Tuesday 19 March 2024

Darou-McPherson Farmhouse

 🏘 Darou-McPherson Farmhouse

 I've been watching the old farm house. Darou barn dismantled <= First they took down the old barn. Then they took away the stones of the house. Dr. Warren Hollis was going to rebuild it in Lombardy🗞 (2013). I don't know what happened with that. He was going to enlist Algonquin College masonry students.

 They couldn't take down the shed (↓on the left), since barn swallow (an endangered species) used it as a nest site. They had to wait until the shed fell down.


We went into town on Thursday, and noticed that the shed had collapsed.


JB went into town Saturday, and noticed that they took it all down and hauled away the debris.  The little shed, which must house electricity sources, is still there.


It's a great spot, but the dump is behind it, beyond the trees, and they now let people walk their dogs around the field. Good for people from town.

We have had 16 ℃ last week, and -2 ℃ overnight, puffy cotton ball clouds flying by. The winds are from the cold north, hence the cool down. 

I cannot complain, since there are tornadoes and storms in the southern US!





Monday 18 March 2024

😜 A prank...

No, not me! The garbage is out and it is snowing. My work is done. I won't have to shovel it, as it is melting on the pavement.

I thought I ought to post this for a laugh. If you watch it, you can see how good journalists do their research, seek proof, check sources for evidence of truth. THEN, you can see how it all goes wrong if you don't do due diligence! 

The bonus is the English accents that I liked! 

Sunday 17 March 2024

Fireflies, toe biters and the fisher

 I have complained about finding someone to give me a good haircut. I struck a note with several of my fellow bloggers! 

I was happy with this second one from the same stylist. Whew! We drove into Carleton Place, and JB shopped while I was being taken care of. 


All sorts of things are happening outdoors. I have a firefly who has had a friend join him on the trailcam! He seems to hang out here. Usually the fireflies are active mating in June. I'l bet they are early this year.

fireflies from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Belostomatidae (Wiki) AKA toe biters

I spotted the toe biters in the goldfish pond. I thought I'd fish them out and look at them more closely. They were 'all sexed up' to quote my late mother! 😏 



I left them in the heated bird bath overnight. I could have taken them down to the frog pond, but in the morning they had flown away. Yes, beetles with wings, and a mosquito/blackfly-type proboscis. 
"It has a penetrating semi-retractable proboscis. Think of it as sort of a mosquito way of feeding. It has digestive enzymes... seizes prey in its arms like a praying mantis would.... then jabs its pointy bit into the prey.. and slurps out the goop like a spider."
This first one, below, is one I found on my back deck one year, Sept. 2011. It was ~2" long. Another I found in 2014 sucking on a frog.They are bad for the goldfish and froggies. 
 


toe biters from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


Down at the frog pond, a wood frog has succumbed to freeze and thaw, I think. It is a tough life. Faithful readers will know I work hard to take the goldfish pond frogs down to the frog pond (I moved 43 last fall), where the winter doesn't treat them so harshly. The wood frogs hunker down in the forest debris. 




Joseph Brian was out back with Cinnamon when he saw a fisher loping through the yard. They are notorious for killing cats, but it ignored Cinnamon, seeing JB, and headed for the back 50. 
The fisher photo is a screen capture from my video. They are quite fast. I think Cinnamon is a bit bigger than the fisher on my trailcams. He didn't show any fear for this fisher. 




Saturday 16 March 2024

Saturday's Critters

 The weather has been strangely warm for March. We've had some rainstorms come in, which helps to melt the ice and snow. I'm not sure that is a good idea, but this is Climate Change. We had much more snow last year to protect flora and fauna. None this March. This weather what usually happens in April, not March. Warm sunshine, with cold overnight temperatures. The maple tree sap is flowing!


The deer are massive leapers! I chose the thumbnail for the height of its leap. March 9th.

deer from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

I went walkies and they were hiding behind the trees, watching me for danger.

deer in the forest from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

The same day, in the dark.

coyotes Mar 9 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

They are the funniest critters, wandering in their long lines.

wild turkeys from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


The skunk is awake, and out and about in the backyard!

skunk March 15 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Not only that, but the street sweeper was out in town!

street sweeper from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Friday 15 March 2024

Narrows Lock

PHOEBE has arrived back this week. Yeah, SPRING! Our little bug eater uppers are a welcome sight, although it is awfully early for them.

We arrived at Narrows Lock! There was a truck there. What, me worried?! The licence plate reads: DEMENTED!


The first thing I did was to take a photo of the dock. It was on a whim we went there. I suggested we go after being reminded of March Break 2023. Likely the last March Break Gramma Camp! They have many friends to hang out with, and the whole family is in Montreal for a few days. You can see the difference between this year and last. 2024 vs 2023:
 

There was lots of blue sky, and the water is slowly melting. 


I could hear the dock bubbler working to keep the ice away from a dock. It was noisy. 

These canal docks have bubblers as well. (This is from last year.) 

Lots of invasive Zebra mussels in the water. 

We walked out to the end of the long dock, looking back at the old lock house, 

and the swing bridge. 

At the end of the dock, I noticed a new cottage, or renovations going on. You could hear the sound of hammering across the bay.
There is a variety of cottages. 




There isn't much open water, the ice melts at the edges. 

Walking back towards the causeway, can you see it? 


Narrows Lock otter from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.


The "DEMENTED" pair were fishing. 



There were a few birds about, but not close enough for good photos. Mergansers and swans.


We said farewell to Narrows Lock and headed for hom.





 We have been watching a new show: Restless (UK).  It's a two-parter.
Based on the bestselling spy novel by William Boyd, this BBC drama is a tale of passion, duplicity, and betrayal. Ruth Gilmartin (Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey) is stunned to learn that her mother, Sally (Charlotte Rampling, Broadchurch), has been living a double life.