Frolicking fun!

 This was the lull before the storm... frolicing 

Here is Clover, identifiable by the scritch on her rear quarters.

cardinals on deck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

mourning dove

mourning doves on deck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Tom turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

This is mating behaviour, the male feeding the female. I have heard him singing, one morning just at dawn.

cardinals on deck from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Monday, March 6th, first robin!

The Proposed New Gun Range – an update...

 

The Proposed New Gun Range an update... it's been a journey! 

Yes, a gun range in a provincially significant wetland!

SUMMARY – March 5th

The Peer Review of the Noise Survey by WSP Golder is in, and it says exactly what I stated at the Oct. 11th meeting, based on our research. Also, the old gun range needs to be cleaned up since there are years of heavy metals being left here. The OPP have a contract to do so, but the details are secret. The Steering Committee has put in a Freedom of Information application to find the details.

the original gun range

The WSP Golder Peer Review calls for a new Noise Survey, using site-specific protocols, i.e. 'worst case scenario.' BT Engineering did not use the proper Ministry methods. It failed to cite their methodology, nor the weapons used, or how many. WSP Golder calls for the acoustic survey to be redone. Zanderplan consultants will have to rewrite their report. Then another Peer Review will have to occur. We are back to where we were in the fall, basically.

gun range alley with club house

DETAILS

I can summarize all this. They will have to do another noise survey based on predictable worst-case conditions. This is exactly what I said at the October meeting, and it is what the law requires. Worst case scenario is with all 12 shooting range targets used at once, as my audio demonstrates. There is no way to monitor any activity. Once they get a rezoning, they can do what they want when they want.

 Also, skeet shooting, trapping, and a variety of weapons that could be fired. 

Basically, the Noise Survey failed to comply with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Noise Pollution Control guidelines. Zanderplan is the company consulted by the gun range applicant and they outsourced the acoustic survey to BT Engineering. The study failed to show how the gun range activities would comply with applicable MECP noise limits. [This is the original Zanderplan Consultation Report. This is the acoustic report: BT Engineering Noise Survey.]

Based on this peer review, WSP Golder does not come to the same conclusion as the original Zanderplan report: that the site can operate in compliance with applicable noise limits with maximum 6 shooters. As per the Noise Pollution Control guidelines, the assessment of compliance of site activities should be through the use of the Logarithmic Mean Impulse Sound Level (LLM) descriptor. The applicable compliance noise level limit is directly tied to the expected number of impulsive events in a given hour. The C2 Noise Impact Studies protocols are very clear (Ontario government).

This is our submission on Oct. 11th:

Here is my audio of the OPP doing their recertification from 2017. This was May, when the leaves were not out. 

A further study, the Peer Review states, should have these conditions in mind: 

The site-specific noise model should consider ‘the Predictable Worst-case Conditions’ and be setup meeting MECP configuration requirements. The site-specific noise model should consider: 

• The maximum number of impulses in a given hour; 
• The maximum quantity of firearms being used concurrently;
• The type of firearm used;
• The calibre and grains of powder per round;
• The directional nature of the firearm used;
• The activity (i.e., trap versus target); 
• The consideration of all noise sources on site. Both; steady state and impulsive sources; and 
• Consider various seasons the range could be operational (i.e., ground cover and existence or non-existence of foliage).

Decibel levels

This is a useful chart, 
but suppressors are illegal in Canada.

Another storm!

 They predicted it... This is the 🎥Texas low that caused high winds, and 🌪tornados (CNN).

Thundersnow hitting the CN tower last night in Toronto by the Rogers Centre. Sound on. #cntower #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/0THSkDGSu2

— Catherine Parry (@thecateparry) March 4, 2023

I woke up early. In the dark, the snowplough went by, as registered on the Crumbly Acres security camera. A sight for sore eyes! 

snowplough drives on by from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And the snow fell from just before midnight to the afternoon:

deer and turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The turkey had a good try to get to the feeder! We've just the one male hanging around after seeing none for months.

Then the deer folk had it in their heads to find some bird seed.

Look at little fuzzy fawn! The snow is so deep for it.

I was easing into the plan of shovelling, maybe thinking I'd wait until the snow stopped. It was going to be above zero, and that makes the snow heavier. 

We had some Amazon deliveries arriving. JB checked his email and it said Sunday or Monday. I put my feet up and played my morning games. JB checked again, after lunch, there was  package on the way. Out I hustled. There was 20 cm on the driveway (7"), with 30 cm (12") at the end of the driveway. Praise be for the snowblower! The highway looked great, though.

It was quite deep at the end of the driveway, 30 cm (12") deep.

Before, after the storm, and after shovelling!

JL used the roof rake to clear the snow off of their metal roof. This is their backyard!

I could have simply shovelled the back deck. Instead, I figured I might as well use the snowball snow for a purpose instead of just firing it overboard. I made a snow elf.

I was weary afterwards. The shower was just lovely!

Saturday's Critters

 It's critter day everyday, here! I get up, feed cats, feed fishies, and hope for the best. There was a big snow over the last few hours. This afternoon I shall dig us out. There isn't a lot of big critter action, other than the deer. 

We had some sun yesterday, and she had a nap.

Trudging down to the trailcams I found out: Who goes there in the night?

 

coyotes and deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They really whack away at it. They can smell some food under there.

Fuzzy fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Feb. 26th, mice friends going after scattered bird seed. In the daytime, red squirrel comes along. It's great cat TV!

mice friends from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Thanks to Eileen for hosting! Saturday's Critters # 481 

Squirrelly action

There is much going on these days, especially at the feeders. Or under them! It is -13 degrees C. this morning. I put out some of my green decor for St. Patrick's Day yesterday. Once I am done, I'll do photos. We've got rain or snow on the way. We shall see what happens! 

Yes, many call squirrels 'tree rats!' They provide fine entertainment for us and the cats. The cats barely twitch for the birds. It's those squirrels!

This is Nutmeg's first stop in the morning. She surveys the yard for safety, then checks out mice friends.

mousing from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They benefit from the bird feeder above.

Black squirrel from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

red squirrel from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

CAT TV!

 

cat TV from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

dratted red squirrels from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon, deer friends, precipitation

My amaryllis (bulb #2) is still blooming. Cinnamon was looking out for it. OK, maybe he got bored watching squirrel TV.

 

This is from a few days ago. We had snow, and it accumulated on the deer's faces and backs. There were 20, in total. They all get a mouthful of deer feed, not much more. It keeps us all happy.

deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I love the way they sleep under the white pine trees.

Mamma and fawn were sitting side by each. She was vigilant. 

Eventually Momma went to sleep! The fawn kept watch. The coyote don't venture into our backyard, except in the dark. 

Clover still has a wound on her back. Perhaps a wire fence or something. It's not infected, as far as I can tell.

Can you see them way at the back?

I still have trees to work on.

The difference between February and March is that the driveway melts in the 2 C. days!
I saw something interesting on my morning show. Kelsey McEwen, the weather woman, was explaining why and how the snow melts out to different amounts of water. The temperature affects how much water ends up with wetter or dryer snow. She shows that 25 mm water ends up being 12, 25 or 50 cm snow, depending upon the air temperature. 

This is my most recent data. The second last column is the snow fall, the last show how much that snow melted down to inside the warm house.

We'll see what March brings! It was 2016 that had so much rain. Last year there was a fair bit of rain. 

Today we have freezing rain. The critters take shelter on these days.  

Another storm!

🌨A storm was coming. I cleared the sidewalk.

A storm arrived. I cleared the sidewalk. You can see Bambi in the background. She was no help at all!

The storm slowed down. I cleared the sidewalk!

It is a lovely winter coat, wrapping us all in the blanket of snowflakes.

 Do you know what we expect on the weekend? Yes, another storm! It was a horrid drive to visit my client for my 8:40 gig. The roads hadn't been done. I even had trouble finding the road. Thank goodness for snow tires. 

snowstorm from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Having sat with my client for a couple of hours, I came home, had lunch, then went back outside to use the snowblower. I have trouble finding the driveway, wandering on and off my path. There was ice under the 15 cm (6") snow, as well. 

  

A job well done! from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

🐦 I had fun watching the American crow. I worked hard on the video, splicing the photos in with the audio of the outdoors. It is unusual to see the crow so near the window. 

Funny story. 

I had the camera on the tripod, taking several photos, and had trouble shifting it to face higher in the tree. I just saw the crow about to jump onto a lower branch and approach the bird feeder. Grabbing the videocamera, the camera lens flipped down, and made a noise on the tripod. Off went crow! 

 

Crow from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.