We saw the sun!

 We were onto another series on Amazon. It is called Origine (Origins), and takes place near Angoulême, France. It features views of the river Charente and it is beautiful. I like the listening to the French language and reading the subtitles, I am remembering some of my long-lost vocabulary. 

Anyway, in Season 2 they replaced the female lead, Mickey Sebastian with a younger actress. The chemistry is gone. We won't finish it, as the plot didn't grab us either. Ageism rears its ugly head as the producers messed royally to switch out respected mature, gifted actors with youth. 

We began a very dark Italian TV series: Thou Shalt Not Kill. There are no lighter moments to relieve the tension, and I find such a difference between this and other series. Ciao!

Speaking of videos, the town of Perth, ON, has begun posting YouTube tourist marketing videos! I don't know if you are interested, or if you want vicarious travel, as I do. It is a pretty town.

💐My Amaryllis now has three white blossoms! The Alyssum I seeded is coming along VERY s-l-o-w-l-y. I intend to put it into the terrarium. We shall see. 

My orchid has two long blossom stems coming out!

Here she is! It was a fundraiser for our local provincial park. The first photo is how the artist displayed it. I shall have to find a place for her. 

I cleaned my other heron, brought home from Halifax one year. Cinnamon seems quite concerned!

Archie turkey is a dedicated loner.

Archie the turkey from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Duke is holding his own.

 

Duke Feb 4 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

We had a nocturnal visitor, Fuzzy Fawn, Feb. 7th.

 

Fuzzy Fawn from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Climate Change

We went to 10 C., Saturday, Feb. 10th. It is highly unusual. Winterlude was back to Waterlude in Ottawa. Such a shame. It is a wonderful festival on the Rideau Canal ice rink. It didn't open last year, either. Only open one day this year.

 It is shocking to see the melt. I had an idea: to hook up the water barrel and harvest the meltwater from the snow on the roof. It required a bit of work, which was fine in the sunshine. 

I took a break to sit in the sun.

It filled up nicely with fresh water.

The next morning, the pond was significantly drained. Oh well! We expected -2 C. overnight, so I drained the water barrel. It was only 1 C., and I needn't have bothered. This morning it was -8 C., here we are back in winter.

It is way too early for them, but the cardinal has been declaring his territory. Feb. 5, singing about his territory. I couldn't see him, but I could hear him. I used photos for the visuals, and the audio from his song.

 

CARDINAL from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

And we had a pair of starlings!

starling pair from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

There was an old building here" 

It was torn down, and there are various articles about it. It will be an apartment building, after many years.

Feb. 8th, I noticed they are beginning to build a new apartment building, 4 units. The rent is $2300/month. There is a lack of affordable housing in our region, as in many regions. Too many landlords, charging bizarre amounts per month and people frustrated trying to find a place to rent. 

Another sign of spring, cleaning the sewers!

Early one morning, two deer hunkered down in the dark. Can you see them?

The day dawns! JB has his quarterly Lupron injection today. I have a client in the afternoon. Hope your day goes well. 

We had an adventure!

Hairdressers and hair styles <= I hit a nerve with my hairdresser tales I posted in December. The saga never seems to end. 

 I was supposed to have a haircut Feb. 7th. Now, this is something that really triggers my social anxiety. I worry about it overnight, and usually come home shaking. The noise of a salon is a bad trigger for me. Some salons are noisier than others! I had to leave, a half hour late, and my stylist was just beginning a cut on a colour. I couldn't wait any longer, hands shaking, my mind and body vibrating. I dashed home.

The next day, I had a salon referral from my brilliant daughter. A coworker of hers sent me to a place her friend guaranteed was peaceful. I phoned them at noon, and snagged an appointment in an hour. It was a 40-minute drive, but I got dressed, put on my face, and we dashed out the door. 

We drove across a couple of rivers with ice fishing shacks still one them. I imagine they are locals, as they are fairly near particular properties. It takes someone local to know and understand the depth of the ice, especially on a flowing river. 

You can see tracks on the melting ice. 

The snow fences will come down soon. We could see blue sky, but Mr. Sun came and went. 

I like driving by these. They just look so funny, all awaiting action.

It is a beautiful spot. Calm, peaceful. The waterfall is lovely, and the stations are private. I don't hear the personal details of someone else's vacation, love life, or health issues! The waterfall is amazingly soothing.

It doesn't look like much of a change, but it is clean and tidy. No sticky outy bits. No more mullet, or perms, although I loved my mullet! If you know you know!

 

From there we actually went out for lunch. It's been weeks. 

Soon we'll be able to sit out on the patio again!

On our way home, a cute cattery. An enclosure that lets the cat sit outdoors safely. They are marvellous for indoor cats to get fresh air.

Home safe. The cat house continues to find customers.

Our Ottawa kids are enjoying their February hot tub. Caitlin and I are still playing Scrabble. I took a screenshot as I was dubious that Caitlin was waiting for me to play in the wee hours! She confirmed that.

Cluny and Bryony, in Vancouver, B.C., were with their dad, Jesse, on a ski race weekend. Such fun, good exercise and fresh air for all.

Wingscapes

 I've been playing around with the Wingscapes videocamera. First I put wingscape on the deck:

  

Having moved it to the bird bath, it required fiddling.  

I had trouble with the height! 

It hasn't gone well!

Wingscapes from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

woodpecker from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

deer feeder deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The squirrel found the situation baffling!

 

if at first you don't succeed from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters

A faithful reader was concerned that we have so many deer at once, and it could be dangerous for the deer. The thing is that there is a hierarchy, and the deer know that the bucks are the boss. 

Also, the coyotes don't come in our yard in the daytime. At night they do, I know, but the deer aren't around. The deer are crepuscular feeders, dusk and dawn. JB feeds them first thing in the morning, and then they all disperse. The only one that comes back is poor lame Duke!

The last point is that we live on 16 acres, about 9 of those are wetland, maybe a half acre is lawn. Our immediate neighbour is on 35 acres, Millar Brooke farm has 600 and Coutts farm has 600 acres. The only fences we have are cedar rail fences. The deer bound over if they are healthy. Poor Duke (formerly known as King William) is about the only one with a disability, who may or may not be able to run faster than the coyotes. 

If you watch to the end, you can see the coyote slipping on the icy crust.

coyote from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Duke the deer, (formerly known as King William), is holding his own. 

deer feeding from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They nibble on the evergreens if they are desperate.

deer Feb.1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It was a busy morn:

 

Feb 4 deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Fisher from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Something spooked them in the forest. You can see them in the background.

running deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Saturday's Critters # 530 <= for more critters! 

Cats at the vet!

 It was time for their annual exams. The first task is to get them into their respective crates. We used to cram them in together, but Nutmeg was a bit of a grump. OK, rather aggressive and growled at her sweet brother! She wasn't amused. Cinnamon was more chill, in the carrier under her. 

They have grown: 2024 vs. 2019 when they were kittens.

 

Nutmeg goes to the vet from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Nutmeg was reluctant to come out, but sat and glared while JB petted her.

Cinnamon patrolled, mushing me, the exam table legs, and the vet. They spent two months or so, at the vet waiting to be adopted. I guess 2 vaccinations, and a thermometer up the butt phases her, but not him!

Nutmeg went first. Cinn kept mushing things.

I set him on the table, to let him see where Nutmeg was, but he didn't stay there long.

We arrived home, and opened the trunk, opened their carriers. They carefully looked out to ensure they were home, and headed to the door.

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