"The flowers that bloom in the spring, tra la...." and bird doins'

April 25, 2026

The temperatures are on the upswing. Day time temperatures are rising into the low teens C, (the 50's F) with nights still dipping into slightly freezing territory. Mother Nature is getting on with it. Buds are starting to swell on trees and bushes. There is a haze of colour in the tree tops, depending on the variety, a myriad of shades of green and red....and the first blooms are open. 

Tiny red 'star' flowers of beaked hazelnut, 

Red Maple buds starting to open.

Pussy willows tingeing green. Soon they will be fat bunches of pollen, and when the sun shines through them at just the right angle...

one will see them swarming with early pollinators. 

Last winter the township cleared a few trees along our road. They parked the wood chipper not too far away, and made a huge pile of wood chips. A gardener's bonanza! 

Hubby has made several trips with the tractor, bringing full bucket loads of chips, and has made a pile in the yard. I have been beavering them over via wheelbarrow to mulch my row of fruit trees.

flag shadow...

As the snow melted away, the damage on 3 out of 5 Mountain Ash trees, planted for the birds, became apparent. I wrapped the stems of the other trees but why, oh why did I not wrap these???

One day last week, we went for a short tour around the back roads, and lucked out, spotting this pair of Sand Hill Cranes in a field not too far away.

On another morning, seated at the breakfast table, whilst keeping my eye on the window, there was a sudden flurry as about a half dozen or so Red-winged blackbirds that had been sitting up in the crab apple tree catching the early warming rays left rapidly, en masse. Immediately, a larger bird alit where they'd been, and stayed long enough for us to ID a Sharp-shinned hawk. 

Yesterday, Hubby was coming in for lunch, and got delayed by the birds! He said the Tree Swallows had arrived and were flying around where the nest box pole had been last year. He immediately got it out, and was still affixing it at the base when the birds were landing on the box, investigating it.

Things are a-happening in this neck of the woods. It is the most exciting time of the year!

 

Winter, are you done now????

 April 18, 2026

So maybe, just maybe, we are on the up-hill side, although there are frosty night temperatures and snow in the forecast for early next week. With last week's grey skies, rain, and relatively mild temperatures, the snow has just disappeared. There are puddles of snow-melt/rain water in places we have rarely seen before in our 10 springs of residence here. Today's walk around to pick up the trail camera chips was an exercise in watching one's footing and avoiding the wet spots. There are vestiges of snow left here and there in the bush in shaded areas, and also some places where our snowshoes packed a trail.

Yesterday was a sublime sunny day with temperatures rising into the mid-teens C. (high 50's F), an augury of things to come! What a treat is was to have doors and windows open and come and go without having to don any extra layers of clothing.

Rivers and creeks in the area are running high. In some places, it is getting serious and folk are picking up sand bags to protect their properties. Up here, I am happy to see that the pond level has risen up to it's usual spring levels, flooding out at the north end. 

My crocuses have practically erupted out of dormancy, and the grass in the yard is greening up. 

 Deer have been dispersing out of their winter yards, and in the evenings, all those green shoots are attracting their attention in our yard. 

taken through the clothesline

Thursday night, on my way home late evening, the frog chorus was going so strongly in ponds and wet areas along my route, it joyfully hurt my ears!

Bird cam has collected a few shots of early migrants. A small flock of Juncos has made a stop-over here, and have been hanging out for a couple of weeks.

One of the earliest songsters is the Song Sparrow, and yesterday we heard several delineating their territories with song, 

Eastern Phoebes arrived mid-week, and one is trying to beguile a female to come join him and nest in the barn, while another is fluttering up under the eaves of the verandah, letting the females know that he has found a fine nesting spot. 

This bird is here all winter, and we see them once in a while, usually tagging along in a flock of Evening Grosbeaks. This Pine Grosbeak was checking out Bird Cam.

The dates on Bird Cam are correct, and the snow seen in the background is all gone now. 
 Last weekend we spotted another bird that is not native at this latitude, unless it has done a runner from someone's farm.

It is a Ring-necked Pheasant, and was walking across, then along this road without a care in the world. 

For a couple of mornings lately, a pair of Wood Ducks have been frequenting the pond, perched side by side on the floating turtle log in the rain.  

Today it is raining heavily again, so a good time to get caught up on all the inside stuff, as it won't be long until outside will be the place to be.  

"Old Man Winter....

April 10, 2026

This is starting to wear a little thin. Are you done yet?"

"No. Suck it up, Buttercup."

This morning.... from bare ground, back to white...for the second time in a week. Huge flakes of snow have been just 'a bustin'' down all morning. 

This was on Tuesday morning...

Hubby felt it necessary to do this...

and the township saw fit to plough the road. It was a lovely day though, the sun came out and we went for a snowshoe around,  the pad of new snow softening the hard crust on our trails.

As the warm afternoon wore on, the floating ice in the pond was melting before our eyes.

By Wednesday, the last vestiges of snow in the clearing were gone except for places where there had been snow piles. The shrinking ice pan in the pond evaporated and the turtle log is again free to float at the whim of the wind. 

We got busy bringing in the wood rounds from the last trees cut, to the pile behind the barn, preparatory to splitting and piling. Even on the north side of the barn, we were standing on bare ground. 

Last night we listened at dusk for the 'pweenting' of Timberdoodles, (AmericanWoodcocks), as they have arrived just south of us. A friend on whose farm they were heard, has also heard her first Eastern Phoebe.  No luck here, but coyotes were being quite vocal.

This morning, we awoke to bare ground, then it started to snow, and snow and snow. There is now a couple of inches of heavy wet stuff.

Well it can stay. I refuse to budge until this all melts away, again. 

What a difference a week makes....

 April 5, 2026

This morning, Easter Sunday, although overcast, there are periodic glimmers of sunshine! The birds are very vocal. What do they know that we don't? Robins, Red-wings, and particularly Nuthatches are at full voice this morning for the first time this spring. A harbinger of things to come!!

The past week seems to have sped by in a blur of overcast skies. Last weekend was cold and windy, and one wondered if it would ever be over, but milder temperatures mid-week enabled us to chip the ice off of the walkway, and then over the last couple of days and nights there has been lots of rain making the snow piles diminish very quickly. 

Early last week, when we visited Garrison Petawawa to view the river from the lookout, I wished for long johns, as the wind was whipping across the frozen Ottawa River here with a vengeance. We needed cleats on our boots to navigate the ice and hard, frozen snow to get to the top.

 We visited the Petawawa River to see the falls and rapids, and had to again have ice cleats on our boots to get anywhere near enough for pictures. The river was trundling along as usual, but I sure bet it will be roaring this morning after the few days of melt and then rain we have had. 

Over the last few mornings, we have happily observed the water level in the pond creeping ever upward. The 'turtle log' has re-emerged, although still locked in ice. The ice pan has floated up on the influx of water.

The garden beds are clear...yeah!,

but there is still lots of snow in the bush and on shaded north-facing areas.

It was a good week for indoor activities. I finished a springtime-coloured scarf/shawl that has been on the needles for a little while.

The pattern was a mindless knit called Reyna, and the fibre is an hand-dyed, 80/20 merino/nylon blend from the Okanagan in B.C.

I thought the wool carders that everyone borrows from the Community Centre needed protection, so with some 'sheep-themed' fabric, did a little quilt sandwich, and sewed on some velcro closures. 

In a bag made out of old jeans, lined with some thrifted fabric, they should stay safe and protected. 

Hopefully, very soon, there will be more outdoor things to do!