I have no pull with the weather Gods;)
I ordered heat, no snow or wind and bright aurora. I got snow, wind, no heat or aurora…I wonder if the the weather waiter wrote it down wrong?
While it was a beautiful windless Wednesday morning at only -15°C, I was not counting on the 12-14 cm of snow we got overnight night. No plow until tonight, I think it took them off guard as well or we were the lucky recipients of a heavy snow squall! I went out to photograph a light pillar at sunrise and managed to lose a lens out of my glasses…sigh, been meaning to replace them for the last decade or so;) and NO, I couldn’t even find the lens sifting through the new snow with my horse manure fork…it will be Zoom meeting for the camera club tonight as the road out today is a no go!
On a high note the otter was seen this morning poking his head out of a hole in the ice. Yesterday I noticed a raven at the hole, probably cleaning up fish scraps the otter left behind! Now to get the otter to come out in the sunlight!
We had a lovely full moon rise, not the “Snow” moon, a friend said it best “So, what do the Influencers call this full moon. The F*cking Freezing my Balls off in February Moon?” thanks Geoffrey:) That was perfect! Some brave soul was out ice fishing! The freezing balls came to mind;) ha! But hey…there’s a plus one at the end of the week…watch this: Seven Day Forecast if you’re Canadian…or Northern American, you’ll get it;) ha! Love Rick Mercer:)
…and if I needed any more practice of photographing birds in the snow, I guess I was in luck;)
The Tree Sparrows have been very accommodating! The Woodpeckers, just cranky;)
It’s interesting to watch the smaller woodpeckers clean up after the bigger ones have been pecking away at the suet! They get to clean up and eat without much effort!
The White Breasted Nuthatches have been quarreling a lot, territory disputes or kicking the kids out of the house/nest/area;) ha!
No sign of any Redpolls or Pine Grosbeaks yet! We’ll see. The Evening Grosbeaks have stopped by every few days, sometimes in a large flock, sometimes just a few individuals. I can hear them before I see them, that mewing squeak they make is unmistakable!
The Three wise snowmen are looking like they need a vacation as well! They decided to throw one more seed and peanut party before they head in for some restoration. Their photographer friend has promised some plaster surgery to repair the broken carrot noses and some R&R in a milder, but still freezing they insisted, place! Inspector Groot has not uncovered the mafia squirrel culprit responsible to tossing the wise snowmen off the table! He says we’ll need a camera there to get to the bottom of it!
When the cold starts getting into the -20’s I notice how much more water the birds go through, unless the deer have been by draining the water! Tasty warm bird seed flavoured water!
After the unexpected snow early Wednesday morning I took a walk out the road as most folks said they only got 2cm…we got 10+…just our luck;) Ha! I called the plow folks and they said they couldn’t make it out until late in the evening, or Thursday, which was fine. The driver showed up Thursday, new guy, very nice, I bribed him with several pieces of orange cake:) It’s nice to be nice! He did tell me the previous/other driver, who we knew got stuck once after our big corner, had to be pulled out by him, then he got stuck, then they had to call the loader tractor to get them both out! That was all he knew of our road…0_0! He gave that area a wide berth! Wise man!
So, snow and birds…wait! A snowy squirrel!
We may have reached our high for the day, -17.3C…one more day and night and then we will be teased once again with a tropical wave of -4° daytime highs! The barn will be cold tomorrow! I hope it will be better than last Sunday as we had to remove a deceased donkey from a stall:( Poor girl. Amanda was 32. They are such gentle creatures, wished they lived longer…
Had me thinking of Maya, I miss her so much. Our girl. Winter sucks, cold sucks…but hey, only 40 days, 21 hours and 51 minutes until Spring! Not that I’m counting! I need to be more like Rocket…take it easy, orange cat and jobless, house full of servants;) I had to put the “cat” in there, otherwise it was too creepy;) Saludos amigos…
January, the never-ending month…Part 4 ;)
Will this cold ever end? It was -27.4° at sunrise this morning, always coldest before the dawn right? Enough! It’s been the week of “Wait, you have been transported to Siberia!”…and the snow? Yeah, it seemed like a daily occurrence last week along with one -33° morning! -33° friggin’ Celsius!…and snow! The snow on the dock is well over the top of my wellies! I couldn’t get the shovel through the windblown piles, Mike came with the snowblower to clear a path around the house. Not that we can get in the back sliding door, it’s frozen shut, along with many of the windows…
So, what do you do? Well, walking around the house I cleared off the small deck looking out at the lake and wondered at the amazing frost patterns on the logs where they join at the corners…heat escaping from the house. Things to caulk in the Spring, but in the meantime, isn’t nature wild! Spiderwebs in the alcove were covered in frost as well. As the door opens and closes it lets moisture and heat out and it freezes instantly!
No frozen spiders, tucked away somewhere warmer I think! I did get one afternoon that climbed into the mid -12°s with no wind that had me wandering out to check the mail, property taxes, enough chilling things! Ha! Some cool prints in the snow other than the deer wandering all over! A mouse and a large coyote that’s back foot prints were stepping in it’s front prints. I imagine that saves energy! Even the Bittersweet Vine was hanging on for deer, I mean dear life!
I decided to try my hand at more frozen soap bubbles will all the cold, something to keep me out of trouble;) I wanted to try to photograph bubbles freezing as they slowing drifted to the ground. It was TOO friggin’ cold! Ha! They froze and burst as soon as they left the bubble gun! Yeah, I’m bad ass, I have a gun, a bubble gun;)
Back to cookie cutters;) Ha! I should get Mike to take a picture of the strange being huddled behind the picnic table with the wizardishy mixture of water, soap, sugar and corn syrup, waving it’s wand, or dipping the cookies cutters into a flat bowl and seeing what happens! Ha! Abracadabra!
These are fun! Depending on the temperature you have a few secounds, or if colder, nano secounds to take the picture before the entire frame is frozen!
I might be easily amused;) Now to hunt for more cool cookie cutters or small frames of sorts. I picked the heart up at a 2nd hand store in Smiths Falls, The Score, thank you Joanne for giving me the tour! Frozen bubble photographers also need healthy helpings of sushi, tempura and crispy crunch dragon rolls to keep them activated…that’s my story and I’m sticking to it! Thank you Yukihana for fueling us!
Of course I have a cat cookie cutter! Now to go on the prowl for the weird and wonderful ones, Star Trek? What else? But maybe just maybe our temperatures will subside a bit and we can go outside for more than just hour or so! Maybe I could walk again! IT was so cold the three Wise Snowmen’s china carrot noses fell off! Frostbite no doubt, or they may have been roughed up by the squirrel Mafia…Groot is investigating!
I feel for the birds and other critters. They have been using the plowed road to get around, that deep snow can be brutal. Bird feeders are kept full. When even the mild tempered Chickadees look pissed, you know it’s cold! I was out in the the snow for a little while Wednesday…until it started to storm! Enough!
Even the lovely tempered Chickadees are fed up!
We had a horde of Hairy Woodpeckers descend when I replaced the suet block! The entire family and visiting relatives it seemed! They do give way when the Red Bellies arrive although the female was hanging out in the tree looking stunned…yup, more snow there red head!
On a positive note, there is NO snow in the forecast for the nest few days…unless they are lying again;) They also said we’d hit -14° today but I’m not placing any bets on that. I’ve filled the feeders, let Rocket out, he ran to under the bird feeder, took one look, ran back hissing (his feet were freezing to the path) and he sat and howled like a banshee at the door until he was let in! Did you know in Irish mythology, a banshee was a type of fairy who would keen, or wail with grief, to mark a person’s impending death. Rocket said he was scared he was going to die of cold. I get it big orange cat, I get it! Maybe there are cat mittens for them;) Ha!
I did try another bubble blowing session. It didn’t last long, too cold again. The bubble wand was useless, or it was possibly user error, I had to resort to the straw again. IT was nice to see the sun! One day the wind was howling so badly I could barely see the end of the lake! It was brutal driving in that as well!
..and we had some aurora. A weak aurora that was toted as a huge one, (if you lived near Iceland) it was actually a really small trickle of light by the time I braved the cold for us here. Fool of a touk I was! It still is always amazing to witness, I was just hoping for a better show. Less snow and cold Mother Nature, more light I say!
So, I’ve put my order in for more heat, less wind, no snow and bright aurora! Not sure how much pull I have with the weather and aurora Gods but I thought I’d try! Just not TOO much heat, damn, that is going to be some thaw! Hasta la Vista January, soon anyway. May the force be with you folks!
January-feathers and things-Part 3
I braved the snow, put up the sun umbrella, bungeed it to the old realtor post/bird feeder hanger and sat under it with my folding chair for 20 minutes, it was too cold! I am a wimp! But beautiful! The Tree Sparrows were very lively! I should take a picture of my set up, occasionally if the snow is wet the umbrella collapses on me, covering me and my chair in it, defeating the purpose but hey, you do what you can in this never ending snow!
The Woodpeckers and the Jays are fun to photograph in the snow, they just go about their business puffed up and ready to eat! I love those huge flakes, and we’ve had enough of them! They plowed the road at 2am this morning, saw the headlights, then were back this afternoon with the big tractor to widen the road as it was getting tight, in preparation for this weekends snow, probably Sunday night, yes, more, another 15-30 cm? I like these plow guys, they think ahead and do an amazing job, they too are running out places to put the snow! Thank you Bosman’s All Weather/Mayfour Contracting for the great job you are doing! The birds, hey, keep feeding us lady!
So it hasn’t been all snow, we had a clear break this morning! We could see the sun, I got last night’s snow shoveled off most of the paths, then, yes…a snow squall hit. Ha! No more shoveling until next week I say!
Those colours pop in the sun! The three wise snowmen were buried this morning so I had to rescue them! They keep feeding their feathered friends!
No new comers. Waiting for the Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks, hopefully they will show up soon! The Evening Grosbeaks stop by once or twice a week. Sometimes a few, sometimes the entire flock! They are so bright and cheerful, and hilarious to watch landing and taking off!
The Red Bellied Woodpeckers have been busy at the suet block. I hung some colourful corn, thinking the birds might like it but all it did was make the Red bellies very wary, some strange thing hanging near their suet block! The faces they made, like when they check to make sure no Mewberries are about! Ha!
The small flocks of Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos appear after the cats have their walk! Short walks, they are tired of the white stuff too! Shovel me a path Hooman!
I usually throw some seed on the ground for the small feathered guys and the mourning doves to clean up.
They all seem to get along, of course there is a “pecking” order…drum roll…badumptadum, maybe we could learn something from them…Ha!
Sometimes I just sit and watch, OK, mostly I do that and take pictures but sometimes it’s just nice to observe!
I love the Black-capped Chickadees, they just stoically go about their business;)
I did have a wonderful encounter with a Barred Owl on the road. I went for a morning walk to check for downed branches after one of the many windy nights…I was spreading sand by hand on the hill as it was sheet ice and looked up out of the corner of my eye and there is was. I’d already walked past it several times flinging my sand/salt here and there!
It was more concerned with the flock of crows that flew by behind me squawking at nothing in particular, it stayed motionless, watching. It had something in it’s sights for lunch!
Such a treat to see these beautiful birds! I watch along the road hoping to see others, or simply this beautiful Barred Owl. I felt so lucky it stayed put as I photographed it:) “Go on your way Hooman!” I did:)
I’ll leave you with our Red Bellied friends. There was some spatting going on last week, not sure if it was territorial or they were simply as cranky as I was with the snow! Ha! It looked like the Mrs. chasing off a Mr. someone was having a bad day! We all get those occasionally! Saludos amigos! Fingers crossed we won’t be battling gigantic mounds of snow!
January….Part 2…snow, and more snow…wait rain too?
Sometimes it fools you January…thaws, melts, water running, icicles, shiny lake surfaces…then…snow, and cold, real cold, into the -20-30’s Celsius cold, then rain, or freezing rain…sigh, an old fashioned Winter, I was getting used to global warming, what happened? If I hear polar vortex once more I will scream, will anyone hear me? Ha! Did you know snow works as a sound barrier? Basically, snow absorbs sound, so when a fresh blanket of snow covers the landscape, it absorbs many of the sound waves, making it seem quieter outside, so you probably won’t hear me screaming;)
I’ve given up counting the days it has snowed so far, it seems they call for a few centimeters/inches and you go out and there is 20cm/8″ that have fallen…it apparently is not an exact science! How my shoveling muscles have improved!
I couldn’t see the other side of the lake yesterday during the heavier snow, lake effect? It’s well over the top of my boots and of course you fall down in it, oops, ice underneath, at least it’s soft to land on;) I shoveled my path down to the canoe, cleaned off the steps, was hoping to get some aurora shots…not. Clouds moved in when I detected a slight whiff of pink on the Northern horizon.
The few days of sun we have had are glorious! It helps! My bird photography assistants have not been impressed with the white stuff….
Unless it’s shoveled, they won’t leave the alcove! Groot has been employed by the Three Wise Snowmen as security and muscle, he even has his own sleigh to sit on! The Wise Snowmen were mugged by a group of mafia/cartel squirrels, several snowmen were thrown to the ground, thankfully no more chips and scrapes than they already have from their many adventures. Groot will also be checking for extorsion he said! The Chickadees are wary but can’t protect their friends! No squirrels are allowed near!
When the temperatures have reached a survivable level I have walked out the road to check the mail. Between the melts, ice, freezing rain and fresh snow it’s been a bit treacherous. Ice cleats most days, or if you stick to the middle where the tire tracks haven’t compacted it, you’re less likely to go for a spin…er kerthump!
It never ceases to amaze me the quiet…around the house the sound of bird chatter is never ending, out there…nothing…maybe some wind in the trees, or a falling branch, the faraway crunch sound of the plow on Narrows Lock Road…but mostly quiet. I came across a deer feeding along the road, she moved into the forest when she saw me. Stopped, and watched as I walked by. I noticed a birds nest swaying in the breeze, exposed now that the leaves were gone. Intricately woven out of bark. Beautiful!
I have been watching this old maple, it has three trunks left, a 4th is one the ground, iNaturalist came up with a list of possibilities but Oyster Mushroom was at the top?! These are quite recent, the last month. I imagine it will soon cover the entire trunk, the 4th branch, long since downed, I think these are turkey tail, they formed last Summer. The little wonders out there:) Then there are our visitors, freezing rain, snow or shine, someone hire these guys! They can’t help but make you smile:)
Mike disturbed this lovely creature cleaning up the compost as he was spreading sand. When he was done I sat outside and watched the show;) These beautiful raccoons are always welcome here as the clean up crew! If it’s not them it’s the fox, or a flock of crows or ravens, we see them carrying off food to eat. We here the coyotes howl, they stop by as well. The only nuisance animals I recognize regularly are humans;)
Life in the country, it’s about coexisting. Even with the humans..;) Hahahahaha!
It must be completely Canadian to always talk about the weather! It never ceases to amaze me we can go from this: Dec 28th…Freezing rain warning…Sun glorious sun this morning, hoping there isn’t a price to pay the weather Gods;) Generator set, check, gasoline, check, chainsaw, check, wine, check;)…it could be a long day tomorrow! Hopefully the impending ice storm goes easy on us or it will be a long walk out clearing the road as we go! Life is an adventure, and yes Rocket, we have lots of cat food;)
To this: Luckily we dodged the freezing rain bullet, I was having flashbacks to 1998, enough stress in the news out there without those ice storm warnings again! I was happy for it to be mostly rain and warmer temperatures! No trees down on the road!
to this…What canoe? Where? HOW much more snow are you saying?
Ah…January…how many more days to go? Ha! I am in desperate need of a beautiful sunrise where I don’t take my life into my own hands going down the stairs at dawn…Is it too much to ask for? Ha! I’m waiting. Stay tuned for the happy feathery things we call birds, both large! and small! If you want to visit, bring your snow shovel;) I promise not to sneeze on you, we’re getting over a bit of a cold but we’re good now! Saludos amigos!
January…6184 days? It’s going to be a long month…Part 1-Bubbles
This poet is brilliant…Brian Bilston…
and yes, January is also this:
What to do, what to do. It’s one of those months, you can make plans, but depending on the weather, temperature or general malaise you feel, things might go sideways, up, or down, or just not happen at all. That’s not even taking into account world affairs and the idiots out there creating anxiety everywhere. Enough…had to find something to occupy my troubled (most of the time actually) mind. Soap bubbles…yup…soap bubbles.
Who knew what you can do with a cup of warm water, two tablespoons of sugar, 2 T of corn syrup and 2 T of dish soap, if only dish soap tasted like creme caramel…or beer, maybe I should try this with beer, thanks for the idea Paul! Cool it all down by setting it outside in the frigid temperatures, get a straw, I found a packet of glass ones at the $ store, and practice blowing bubbles. It took some practice…
I have now officially had my mouth washed out with soap…it was a long time coming and many may have wanted to do this to me in my youth but now it was self inflicted;) Blowing gentle little bubbles that don’t pop when you try to deposit them on a snowy railing is actually harder than it looks! For me anyway! Optimum temperature is -12° a lovely lady at the photo club told me, showing me photos of her beautiful frozen bubbles, amazing Wendy!! I CAN do this! Ha!
So, WTF you are thinking? What the fart guys, or I’ll get that soap mixture out! You blow the bubble gently out the straw and place it on some soft snow and it freezes! Very quickly I might add. You need to be prepared because the working conditions are Siberian! In the beginning there is only a small bit of pattern but it quickly covers the bubble. Some pop quite quickly, other stay for hours depending on the conditions. Best, no wind, no large snow flakes to land on them and pop them. No chickadees coming to in to check them out either! Sun, you need sun, I tried the LED flashlight with little luck. It all has to come together to make it just right!
Now, to get someone to invent a better tasting soap;) I shall wander back to Dollarama this week and look for a bubble wand to decrease my soapy water intake given the coming forecast temperatures will leave me lots of time to practice this art!
ISO 3200 62mm (24-70 zoom) F18 1/1250 sec. Next time tripod, macro tubes and a beautiful assistant to blow bubbles;) Ha!
So, next time, maybe the tripod, although it doesn’t let me get close enough to the railing, I inquired with my beautiful assistant to assist with bubble blowing and got a flat “NO!” OK, we can do this singlehanded, smart man, damn it’s cold out there! I have many more ideas, cookie cutters for different shapes, different branches, soft piles of cat hair? Hey! Not sure they would like the cold either, given they have spent the last few weeks in front of the woodstove with little or no desire to move away from it. Maybe I could learn something here…Hmmmm….Stay tuned, we have birds, snow covered canoes, promises of of Aurora again tonight, last night was a bust here as the clouds moved over…ah, January…how many more days?
“Do I HAVE to go out?” and other wussy cat tails, er tales…
First aliens with BO and now more snow? I told him we didn’t know how long it had been since the peaceful dude had a shower!
Gamora has the best idea…run Forrest run!
As long as the driveway is cleared and packed we might get some brave cats venturing out…they slink over to the sleigh under the picnic table to watch the birds, out of the snow. They wander out to the RV and in they go, sitting in the window, surveying their kingdom. I’m working on one of them riding the toboggan down the hill with me…unsuccessful so far! Ha! I wonder why!
When the conditions are just right, not too cold, not too windy, paths cleared…let the fun begin!
The games involve a chase, and a race, or both;)
Mike has been noted to invoke “Snowball protocol” if things get rough!
I think I may have dressage cat here? This is an extended trot for sure!
What fun with these furry beasts!
The older Jedi Groot has to teach his young Padwan Rocket the ways…
The fact these large boys can move as fast as they do is astonishing! Ha! The sprinter Gamora is a different story, the boys don’t stand a chance in the race around the house to the back sliding door, she holds all the speed records! These guys, never a dull moment!
For now, they wait for Spring, for frogs and chipmunks, squirrels and birds to watch and a warm lawn to lie on, everything nice in their cat world. As do we on these cold Winter days:) May every cat be warm and have a full tummy, be safe and healthy, our thoughts with those who are struggling with the sick, or elderly felines, life isn’t always fair damnit!
Happy Cat, I mean, Boxing Day to all from the Mewberries and us!
OK, it’s Winter now! Again…Ha!
Having just escaped the holiday madness that sends Perth streets and parking lots into a standstill I can breathe;) Ha! I swear every year not to go into town, sigh, there is always something I have forgotten;) I wasn’t flipping the peace sign much…or at all! It was a reverse peace sign;) It’s OK if you swear in Spanish or German right? OK, be nice Pamela, everyone is in the same boat here:) Ha! We cleared the rest of the snow we didn’t get at late yesterday, plow folks came last night and did an outstanding job, we love this new driver, whoever she/he is:) Now the sun is finally peeking out! Much better!
The road is so quiet now, no bird song, they must all be at the feeders! I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye and stopped, a Barred owl flew past silently and into another tree where it continued to look for voles or mice by the swamp. I was ignored:) Happily!
It’s been so up and down this last few weeks, cold, snow, rain, no snow, welcome to Canada:) I did take the opportunity to go check out our neighbours’ small waterfall behind a fallen tree as I can hear it from the house, it was running after the temperatures hit 10° C. That was glorious! Only rubber boots required!
A chance to play with the Neutral Density filter! Less light, longer exposures, and bubbles! How can anyone resist bubbles and reflections! Not me!
We were almost liquid again, until yesterday when it stated to come down, those big huge flakes! So close to almost having those lake reflections again! No prints on the ice for a few days but the road looked like a deer and coyote super highway! They’ll be back to using the lake again soon! Whoever ordered a White Christmas, the pox on you! Ha!
We had a hungry visitor to the compost pile, I was ignored as the beautiful little raccoon rummaged through the scraps, the ravens had already been there. The oranges were delicious it claimed.
So much life, we are so fortunate to live with all these creatures.
I was excited to see the Evening Grosbeak flock make a few return visits! From seeds to the sumac bushes, they seem to make the rounds. Such brilliant colour and their call, I can tell exactly when they are here, half mewl, half song ( listen here!) really distinctive!
The woodpeckers have been busy, so much to eat and stash away! They have several holes, usually old knotholes, they use for seed cracking! Yes, there is a pecking order;) Ha! Red Bellied, Hairy, then Downy domination by pure size and attitude!
Sometimes they are just goofy, a yawn, a big gulp…I’m not sure! She is by the knothole used for opening seeds.
I think the Blue Jays are relieved I moved the peaceful alien. So funny their reactions, but he/she/it is living in our wreath to welcome all or any visitors, wherever they might be from:)
The Chickadees could have cared less, “Hey dude, peace to you as well!” but the Jays…oh no…every advance towards the peanuts was special forces!
I was being watched and judged;) Ha!
They are just TOO much fun! It’s not all jays, we have our LBB’s and LGB’s as well. Little brown birds/little gray birds;) oops, and LYB’s!
The last few mornings have been too cold and windy to really spend much time sitting, maybe tomorrow, a nice Christmas present, sun and no wind please! We’ll catch up with the Mewberries next week, not impressed by the weather I might add! Ha! I’ll leave you with a beautiful sunrise and our resident alien, looking forward to more of these, -3° sunrises, not aliens, just yet anyway! Happiest of holidays to everyone-Joyeux Noël-Feliz Navidad-Frohe Weihnachten-Happy Yule-May the force be with you!
It’s still not Winter yet…Ha!
Well, we went from a bit of snow, to Holy Jeezus mother of Murphy what is this? -1° to -22.9° Celsius! Like a rollercoaster of weather!
We had open water, beautiful moonrises and swans flying by, now the abominable snowman is out there somewhere!
Mother Nature is having a chuckle, it was dry she says, had to make up for that lack of rain! But snow? really? I should bite my tongue as we may be in the rain later this week. Halfway through the month and I feel like we are halfway through Winter…OK, I’m dreaming, sigh, just dreaming!
The sun has come out, a few times…0_0…
We had a spectacular Sunrise the morning of the 9th! When I see colour like this when I wake up I’m pretty quick to jump out of bed, I started moving a bit more slowly when I saw the outside temperature…-20.9°…F***it! No socks, boots, one jacket, the colour fades so quickly you can’t dawdle finding socks! I sat down on the edge of the dock by the rocks, not an angle I usually use but trying to get that cotton candy sky…I warmed up hoofing it back up the steps at record speed;)
It has been so sparkly! That shiny crisp snow, dry and fluffy, thankfully easier to shovel! I’ve tried to keep the steps clear down to the canoe, in case we had another sunrise like this, and a path around the house for the Mewberries!
..and it’s been those big flakes, huge fluffy flakes. I should have been out trying to photograph them…my Jackson Pollock Ice formations were enough! We headed down to the barn one Sunday in the light fluffy stuff…thinking, not much is forecast…sigh…
We didn’t dawdle but I did get Dusty all snow covered along with the donkeys. I was having a hard time focusing the flakes were so big, autofocus wasn’t working, my hands were so cold, they weren’t working either…Winter:)
The many faces of Dusty:)
Alice felt the same….
..and it’s NOT Winter yet! Sigh…Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll catch up with snow covered birds and cats and aliens…;) Ha! Yes, it’s an Alien, who thought that he was Canadian, but due to his skimpy clothing, probably Bahamian?” Who knew so much rhymed with alien;) Stay tuned!
“I am NOT a prop!” (Because you have to laugh in life…)
I guess I shouldn’t have told the little red canoe the comments the Camera Club president made about my photo of it…it was acrimonious! “I am not a prop!” it exclaimed. You didn’t show the photo with my dirty bottom it asked?! Of course not I told it this morning, it is lovely and snow covered now! It is SO sensitive! Ha!
So sensitive these canoes. Sure it says, I hang about the dock a lot, sometimes full of water. I don’t drink or do drugs (can’t vouch for the photographer though! ;)..Ha!) maybe I could work harder but the photographer lady had a hard Summer, damn hip bursitis, getting in and out was a challenge, trust me, I saw her! But hey, I’m not just a pretty face, canoe. You just don’t get to see me working! The photographer always has her big lens, so you don’t get to see me gracefully moving along, slowly following the Loons!
We’ve watched them from birth to grown up, awkward encounters, fish delivery and Loon-ercising…exercise for loons;)…and what about my stealth gliding? I’ve shown the photographer a doe sleeping in the shade on a hot summer afternoon, and eating greens from the lake when all the grass was dry!
What about all the bugs I’ve shown her? Getting up close and personal with the lily pads! They brush my bottom! I do it for her!
What about those big birds?! The ones up in the pines. I have to go into stealth mode and slowly drift over to them so she can get the shot! Not easy work I tell you!
…and all those other things in the lake with me! Yup, I have to take her to them as well! Snakes! Beavers! Muskrats! Thankfully there are no Cthulhu’s in the lake or she’d have me looking for them as well!
So yeah, I work pretty hard, prop my ass! I’ve given her to some award winning shots! The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority chose me, the beautiful Little Red Canoe to grace their cover of their 2026 Calendar and be Mr. July, and I took that photographer lady to get the shot for August! Cottage Life included me in their calendar last year as well! I’m a pro! Not a prop;)
You know, she does take her shorter lens with her sometimes as we paddle around the lake. The islands are my favourite. There used to be an Osprey nest on one of them but not this year. I have to admit I don’t like the feel of lily pads scraping my bottom and the photographer lady always makes sure I don’t hit any rocks!
Did I mention I take her out to see the swans as well? They are pretty impressive, especially in the Fall with those reflections!
Did I mention my least favourite activity? Yes, fishing. They put those fish in me! Ugh! Scales, guts, blood! Worms! The smell! They even take a furry feline along as a fishing guide! He doesn’t even share a tip with me! Cheapo!
So, I’ve said my piece. I hope for a bit more respect in the future, my photographer friend loves me dearly and I get Spring spa treatments. My bottom and sides get a rub down and wax. My wooden trusses get sanded and varnished, I even get new mooring lines! It’s pretty sweet, and for that, I try to do my best poses for her when she can’t take me away from the dock, so call me a poser, not a prop. I love my job at life at the lake! She promises she’ll never trade me in for one of those slim sexy kayaks!
Did I mention the pot of gold at the bottom of the rainbow, yeah, that’s me:)
What can I say? I’m a fabulous Little Red Canoe:) I’ll leave you with my last wet bottom shot of the year, I’m on the dock now, turned over and I’ll get back to you in the Spring for another year of adventures! You can admire my bottom all Winter when it isn’t covered in snow! Sweet! Saludos amigos!
…Only 21 days until Winter starts…Ha! Goodbye November!
It’s been a wild November…can’t say I’m unhappy to see it go! I just wasn’t expecting Winter, so soon…sigh…tropical girl here. Not that it isn’t amazingly beautiful! It is! “It’s cold!” Gamora is yelling at me! “COLD!” We feel the same:) I have been fighting a nasty cold since the beginning of the month, can’t kick that cough but slowly getting better, puts a damper on things! This snow thing is becoming a regular November happening!
They make me smile any time of day, except maybe at 4 am when Groot arrives, shaking the bed as he jumps up on it! A bit early for treats, damn he’s a big boy, “Oops, did I step on your bladder Hüman? You must now get up!” Ha!
It seems the weather has been on a rollercoaster ride of weird! Frost, fog, more frost, hoar frost, OK that was wild!
Ground frost forms when the air is still and cold, usually on clear winter nights. Water vapour in the air condenses on solid surfaces, and as the surface temperature drops below 0°C, ice crystals form.
Hoar frost requires slightly different conditions. It forms when the water vapour in the air comes into contact with solid surfaces that are already below freezing point. Ice crystals form immediately, and the ice continues to grow as more water vapour is frozen. On a still night, it can grow well on tree branches, where the surface temperature is unlikely to rise above zero for several hours.
Icy beauty covering everything with spikes and crystals!
Such delicate creations!
Before the fog lifted in the morning….even the canoe had ice crystals on it! Note to self, do not try to kick frozen raccoon poop off the steps, it didn’t budge, duh! I think I might have broken my big toe…Ha! and ouch!! It’s turned an interesting shade of purple that toe…;)
My buddy the otter was out on the ice, and a lone swan swan by, first time seeing just one….I received a gentle honk as it swam away.
We drove into Carleton Place to the Little German Bakery for bread (and other tasty goodies) and the tree tops were covered in crystals! Like an ice fog had settled on everything!
Everywhere you looked, a white misting of ice! We drove back through Smiths Falls so I could pick up my 2026 Calendars and stopped to get a bite to eat at Hanks Fries and BBQ, I wandered off to take photos while Mike ordered. So many delicate patterns!
We had a touch of sun on the treetops as we turned heading home on the Narrows Lock Road.
Something magical when the sun hits that ice!
We haven’t had a lot of sun this month it seems, maybe typical for November but it somehow seems bleaker. Maybe just not ready for Winter and all that ice forming in the bay!
Last weekend I saw the “fish entrails/scales poop perpetrator” swimming towards the dock and sneakily made my way down to the steps halfway to spy on him/her! It’s always such a treat watching it! How quickly an otter can tear apart a fish, head and all, very impressive. They have some serious webbed murder mittens, those claws! They are happy with the new ice shelfs, places to perch and eat!
I watched a pair of Trumpeter swans and their only cygnet swimming around the ice. It is always special seeing these beautiful birds. We also had a small flock of Evening grosbeaks stop by for a quick snack. Only the 2nd time I’ve seen them here!
Such a shock of yellow! A neighbour not far as the crow flies has them every day! He must put out fancier seeds! Ha! It was odd they were already feeding on the sumacs, must not be too much out there this year to eat with the drought all summer:(
…and when mother nature gives you snow what do you do? Put up the shade umbrella, get the deck chair, have a seat and photograph the birds of course! Those Blue jays work for peanuts! It’s all fine and well until the shade umbrella collapses under the weight of the snow showering you with wet slush as it slides off, isn’t life an adventure;) Ha!
Hard to resist these guys! Next years Christmas cards, maybe! Ha!
The chickadees are always ready to pose!
It hasn’t been ALL snow, thankfully! I was happy to see the male Red Bellied Woodpecker show up! He’s been gone awhile! The Hairy and Downy woodpeckers wait for me in the morning to put the suet block out, I can almost touch them they hang around so close to me! Apparently I need supervision;)
When it wasn’t snowing or frosting, one morning we woke up to a thick fog. No sign of the lake on the other side. It was eerie down at the canoe, it looked like it was floating on the clouds, no horizon to be seen anywhere! Mystical!
The cats were not too sure about this “foggy” stuff but upon realizing there was no white stuff involved to step in were happy to wander out!
The fresh days get Groot going! There are leaves to chase! The perimeter must be checked and sniffed! One must leave their calling card on various bushes to let the raccoon and fox know who is in charge;)
So much fun watching these guys! Groot was under the table today as I watched the chickadees…not a fun day he said after a bit, time to go in until this nonsense snow stops! He’s not the best photographers helper, insisting on checking up on the Blue Jays and Chickadees so they were quite happy to see him go in!
It’s a winter wonderland out there and not as much snow as they’d forecast, halle-f-ing lujah! Praise be to the Winter Snow Gods for sparing us this weekend! Could it be Boreas? The Greek god of the cold north wind and the bringer of winter. His name meant “North Wind” or “Devouring One”. His name gives rise to the adjective “boreal” or Marzanna, Slavic Goddess of Winter, Death, and Rebirth…or Itztlacoliuhqui, deified personification of winter-as-death in Aztecan mythology? I’ll say a prayer to them all!
In the meantime, I’ll try to enjoy the outdoors a bit more…the cats have other ideas….
Stoke up that stove and get it warm again Hüman!! NOW! They were not impressed we were out more than half the day at the barn, then out AGAIN, at a lovely friends 65th Birthday party, that was wonderful Chris! Thank you!
So I didn’t get a chance to visit much with the donkeys, stall cleaning and a quick check of Dusty, tick removal time, before I was out of energy! Did I mention I hate ticks for the millionth time? It warmed up enough for them to come out…0_0…Mike pulled one off my back..arghhhh!!!! Hopefully next week my batteries will be fully charged:) Saludos amigos. Looking forward to the sun tomorrow! Yeah!
