After the Storm

Winter sunset in our backyard

Connecting with Nature

Northern Red Squirrel - He's a regular resident!

A daily dose of nature is
the best medicine, don't you think?

Early Bird Gets the Worm

American Robin

The Robins are very plentiful this year and wonderful visitors to our yard!! They are one of the first to sing in the morning and the last to sing at night....

Depending on the area and the resources, Robins can have up to three clutches in a year....Sometimes the mother lays her second clutch of eggs before the babies leave the nest at two weeks of age.  The male assists with feeding the first brood for another couple of weeks until they are able to fend for themselves and are fully independent, while the mother tends to the second clutch, and if lucky, the third.

If you have a good supply of food, shelter and water on your property, you will be sure to attract all varieties of songbirds throughout the year....
 

Happy Easter ~

 

Easter fills us with hope, joy and warmth.

May your heart and home be filled

with the blessings of Easter!

 

 

Enough of Winter Already ?

I have two words..... HURRY SPRING !!!!

Good Morning Sunshine ~

Our regular morning visitors, including this darling little Gray Jay, patiently waits for his breakfast every morning.... If you would like to see some more fun-feeding antics from our feathered friends, you can visit them here

Bobcat Track

This very large bobcat came through our property a couple of days ago just after the noon hour....Bobcats are not usually seen by humans and are shy....Their average weight is around 30 pounds, but this guy was pushing 50 pounds without a doubt....We think he is the same one that visited our farm a couple of winters ago!! Our Pekin ducks were in the pond at the time and half of our flock of free ranged chickens were just on the woods edge by the pond!! Everyone was making a lot of commotion as he made his presence...He stopped in his tracks when he spotted our feathered family and crouched down for only a moment and then darted off into the woods!!  We rounded everyone up and housed them all to safety and haven't seen the bobcat since!!

Mourning Doves ~

This adorable pair of Mourning Doves are waiting patiently for the backyard feeders to be filled....

A Mourning Dove in the morning sun....

Mourning Doves are not very easy to photograph as they are shy birds.... They can fly very fast and their wings make a whistling noise after taking off... Their call sound resembles oooo-OOOOO-oooo-oooo-oooo

Chicken Photobomb !!

“Really, get the heck out of MY picture!!”

I was in the process of taking a snapshot of our four year old Rhode Island Red chicken (left) and someone (our feathered friend to the right) decided to play a joke on me and jump in at the last minute!! For those of you who don't know what ''photobombing'' is, this would be a good example!!

Where the Smurfs Live ~

These images I captured of very large mushrooms, about three apples tall, took me back in time to the 80's when the popular Saturday morning cartoon, ''The Smurfs'' was aired....

Some of these photos reminded me of the little mushroom houses that they lived in....

Up close.... you can see the gills collecting the morning dew....

We didn't see a smurf but we did find a little ''bunny ornament'' that hopped in for a quick photo!!

Did you know....?

• that mushrooms keep your lawn healthy and promote forest growth
• are high in protein and vitamin B (the edible ones)
• that mushrooms can be used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers

Some mushrooms are edible and some are very toxic and poisonous!! Know and identify what you are picking before consuming.... When in doubt, throw it out!

~ Eve of the Harvest Moon ~

This is what happens at 5 a.m. when your camera is #1 .... "NOT" set to the proper settings to capture what you would hope would turn out to be a nice photo and #2 .... thin layer of clouds and fog (both in this case) !!

But, it certainly was a 'wow' moment to watch this moon set with the naked eye and it looked as if you could reach out and touch it....  !! We are looking forward to tomorrow's full harvest moon.... I have my camera ready, do you?

Some camera tips and settings to capture the moon:

• Tripod
• A DSLR camera with a 200mm+ telephoto lens OR a point and shoot camera that would have optical zoom
• A timer in your camera or a remote camera trigger (reduces camera shake)
• Set your camera to full MANUAL mode
• Set your ISO to 100 and make sure "auto ISO" is turned off
• Set your Aperture to f/11
• Shutter speed to 1/125
• Lens focus: set to manual focus and increase it to infinity

This is just a standard guide and starting point to adjust your settings.  You can increase or decrease each one slightly until you are satisfied.

Antique Disc Harrow

This rusty, retired disc is a beautiful piece of old equipment ....I took advantage of this photographic moment in combination with this morning's sunrise....

This horse-drawn disc harrow was used for breaking up and smoothing out the surface of the soil before planting.  Harrows were commonly used before modern tractors were invented.  If you know where we can get a seat to fit this now garden ornament, you can contact us here!!

Dragonfly - Mealtime in the sky

What appears to be stars in the sky, are actually tiny flies and are prey to this dragonfly.  With the sun shining on all of them at that moment, it made for quite the spectacle....

Did you know a dragonfly will eat roughly 15% of its own body weight in prey each day, and larger species can easily consume much more than that. They are also the fastest flying insect in the world!!

Did you also know that dragonflies symbolize strength, courage and happiness? They also bring good luck for many years if one lands on you!!

Daisy

After the morning rain

Here is a flower that is common and that just about everyone knows; it is the daisy.  Every flower has a meaning and the daisy represents loyalty to love and commitment.

I remember as young children playing, we would take a daisy and pick the white petals off one at a time until they were all gone while repetitively saying, ''he loves me, he loves me not''. If we said ''he loves me'' on the last petal picked, we would crumble up all of the yellow center and throw it up in the air and then try to catch as many yellow seeds back in our hand.  Then, we'd count them and that is how many children we were going to have!!!!

Daisies are one of my favorite perennials that make me smile, and yes, the kid is still in me....accept now when I play this game, I can happily say ''he loves me, he loves me lots'' !!

This is a great flower to give to anybody that you truly care about.

Gray Jay

 This little fella, along with his better half are sure to be perched everyday on our deck rail at mealtimes!!  They are very patient too because they know a great meal is on the way!! One morning they got lucky with some homemade blueberry pancakes!! (yes, with syrup....haha)

Patiently waiting for a bedtime snack!!

Patience paid off!! Going to bed with a full belly!!

Gray Jays are highly curious and always on the lookout for food....They nest during late winter, incubating the eggs in temperatures that may drop below minus 30°C.  I also learned that gray jays do not attempt a second brood in the May–June breeding period, even though the warmer conditions would appear to be more favorable for them.  They weigh 2.5-ounces and have to consume about 50 calories per day!!  (They certainly get that here!!)  Their fluffy plumage puffs up in winter and even their nostrils are covered in feathers!!

Here is a very interesting fact:

The oldest Gray Jay on record was at least 17 years old. Banded in 1985, it was recaptured and re-released by a bird bander in Colorado in 2002. (WOW!!)

Happy Purr Day to you !!

 (Here is the happy birthday song in cat!)

  Meow meow meow meow meooooow
Meow meow meow meow meooooow
Meow Meeeeooooow meow meow meoo-ooow
Meow meow meow meow meooooow!

Happy Birthday Misty Moon.... It seems like yesterday we brought you home and you were so tiny and could fit in the palm of our hand....You are adorable and full of life at 11 years old!!  We wish you another 11 purrrrr-fect healthy & fun-loving years with us!!

Love Skye, Philly, Lucky, the Fishies, Skittles, all the chickens & ducks and of course the loving hands that feed & pamper you ~~ Mommie and Daddie xoxo

Happy Purr-Day to you!

(Here is the happy birthday song in cat!)
 

Meow meow meow meow meooooow
Meow meow meow meow meooooow
Meow Meeeeooooow meow meow meoo-ooow
Meow meow meow meow meooooow!

Happy 10th Birthday Philly aka Philly Velcro !! You are our ''Mr Magnificent Boy" and life would just not be the same without your sense of humour and wonderful personality.... we wish you another 10 purrrrr-fect healthy & fun-loving years with us!!

Love Skye, Misty, Lucky, the Fishies, Skittles, all the chickens & ducks and of course the loving hands that feed & pamper you ~~ Mommie and Daddie xoxo

As Promised "My Spring Snow Woman"

Continued from my last post The First Day of Spring

I did get out to create my Snow Woman and I can definitely tell you it brought "the kid out in me"...... and it was a lot of fun!!  I actually caught myself giggling at times... especially when I put the flip flops on her... LOL....Here are a couple of photos of her:

I don't think she will be stickin' around too long!! :-)

but for now, we will just enjoy her presence!

First Day of Spring !! (okay, if you say so) !!

Snow mixed with ice pellets ending early this afternoon then cloudy with 40 percent chance of rain showers or flurries. Snow and ice pellet amount 5 to 10 cm. Local blowing snow early this afternoon. Wind southeast 40 km/h gusting to 70 becoming south 30 gusting to 50 this afternoon. High plus 2

The official start to spring was at 8 am today!! This is what we opened our eyes to:

"the first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another"

All I can say is those little rodent groundhogs better hide a little longer, wherever they are for getting our hopes up and telling us we are going to have an early spring... haaaaaa

What little sign of daffodils we saw last week breaking ground, are now covered in snow!

But, guaranteed, spring is just around the corner.. why?? because the

''spring weight restrictions now in effect'' signs are everywhere!!

So, now I look forward to making a ''spring snow woman'' when this wind tames down a bit and I will dress her up in a colorful ''spring'' outfit and a pair of flip flops!!

HAPPY SPRING everyone!!

Proceed to part 2.... As Promised My Spring Snow Woman

Our Muscovy Ducks

 Muscovy hatchling 1 day old....

and if you think this is cute....

......

......

 Two Muscovy Hatchlings <3

"And let's just say that perhaps this may have not been the most appropriate shirt to wear on day one of this little duck's life"

A few facts:

• The adult males can weigh up to 10-15 lbs (4.5 6.8 kg). The male measures, on average, 31 inches or 79 cm

• Most of the females are 5-7 pounds (2.3 - 3.1 kg) but can, in rare instances, reach up to 10 lbs (4.5 kg). The female measures about 23.6 inches or 60 cm

• Muscovies also eat mosquito larva in the water....They make a huge difference when it comes to insect control.....They are excellent fly catchers!! (click on the photo below to see Donald in action)

Donald, our 3 yr old Male Muscovy catching flies!!

• They have webbed feet and strong sharp claws for grabbing tree branches and roosting.  Their tail is fairly short, flat and wide

• Male Muscovies have a dry hissing call - often ''wagging'' their tail and fluffing up the feathers on their crown at the same time and the females make quiet trilling ''pip'' sounds

• They do not swim much because their oil glands are under developed compared to most ducks.  Muscovy hens can set three times a year, and the egg clutches can vary from 8-21 eggs.  The eggs are incubated for 35 days.