Sometimes things just come together ever so nicely! We had invited our nephew James and his dearest Andrea down to the County a couple of weekends ago. And it just so happens we had four-yards of triple-mix soil delivered, and a truck load of wood-chip mulch too…..hummm, coincidence?!

James did a great job – he knew exactly what to do. And it was made easier with the garden tools his mom and Eric brought down a few weeks earlier. Eric is a great landscaper and has all the tools of the trade. Many have been generously donated to us, and we are so very grateful!

As a reminder, here’s some photos from May 2018:

James getting down to work in June 2019:

Andrea helped out too – then the greatest gift of all – created a drawing so we know what’s what!

Thank you so much James and Andrea for setting us up for a great summer of gardening!

In May, as we were cleaning up some of the weeds around the foundation of the new porch, deb noticed some grass in the floor rafters, under the porch. When we went to check it out, we notice the beginnings of 4 robin’s nests – all at different stages of being built. We will keep you up to date on how they are doing, but here’s what’s happening so far:

Rafter Number One: This is the most advanced, I’m expecting some babies by next week.

Rafter Two: We think these eggs might be abandoned.

Rafter Three: This nest looks like it had synthetic fibers?!

Rafter Four: Next week we should have more eggs – hopefully!

Before the rain and snow of this past weekend we had a very beautiful Friday! Although still a bit cold, we had wonderful sunshine. And once the chores were done, including cleaning a REALLY messy and dirty garage, we took a trip down to our favourite beach – Long Point.

Long Point is on the east side of the “south shore” area. There is the typical limestone rocks to get into the water, but also millions of small, smooth stones.

The boys loved being back at Long Point. There was still some snow, but the sun warmed everything up, and made for a beautiful walk.

Walter is a big rock guy – he loves chasing them if he can trick someone into a throw, or finding them, well, pretty much anywhere. It’s hard to say why one stone is better than another, in Walter’s mind, but he can be really selective. Here’s Walter diving into the VERY cold water, to get just the right stone….then taking care of his spoils with a really good chew.

It was a wonder day, one we won’t forget for some time, and I think Walter would agree!

We had a lot of action on the Nature Watch camera in January, but not so much since. I think it might be because of the massive amount of snow we have gotten. When I look at the earlier photos there was almost no snow on the ground, which made it easier for the bunnies, mice, and coyotes to find food. The snow is now anywhere from a foot to 3 feet deep. We sometimes see some bigger tracks and the rows of mice tracks under the snow – but they are less and less.  This is the first deer we’ve captured on the camera and are pretty excited to see this beauty!

We are thinking these are deer tracks, but they could be coyote. The dogs love sniffing and following them!

So here’s an example of how deep the snow is. The first photo is from January, the second February, and now March. Our poor monkey might not make it!

Manny came to help me get the video card from the camera. I had to make a trail for him, so he could make it through the snow. I think this video is hilarious, he looks like a giant!

Manuel running through the snow.

Here’s a bunny, he’s eating some of the grasses that were still above the snow.  I am hoping the Spring comes before the animals get too hungry.

If Family Day is supposed to be about “family” then we nailed it. There was 10 of us, plus of course the three dogs. Crowded? Yeah, at times. But isn’t that what “family” is supposed to be? By the end of the weekend there was many games of cards played, one puzzle finished, multiple movies watch, and possible a few beers consumed. Oh, and we had visitors too!  My brother’s good friends Christine and Phil were down for the weekend and were able to join us for dinner. They are building a new home in Picton, so I’m betting we will be calling them friends too!

And as would be expected, there was a lot of fun around food – including Manuel who knows that Uncle Joe is a soft touch when carving the turkey.

There was lots going on, starting with a Belleville Senators hockey game on the Friday and a presentation on Raising the Avro Arrow on Sunday, and lots of tobogganing and goofing around in-between. It was a lot and Walter just gave up at one point, going for a sleep in the dirty laundry. It’s tough getting used to being part of a big family!

We wrapped it up on Monday with a Family photo – and yes, it took awhile to get it right!

We didn’t know exactly what to expect when we arrived in the County this past weekend. What we found was ice, lots of ice. It was a bit unbelievable how much ice had not only formed but stayed around. We passed driveways that were shear, gleaming ice. I can’t imagine cars being able to stop before they got to the garage – I guess if they have an opener they could just slide right in!

We were a bit luckier as our drive is gravel, so some of  the stones were poking through, well at least at the top of the hill . But around the house we had solid ice. And where there we saw snow, under the snow was hidden solid ice! The pooches were funny getting out of the car. They are always excited when we pull into the drive, and they come charging out ready to check out their paradise. There was a lot of slipping and sliding and we tried really hard not to laugh.

About 3 years ago Johnny-Boy bought deb snowshoes for Christmas. At the time it was one of those gifts you know is really great – you just don’t know if you will ever use it. Well man did they ever come in handy this weekend. There was no walking around the house without them. The snowshoes have cleats on the bottom, which made it so easy to walk on the ice. We are now both fans!

Here’s some photos of our icy paradise!

it’s the fight in the dog! My dad used to say this all the time, and  although Art never got to meet him, it is so true about our Manuel.  Although Manuel prefers to spend most of his time in front of the fire, he is out the door when there is A LOT of snow!

Manuel can really blast through the snow, especially when there is a potential intruder! Actually, below is Brian, our plowing guy, and he’s coming to check out what we’d like done. Manuel decided to lead the charge and made it all the way to Brian through shoulder-deep snow. And when he got there? Well there was a lot of barking and jumping, but really, Manny ended up just following his trail back home.

Indulge me with some of my favourite photos of Manuel!

We got a hint of how snow works when you live close to the lake in the County. There might not be any snow in Wellington or Picton, but down by Sandbanks it can be white-out conditions! We have a great guy, Brian Hineman of Brian’s Lawn Service, who takes care of our plowing. He actually doesn’t plow but has two snow blowers. The difference is Brian can get right down to the drive and  can direct where the snow ends-up. Brian does a really great job of clearing our drive as it’s pretty big. As you can see we also do some blowing ourselves, and by “we” I mean deb!

The snow has been coming from the west, off Lake Ontario. And the winds have been averaging at 25 K/Hr. We know this because  my brother-in-law Johnny gave deb a weather station that tracks these sorts of things – wind, internal and external temps, humidity – it’s really a great gift! A combination of snow from the south-west and strong winds equals lots of snow on the screened porch, which is coming along and almost finished!

Now we aren’t complaining about the snow, because it’s just so very beautiful. As the water is now frozen we are now able to walk through the marsh , and it is so very magical.

We are  feeling quite blessed to have such a wonderful place to live!

So week 2 of Coyote Watch (we blew last weekend as we didn’t realized you have to push the ON button when you put the SD card back in the camera).

The coyote was pretty active this week. We are assuming of course that there is only one, and he feels he’s becoming part of the family and therefore won’t eat his doggie cousins. Yes, there are only Kittens and Rainbows in this alternate world I live in!

You will see that the coyote found something to eat, right by the camera.

Can you tell what he’s eating? It seems frozen so it might have already been dead. But he sure wasn’t leaving it!

So we know we have to protect Bloo, Manuel and Walter. Bloo and Manuel are pretty easy. As soon as the temperature is below 0 degrees and the sun sets, all Bloo and Manuel want to do is take care of business and come back inside to their beds in front of the fireplace.

We are trying this collar on Walter. It was picked up by the boy’s Uncle Johnny from Lee Valley.  It definitely makes it easier for us to see Walter. Hopefully it’s like garlic for coyotes!

We’ve heard the coyotes in the summer – they would start singing around 8:30 to 9:00 p.m., and go on for about 20 minutes or so. One night I heard them around 2 o’clock in the morning. It sounded like they were walking down the road, howling and singing. It seemed kind of cool, real County living!

I am of course concerned about my three little cocktail Wieners – the perfect size for a hungry coyote. They might be fine for a few more months, but eventually the bunnies and mice are going to run scarce and the coyotes will be looking for an alternative sources of protein.

My brother Joe got us a Nature Watch camera for Christmas. I am wondering if he actually likes the pooches more than he would  ever admit? Hard to say, but either way, it’s a great way to see what’s going on when we aren’t here or in the dark of night. the camera starts recording with movement, in colour during the day and has night-vision for the pitch black of night.

I really expected to see nothing as we haven’t heard the coyotes for months. I was really thinking all was quiet and we didn’t have to worry.  But it’s a gift, so let’s check out what the camera might capture.

We set it up on the well pipe, down by the brush and marsh area. In the morning we checked the SD card and yup, coyote activity! Once at just before 8 p.m., which is a bit scary as that would be close to when we let the boys out for their evening constitutionals. And there was more activity again at 4 o’clock a.m.  They were sniffing around where the boys, well, sniff around – I think dogs and coyotes have more in common that I thought!

So this was the best gift! We will continue to watch the activity, but basically the boys are on leashes as soon as the sun sets!