That was a wet afternoon!

This was a bit of a surprise on social media. It was a really nice morning, Jan. 3rd. Dry, roads clear. I posted it to my timeline and told friends on Facebook that it wasn't us. The author of the FB post was driving and saw it happen. There is, of course, much speculation online. The witness did not see an animal. The bottom line is they are fine. 

It is a lovely home, and long frontage, with pillars on either side of the drive. (Google maps)

Dashcam, JB went into town.

🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧 🌧

We had rain yesterday afternoon and all night. It was like a November day, hovering around 1, and overnight to 0 C. Mother Nature is not sure what she is doing. This morning it is -1, and the back deck is all ice. There were 12,000 without power at 5 a.m. We had 25 mm (1") rain. The snow is mostly gone. 

My camera has a friend. It looks like a spider, active in the warmer weather. It looked like ghosts, at first!

I saved a video of it!

spider web! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We stayed indoors and dry, watching the events south of the border. Ain't politics grand?! NOT.

I switched this camera to the backyard. Richard Deer

 

Richard deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'm trying to capture bunny on it. Richard is the star, however. Diva... 

We'll have a good chance of identifying him, even after he loses his antlers, because of his demeanor. He is obviously alpha male! 

  

Richard Deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'm whittling away at it!

We must look ahead. The fact that we made it to 2023 is achievement enough. The news is horrid, as ever. Ukraine weighs heavily on my mind. I feel we must witness it, and acknowledge it. There is little one can do. Climate Change. The economy. Food Bank usage is up. 

I look forward to spring. It's been quite a melt. Phil commented about our lack of snow, and thought the UK news exaggerated it. My friends in Muskoka would beg to differ. Several feet in a couple of days. We had a good foot of snow cover a couple of weeks ago. Ironically, we were in Ice Storm '98 25 years ago today. It was awful. Ten days without power.

Candytuft

The candytuft is bright green, ready for spring. I hate to break it to the wee plants, we are a bit of a ways away. This is a winter favourite for the deer. It is often green under the snow cover, they dig away at it to expose it. They nibble at it uncovering it from the snow.

 

This is what it will look like in spring! 

Vegetation Management Crew

I've still tree branches to tidy in the wet meadow. Jan. 1st there is more snow down in the meadow than up top.

I have been doing a little each day. Our tree man isn't available. 

Jan. 2nd – who knew what lay beneath the branches...?!

Snow, apparently.

There has to be a strategy of some sort. I haven't figured it out yet. My reciprocal saw lasts nearly an hour, between the two batteries. I have separated the piles, there are big branches I cannot cut. I could use the kindling, but it is a tiresome task and I have a short attention span! 

Mind you, the smell of that sap is amazing! I wore gloves the next day. The dirt on the branches stuck to my hand.

Jan. 3 – I took another crack at it. I have a strategy, now. I think I will leave the top branches and let the needles fall off here.

While I was working, I could hear a gun firing coming from the direction of the gun range. I am not amused.

gunfire Jan 3, 2023 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Bunny Labbit

In the backyard, I still see evidence of bunny rabbit! I was worried about it. It was muddy the day before. By now the water has drained some, pawprints have been created. 

On the trailcam: proof. I accidentally switched the camera to photos. A video would have been better. By the way, the pumpkins are nearly gone!

I checked the spycam, and there it was! Run, labbit, run! (I forget which girl called them 'labbits!') There are predators about! There was a brief video showing a coyote. They are frequent flyers. 

bunny rabbit from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Oh, yes. Butch raccoon is awake, now that it is a tad warmer. 

We are being warned about freezing rain. We shall prepare, just in case. 

Peculiar Sunday

 We had a peculiar time of it Sunday. I took Cinnamon for walkies in the forest. He didn't like the snowy patches. He was convinced winter was over when we left the house. 

Here he comes! He didn't get much farther than this. It was a solitary forest walk! 

It is so peculiar seeing the wetland so wet in January.

The frogpond is back to pond status.

Here it is in spring:

There are puddles! I need new rainboots, we've more rain on the way.

I looped around, by myself, on our third lot, and came back to the house. After doing some work in the back, I whistled to get Cinnamon back home. There he was, on the sidewalk. 

 

Cinnamon helping from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Nutmeg

Back indoors, I was looking out the window and the mourning doves flew off. I thought it was our visitor Oregano. We figured out it was Nutmeg, who did NOT want to come in.  Someone let the basement door open, and she surprised a flock of mourning doves. 

Nutmeg cat from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

That's a look. She knew I was trying to get her back in!

Nutmeg cat from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo

Richard Deer, Little Richard, Mice Friends

 I read a book called The Forest. I found it an interesting depiction of how society changed in the life of a UK forest over 900 years. We've been watching an Amazon TV series: Sherwood, set in Scotland in 1984. It is a depiction of the UK Miners' Strike, based on two actual murders, and I looked up some information. The forest is amazing in this series. 

Critters on the trailcams have been scarce, aside from our deer friends.  They were sheltering under the large pines trees when I looked out back at 6 a.m., rain pouring down in the fog. This was Friday, Dec. 30th. It turns out our biggest buck, Richard Deer, has a hurt! It doesn't look infected, so I am hopeful he'll last until another deer hunt next year.

We can identify the bucks by the shapes of their antlers, which remain mostly the same over their lifetimes. Richard has a split on his right antler tip, that is a great identification trick. One of the triplets has lost one antler. The timing all depends upon food sources, and energy demands, which reduce their hormones. They will all lose them soon, and regrow them in spring.

You can see my problem (below)! I was on my tiptoes, trying to focus through the kitchen window, but had forgotten my reading glasses. I am resisting the urge to cut this serviceberry tree down. With the monopod and zoom lens, photos are easier, but the tree is a pain.

It occurred to me that we've two older bucks as I looked out the window. I say older, since their age range is 2 - 5 years. There are lots of hunters around us, lots of roadkill with speeding cars. In captivity, heaven forbid, they can live for 23 years I've read. Each year they add an antler points on each side, more or less.

 I think we should call this 8-point buck, Little Richard! Little Richard knows his place and defers. The big one, Richard Deer (a 10-point buck), was giving the other one the eye.

Two bucks📹

The rain was ridiculous! We've had another Colorado Low. A skiff of snow Sunday night.

Remember little bunny's hole? It belonged to Fred Groundhog, who scarpered. It appears flooded. Poor thing must have moved somewhere, unless Fred Groundhog dug a proper tunnel.

We have mice friends, no question about it. I posted my earlier video of mice friends in the Facebook group for trailcams, and got a bit of advice. Some pointed out that mice carry disease. Others like the fact that I called them my friends. That arises from the fact that Caitlin invented 'Mice Friends' who lived above the kitchen ceiling tiles, back 35 years ago when we lived in Ottawa. There are few indoors. You can see why.

This went on for hours! The feeder above is great TV for the cats. The mice clean up the mess.

mice friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I finally did another picture. I've missed drawing, I just haven't been in the right head space for it.

Here we are: 2023!

I'm trying not to look back. The shows that review all the horrid news of the last year don't really help. And at my age, the best has been. We are slowly reducing our circle of influence. We are more often asking for advice from kids than giving it out!

Our life experiences have led us to some wisdom. Joseph Brian had an interesting discussion at the grocery store. He and another customer were bemoaning lack of staff. JB pointed out that too many people are sick with flu, RSV and common colds. Many staff aren't paid if they don't go to work, nor do they have benefits.  The customer circled back after shopping, and said that she'd never thought about it that way.

Retirees forget what the work world is like. Employees are making different choices. They want, need and deserve sick leave, and fair pay. 

Except for weather, it's often tough looking back. December was an interesting one for precipitation.

We shall see what January brings. It was 2020 that was so wet. The frog pond is thawed. Cinnamon and I went walkies in the rain yesterday, 23 mm (0.89"). 

The grass is turning green, but I know we'll move back into the cold soon.