Snow Ghosts

After a windless snowfall, the winds picked up creating what my kids like to call “snow ghosts”.

Skate ’till You Drop

Had a beautiful day yesterday. The -6° C felt balmy but cold enough to keep the ice in good shape. We skated until after dark, knowing the deep freeze was on it’s way again. Soon after we took our skates off for the night, the wind began to howl with the approaching cold front and so did the coyotes. What a wonderful lullaby to sleep to.

On The Doorstep Of Fall

Just thought I would post a few pictures from yesterday and today. The seasons definitely feel like they are changing. The air is crisper and clearer. The trees are on the brink of changing colour, and the animals are all very busy preparing for the winter.

Evening and dusk

Moon setting behind a cloud early this morning


Crisp, clear evening

Sunrise reflected on trees with morning fog

Saw the first otter since spring!

Heard what I thought was knocking at the door (apparently so did my dog because she started barking). It turned out to be this guy on the tree beside our house!

Love our bedroom in the fall…

…and the sparkling reflection of the water from the living room.

The trees are just on the brink of changing colour.

One thing about fall I can’t say I am fond of is it also means a rush to be prepared for the long winter ahead. Here are our wood piles in various stages of chopping.

Have You Ever Seen a Turtle Climb a Fence?

Over the last few mornings we have had a steady trail of snapping turtles climbing our septic bed to dig in the dirt/sand at the top and lay their eggs. This morning I noticed this one who had a different approach than the others. She seemed to be eyeing the vegetable garden instead.  I took the above shots trying not to disturb her too much and when I walked back to the house, I turned around and saw her trying to climb the fence!Of course when I went back to take more pictures of her she acted like a statue again 🙂 I never did see where she laid her eggs but I hope she had success somewhere!

Wow!

Last night had the most incredible sunset.  I kept thinking there was no way it could be more beautiful but it kept getting better and better.

 

 

Storms, Dragonflies and Goslings

Two days ago there was sweltering heat and this morning I have the fire on and it snowed again! Here are some photos taken two days ago on May 22nd. What a day!

First there were the storms, then sunshine and goslings followed by a special appearance by hundreds of dragonflies.

In the morning we had a brief but very intense storm. Here are some photos of the approaching storm.
Approaching storm 8:54:19 am

8:55:21 am

8:55:57 am

8:57:16 am

Rain sweeping across far shore 8:57:31 am

 

Rain moving in 8:58:01 am

Wind and rain getting closer 8:58:34 am

Holy (insert swearing)! 8:59:02 am

This is about the moment when I realized I am probably one of those people who will end up in a tornado because they are to busy taking photos instead of taking cover!

It seems Daisy knew how to take cover. I found her wedged in the corner of the laundry room.

A few minutes after the storm passed and my nerves settled, I noticed the pea-sized hail remaining on my daughter’s shirt which was left outside in the rain.

Goslings

Later that day you wouldn’t even think it would have been possible to have had such a storm – other than the debris from trees scattered about. The weather turned sunny and steamy from all the rainfall and it was an incredible evening. The geese and their goslings sure seemed to enjoy it.

dragonflies

A little earlier in the day when I walked outside, I had noticed hundreds of dragonflies flying around and had to be careful where I stepped since they were in the process of transforming from nymph to dragonfly. They had just come out of their exoskeletons and were pumping their wings to prepare for their first flight. I find it a rare occurrence to catch that moment since it only seems to happen for a day or two and I was happy to see so many dragonflies especially since the mosquitos have been wicked lately!

Picture of dragonflies with their nymph exoskeleton (probably not the accurate term)

Beautiful wings which have not yet flown.

We noticed some of the dragonflies were on the ground in places where ants had found them and were trying to eat them, so the girls and I “rescued” as many as we could by gently letting them walk onto our hands and then relocating them to a safer place. Gently blowing on its wet wings to help straighten them out.

After “rescuing” upwards of 20 dragonflies, I read this article which made me question if it was wise to let the girls hold them with bare hands. The dragonflies must not have felt threatened since they didn’t bite and I didn’t want to spoil the experience for the girls but perhaps a bite would have ruined it anyway. I would love to hear what you think. Was it the right decision to let them hold the dragonflies?

Have a wonderful weekend and wherever you are this weekend, I wish you no snow!

Spring has Finally Sprung!

A Fire a Coyote and Other Stuff

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day. The kids and their dad did a yard cleanup and burned some of the sticks and leaves they raked. The girls were so excited to have a real fire and pretended they were camping. They even got to roast a real marshmallow 🙂

At dusk, we had a surprise visit from a coyote. By the time I got my camera, it was already too far for a good picture but I thought I would show the best one I took anyway. I posted a few better photos I took a while ago here. It had it’s eyes fixed on some geese on the ice. Needless to say, we kept our dog Daisy in for the night since we don’t want this to happen to her again.

On another note, I snapped this photo below of a garden the girls made out of their toys. It seems planting the seeds has also inspired them.

Happy Sunday!

Elusive and Silly Otters

For only a day or two every spring and sometimes in the fall, we have the rare opportunity to see otters. It is usually when the ice is half covering the lake and they are so much fun to watch slide and play. Unfortunately they are at a distance so it is difficult to get a good photo of them.

One year I saw a Bald Eagle after one! I am not sure if they were competing for a fish but the otter wouldn’t go under the ice, (maybe for fear of getting trapped?) instead it insisted on going over it which was much to thin and kept breaking under it’s weight. The eagle kept diving at it and finally the otter got to open water and dove under to get away. I wish I had a good telephoto lens for that scene!

These are the best photos I could snap so my apologies for my amateurish photography. They are so fun to watch when they run and slide on their bellies. They look like they are always having fun!

Dreaming Of Vegetable Gardens And Loving Spring

A couple of weeks ago we planted some starter seeds indoors for veggies to be transplanted into our garden when it is warm enough outside to do so. It is exciting to think that we have survived another winter and soon the earth will be awakening again. Already, the skies are beginning to fill with birds on their return flight after spending a winter in some warmer, less hostile climate than Canada in the winter.

I have to admit I love pretty much everything about living in Canada, but there are always a few moments in the winter when I wonder what in the world I am doing living in such a frigid and desolate place. Once the majority of the birds fly south and the animals go to sleep, the silence can be both lovely and lonely at once. Hearing the honking Canada Geese or the excited call of the Red-Winged Blackbirds makes my heart glad and I long for the lullaby of the Spring Peepers which I know will soon follow.

Here are some pics from planting the seeds with my daughters.

So far, this year we have pre-planted seeds for the following:
•Green Beans
•Dark Green Zucchini
•Dwarf Green Curled Kale (only Kale seeds I could find – should be interesting)
•Long Green Cucumber
•Chioggia Beets
•Sugar Snap Peas
•Lettuce

And a few flowers:
•Morning Glory
•Nasturtium (I love these in hanging baskets and also for adding colour to the garden, and their flowers are edible and nice in salads with a slight nutty/spicy taste)
•Candy Stripe Cosmos (remind me of my grandmother’s garden)

Here are some photos from a few years ago of my daughters planting and caring for the seeds.

And a few photos from the harvest.

If you have any gardening stories or just general spring gratitude, I would love to hear.

Have a great weekend!