Animal Power

 Yesterday, I wrote about Fire and Flower Power. Today, Animal Power, but first, a fire update. Maritimes had rain on their 🔥forest fires, which is a darn good thing. They are starting to get a handle on the Nova Scotia fires. We've a new fire, today, west of Ottawa. near Renfrew, they have evacuated people. Blogger Karen has mentioned a couple of fires in Algonquin Park that are out of control. Her family has an evacuation plan. 

Fires near Centennial Lake, Refrew

Monitoring Canadian fires

We are grateful for international help! Both Australasia, and South Africa.

#2023WoFCanadianDeployment
Song and dance from #MZANZI1 as they arrive in Edmonton, Canada.#MZANZI1@environmentza@CIFFC@epwpza@kishugu pic.twitter.com/alj2IEnkuJ

— Working on Fire (@wo_fire) June 4, 2023

🐦The birds: the males came back, and then the female hummingbirds.

The hummingbird feeder attracts other birds: the oriole, woodpecker, and rose-breasted grosbeak. Mr. Grosbeak hovers at the window, looking for fruit, perhaps. It truly is able to hover. 

 

I keep forgetting to check for fireflies in the dark. This one I found dead in the water fountain. I was so sad.

Then, there is Fred. I've decided to try gender-neutral pronouns. (It is Pride Month!) They are definitely building a cozy home (see video). They excavated in the shed floor, but focuses on their home under the lower deck. 

UPDATE: They have now dug a hole under the propane tanks. This is what surrounds the house: large stone and sand for drainage.

They have since stopped!

Fred groundhog from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The catbirds have been pretty active in the front yard this week. I have a video of them from June, 2016. This was so fun! I was out gardening, watching the traffic, and heard these three.

Gray catbird from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I call him Pepper, but he isn't our cat. He's been an unpredictably infrequent visitor. In order to visit us, he has to cross a highway. This is the first time I've seen him in the daytime, and I heard him yowl through open windows at 8 a.m.

pepper from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

OK, must bundle up and put out garbage. Hopefully rain later, the front from the north brought some chilly overnight temperatures.  

 

Tomorrow, I've bear and wood duck news!

Fire Power: the age of Anthropocene; Flower Power

🔥 I don't mind winter, it makes spring more exciting. Sadly, we've had terrible heat of the summer temperatures, and little rain. Many fires have been accidentally 😒 started by people burning leaves, etc. Nova Scotia is now creating a $25,000 fine for such. Many are discussing The Anthropocene: The human era and how it shapes our planet.

People can be so ignorant about nature and wildlife. Not all of us, for sure. This↓ is why I think Gaelyn is happy to be retired! 

Another shout out to another blogger, the awful conditions in Alberta has been affecting our friend, Red.  I was awake at 3 a.m., looked out the front window and the moon was orange. The smoke is traveling (<= forecast) all over. Our local smoke, in SE Ontario, is from the Quebec fires this week. 

Thank goodness for good governments and excellent use of taxpayer dollars. Within Canada, we have a national centre, which coordinates human and physical resources:  🔥Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. They analyse fire locations, and determine who has resources which could be sent to another province. 

I have to thank (as if they read my blog!), those countries who have all sent firefighters to help us with these fires. This is what I found out: Canada has agreements to share firefighters 🚒 with six other countries -- the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico and Costa Rica.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Flower Power

The poppies are in bloom.

It's known as Field Hawkweed, but my mother always called them Devil's paintbrush! OK, to be honest, she called them Indian Paintbrush, but that is no longer acceptable. When we know better –  we do better!

The fuschia is blooming nicely!

Dame's violet and Impatiens. I brought us back to my Anthropocene, accidentally. That is a beer can I found beside the mailbox, brought back to the house, and meant to put in recycle. 

After two horrid storms, Dec., 2022, and then April, 2023, the poor pine trees are putting out new needles. (Back to Anthropocene and Climate Change, which causes these extreme storms.) The problem with this  is the trees would provide shade on the back deck. 

The sun is shining more heavily on the indoor plants I put out. I had to bring my orchid in. While they like indirect light, there is a limit to that! 

 

The cherry tomatoes plants are doing well! Also, the Horse Chestnut tree.

Local Produce!

Finally, a neighbour drove by, and popped in with a gift of asparagus from down the road at Miller's Bay Farm. With all the fooferah around the gun range, and the applicant appealing, I'd forgotten to order some! She is the kindest woman. She also is the momentum behind the petition, and the 534 signatures gathered to protest the gun range. She researched the requirements, designed the petition, distributed it, and got most of the signatures.

We had the asparagus and some of  Jiny's Korean Kimchee for dinner. JB had gone to the market Saturday. 👩🏻‍🍳@jinykimjh

Thank goodness for amazing people in the world, they outnumber the yahoos!

Saturday's Critters

A new bird for me: a chestnut-sided warbler. I was filling the water fountain. The video helped me, but I had to do screen captures to ID it. The bird sang in the tree, then landed on the electrical cord. Happily, it was too hot for mosquitoes, and I could be patient to capture the moment. 😛

We've a Cardinal nesting in the lilac bush. It is a popular spot. I noticed a female Cardinal chasing momma robin away. 

The phoebes and the hummingbirds land here↑, as well. Not only that, but going downstairs for a workout, I spotted a bird in the tree being fed by an adult. Running upstairs, I grabbed the video camera (and my reading glasses) to try and get a closer look. Sure enough, there was a baby bird. 

Turns out, it is the cowbird, who had been in the phoebe nest (Cowbird in phoebe nest ). It hatched earlier than the phoebes. The parents are feeding both the cowbird and phoebes (4?) at the same time.

cowbird juvie from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Here is one of the adult phoebes.

phoebe from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

At the back 40, I still cannot capture the wood duck on camera. She is too quick for this, the camera too slow. There are still 9 or so eggs in here.

Remember our Bear? The date is terribly wrong. There are way too many bugs to stand there and reset the camera date! This was 8 a.m., May 31st. He's been seen not far away, on Elm Grove Rd. I was worried about bear and the wood duck nesting box, but Momma was wisely quiet, and he ambled by. 

bear from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I'll leave you with Silverback Coyote. They used to be called 'Chad' but this one is quite different.

 

Coyote May 27 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Crumbly Acres has birds galore!

A new bird for me: a chestnut-sided warbler. 

I went out in the heat to fill the water fountain. This bird was up in the birch tree, singing. It landed in the lilac, and moved to the electrical cord. Sitting right near me, I was quite excited.

chestnut-sided warbler from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fred is providing much fodder for my blog.  Fred bopped off to the shed, where he has another burrow.

Fred May 31 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

You'll recall we were worried about bumble bees moving into his burrow. I hadn't seen him for days, and got up at 5 a.m. in the dawn to throw dirt on the opening. I was sitting on the back deck, and spotted him coming up from the meadow. First, he went to the shed, then I found he'd been digging. 

Sadly, the overnight clouds did not amount to rain. They were moving south east, but nada. We are quite dry. 

Watering is tricky, as you should not over water, but I do check daily.!

I've planted two basil plants in the planter. They are coming along.

The horse chestnut tree is in bloom.

The hops vine is up above the deck!

 JB found two near our house, on the highway. Victims. One was alive, and he took it to our vet, who accepts them. There was paperwork, and he had to phone it in. Turtles Kingston wants to know if you find a turtle. He did so, and they asked him to take the dead one in, as well, as they might be able to harvest eggs. "Please report any and all sightings, dead or alive to our website." 

Our turtle populations are at risk. A Midland Painted turtle. RIP.

The pansies have come back after Fred ate the flowers!

We have a cardinal nest in the lilac tree. I knew something was up! I had to look the eggs up. No wonder the dang tree was so busy, and the female cardinal chased the robin just trying to feed her family.

This is the last video of the robins. They have fledged! May 31st

Baby robins from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We made it to Friday. Happy weekend!!!

Welcome to JUNE!

🎾 Tuesday was a busy one. There were three tennis games to follow. Part of me felt guilty sitting there, so we made sure to get up, do something, and get back to the games. It is better for my foot, and in this heat! We puttered, while nursing various ailments. Ain't aging is grand! 

💉We've boosters booked for COVID! 

We had good news that we will have one last Summer Gramma Camp in July! The girls are growing, and they have friends to hang out with. They are traveling to New Zealand for 3 weeks in the summer, as well. Hopefully, all will work out and they can meet up with Jean!

We finished watching a series, Injustice. It was a powerful thriller, with twists and turns. We sit, watch, and swat at indoor mosquitoes! 

🐣While I knew there were eggs in the bluebird nest box, I think there must be another pair of House Wrens in the green nest box. I saw a little head peeking out. Then, flying to the flagpole. 

One robin fledged Tuesday morning, another between then and Wednesday, while the third made a Hail Mary Pass and took off. I believe we had three fledge. Here are the last photos I have of them.

We are done! I want to rearrange the furniture on the deck. However, the phoebes... Here is the cowbird dominating the nest. The wee phoebes are days younger. Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds' nests.

The cowbird has fledged, leaving the baby phoebes to thrive. Here it was on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, when I donned gear at 6 a.m. to fetch trailcam cards, I peeked and it was gone. 

We like to see the garter snakes. They are harmless, eat rodents, and keep insect populations at bay. This was a lovely specimen. I heard is shushing through the leaves and noticed.

The fence is looking good. I like that it is black, and except where the light bounces off of it, you can still see the plants. My lilies are growing tall. I have to pace myself in the heat, and judicious use of bug spray.

I let the cats out for a brief run every morning, usually for under an hour. The other day I asked Cinnamon if he wanted walkies. "Do I?" He's been lobbying for it for awhile. He pooched out on me at the meadow.  The bugs are really bad, and hungry cats end up on the front deck to flee the mosquitos. 

I ended up at the frog pond, and the tadpoles are huge! Cinnamon was back up on the deck, waiting for breakfast.

tadpoles from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Cinnamon treed Butch, this was last week. Cinnamon is pretty docile, and I imagine he was curious, and Butch wisely fled up the tree. 

Butch & Cinnamon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The only critter on the trailcam, triggered by the wind blowing the bracken, was the American crow. It was a fruitless trek down to the camera, otherwise.

I hope the heat wave passes. 

🔥 🚒 May has been a month of fires across Canada. Alberta (546), Saskatchewan (192), Manitoba, Northern Ontario, Quebec (101 fires), Nova Scotia (CBC article, Tantallon Fire, Barrington Lake fire). 

We are going to hope for better in June.