The week that was...

 May 17, 2026

 This was Monday....

We had a torrential downpouring of hail. With the wind and cool temperatures, one could be excused for beginning to think that warmth would never come.

Gradually the week has warmed up, until the last two nights, when the temperatures have held above 10C (50F), and all my seedlings have stayed out on the verandah overnight. Today it is 23C (73F), and finally it is verandah weather for us as well as the plants!

A few things got accomplished. We replaced the rotting framing on raised garden bed #4 with thick cedar boards that Hubby milled for this purpose. Number 4 was the third bed we created either in 2017 or 2018, framed with poplar lumber the previous owner had left, so it has lasted pretty well. 

Over the last couple of warm days, leaves are coming out, blooms are swelling, and this morning my little plum tree has gone from bud,

To bloom....

 Our lilac bush is going to put on a really good show this year. There are tight little grape-like bud clusters all over it. 

 Back in the bush we saw moose tracks, and when the camera chips were checked...

On Bird Camera, a pretty White-throated sparrow, 

a Red-winged black-bird, his red epaulets showing up much better now, as the breeding season advances. 

Finally, "Are you looking at me??"

A curious Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

Found while bush wandering, a beautiful blooming aromatic patch of Trailing Arbutus, and later in the week, on another hike,

lots of White trilliums. 

Most of the expected migrant birds are back, the Chestnut-sided warbler and Veery were the latest arrivals. Between the frog song at night from around the pond, and the bird music by day, there is no peace and quiet here any more!

More snow, hungry critters, and keeping busy

 March 29, 2026

It has been a week of more accumulating snow, with a sunny day here and there, but with temperatures not too conducive to melting this white stuff much. The morning of the 26th. Another overnight skiff of snow.

Facing east, looking up the road, light from the rising sun beginning to hi-light the snow laden trees.

What to do, what to do... Well, how about a cup of Chaga tea and a cookie...or a muffin?

Or, how about some crafting?

I just built a new project bag with a drawstring top, and used some of the fancy stitches on my sewing machine for the top stitching. (You might have to biggify to see them.) It is very roomy inside and has lots of pockets around the perimeter. 

The woodshed, with it's creeping glacier of melting/refreezing snow, is now officially, totally half empty...or is that half full? 

These wood piles are verboten until next fall, but there is a large pile of rounds waiting to be split and piled, enough to fill the space, and then some.

On one of my daily walks, this big spruce tree drew my attention. What is with all the blunt ends on the branches?

A little closer look.

Well, someone is getting very hungry and doing a lot of nibbling! This is what the branch ends should look like, buds ready for spring.

Looking around, I see where the culprit has struck again.

That is an icicle of maple sap. A critter, probably a red squirrel, has supplemented his meal of greens with some maple sap, nipping the branch to get a drink of sweet water. Overnight the drips have frozen into an icicle. 

So, on the gardening front...no, not here....

In here, peppers sprouts are just starting to show themselves, geraniums are ready for pot up-sizing, and very soon tomato seeds will be planted. 

Thankfully, there are some signs of advancement of the season. 

Ground water and melt water is seeping into the pond, and the level is slowly rising. The turtle log, grounded and encased in ice is now buried and totally invisible under the layers of ice and snow that are gradually lifting the water level. 

Here's hoping that the water level will be right to the brim once everything melts.





 

Soap, eggs and Aurora Borealis....

 January 25, 2026

Saturday morning, -33C (-27F), couldn't resist doing this....throwing a cup of hot water into the air....and watching it immediately sublimate.

The smoke from the chimney, drifting off to the east, heralding a lovely warm, cozy indoor space, the sun just cracking the treeline to the southeast.

I love a crisp, cold morning and could not wait to get dressed in outside layers and head out to breath deeply of that fresh, fresh air. My chickadees mobbed me. I noticed that they had tiny frosted eyebrows, their breath blowing back from their nostrils was freezing into strips across the black feathers above their eyes, like tiny old men with bushy eyebrows. They also were sitting on my hand with their breast feathers fluffing down around their little legs and feet. It is amazing that such tiny balls of fluff can weather the cold temperatures, but apparently like hummingbirds, they go into a torpor overnight, their body temperatures lowering to conserve energy.

Thankfully there was no wind, so our morning snowshoe around the perimeter of our property was very enjoyable, although there was no fresh sign of any creature, big or small, moving about.

This morning is warmer, only -26C (-15F), and the sky is not clear. We are expecting more snow, starting this afternoon.

One night earlier in the week, we were out on the back step watching the northern lights. At first there was just a greenish band across the horizon,

then as we watched, streaks of light started wavering up, and then the red colour appeared.

It has been a while since we have actually seen the Aurora. It seems that every time one was forecast, the skies would be clouded over. 

A friend has been supplying me with lovely brown eggs. She spoils her chickens with a warm mash she preps every morning for them, and she says that some of the birds almost immerse their heads in the treat.

Over the last two springs, my craft group has made soap on our last meeting before the summer break. After doing it in a group, I felt confident to try it on my own. I asked a friend who hunts and butchers her own deer if she'd save me the tallow. It took a couple of sessions of cooking the bits and bobs of fatty meat with some water in the bottom of a big stainless steel pot over the BBQ side burner, and straining it to remove the meat particles. Foxy and the Blue Jays sure enjoyed that treat! Each time, I let the fat solidify, then repeated the procedure, finally straining it through cheesecloth. I ended up with a lovely 'plate' of venison tallow.

I have made one batch of soap, and have enough remaining for another. A couple of silicone bread pans picked up at the thrift store make perfect soap moulds.

Just a short video of my Dees on a warmer day.