We have snow!

This is what we ended up with Thursday, Dec. 5th! 14 cm of snow. We had a sleepover in Ottawa Friday night, so I shoveled like mad to clean 

The back deck! It ended up being 5 ℃ and I thought I'd best get out and get going. Heavy, wet snow gets stuck in the snowblower's auger.

I am happy to report that we did not lose any more pine tree branches! The snow was heavy, and fell off in the wind.

You can sorta see my 12" ruler on the second step. It read 14 cm.

I began working on my driveway. The driveway was warm, under the snow. 

I made it to the end of the driveway, but the 23 cm snow plow slush at the end of the 100m drive was too slushy and got stuck in the auger. I backed off it. 

By the time I was done, the sun came out and the driveway was dry and clear again. A winter wonderland. 

Look at the bears! A gift from the kids.

I attempted a snowman, but after working 90 minutes I was too tired and I gave up. 

The sun disappeared behind clouds. When I came back, I decided the end of the driveway had to be done. I toddled down with my shovel. This is the bane of all snow shovelers! IF it freezes you have a mound of ice.

It snowed again last night. But now it is raining on top of that. It is melting, and supposed to go up to 4 ℃ today. There is nothing like shovelling slush! I don't mind shovelling, truly. And it looks so pretty. For now!

Camera Critters

The birds knew something was on its way. They've been busy at the feeders. 

The critters have been pretty quiet. We did have visitors on Monday, this was before Thursday's snow fall.

 

Cinnamon and I went walkies. I called him and he roared up to the house.

 

 I thought I might not have any wild animal videos for today. What a surprise! I had a couple of surprises on the sidewalk Wingscapes camera. This was in the early hours, you can see the snow just beginning to fall.

   

 A sly fox!

 

Lights in the dark

That was fun. I did the sidewalk and the driveway Thursday.  

I haven't been down to the trailcam in a bit. Saturday's Critters may be a challenge! In the meantime, there is much action indoors. After Monday's stressful morning (Virtual Doctor's appointment), we decided to make our own entertainment.

First thing I did was to bring the Charlie Brown Christmas tree up from the basement.

Then, to create the 'hearth' I had a supervisor. 

I found and promptly lost the 'fireplace' we used last year. It was a senior's moment... It was in my hands, as I was bringing up some other things. *Gone day care! 

Anyway, we kinda make it up as we go. There were inspections during the process. 

Cinnamon had to inspect. 

 

That's better!

We've had various reaction to Frosty over the years. Some cats were fascinated with the lights. Others weren't amused. I think Cinnamon might come around.

We often let Cinnamon out into the garage. Sometimes Nutmeg. We were roaming the house looking for her. I'd moved our heated cat house (long story that one when Hooper cat was afraid of Daisy cat) from where it sat under the table, now they like cuddling up in it during winter. I just sorta threw it there. It was crooked, but it is her sanctuary.

What a hoot she is. Cinnamon took it over the next day!

 

This morning is a cold one. 

*"Gone day care." When Caitlin was young,  and in day care, we had a saying. Every time something was lost, we'd say, 'gone day care.'  

We have snow!

It began slowly, and just kept falling. I did the sidewalk, but it still needs work. 

I decided to switch out the feeders. The tray feeder is fun, but doesn't hold much seed.

Not a great photo technically, but it show both the male and female cardinals at the same time. 

Cinnamon hunkers down after hanging out on the front deck. 

Joe's bears were snow covered, but it kept falling.

They look lovely covered in snow.

The feeders need cleaning off, as well!

The back deck has 19 cm of snow. Some of that has drifted off the roof in the wind, but it still needs to be removed. We could get rain Monday. We shall see. 

Coffee is perking. Then breakfast, and next a bit of shoveling to do. I'll see you on the other side! 

PART CXVII Process of Cancer Treament

Virtual doctor's appointment

 There was a video appointment with the Ottawa surgeon Joe sees for his prostate cancer. Diagnosed in 2013, his surgery was January 2014. Post-surgery his PSA count began to rise. This was a bad thing. These were cancer cells. Since then he's been having quarterly PSA tests and then Lupron injections. It is a common treatment for prostate cancer.

 COVID had an interesting impact on healthcare. Zoom appointments were suddenly acceptable. PSA test results were available online when they were posted. It was such a relief. 

In the old days we used to have to wait a couple weeks to see the GP so he can 'interpret' the test results. It is far better to know the results ASAP.

We are up to so many appointments (PART CXVII). It is much easier doing them in here, rather than driving the 90 minutes to Ottawa, fighting people doing 20 km above the speed limit, passing, having to find parking, a meal, coping with rush hour traffic. 

Our physician specialist is terrific. He often has interns. This keeps a doctor on their toes. A real leadership role. I know I learned a lot from having student teachers. Our latest 'appointment' was a hoot. OK, embarrassing, for me. Frustrating. You know when you do something oh, say, once a year?! 

An intern appeared on the Zoom screen. Efficient, showing patience with patients, she reminded us we were muted. We've been doing this for awhile. It still gets the stress levels up. Usually I set Joe up at the dining room table on my laptop. It's easier than the iPad. I'd cleared my cache to resolve an issue. What a mistake. I couldn't log in on my laptop. 

Plan B was to log in on the iPad, but first I couldn't get the sound to work, and then the video konked out. The doctor was so patient. I kept thinking how feeble we looked! I have an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Technology!  Seriously! Joe did it by audio, the intern checked in with the doctor, came back to us and we have a plan. 

PART CXVI – Nov. 12th, quarterly Lupron injection in Perth. 

PART CXVII – Dec. 2 on Zoom. Next follow up Nov., 2025 (F-2-F), PSA tests every 6 months, not quarterly. Although, they thought we could do them annually. That was a bit worrisome to Joe.

It took awhile to wind down from that. Fortunately, we had entertainment.