Things are Moving Along

Well it's a busy time of year in the land of birds and plants! And for us humans too as the warm weather means all the crap that was under the snow is now plain to see. I've raked and swept several times as the trees are loaded with buds that fall off the trees a bit at a time. Although I live in a condo complex the area is well treed with locusts, maples, cedars, spruce etc etc. When I first bought the place in 1994 the maples were little saplings - now at 80' tall they loom over the house providing lots of shade. I don't mind shade in the summer as I rarely have to use my A/C but all the sun-loving perennials I planted years ago of course didn't survive. Ah well, life changes frequently doesn't it?

I've been busy over at Kilally Meadows (I sometimes think I should change the name of my blog to Kilally Meadows as I practically live there!) I spotted a merlin on Sunday - that's a new raptor for me though while I can stand seeing ospreys with fish in their claws I do NOT want to watch the merlins ripping small birds apart! Ugh!

Mr. and Mrs. Osprey in their man-made nest! I
notice they've added a few more sticks to give it
the personal touch :)

Speaking of birds I had a fun encounter with a starling the other day - as my guidebook says they are very gregarious and while this one hopped around a bit it came quite close and I snapped a few good photos that are actually in focus for a change! Her beak was yellow which means she is breeding and boy she was sure happy about it!

I've never seen a bird smile before!

The meadows were flooded here and there after all the rain we had and I had to turn around at one point due to the trail being underwater. Not nearly so bad as last year though. I took my chances when out on my bike Monday cycling through a few flooded areas. I figured I'd be reckless as an elderly Japanese man told me it would only be up to my ankles - he was right though my socks got wet and that felt rather unpleasant! :( 

Due to the flooding the marsh marigolds were blooming in places where they've never been seen (by me) before - I guess that is how plants spread and take over new environments.

Marsh Marigold

I've  contacted a company to see how much it would cost to put a deck platform on my patio. I've tried several times to grow grass with no luck.  So much stuff falls from the trees that I've swept out all the tiny gravel (pea gravel?) between the flagstones and there's just no dirt for the grass to hold onto. My patio water source is at my next door neighbour's house (my hose it at the front of my house) and her tap leaks so I've given up asking her to use her hose. Anyways...I think a deck will be really useful - you should see me try to find a reasonably flat spot to park my chairs and other outdoor furniture - due to the flagstones everything wibble wobbles!

After that gets done I'm thinking about getting Bathfitters in - they put in a new shower surround and new bathtub and give a lifetime guarantee. Should have done it years ago haha! I'm also working on spring cleaning though I noticed the dining room window is speckled again due to recent heavy rains. Drat. Spring cleaning is going to turn into summer cleaning and then fall cleaning...

I hope you're all doing well and in fine fettle with spring in the air finally. I open my doors and windows every chance I get to bring the fresh air inside. Sure perks a person up. Volleyball ends this Friday with an all-day tournament and then my routine will change a bit as I'll have more time for myself and will hike and cycle ending up at DQ afterwards :) (I did that on Monday already!!!)

Ok, time to think about supper. There...I've thought about it HAH!

Over and out.

Ospreys

My vigil for the arrival of the Kilally Meadows osprey couple has ended. On Saturday

their nest in centre field was empty...

But when I went back on Sunday (no fooling :) I could see their little heads poking up on the light standard in centre field!

They must be hardy birds - a nest of sturdy sticks just screams for a warm duvet!!

But they don't seem to mind...and imagine the COLD! My fingers were numb in the -7c temperatures with a strong wind. When they spread their wings they were really buffeted about.

The male was trying to woo his partner by performing his mating dance...

So far, she doesn't look very impressed! (she's on the right)

But surely this breakdancing move will melt her heart :)  It sure put a smile on MY face!

I recently read that although the Mr. and Mrs. stay together year after year it's more a marriage
of convenience as they have a strong instinct to return to the same location and the same nest. In a couple of weeks they should produce from 2 to 5 eggs and then Mr. will be responsible for ALL of the fishing!

Mid-March Madness

Money-wise this has been a March like no other. Thankfully in a good way (mostly....) Somewhere along the way I made a $300 mistake in my budget...in my favour!! How often does that happen? Usually never right? Occasionally I make an error in adding or subtracting on my budget sheet and of those errors about 98% of them are NOT in my favour! Most times the mistake is under $50, usually less than that. Am I looking to figure out how I made the $300 mistake? Ummmmm NO! - I'm crossing my fingers I can get to the end of March with that error intact! Counting the days....

Between that $300 and my misc budget line I have almost enough to pay for 3 weeks of airbnbs in Scotland! No money taken out of savings! My goal was to spend no more than $1,000 (Cdn) for the 21 nights with my brother contributing the same amount. The final tally came to $818 (Cdn) each - EXCELLENT! (Works out to just under $40/night/person!!) I'd call that "extra spending money" except that the British pound is going up up up while the Cdn dollar is going down down down. The savings on accommodations will hopefully cover the extra we'll have to pay to buy British pounds (or poonds as the Scottish say...)

So all is booked and confirmed. Though I had mega-problems with my President's Choice Mastercard. After booking several airbnbs my mastercard was frozen due to my making transactions out of my usual pattern. Okay then, I let them know I had a few more to book so this wouldn't happen again. Well, it did, after one more successful booking my account was frozen once again. Another lengthy ordeal on the phone..."there are 23 people on hold ahead of you....." all I can say is thank goodness for Paypal which I used instead! Sorted once again I assumed my problems were over. I filled in a "travel alert" so they would know when I was travelling and act accordingly.

On Thursday I met with my brother once again as we needed to book a night near Stirling and 3 nights in Glasgow. Guess what? You guessed it! Account froze again. Well when I finally got a REAL person I went up one side of them and down the other. I'm usually very mild-mannered but this was just TOO MUCH!! After getting sorted for the 3rd time they apologized and offered me 20 President's Choice points to make me feel better - I don't think he liked it when I laughed loudly and said "don't bother - you know that's only 20 cents right??"

So here's the thing - I think I need to switch to another credit card. I received NO notifications by phone, email or text about so-called suspicious activity. (You know the messages I mean - an unusual charge just happened with your credit card - if it was you please ignore this message, if it wasn't you please call immediately!) He couldn't believe that I hadn't received any such contact and did a search only to find I was right.  Stupid stupid man...

Have you ever encountered this problem? What am I doing wrong? Any recommended credit cards (remembering I live in Canad...) Grrrrrrrrr! The thought of having to switch cards irks me to no end!

Strange growths in Kilally Meadows!

After my daffodils popped up their heads we had a fair bit of snow and it got very cold again. I think they died as I don't see them now that the snow melted. Rats...

I've been checking almost daily but no activity in the nest yet. I thought I saw an osprey flying very high yesterday (I could see the wing shape) but it didn't go near the nest while I was looking. Soon!

Busy Times

On Tuesday our parking lot was getting cleaned...yes, the parking lot is now cleaner than my house! I had to keep my truck out of the lot for several hours so I saved up a bunch of errands to do to keep me busy and away from home.

First I played slo-pitch and managed without my toque and mittens...just barely. That took me to about 11am. Since my birthday is this month I decided to renew Dougie the Dodge's license sticker. But first Dougie needed an emission's test. We have to do that every couple of years. Off we went to Jiffy Lube where I told the attendant that the generous provincial gov't had promised me a "free" test this year. Indeed it ended up being free as Dougie has no emission problem. BUT, you just knew there was a but didn't you?...when I went to the Service Ontario office to get my license plate sticker the cost had gone up from $90 for one year to $120! An increase of $30 - so much for freebies!

Oh well, glad to get that checked off my list.

Kazi had bought a new rain jacket recently on sale at a new store called Atmosphere so I thought I would see if there was a rain jacket there for MOI! And there was, lots of them. I found one in blue that in addition to having lots of bells and whistles also had ARMPIT ventilation!! As Annie can attest I tend to sweat big time when wearing my "monsoon" rain coat. I might as well NOT be wearing rain protection at all. Last year I bought rain pants with zippers down the sides of the legs and with that ventilation I got along just fine. No sweat. So really hoping the added jacket ventilation will keep my upper body dryer.

Perhaps you can see in the photo below, that although I am all smiles my torso is soaked though my sleeves are fairly dry. I guess my arms don't sweat.  But that is why I am in need of ventilation!! That photo is from when Annie and I hiked Hadrian's Wall in 2015. It had rained  for several hours by the time of the photo and we were in need of tea and cake!

All of that explanation to justify spending over $100 on a rain jacket! I really really need it! I'll keep you updated, Annie, on my sweat condition hee hee... I'm taking it to Vancouver Island for a test run!

Since I wasn't too far from Kilally Meadows I went for a jaunt through the forest. There was nobody on the osprey nest!! Either the mister AND missus were fishing in the river or the ballgame in progress upset their routine. As I walked the path near the river I saw them both fly over me several times circling around and around - did I look like a tasty fish? A giant one that's for sure. If they could haul me up to their big nest in centre field they wouldn't have to fish again for weeks!! Ohhhhh...that's why they BOTH were flying - I'm a two osprey carry!

My estimate was for the babies to be born around May 10th, so perhaps they have arrived - but would both osprey parents be hunting at the same time? Enquiring minds need to know...

Before I could head for home to the newly swept parking lot I headed for the grocery store. I took my time, worked from my list and after making it through the checkout went to see if I could safely park dear old Dougie in his spot once again. Yes, it was all done and so was I. It was way way way past my lunch time so you know what I did next!

Weather or Not

The weather is the big news around here this week and continuing throughout the weekend. A big rain "event" is beginning today with London in the middle of it. And even worse the threat of snow on Sunday as we endure the most significant cold "event" in May in recent history.

Sounds like a ton of fun! (Unread books on hand? Yup!) (Endless episodes of Shameless ready to watch on Netflix? Yup! And I'm NOT ashamed :)

Let me check my weather network (what I can see through my patio doors).....and yes....the rain has begun!

The only day we haven't had rain was yesterday so I took myself to Kilally Meadows...of course :) and what a glorious day it was. Though the river has overflowed its banks in several places from the last large rain "event". That's the term they're using these days on the Weather Network - it almost sounds like entertainment, and I suppose in a way it is. It's got me talking!

In the midst of the minor flooding photos I thought I'd include my favourite shot from yesterday - Mr. Osprey just dropped off a fish to Mrs. Osprey - it was a lucky shot - I had just focussed on the nest when he flew up into the air and off to search for more fish. Jeez, his wife sure eats a lot!

The river is off to the right below with some flooding submerging the trail here and there.

 This pond, caused by previous flooding, is about to become much bigger, perhaps a nice place for kayak practise?

 Some enterprising hiker gathered a few logs to use to get from one side of a new tributary to the other - thank you kind sir! or madam!

I enjoyed my day outside very much and am now prepared to spend the next couple of days inside. Spring weather has been rather whacko with shorts weather in February and snow predicted in May. At least there's always a topic to talk about with total strangers!

Oh, and here's why slo-pitch is a bit SLO to start!!

Well, looky here...

Spring has sprung and the grass is riz...and I have photos once again!! Hurrah! I've been exploring Kilally Meadows as often as I can and my rambles should increase now that daytime volleyball has ended. I still have Friday nights at volleyball til the end of June.

Then I signed up for "Huff n' Puff" slo-pitch which was to start today. But the fields were closed to use today as it has been raining BUCKETS for several days. Yesterday I suffered with a migraine due to the intense low stalled over the city. There is still a bit of residual throbbing in my head today.

Pellride  - you asked about the uses of skunk cabbage so I did a little search and found this:

Skunk cabbage was used extensively as a medicinal plant, seasoning, and magical talisman by various tribes of Native Americans. While not considered edible raw, because the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth, the leaves may be dried and used in soups and stews.

Close to the skunk cabbage which likes a wet, marshy environment are the under-rated marsh marigolds. I think they are gorgeous and are one of the first spring flowers to pop open.

 Violets are everywhere, forming a lush carpet under trees and along the paths. I imagine I'll have to wait for a couple of dry days before I can venture into Kilally Meadows again. It's been flooded a lot this year due to so much rain. A friend told me a few days ago that he was about to plant his corn; however I'm sure he has delayed planting once again in the muddy fields.

Gorgeous blue scilla are everywhere - they are a feast for the eyes!

 While walking one day, close to the river, I heard a sound like a chainsaw starting up. I thought someone was clearing up dead branches. Then I saw a large shadow and looked up to see a heron fly right over my head bleating loudly. I think that may have been the first time I've heard that sound!

 I'm hoping to see the may apple flower this year - hope I don't miss it. They must not last long because last year I only caught sight of the little apples, no flowers.

Bloodroot is everywhere but beware! Bloodroot extracts have been listed as one of "187 Fake Cancer Cures people should avoid!"

 This is an area carpeted with violets. Just beautiful!

I will keep trying to capture Mr. Osprey. He was sitting on that metal thingy and I crept up trying to get his picture. Of course he saw me and took off (I thought I was well hidden behind some branches). So this is my effort at capturing the osprey in flight with a branch between me and him. It looks like he's coming right for me - good luck lifting me off the ground!!

Sorry I haven't been around much. I had some computer issues to sort out (my own) and still trying to sort out my mother's files, plus play a LOT of volleyball, get out hiking and so on and so on! At least my blog is back in action :)

Shin-rin Yoku - POST #1200!!

I couldn't think of a better topic for POST #1200 than to take you with me for a little "forest bathing", or as the Japanese call it "Shin-rin Yoku!

It was a nice mild and sunny day yesterday - the sort of day that makes you feel glad to be alive. So I put on my hiking boots and headed to Kilally Meadows. We've had a ton of rain in the past few days so I knew that could affect my hike.

Fortunately only the land closest to the river was under water. I only had to retrace my steps to higher dry ground once. There were a lot of trees and tree limbs down as on the previous Thursday it was VERY windy.

Okay...here we go...
as I park near the baseball diamonds I always check on the osprey nest way out in centre field first.
They're here, they're here!!

Last year I didn't see the osprey couple back on their nest until April 27! I am going to take this as a sign of nothing but good weather to come...Welcome Back! They have flown a long way - from southern U.S., Mexico or Central America. As I watched the Mister flew off towards the river looking for some fresh fish!

I looked for signs of life as I walked and I wasn't disappointed.

Right across the path from this giant hole was another hole - I guess hibernation season is over and everyone is out enjoying the sunshine! Yippee!!

There is nothing so luscious  as buds getting ready to blossom...

One of many trees that have fallen across the path since I was here just a few days ago. I couldn't get under it or over it so had to go around it.

Some fresh deer tracks...I am sooooo looking forward to seeing the many white-tailed deer that thrive in this environmentally remarkable area...

The flooding was more extensive than I thought! The Thames usually flows quietly but not today - it was loud and full of energy.

The path here isn't usually so close to the river!

Uh oh - I've got to get to higher ground - the trail is submerged.

This is usually a nice dry meadow - today it's a good-sized pond.

See my path? It continues on the other side of this new tributary! I'll have to turn back and find another way to get to the trail. We call this "bushwhacking!"

I have completed one loop so will check on the osprey from another angle. There's mama!

Now we're moving into another part of the forest.

Just as I realized I was in prime "deer country" I looked up from the path and encountered...
DEER! There were two females to begin with. They knew I was there, though I was in behind some branches...

Gradually they wandered from an open area into the midst of some trees. I followed behind, slowly and quietly.

After a few minutes I could hear them running and just a few feet in front of me 2 groups of 3 deer and 1 group of 2 leaped and ran out of the trees. They continued to leap 6' into the air as they ran to another wooded area. I didn't have a chance to record a video but my heart soared with them as they ran so gracefully. No babies out in the open yet.

 Tiny violets are blossoming...

The bridge needs a bridge to get to it!

I could hear a woodpecker close by and managed to get a couple of photos...

...of a beautiful red-bellied woodpecker.

As I headed back to the parking lot I took one last photo of Mrs. Osprey. It'll be a long time until I see the babies. They incubate for 36-42 days and the nestling period lasts from 50 - 55 days. There are 1 to 4 eggs in a clutch and they have just the one brood. They hatch over a number of days giving the first born the advantage when it comes to feeding. Taking the mid-range of those figures plus the fact that they arrived in the past few days (I checked the nest less than a week ago) so I'll put their arrival date as April 5th...that would make the nestlings "mature" around July 4th - Independence Day!!! How apt!

I hope the sub is shining on you today, wherever you are!! And here's to another 1200 posts!