GB). I think I have figured it out. I keep the spares in a pouch, in my video camera bag. There is a bit of a tear, but not big enough, I thought, to lose the card. I think it slipped out when I was shoveling the slushy end of the driveway.

Anyway, it means a walk outside to switch cards, back in to upload, then back out to switch the other card. It's good exercise in the fresh air!

I was quite excited, and too anticipatory. I saw this in the snow. I tracked the tracks and it came from across the highway, up the drive, across under the arbour. I was so excited. It was close to the trailcam.


Coyote tracks! They went right by trailcam #2, the lesser one. NOTHING! They are too fast. Argh. I have ordered a new camera for my birthday (Dec. 26th), and that will take care of that.

The farther trailcam captured the fisher, who a Facebook viewer thought might have marked the box.

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The buck is still around, as well as a momma with yearlings. Coming home last night, in the dusk, there were two good-sized bucks feeding on the pumpkins, who bounced gazelle-like across the field.



In the meantime...  we don't usually watch hockey, but the boys were playing across the pond. The fans are a hoot.




I'm slowly tidying from the holidays. Sadly, the moment after I put the vacuum away, Annabelle leaves me a gift. Here she is in JB's chair, with a catnip toy left where she left her fur behind. This is the problem with her long fur!

Speaking of gifts, I shall have to play around with camera settings for the snowglobe Caitlin gave me. It is lovely!

A walk on the tame side!

Day 2 of January, 2020. If I type it enough, perhaps I will remember!

These go back to last week, Dec. 24th. It was a warmish day, the greens stood out from the browns. There has been so much going on!



This is our 'nanny tree'. The birch grew up in the stump, but the stump is deteriorating.



We're having a bit of a problem with the kittens. I think they are older than previously thought. We're having to separate them. He is constantly grabbing her neck and trying to mount her. Their birthday is June 30th. They aren't scheduled for surgery until Feb. 12th (they are a busy vet service!).

Howling, screaming, jumping on her, bringing Annabelle to the rescue. I keep throwing one of them into the Muskoka Room, with the outer cat door locked. Oh my.

After the storm: Happy New Year!

I hope 2020 brings you many blessings; 

good health, joy, peace, prosperity. 

I am grateful for my e-friends,

and their moral support! 

Let's see what 2020 brings us all.

Monday morning, Dec. 30th

If you've ever wondered what it is like taking a cat to the vet. This is the video for you! She was quite vocal. On slushy roads, she was a hoot.

Tuesday, Dec. 31st

Dec. 31st, more power outages as the snow continued all day, second day in a row. The numbers crept up all day as snow kept falling on top of the ice. Our hydro was fine, but I kept a fire going just in case.

The poor trees! Their branches were touching the ground. Great shelter for Jake, though. Can you see him?



Tuesday afternoon, I went out and shook the snow off. I was warm with Jean's lovely muff, except where the snow fell on my head. My coat was drenched, but the trees look much better. I have to clean them off, as it'll freeze and the branches will freeze in the snow. I learned that lesson one year.

On my way in for deer food, Tuesday, this dippy family stopped in the middle of Gore St. (a main street of Perth)! I was watching for the truck to pull around them, as people often do. Watching the truck behind them, then the teenager rushed across the road in front of me. No coat, no boots.



Our driveway is 100 m long. We were slowly getting rid of the ice from last week. We're back to ice pellets topped by snow. It's still snowing today, Wednesday.
Winter, bring it on!

My observation totals for the end of the year:
⛈DECEMBER 2019⛄
❄️WEATHER DATA☔
🚓ONTARIO ROADS 2019 🚗
🚓LOCAL COLLISIONS