Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

Here it is Thanksgiving Weekend in Ontario. We will be on our own, as Josephine is nearly better, but still taking it easy with COVID. She is mending! 

Thank goodness for our acreage on which to wander. 

The day began with a sighting.  JB was looking out the bathroom window and spotted a grouse! You can sort of see it through the screen...sort of!

 

They are beautiful birds. This one (below) hit the front window Nov. 2014. I think it was being chased by the hawk. It hit with a loud thud, moving quickly. I felt so badly. The colours are lovely to see.

 

I was booked to have my Spikevax last Thursday, the one that has both COVID and OMICRON fighting capabilities. JB had his two weeks prior. I was booked, but I was throwing up (anxiety?) and wisely cancelled until this week! Off we went to Smiths Falls. 

It was 10 minutes. My arm was not sore. I had zero symptoms. What a relief! When I had booster #1, I was in bed 4 days and lost 8 kg., sick as a dog.

It's a mass of colour. We will enjoy it while we can.

Soon the locks and the Rideau Canal will close for the season. Tourists will go home, boats will get on their coats.

It's a pretty drive, with homes, farms, and a variety of people.

I was asked if I ate the horse chestnuts I gathered, but I do not. Thing is, not even the raccoons like them – and they will eat anything! (Except chestnuts!) There was a chestnut explosion:

I love the colour and texture of them. The raccoons did the same thing in October, 2021.

 

Somebody went out and bought himself a new fall jacket! The weird thing – there was a cigarette butt in the pocket. 

I put up a feeder, as the chickadees were searching for it. 

The lady beetles are looking for shelter!

I've gotten out my pooter. You can suck on the short end, and place the long hose beside the unwanted bug. There is a mesh over the one end and you suck the bug into the jar, where it remains until you put it back outdoors!

While I was trying to capture the goldfish, the lady beetles were buzzing, and they were biting. Needless to say I did not sit out and read that afternoon.

lady beetles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

We've had a change in weather. I don't mind. My new header is from 2009 in Bala, Muskoka. 

The goldfish are happy in their indoor tank. We freeze too solid in winter to keep them outside. 

Percy, the large one (named after my ex-late-FIL's piranha), is a specialty goldfish. He feeds on the bottom. I don't think he is a koi, I thought they told me, when I bought him, he was a Shubutkin, but I believe I am wrong! He comes to the glass and wags his tail in anticipation of food. What we have to watch is that they are opportunistic feeders and will eat whatever is put in front of them. You risk overfeeding and killing them.

The gray tree frogs seem to be appearing less and less frequently. Maple, and the other one, snoozing on the railing, again.

This one gave me a bit of a surprise!

The trailcams have had some critters go by. 

doe, twin fawns from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

In the night Coyote zips along, one has to pee on the camera! It's just what they do...

 

coyotes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The coyote checks out the smells.

 

Coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I love watching them. The coyotes usually pee here. The raccoons look for grubs and frogs.  After 37 videos of a red squirrel on the trailcam, Butch finally appeared! 

Butch from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The young buck was out behind the tree house.

buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And those are my critters! If you'd like to view more wildlife, go visit Eileen's critter party #460!

Zinnia, blue jay, doe a deer

I'm having anxiety issues, still. My stomach is in knots at both ends! Not to whine, but with anxiety and health issues, you must recognize them and do your best to come to terms with it. JB has been very supportive, bless him! I've been reading about other residents trying to manage a gun club in Ontario (see links below).  Then I try to put that down and go outdoors. 

Noise Complaints for Shooting Ranges

1. Residents in the area of the Orono Fish and Hunt Club (OFHC) report (June 2016 – PDF) that they are continuing to have issues with the noise levels emanating from the OFHC. They discontinued professional shooting (RCMP, MNR CP Rail) in response to the opposition. 

2. Judge orders police shooting range near Simcoe shut down and fined the owners $60,000 to be paid to neighbours. 

3. Noise Issues for Shooting Ranges "The most common complaint received by gun clubs and ranges across Canada is noise. Unfortunately noise complaints from neighbours have also resulted in range closures through municipal government actions. Often these ranges were in place for years or decades before the homes of those complaining were built. "

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I've decided not to grow zinnias next year, they really didn't amount to much. Non-mental note! My planters have been hit or miss these days. Instead, I replaced them with the pumpkin that Butch gnawed.

The blue jays seem to have good memories. They are landing on the railing looking for food. We haven't put any out for the birds, since bear has been around. One year I left out a pot with peanuts. How dumb was that?! And Butch raccoon knocked it over (see below). Blue jay took advantage.

I was watching as the jay seemed to come to the window demanding food!

Blue jay from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thursday morning boded well for rain! However, no rain. I woke to rain today, we'll see how well the goldfish pond refills. I'd like just enough to cover up the water lily plants. We'll see. It's going to be cold overnight (2 C.). 

It's hit and miss with trailcams.

 

turkeys from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They always seem to begin to run as if afraid of missing out on food!

The young buck was by.

backyard buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

P.S. I had my Spikevax yesterday, 10 minutes in and out. No symptoms, not even a sore arm! 

The goldfish are in!

😓 Firstly, we are making progress with challenging the proposed gun club. I remember your battle on Turkey Mountain, Yogi, trying to fight a ridiculous development. 

There is some momentum. A poster had been made (see below). There is a network. A local resident submitted a Letter to the Editor! The local lake association is getting involved, too. They hear the guns firing 2 km away.

The Notice of Public Meeting was snuck by us, but word of mouth is great in a small township (pop. 8183).  Three of us worked on a presentation for next week at the council meeting. My daughter, JB and myself – between us we have 6 degrees, and are used to writing reports for business purposes. We've all delivered our fair share of reports. JB testified in a Senate Transportation Committee hearing on parliament his last week of work prior to retirement. I was union president in my time. 

👔 JB went off to Smiths Falls to pick up his dry cleaning. While there, he noticed he had a flat tire. He was near Canadian Tire, and had it replaced. What a pain. It was a roofing nail. He left me a message, which I picked up in between running goldfish into the house.

😷 Speaking of family, thank you for your kind words about Josephine. She didn't barf last night, this is a good sign. She's been sleeping in until noon, which is good for a sick young lady. 

🐟 My big news... it only took me one day to get all the goldfish. Not only that, but it appears we have rain on the way to refill the water barrel and the fish pond. 

The pond pump is away, having cleaned it thoroughly. 

I drained it, which took hours, and found most of our goldy friends. I did find one dead, which was sad. It appears we have had babies, though. The water lilies are a bit exposed, and I'd like to refill it some. 

Percy goldfish has grown some! 

It's tricky taking a photo of them. Here are the hybrids: the goldfish mate with the ale wives in the pond. They have black fins. Sadly Ale Wives don't fare well in the warm goldfish aquarium. 

The big question: how many did I find? I think 8, but I was so excited running with them to the indoors from outdoors, that I neglected to keep track. They are difficult to count!

percy goldfish from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I captured all our goldfish from the outdoor pond and brought them in to put them in the 60 gallon tank. The side of the tank is 35 cm/14" wide, he's a big boy. 

Over the years: 

Sept. 28, 2013: It's that time of year: come on in, goldfish!

Oct. 4th, 2014: Fall chores: bringing in goldfish

Oct. 7th, 2015: The goldfishies are in!

Sept. 18, 2016:  The goldfish are in!

Oct. 12, 2017: Autumn chores: goldfish are in!

Oct. 4th, 2018: Bringing in the goldfish!

Oct. 1, 2019: Fall chores; Twas a frosty morn! (Indoor pump broke that year, 11 fish)

Oct. 7, 2020: Cinnamon was harassing them! 

Oct. 15, 2021: Bringing in the Goldfish!

Oct. 6th, 2022 in one day!

It's a busy yard!

Well, my end-of-season chores are underway. Good question about the chestnuts, Patio Postcards. I don't eat them, I save them as decor and throw them out in winter. They red squirrel drops them, but doesn't eat them after they fall!

Yesterday, I used the kids' power washer on the flag stones. I'll have a new project next spring, (maybe!) lifting the stones and putting sand underneath. They seem to be sinking. 

🐠Today is goldfish day. It is supposed to be sunny, although we're at 2 C. right now. I'll drain the pond a bit, and give it a go. Tomorrow is supposed to be fine, as well, but tomorrow I'm getting my Spikevax shot. I'll assume it'll all go fine, but I will have two days to get fish in. They can be stubborn! 

😷Josephine is managing COVID. We texted yesterday afternoon and she said she was sniffly, cough and a runny nose. Mom says she was throwing up in the evening. Poor kid. This is going around the schools. 

🦌 I learned two new things the other day. We noticed that the fawn has lost its spots. A significant sign of Autumn. Then, I wondered, when do we stop calling it a fawn? I found the answer. They would be a fawn for the first year, and a yearling in year 2. 

I noticed pedicles on our fawn, where the antlers will grow. They are called spikes when a yearling has them. Caitlin calls them pickle stabbers! 

clover & fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🕷️ TICKS 2022

I had a tick, again. Just crawling on my hand. It's been stuck inside a piece of tape, and gone to tick heaven 😜. We've done pretty well this year, especially since the cats have their meds to keep them away.

Happily the turkeys are around. They eat ticks, bless their hearts. I spotted them out back.

turkeys from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The turkeys and chicks in the forest! 

  

Cinnamon has been out on Oliver's Lot. Nutmeg is still confined to barracks. 

Butch is fattening up for winter. They are omnivores and eat anything!

 

Butch + 3 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred groundhog is still around. I think he just shelters under the lower deck. When he hears us open the back door, he'll scramble to seek shelter, then peek his head out. I call, "Hi, Fred!" and he'll recognize me and come back out. 

He's made two holes, one in and one out. I don't think it's a burrow, just an escape plan. His burrow is at the end of the septic bed!

Fred under the deck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The buck turned up in the dark.

 

buck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The doe turned up in the daytime. Gotta love that tail! 

 

doe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.