Seasons Greetings!

Hard to believe it's that time of year again!! I've hung coloured lights in three windows and brought in a bouquet of evergreens and highbush cranberries. Being partial to owls, couldn't resist buying this little glass decoration.

 

To see how tame I can get the resident ravens, I've been putting out scraps plus a little dog kibble each morning. It wasn't long before they became used to the routine. Two regulars which I assume to be a pair, soar in to check the menu. The smaller and bolder of the two, which I assume to be the female, usually arrives first. Then the larger and more cautious one swings in and approaches the food with wary side steps. They bolt down the small stuff and take larger bits away to stash elsewhere. The ravens more than earn their treats by the pleasure I get from watching them. 

At a quick glance, from a distance, many folk mistake ravens for crows. But ravens are much larger, with stouter bills and long wedge-shaped tails. They have shaggy throat feathers and their hoarse croak is quite unlike a crow's call. They soar like hawks and have much smaller social groups than crows. Several years ago in January, I was sitting in my car at a mall parking lot. A pair of ravens were performing their courtship flight above the buildings. Tumbling and soaring, gliding wing tip to wing tip and even locking toes and somersaulting in mid-air. I was awe-struck and sorry for the people who missed the spectacular show by simply not looking up.  

I've named them Alice and Zeke.

Check out that distinctive raven beak.

Take away for another day.

 

Last week Ellie Mae went missing. She is an indoor/outdoor free spirit sort of cat but usually stays indoors after the first snow fall. I was a bit worried that she might have been taken by a coyote. I'm never concerned that she would be road kill as she associates the road with people. She is terrified of humans who are not me. (It took many months of meals to earn her trust in me.) Then, two days later, there she was sitting patiently on the deck. She looked just fine and was not particularly hungry for breakfast. So I'm pretty sure she was mousing in the barn and just enjoying it too much to leave. A note would have been nice! Anyway, the excursion seems to have satisfied her for now and she's back to keeping me company 24/7.

Ellie Mae is my name and mousing is my game.

 

Before I blink my eyes and the year is gone, I want to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2023. A heartfelt thank you to all who have taken time to leave a comment on my posts and for sharing your lives through your own blogs.

Preparing to Den Up

It's been a typical November here in Lower Slabbovia (a cold and fictional country from Al Capp's comic strip). We've been on the usual freeze/thaw rocking horse with snow cover in flux. I'm still in the process of winterizing the house but mostly looking forward to relaxation and hobbies.

One of these entertainments is reading e-books from the Ottawa Public Library. I'm partway through one that I find especially fascinating. The title is The Body: A Guide For Occupants, by British-American author Bill Bryson, first published in 2019. Did you know that each of us harbours about three pounds of microbes? (Three pounds is the weight of the average human brain.) The microbes are mostly friends and only occasionally foes.

 

At a gathering this Fall, the topic turned to air fryers. One lady heartily recommended them while another said that her's mainly sat unused and wasting counter space. Recently, I found a display of a single serving, President's Choice model. So I bought one and also picked up a bag of frozen fries. Let me tell you, my machine will NEVER waste counter space! I absolutely love it! Saves power, makes things extra crispy and is a breeze to clean up. I'll seldom use the oven in my electric stove from now on. The one I bought is only 11" tall by 7" wide and takes up very little room.

 

Beside winterizing the house, I'm also winterizing my body. Letting my hair grow out and have converted an old pair of socks into wrist warmers. They feel so cozy that I wonder why I didn't think of this long ago!

Socks in a previous life, now cut down to become wrist warmers.

Also happy with my new Crocs slippers, lined and covered with faux fur.

I've added an electric space heater to help reduce propane bills.

 

Ravens have been making their home here for quite a few years now. In the last few weeks, I've been putting out food scraps and dog kibble for them. This morning one saw me walk across the road to the mailbox. As I walked back to the house, it followed me and flew to the top of the tree overlooking the 'handout' site. I'm curious to see just how chummy we get over the winter. I love the clucks, croaks, rattles and gurgles they make as if trying to form words that I'll understand. "You're a sweet lady and I do appreciate the dog kibble but just so you know, I much prefer your roast chicken leftovers!"

My new best friend picking up his serving of dog kibble.

A  bunny sitting perfectly still for the camera.

Not For The Squeamish!!

As Halloween nears, I recall the naughty actions of a farm girl, perhaps eleven or twelve years old, back in the fifties.

In late October, her parents had killed a few Leghorn roosters for their meat. Feathers, feet, innards and heads were discarded and left for scavengers. The resourceful young lady saw an opportunity for 'fowl' play.

Okay, you've probably already guessed that girl was me and I confess it was. Anyway, the Statute Of Limitations has long run out.

More interested in tricks than treats, I covertly tied strings to three of the rooster heads and under cover of darkness, headed over to our nearest neighbour along our gravel road. The farm house of Harold and Evelyn Cowan had a clothes line stretched out in front of their porch. A perfect place to hang my macabre ornaments!

 

The Cowan's were targeted only because of convenience. Back then, they were our closest neighbours, only two fields away. I quite liked the family and they often attended card parties with my parents. Mischief, not malice was the sole motive of my foolish escapade.

I never did get feed back from the prank although they must surely have known the source. Most likely their Boston terrier, Ricky, enjoyed the 'treats'.

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In the province of Ontario, it's now cheaper to heat with electricity than with propane. My furnace runs on propane but I also have an electric baseboard heater in the kitchen and a smaller one in my powder room. Last winter was very cold and my two propane tanks actually ran dry at one point. So along with winterizing doors and windows I plan to purchase an electric space heater to ease up on propane use.

I'm happy to see lots of wind turbines in my area now. I was concerned about reports of their blades killing birds. But the turbines are geared to rotate slowly and statistics show the claim to be greatly exaggerated.

The following study shows that wind turbines are responsible for less than 0.01 percent of bird mortality. A pittance really, compared to almost 60 percent from building/window strikes.

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From my camera this month:

Sumacs were serious contenders in the annual colour show.

Hardwood bush a mile down the road from my place.

I love this cute and friendly little Red-Breasted Nuthatch.

My resident Eastern Screech Owl is again using the roost box.

A jay gathering sunflower seeds for stashing elsewhere.

This groundhog was taking a stroll in my driveway.

Discreetly coloured, I sometimes have to look twice to see him.

Ellie Mae on 'watch' cat duty.

Cedar Tree Feast

It was the red squirrel that first started harvesting the seeds on the cedar tree outside my living room window. 

As the seeds ripened further, American Goldfinches started to take interest. Yesterday the air was filled with cast off hulls floating down, accompanied by the sweet little calls of the juvenile finches.

 

Just don't fall!!! That's the advice seniors are given. And since my tests show that my bone density has declined into the realm of osteoporosis, I'm extra careful. Especially when doing repairs to the roof! 

Yep, that's me up there fastening down a torn and bent back metal sheet on the roof. Must have been damaged by last winter's ice. I clipped a safety rope to a belt around my waist and moved with due caution. Another chore ticked off my list!

Keeping me company were dozens of wasps who had mud nests under the ribs of the roofing panels. Occasionally, one would fly over and chummily ask me "How's it going, eh?" I rather enjoyed their friendly interest. 

Rubies

Well, here we are, into September already. Really don't have much to report but I wanted to supersede that broken window photo with something less dismal. By the way, the broken window is into it's third week of stay at the repair shop. Gave them a shout last week and the employee said it would likely be another week but he'd check and ring back. He hasn't! Seems the same story all over now. Long wait times for any home repair jobs. The new outside doors I ordered months ago won't be delivered and installed until next Spring. Seems bizarre.

Anyway thought I'd better snap off a few shots of my feisty little jewels before they migrate south. I'm talking about my Ruby-Throated hummingbirds. Of the three hundred species of hummingbirds, they are the only ones we see in Eastern Canada. These little beauties are super aggressive and defensive of their flowers and sugar water feeders. Competition is their default setting. No matter how much food is available, they bomb and dogfight each other almost constantly. Males compete with both genders while females compete only with females. Consequently, I have three feeders up -- all out of sight of each other.

The males have molted already. Because of that and because I hang my feeders in the shade, my photos don't show their brilliant ruby throats. Perhaps next spring I'll get a good shot of the guys' dazzling ruby gorgets. 

A few Ruby factoids: 

Females have white chest and facial feathering. She appears more elongated than the male and up to twenty percent larger. She has white tips on each side of outer tail feathers.

Adult females and male juveniles can be hard to distinguish as both have rounded tail feathers with white tips. The male is smaller and darker. His chest is gray rather than white and has a ruby throat patch that varies in colour with the angle of light. He has pointed tail feathers arranged in a forked pattern. He lacks the white tips on his tail feathers.

Life span from five to nine years with females living longer. 

Juveniles resemble females until their first winter when males develop a gorget. Male juveniles often have dark striping on their chin and may even have a dark throat feather or two.

A group of hummingbirds is often referred to as a charm.

They fly only during the day.

Rubies squeak, twitter and make greeting noises but don't sing.

They take in several times their weight in calories each day.

They get 2/3 of their diet from nectar and 1/3 from tiny insects. They can fly at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. More when travelling with the wind.

They cross the gulf coast to Mexico and Central America as far south as Costa Rica to winter.

Feet not made for walking but for perching and grooming.

 

Update: Just got a phone call saying my window is ready for pick up. Yay-y-y-y!!!

Vandalized!!!

When I entered the kitchen for morning coffee, I looked out the window to see what the new day looked like. My first thought was, "Looks like a spider has been busy!" Immediately followed by, "Oh no, my window is smashed!!!" 

The outside pane of the double glazed sash was quite broken. Oddly, it's inner pane and the screen were unblemished.

Hey, that sky view doesn't look quite right!

It looked even worse from the outside!

 

If something hurled against the window hard enough to break the glass, then why was the screen unscathed?

Slowly, my brain recalled a weather event a few days before. There was a severe thunder storm in my area. Ellie Mae was terrified but I enjoyed the theatrical rumbling and boomings of the thunder. Then came a HUGE EXPLODING KABOOM which had me convinced the house had been struck by lightning. I hustled outside and walked all around the house, looking for damage. Everything appeared normal. Even the power had stayed on and in fact not even flickered. 

So the 'vandal' almost certainly was dear old Mother Nature herself. I must not have noticed that a shock wave from the thunder bolt had caused a crack in the window which eventually spread across the entire glass.

This morning I took the carnage to Centennial Glass repair shop in Ottawa. Had to prepay the $318.66 bill. Disappointingly, it will take at least two weeks for them to fix it. Apparently there is heavy demand on all services plus an inadequate supply chain and a labour shortage. On the upside, at least it's not freezing cold. To temporarily ward off wind and rain, I taped a sheet of plastic over the cavity.

*   *   *   *   *

Well, as my brother would say, "That's all the news fit for page seven." Now for some happier shots:

Like exotic butterflies, the poppies hover and dance in a gentle breeze.

Golden pollen served atop a confection in Princess Pink.

Cut a week ago, this bouquet of Black-Eyed Susans still looks fresh.

Among the joys of summer are freshly picked bouquets.

A hummer poses nicely as a thank-you for the sugar water.

An American Gold Finch in his dazzling summer duds.

Cedar Waxwings love these Mountain Ash berries!

A flicker scores a plump and juicy grub.

Yay-y-y!!! Peaches are in season!!