Snowshoeing!

We woke to a chilly morn. Yesterday, the wind was blowing the snow across the highway. I will probably exercise inside today. The snowshoeing has been quite something.

Poor Bob V sits in snow.

You can see the layers of dirt in the snow beside the mailbox. You should have seen me whip the snowblower across the highway, outrunning traffic to clear it out.

Down in the forest, the trees carry a load of snow. 

It's much nicer snowshoeing in the sunshine!

It is easier the second time, with a track laid down.

It is pretty as I look across the wetland. We own right across to the trees.

Wood duck nesting boxes on the frogpond:

It is pretty. I zoomed in for a closer look.

The light through the accumulated snow is lovely.

This poor old dead elm tree stand alone, stark in the cold.

I came up from the meadow, kicked off my snowshoes, headed for the mailbox, and looked up at the wires. Something was going on!

I'd heard the truck with its back up, beep-beep-beep. I think Bell telephone is replacing their wires. We don't have a landline anymore, not after we were two weeks without a phone. 

I keep thinking, and then forgetting, that I ought to bring in my flag! 

Back indoors, in the warmth, I process my trailcam images. Things have been quiet, again. There were two coyotes, and a pair of deer.

frogpond action from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The goldfish tank mystery

But first, here we are, February! We had rain last year in February. We'll see how this goes.

We are expecting a polar vortex, with really cold temperatures. These are, of course, in Celsius.

To give some more information: 

Divers & Sundry asked, and no, there is no way to find the antlers now. I think they must be under a foot of snow, at least. Walking in the snow, even with snowshoes, is really difficult. I think they aren't on our property, either!

DrumMajor said, One deer looks like it has some tumors on it's back "knees." 

The deer have glands at the joints, and during mating season, especially, the fur puffs up. Here is an example of the puffed out tarsal gland. The females have their own glands, letting the bucks know when they are in the mood for love! This from the Whitetail Savvy book!  The puffy fur allows more scent to get into the air.

The cats have always loved fishtanks. There is warmth coming out of the light hood. When a feline is stuck indoors, and there is nothing to do in winter, it is good fun! Daisy was a wee cat, but Cinnamon – I am afraid he'll bust the topper. Oliver liked the smaller aquarium. 

 

You can see Hooper on top of the tank, while Isabelle makes us sandwiches. He didn't fish. He just sat. This was February, 2019.

Back to the present.

I'm having trouble with Cinnamon and the goldfish tank. Here in 2021:  He is trouble!. We've gone back to using the spray bottle of water to encourage him to jump down. I can hear him messing around with the styrofoam from the other room. 

I cleaned the tank, as I do at the end of the month. I stuck some styrofoam in the opening up top last year, or the year before. It worked then. He began to pull it out with his claws this week. I covered it up with a thick knapkin. Next day, stuck a long ruler across all this. In this photo, you can see the piece of heavy cardboard I put on the back of the tank on top of the styrofoam. 

When our grandies were here in the fall, Isabelle sketched and named them. Clownfish and Tigerfish aren't there anymore.

Sadly, yes, some fish are missing. I don't know if they died, or if Cinnamon is to blame. Nutmeg seldom sits here. Cinnamon isn't the fierce hunter that she is. Cinnamon ran when the vole chased him. He just likes the motion. I don't know. 

The little ones that bred with the alewives. I remember one with black fins. Gone! 

I've had baby goldfish, but they don't seem to thrive in the tank.

I am going to have to try and find more fishies this year. Due to supply chain issues and COVID restraints, they've been scarce in stores. Percy came from Brockville in 2018, from Ritchie's. Perhaps will have to do some research in spring. 

Those were the days! 

More work to do!

Welcome to February! It's -17 C., and time to snuggle indoors with a blanket! Spring is coming. For sure!

🦆Wood duck nesting boxes <= I've been tracking and reporting nest production over the years. I put up my first nesting box in 2014: Wood duck on the nest. They were successful duckies, and I managed to go down to the pond when they were taking off out of the nest: Miracle of nature: wood ducks.

You have to put a baffle around the base. One year the weasel took all the eggs out of the nest. I think it must have jumped from the surrounding trees onto the dead elm. The ducks did not come back. The other nest with eggs was untouched.

The poor tree was on its last legs, shedding bark. Time to move the nest box. The box is attached by a roofing nail on the top, and 3" screw and a strap on the base kept it firmly attached. At the time, a step ladder was involved.

Another year, I had dratted red squirrel make a drey, a nest, in this box! Red squirrel usurps wood duck nesting box:

Since then, I now have a total of three nesting boxes, but the first one has been empty for a couple of years. Essentially, after the weasel incident. We had ducks nest last year, but only in the one box. People around the nearby lake have put them up, and I think they prefer being on the lake. The ducks, not the people! Well, the people, too.

Here are nest boxes #2 and #3.

Attempt #1 – Jan. 24

I was determined to move it. I was much less determined last year! I only thought about it. I should have done it when I had helpers. Anyway, I was having trouble getting it off the dead tree. The screwdrivers wouldn't do it, I took three down with me and finally managed removing the lower screw, using the cordless drill. I remembered that the top 'screw' was a nail. Back to the drawing board. Having gone down January 24th to work on it, and making little progress, I thought I'd better fetch some other tools.  

Attempt #2 – Jan. 29

There were a couple of days of snow removal. I put it off this project for a couple of days. Suiting up, snowshoes on, and managing to get the screw out with the drill, I only had a roofing nail to deal with. Or so I thought. My hammer bent. That elm is a hardwood! 

Attempt #3 – Jan. 30

Down I went with the sled. It was snowy, and I ought to have finished the job before more snow fell. I knocked the dead tree over, it was ready to go. Much easier to take it off when I can reach it. But it had uncovered. I found it!

First I had to brush off the snow. I had several tools, but used the hacksaw to cut off the nail. That worked. Except, there was a hex bolt of some sort, a third attachment for which I was unprepared. I had forgotten how I'd attached it! Back up to the house. A shower and feet up ensued.

I left the box there, and hoped we didn't get too much more snow. One of these might work. I shall try it another day. 

Attempt #4 – Jan. 31

It was a lovely walk. I'd been down with snowshoes the day before, and it was easier going. The snow is shin deep. The deer follow my tracks. 

I like looking at the pond, and imagining all the critters safely tucked into the mud, protected by ice and snow.

Finally, the tool of choice were the small vice grips. I loaded the old box onto the sled and dragged it up to the house. 

The next thing to do is to choose another tree on a different part of the wetland. I have time, as the ducks won't be back for awhile. I'm thinking putting it at The Point. My first camera, a PlantCam, was pretty bad, but it did show me where the ducks hang out, as well as on the frogpond. 

This is the middle of the wetland, I did a 360˚ view. As I said on the video, it was so peaceful and quiet. Jan., 2019. There are lots of trees, but the ducks need air space in which to fly to the nest, and I have to be able to clean it out. 

 Wetland in winter from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.