The bluebird of happiness....

May 4.    And the misery of covid....  Its been a rough latter half of April. Easter came, and with it, covid. One struggles to figure out where it was picked up, whether whilst shopping the week before Easter, although all the usual precautions were taken; or was it brought from Toronto by our Easter guest? Today, finally, I think I really have it on the run. Don't mess with that beast...I can well see how it would knock out an older, frailer person.

Spring has definitely sprung, and I refused to be trapped indoors. It took a lot of gumption, but every day I bundled up, and was out for at least a bit, checking out the sprigs and sprouts, and breathing deeply. 

The duck couple on the pond, have not been seen for the last few days, but for a while there was a regular bathing session by the female, early morning and at dusk, the male keeping close by her. We think they have a nest secreted back in the bush on the rough east side of the pond.

A phoebe pair is determined to build a nest up over the back door, and we have given up trying to discourage them. They'll just have to learn to live with us! 

The bluebird pair that showed up earlier, have, after a lot of discussion, decided on my nest box!! I am thrilled, and we have set up a telescope at the window so we can watch the proceedings. For days the female was diligently collecting nesting material, the male seeming to watch in puzzlement, and he would often go in the nest box after she'd made a delivery, like he was checking up. Apparently nest building is the female's job, and his is to 'supervise'! At times the female would come to the box, her face full of stuff, and try to get in the hole, but the bits and sticks she had in her beak were too wide. She'd hang on the front of the box by the hole for a moment, after trying unsuccessfully to get in, then fly out in a small circle, and charge the hole! Somehow, she managed to get those beak-fulls in, then out she'd come and go for another load. He would sit on top and peer over the edge, watching the proceedings.  

We tied out a mesh bag of wool roving on the branch of an oak tree, then placed a trail camera there to see who was getting nesting material. The chickadees and nuthatches found it, but the bluebirds have not, so far. 

A few days ago, I got the winter accumulation in my compost bin dug out, watered, and layered back in. There was an icy chunk in the middle that I was able to break up with the garden fork, and now my compost thermometer is showing a rise in temperature, from 58F the first day, to 62F today, and the outside temperature is just 44F.  

Last fall Hubby put the bagger attachment on the mower, and did a final grass cut and collected leaves. He filled the third compost bin, layering it in with water. Today I dug it out, and found that it is somewhat dry, and probably needed more green stuff to get it cooking. It hasn't done much composting, but can be used to mulch around my transplants when they go out in June.

My onion sets arrived in the mail yesterday, and I've had notification that my blueberry bushes are on the way, so got busy and prepped their planting holes. There happened to be one big rock right where I'd spaced the holes out beside my haskaps, so with the help of a pry bar, we got it out. I added lots of compost to the native soil in the planting holes, and will mulch with pine needles.

The haskaps are loaded with buds, and with the forecast calling for sun and warmth over the next week....Things will be popping.  The garlic is going strong now, the hardware cloth is off, and rocks placed to hold the leaf mulch down.

Today, the sun is finally starting to break through after a few days of cool temperatures and overcast, rainy conditions. Once the temperature reaches 50F, I will be taking my seedlings out onto the verandah to start their hardening off. There will be a few days of lugging them in and out morning and evening but after a week or so, they'll be moved over to the cold frame where the lid can be lowered and insulating blankets put over them if needed. 

Kerfuffle on the pond...

 April 16. Spring is inching along. There have been a few beautiful, sunny, warmish days, interspersed with days of wind, rain, and even a few snow flurries. The frost is mostly out of the ground now, and the pond ice finally disintegrated on the 11th. 

A pair of mallard ducks have taken up residence. There was a kerfuffle on the pond early this morning, when another pair showed up. There was a lot of splashing and chasing, until the usurpers were sent winging on their way by the male, the female calmly watching from up on the grass along the edge.

Finally, I am seeing shoots from the snowdrops and crocus.

 The garlic is poking up about an inch, under the thick mulch of leaves over their bed.

Lilac buds are swelling, twigs of the red maples etched against the sky, are showing a definite thickening and reddening, and there is a very faint haze of green throughout the tops of the aspens, as their buds grow. 

The early spring bird migrants have been arriving. Monday last, the phoebes arrived, along with a blue bird. That was a surprise, as the bluebirds don't usually get here until on into May. He didn't stay long, just checked the place out, flying from clothesline post to solar panel, and was gone. Bluebirds are usually paired up, but this one was alone, so perhaps he is off to seek a mate. 

Yesterday I spotted a white-throated sparrow, and the squabbling red wing blackbirds are still hanging out. I keep telling them to be off and find a cat-tail swamp to set up their territories. As time goes on, they are showing more and more of their red epaulettes, as they jockey for space on the feeder. 

The timberdoodles (woodcocks) are here. On the recent night of the full moon and clear skies, we could hear them 'pweenting' and twittering, pretty much all night.

My shamrock is blooming, a small cheerful pot of blooms.

I didn't bring in any amaryllis bulbs from the cold room this year, as I plan to put them all out in the garden to spend the summer, once we get into consistent above freezing temperatures.

The seedlings under lights are all doing well, and some will soon need to be transplanted into bigger pots.

Slowly, spring is advancing. Soon it will be serious gardening time!

 

Happiness is.......green things.....

April 4. This snow/rain/sleet/mud...."whatever".... season is a good time to do some crafting. It's the "in between" section of the year when it isn't feasible to do much outdoors, other than just enjoy the warm sunny days that come along, interspersing the nasty ones. It is too hard to stay indoors on the good days!! Who knows what spring wonders are appearing out there...newly arriving migrants, wandering strutting turkeys, perhaps a sprig of green somewhere....?

On those other days, when Mother Nature is messing with our minds with more snow and wind, I've been doing a little crafting. I sewed a little bag to hold my sock knitting, two pair on the go right now.

This is the pattern and wool I ordered for the papillon shawl, next winter's project, and another colourful zippered bag I sewed just for it.

I've been eyeing the shawl kit for a while, and it was on sale, so gave in. The skeins are hand dyed, superwash merino.

Here is the beginning of this year's pepper patch. Some California Wonder, Red Carmen and a couple of Jalapenos.

My Meyer lemon 'grove' is growing, really starting to respond to the higher light levels and the little feeding of half strength fish emulsion fertilizer I gave them. Looking forward to getting them into bigger pots and installed outside on the picnic table once summer arrives.

The basil in the kitchen window that has limped along all winter has really started to show it's mettle.

This is a shamrock I forgot to bring out into warmth and heat in time for St. Patrick's day, but it is forging ahead now.

Saturday was Seed Exchange day, and it was good to talk to some like minded gardening folk, and also pick up some interesting seeds. Now I have to peruse my garden sketches to see where I can fit in a few other things!

Welcome back!

Signs of spring.....

March 26. The snow is melting, tulip nubs are poking up,

and the deer are starting to migrate back up the hill from their winter yard. Their pointy tracks were all over the road on the hill this morning.

This coming week starts off with a couple of cold (-15C, 5F) nights, then the temperature appears to be on an upward swing, and in the following week, the temps are only just below freezing at night! I don't know what to think. The snow has been melting quickly, and the garden beds are now bare.

March 18

March 26

 So, is spring here or not? The calendar says so, but, there is still snow in the immediate forecast, and incidental flurries showing on the weather graph, over the next two weeks. Of course, it probably won't accumulate and will melt off quickly.

Last Friday we had our final snowshoe hike around the trails. It was a noisy, clattering business on the crusty bits. We came across a beech tree that the pileated woodpeckers had been working on, the pile of chips around the base a testament to their pecking ability!

Down behind the barn in the orchid patch, last year's seed pods are still held on stems above the snow.

Robins showed up well over a week ago, and red-winged blackbirds are here, about 8 of them hanging out around the feeders, giving the greedy blue jays a run for the seeds. A couple of grackles have shown up, sunshine hi-lighting their burnished iridescent purple heads. The ruffed grouse are starting to drum in the bush around, and a friend living a little bit south of here has seen and heard sand hill cranes flying over.  

Yesterday I planted my pepper seeds. They grow relatively slowly, unlike tomato plants, and I like to get them established and pruned for strength so they can hold the weight of the fruit I am hoping they will bear! Tomatoes won't be started until at least mid-April, if I can control the itchy planting fingers until then! A friend has given me some okra seeds for a variety hardy to this zone and I am wondering if they should be started as well.

It is a waiting game now. I'll soon have to get out the 'deer deterrent' fence and place it around the tulip bed, as we expect to see deer grazing in the yard any day now. There is still snow in the bush, especially in shaded and north-facing places, but it is not very deep at all. There seem to be lots of strange bumps in the yard and sink holes along the driveway that we've never seen before. We are wondering if it is because of the frost being able to get further into the ground because of the lack of a good snow cover this winter. 

The ice sheet on the pond has floated up on the melt water, and water is flooding out a bit on the north end of the pond.

March 18 (N end)

March 26 (S end)

While filling the bird feeders, I've noticed that the Spongy Moth egg masses (formerly known as Gypsy moth, or Ldd moth) on the apple trees have been pecked away at by the birds. We are hoping that the birds have found out they are a food source, and have made inroads on the egg masses throughout the bush. One can only hope!

Last week on a walk up the road, I noticed this.

Fox tracks. The snow has been melting and settling, and anywhere it had been packed down, even if only slightly by the weight of a fox, who may be between 8 and 15 lbs under all that fur, the tracks stand out like little hoodoos. There is so much water in the snow, my knee was soaked after kneeling in it briefly, to get that close to eye-level shot.

The sap has been running quite well. Hubby has been percolating his morning coffee with maple sap, and we've had too much to store, so whilst working in his shop, he has boiled down a big pot full on the stove, and we have about 2 cups of amber gold.

Pancakes in the morning!

 

Nellie Belle....

This morning the sun is glowing behind some hazy clouds, and there is a definite feel that spring is on its way. It is -5C (23F), but there is a certain "Je ne sais quoi" in the air. 

The birds have been galloping through the seed supply which I've had to restock. This morning as I reloaded the suet feeders, two hairy woodpeckers were less than 3 feet away up in the apple tree above. I held up the suet cake and one hopped backward down the trunk, appearing to be thinking about hopping over onto the cake. I ran out of patience before she made a decision! 

We've had a busy week. The old tractor breathed its last...too much to fix this time. We knew it was failing and Hubby has been on the hunt for a while for a used tractor with a loader.

Well, he found one over in Quebec, just across the river near Chapeau. We went and looked and met the folk, a lovely older couple who have to downsize. We had some trouble finding someone to truck the tractor back, as there are special regulations for truckers coming out of Quebec. It took some searching, but we found a licensed trucker and on Wednesday, Nellie Belle arrived home.

Hubby is in the shop, coveralled and greasy handed, working her over. She has a few issues but nothing he can't fix.

It was a treat to head off and see some new country. Other than that, we have been able to walk around our snowshoe trails early in the mornings before the days warm and the snow gets sticky. We have tapped a couple of maples, as the forecast looks good for the sap to run. Mmmmm....maple flavoured coffee coming up! 

There are bare spots in the drive where the westering sun reflects off of the house and melts things down. Mud season is just a smidge away!

 

Weather and critters.....

March appears to have come in like a lamb. There have been periodic flurries of light fluffy snow over the first two days, and now today is clear, sunny and a perfect -10C (14F), with the same forecast for the next couple of days. 

Early last week, we had a nasty bit of weather with sleet and rain, but the temperature dropped back to crisp and cold, and it snowed more since. Snowshoeing was out of the question for a couple of days, the crust being not quite hard enough to support us walking with boot cleats, but deadly slippery to try to maneuver on snowshoes. The few nasty days had us looking for inside entertainment, so I got out a puzzle for us to work away at. We jointly finished it, each of us spending a few moments here and there, putting in the pieces. The colourful picture was nicer to look at than the nasty weather that was falling outside the window!

Now there is a lovely padding of about 6 inches of fresh snow, covering the hard layer. That crust is very hard for deer to travel through, and we have only seen tracks and trail camera pictures of a lone doe and her fawn, who were heading toward the big deer yard to the south of us, in the last picture we have of them. The wild canines, on the other hand, have easy going, padding easily through that layer of soft snow on top of the crust.

We have seen their tracks regularly, and this short video shows them coming down our trail and turning off on a regular deer migration trail, heading in the direction of the deer yard in the cedar swamp to the south. At the very beginning of the video, one goes south, then another comes trotting along. 

We think these are a cross between wolves and coyotes, which occur in this area. The wolves disdain our trails, crossing them, but not following them, and their footprints are much larger.

Yesterday, on a short hike, I stopped to hold out a handful of seeds to the chickadees that follow us around, when a firm, steady tapping sound caught our attention. A pileated woodpecker was systematically hollowing out a cavity in a dead beech tree, just off the trail.

Our presence did not phase the bird. Could it be preparations for nesting? The picture is a little hazy as I zoomed right in with my little Canon ELPH that I always carry in my pocket. We'll be keeping an eye on this cavity, and on another we spotted a few days ago. 

The insulating value of snow.... and other stuff

We've been off-line for close to two weeks, getting Bell's 'blue screen of death' much sooner than expected. My computer guru is searching our machines to find out what used the extra data this month. He thinks some program did an automatic update, despite (we thought) having auto-updates turned off.

Finally, we have some lovely cold weather and a decent amount of snow! Several nights mid-January were -20C (-4F) and colder, and we got a little worried about our water system, especially as we'd had so very little snow at the time. The crawl space under the house is fairly well insulated, but we count on banking up the house with snow for some extra R-value. We finally got the snow and banked the house up.

 It has been so beautifully cold, and with the lovely blanket of white stuff topped up with another 4" on Wednesday, the snowshoeing has been excellent.

The deer are moving slowly to their winter yards, the deeper snow encouraging them. Over the last week or so, they have been bedding down at various places on our property. One night, they bedded down just over the stone fence in the cedar bush behind my compost bins, not more than 100 yards from the house. I found this evidence along the trail the next day. 

The snow around the edges of the indentation made by the deer's body, appears to be un-melted. Here is an old picture from a trail camera, showing how well insulated a deer is, the snow on its back accumulating and not melting. 

No wonder they can bed down comfortably in the snow!

The temperature was milder just before the last snow fall, and the snow stuck on the tree branches, giving then all a delineation of white, so beautiful, as seen against that incredible blue, blue sky.

This Saturday, we hiked a little further afield, it being an absolutely sublime, cold, sunny day. We explored a bit of crown land which had long ago been the site of an homestead, with some old apple trees still evident. We snowshoed up a rise to the old foundation, and there, in the snow, were 4 moose beds.

We'd seen the fresh tracks and were thrilled to see where the animals had bedded down. Each bed had a 'deposit' in it, as when the animal gets up, the first thing it does is poop. 

Along another trail, we were startled when a grouse erupted out of the snow, leaving it's little overnight snow cave, etching it's wing prints in the snow.

You can see the hole where it plummeted into the snow, then burrowed along, creating a snow cave where it spent the night. We are curious as to why we find their little overnight shelters so often along the edge of a packed trail.

These are bear claw scratches on an old, beech tree. The tree has obviously been a mast tree in the past, as evidenced by these marks made by bruins climbing to reach the nuts.

Last weekend, we hosted a snow shoe party for two neighbour couples. Hubby blew out the fire pit area in preparation for the fire, on which we brewed hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows after our walk.

That Saturday was a beautiful sunny day with temperatures around -19C (-2F), rising from -26C (-15F) at daybreak. A good time was had by all.

On the crafting front, another long legged pair of socks for Hubby are finally off the needles.

They started out as identical, and finished as fraternal twins, as I didn't want to unravel another ball to find the matching point. 

A quilt that has languished for a VERY long time in a storage bin is FINISHED!!  Hubby's great Aunt was cared for by his parents as she got older. She suffered from dementia, and sitting with her hoop and floss calmed her. She had been an amazing embroiderer all her life. I inherited her final mono-coloured squares, and had to fasten down a few ends and even finish a few missed cross-stitches, but finally, after sashing the squares, and creating "quilt-as-you-go" blocks out of them, I've just finished hand stitching the binding on.

It has been a long, long time in the making, as it was started quite a few years ago, and in the busyness of life, got put aside. It wasn't my preferred type of quilt, but I felt I had to do something with the squares she'd laboured over, so now we have a useful keepsake.

We have been having a regular visitor of late. Early this morning we watched the Pine Martin trying to find a way to access the bird feeders. He raced up the apple tree and did a flying leap toward one feeder, splatting down into the snow about half way between the tree and the pole mounted feeder. Then he raced up the crab apple tree on the opposite side, but found the branches too flimsy to get him any where near a launching spot from that side. He then contented himself with scavenging under the suet cake, getting bits the birds have dislodged from the cakes. He has been coming regularly, and here is a picture from the trail camera facing out over the rock garden where we put out odd scraps he might like.