The red polls, fox and fisher

I sat on the front deck in the sunshine. Using the tripod, it helped as I could prefocus. My reactions are terrible slow! I was determined to get a photo of the redpolls prior to their migration north.  

We have had upside downsie temperatures. The snowbanks melt, and make puddles on the sidewalk. Then, as it freezes overnight, it makes things slippery. What we do is throw some bird seed down on it. I ventured outside, and Fuzzy and mummy were eating the bird seed! 

The snow has melted a great deal in the front.

Our herd... Some are regulars, like Fuzzy. Also, a doe with twins. 

Fuzzy and her mummy.

Word spread, however, and we had 25 deer.

We're in for a sudden melt. Tuesday rather than 6, it was quite warm.

It was glorious yesterday.  The temperature went up to 11 C.!

There is a microclimate in the front of the house. The sun warms the house, and it retains the heat on the deck. It was 15 C.! 

We've still lots of snow. See the roof! It's melting much faster in the front of the house, in the warmth of the sunshine.

Poor snow elf has kicked the bucket!!

With the fluctuation temperatures, RVCA has sent out some warnings:

Residents in flood-prone or low-lying areas, historically susceptible to flooding, should take the necessary precautions to protect their property, such as:
• Ensuring sump pump is clear, in good working condition and has a backwater valve
• Ensuring easy access to a portable backup generator and pump
• Ensuring downspouts are clear and the outlet is at least 3 metres from the dwelling
• Securing items that might float away as flows increase
• Removing valuable items from basements or lower floors that could be subject to flooding
• Keeping emergency phone numbers handy
• Familiarizing yourself with your municipality’s Emergency Preparedness Plan

Trailcams

Vimeo, who I pay to host my video, has switched things up. We'll see how this shows on your webpages. Progress, me arse!

Down at the trail, in the forest was the fox. Also, the fisher.

My flag, DRS, the deer

 I had a wee issue with my flag. I ended up tying it to the railing. This is Isabelle's wreath from last March Break. It sparkles in the sunshine!

Another cold one. It was -19 when I put out the garbage Monday morning. 

Despite these temperatures, the dratted red squirrel (DRS) has arisen from slumber. The black squirrels, not yet.

Of course, our deer. Zola is hanging in. She dominates the feeder, usually.

On our walkies, Cinnamon and I discovered a clump of deer fur. Somebody had a fight!

I learned, from the research done by Carol, that deer fur is hollow. 

"I knew that deer put on winter overcoats. I didn’t know those hairs are hollow. They insulate, of course. But they also absorb solar heat and transmit it to the undercoat next to the skin."

I love watching them, deer parade, trotting past the tree! We had 25 Monday afternoon.

 

  
The young 'uns are a hoot. The twins are quite playful. deer selfies

 

 

We're still in the deep freeze!

With JB's bad arm I was up early feeding his deer. Zola, with her broken ankle, is doing really well, hobbling around, but holding her own. That made him happy. He deserves to be happy. 

I did his laundry for him, and did a few other chores to save his arm. Garbage, for example. He is learning to ask for help. 

We are back into the cold. Nevertheless, Cinnamon and I went walkies. Jean, you asked about frostbite for Cinnamon, but he leads me along the path. He's quite keen. If I pick him up, he demands to be let down. 

These were tracks going off into the bush. I think it was the fisher, although it didn't appear on the trailcam nearby.

These tracks gave Cinnamon pause. (Get it?!) He did that cat sniff, with his mouth open to access more smells. I'm not sure what they were.

The snowshoe hare's tracks are quite distinct.

The fisher

Cinnamon was so interested!

They are big tracks!

The trailcam revealed a fox . A quick red fox!

I finally managed a snowshoe hare video!

 

  
Uh, oh. Butch raccoon  is awake! batten down the hatches!

 

 There were coyote tracks, as well. It's a busy forest.

Robins and snowbirds

Bad news in our neck of the woods. I used to volunteer at PCC: COVID-19 outbreak declared at Perth Community Care. Also, a day care centre in Carleton Place, which is in our health unit. We had another 19 reported Saturday, but they don't update our health unit's COVID site on the weekend.

Renfrew has has a major outbreak. It is northwest of Ottawa, north of us.  As of March 5, there are 30 active cases in Renfrew County.  

We went for a drive. Somebody needed to get out and about. And it wasn't me! His arm and neck continue to give him some pain. I'm doing all his chores. Off we went. I suggested we go look at Narrows Locks. It was pretty much frozen solid in most places. We didn't stop for photos, but this is what it looked like! It should begin thawing this month, and the birds will return on their way north.

 

Our first excitement was seeing a flock of robins! I think our dashcam needs replacing. The images aren't great. It does give you an idea about how our winter is faring! Still lots of snow. I suspected robins, and one landed on a tree as we zoomed by.

We've had robins overwinter in the past. A baker's dozen, one year. Another year we had just one. None this year. 

That said, they are moving up the continent right now, according to Journey North. These are flocks of birds, which differs from individual sightings. It's a good sign of migration.

 We kept on driving, and flew back into the blue skies. I spotted some snowbirds at the side of the highway. We drove by, turned around, and came back to the same spot. I grabbed my camera, and shot this through the window. You'll just have to trust me, really! 

Sadly, by the time I got into the back of the car, grabbed my zoom lens, the snowbirds were gone again. They kept coming to the side of the road. I guess for grit. A human trio came walking along from down their driveway, and the birds didn't come back.  The birds had been there awhile, the guest visiting them said she saw them on her way in. This is the best I could do from the dashcam.

 We had one snowbird visit us just once!

Off we went home. I decided to take a detour. Nothing like a muddy sideroad!

There are some streams around, and I wanted to see how open they were. I stopped on the bridge for photos. These I took through the car windows. It was durn cold!

From there, I took us to Tayside Estates, on Ernest Way. The backyards on the one side of the development look down into a gully, which leads to the Tay River.

They've been working on this development for awhile, an article about sulphates in the water dates it to 2010. They needed some help with water quality.

“(The) raw ground water does not meet provincial standards for hardness, sulphate, colour,” said Noelle Reeve, the township’s planner, who pointed out that Renfrew County and the City of Ottawa do not allow in-home water treatment, but Lanark County has allowed it in the past.

 They are sold out, but for three properties. I presume you have to go with the Mackie Homes developer. They are listing them for $779,900, with your choice of style of home. A tad above our budget! I wouldn't want to clean all that, either. 

I noticed a wee park there, too. John Miller Park. I needed taller boots to go out in the deep snow, so I stayed in the car.

"John Herbert Miller (1950-2014), was a fifth-generation farmer who lived on the land that is now home to Tayside Estates outside of Glen Tay."

From the article by Desmond about the ribbon cutting ceremony, I learned that Miller was a pioneer in more modern farming methods, such as 'no till' conservation movement, and had free range cattle on 300 acres. He attended the Kemptville College, which inspired him. What a nice legacy!

Life under COVID-19 Protocols

Our cases Friday were up by 1 (West Lanark). Lanark East has gone up from 25 to 34 cases. There are a couple of pubs involved. Quelle surprise!

It was a busy day Friday.  JB's arm is still sore from shovelling (we think), he is confined to barracks. We can add this to his neck pain (don't know where that came from). I returned wine bottles for recycling. Only two customers at a time in the beer store. More plexiglass. 

From there, I went to the library, where they have more plexiglass. You reserve them online, you get a phone message that they are ready. They pick up the books for you, you pluck them off the shelf where they are wrapped with your name on it, and take them to the desk.  Voila.

A haircut! Here I was in early November. November 30th I'd had enough. By December, I booked a hair appointment for January 9th. We went back into lockdown by January, it was cancelled. I had already chopped off the back, as it was driving me nuts.

Yes, Izzy, I put my face on. Looking at our recent COVID–19 trends, I figured I'd best go short, just in case. I feel so much better with my face on, under the hairdresser's lights staring at myself for an hour. It used to be I'd be content, as I would have to take off my glasses. Since laser surgery, I can see every wrinkle and dark circle. I wanted to try my eye liner, again. Then, I thought about putting on lipstick. Hah! I wore a mask, of course. What would be the point?!

My stylist told me that they wondered about the length of my hair, as I had not been in since last August. (It's all on the computer.) They told me lots of customers had been apologizing for hacking away at their hair. (I cut my ear last time!) I did not apologize. I was quite proud of the job I had done.

The protocols are excellent. I wore a mask the whole time, as does everyone else in the salon. They have worked hard to redesign the space for safety, with plexiglass everywhere. My hairdresser (since 2016) is off on maternity leave, with a January baby. I am pleased with the cut. (It's always scary with a new hairdresser!)

Next, I'm having trouble with Cinnamon (I think) using the hardwood pellets in his litter. That's all they have at our local store. I asked our cat hotel people, they only use softwood pellets, but because they buy in bulk, they deliver it. Online, again. Our local Crappy Tire only has the hardwood. Smiths Falls has the softwood, and I placed an order the day before, they emailed to let me know and after my haircut, off I went. They have a drive-up spot, and life was simple.

Since I was in the town, I phoned JB from the LCBO, and asked if he wanted fast food for dinner. Yuppers. Protocols were excellent there, as well. Masks, directional arrows for patrons, plexiglass at the cash.

I did not realize, but Swiss Chalet/Harvey's has a drive-through. That was simple. Since they keep the chicken on a rotisserie, it's all cooked, it was quite fast. JB had a baked potato, I had fries. Me bad. I sped home, and we feasted. We've enough for another meal, as well. 

I left the house at 2:30 and returned home for 5:45. That's the longest I've been anywhere since my surgery! JB has an injection in Ottawa next week. I have to wait in the car. That'll be fun! 😟