That was a short spring/summer

We woke up to 5inches/12cm of fresh snow this morning. April fools has long gone, so it was not funny. Although the sight outside was kind of pretty especially later on when the sun came out, I feared for the fate of my flowers and if they survived. I also felt sad for all the birds. 

Already weeks ago I used up the rest of the birdseeds so I had none left. My offerings of breadcrumbs, crushed nuts, a slice of hard-boiled egg and various scraps were mostly ignored except for a raucous grackle that must have been very hungry. All this snow covering the ground I suspect was not a good thing for the robins that usually hop around on our grass looking for earthworms. Well, such is nature and life.

 

Upon further inspection of the garden later on I found the daffodils, tulips and bunches of grape hyacinth almost laying flat pressed down from the heavy pile of snow on top. I had to help the tender and fragile stems coming upright by removing heavy clumps of snow. Both the flowers and I are now feeling so much better!

First sight in the morning showed the little camper/birdhouse totally covered in snow with the entrance hole snowed shut. I took a photo of it and an hour later I witnessed the bird mama, who had spent the night in there perhaps warming a few chicks, poking her head through the snow covered opening. That was so cute. 

By the looks of the weather forecast for next week, I guess we’ll be in shorts and t-shirts. Crazy April.

 

Thanks for stopping by again. 

Enjoying the outdoors

Just so that you all know, we are fine and are hanging around the house most of the time. Benno had his Pfizer-Biontech Covid-19 shot a few weeks ago and I followed with my vaccination a week ago from the same manufacturer, but at a different location. Getting the appointments took a little effort because as soon as the available spots were posted on the Internet site, they were filled almost immediately and required inputting the same info all over again to find another timeslot.

 

With more imposed restrictions here in Ontario there is not much we can do or are allowed to do but at least we are able to enjoy our own properties. Here in the country it almost feels unchanged and normal and many folks come here to walk around the Hillman Marsh trails and surrounding area. There is a large wetland here at Lake Erie and wildlife is abundant especially migrating birds stop here first before flying further north. If I would just make the effort to take my camera with me when I drive into town for grocery shopping, I could show you deer crossing the road, wild turkeys feeding on the farmers’ fields and turtles heading for the water’s edge. Well, maybe I will remember in the future. 

 

Yesterday morning we took our dogs and went out into our neighborhood for a little outing and I did bring a camera. All these photos were taken a very short distance from where we live.  If you click on the Hillman Marsh link you find nice pictures.

There were several Muskrats in the area and I tried to get a shot of one close enough for my camera.

The Caldwell First Nation, previously known as the Chippewas of Point Pelee, own an 80-hectare property at the shores of Lake Erie in Leamington. This building is adjacent to the Hillman Marsh.

I spotted my first butterfly this year and believe it is a cabbage butterfly. Had to wait for it to settle to capture it on camera.

As per Ontario Southwest.com, the Wheatley harbour is home to the largest freshwater commercial fishing fleet in the world with approximately 45 fishing tugs. It is about 5 minutes from where we live.

Although the weather has been nice for the most part, a few cold nights are still in the forecast so I have to keep an eye on the few flower bulbs I already planted and hope the frost will not penetrate very deep. I joined in by cutting our grass as lawnmowers were purring at about every property in the neighborhood this past weekend. Benno thought that perhaps our self-propelled 21” Husqvarna lawnmower with Honda engine, which we use for the areas where the 42” John Deere lawn tractor doesn’t fit, might need an oil change after he checked the oil and found it to be very black. That chore had never occurred to me and we have used the mower for 9 years with filling it only with gasoline. Good grief, I had no idea, it starts always at the first pull with no complains though. Turned out we didn’t have the required oil and with nowadays restrictions, I placed an order for a Castrol 10W30 synthetic oil at Canadian Tire and made a curbside pickup. The salesgirl that came out to bring me my order said she was only allowed to place the bottle on the ground in the parking lot and not into my truck. I shake my head at rules and reason, but whatever.

 

The tulip bulbs I had planted last fall at the sloped flowerbed behind the garage all came up and produced nice flowers. However, it seems a critter, perhaps a raccoon or rabbit took a taste test at one of them and destroyed the bud and most of the stem. Too bad, but perhaps the bulb will survive for next year’s blooming. 

 

Before I close this post, Benno reminded me that at my last blog posting I never showed a picture of the 2000-Watt pure sine wave inverter from Renogy that goes with the solar panel installation. That is because at the time the unit was overdue in its delivery. I had inquired where the shipment went because it was showing out for delivery for several days but the delivery company had no record of it. After my complaint Amazon shipped out another inverter because it was determent that the unit was lost in transit and could not be found. Turned out both the original and the new order arrived within a day of each other. Of course we returned the new order back to Amazon. Great service I have to say.  

I hope everyone is doing ok and please don’t give up on my blog as I try to do more regular updates even if nothing exciting is happening.