So it looks like corvo has discover that hunting for Birds is a fair bit easier right after I feed them. This is the second or third time now that he’s taken up residence on the bird feeder and tried to take swipes at whatever birds come around.
And they do come around, flaring at him and otherwise showing there displeasure at his taking over their Roost.
… Funny as hell.
The birds were quite undeterred by the snow we had recently.
Even when a lilac branch ended up on the platform feeder, they just used it to perch on. :-D
The Re-Farmer
As the snow fell, it accumulated on the hanging feeder – but just on one side! Which meant we got to see more of them on this side.
I’m not entirely sure what bird this is. It was among the juncos, and there seemed to be just the one.
The Re-Farmer
So this guy apparently has never been seen by anyone since we’ve been here. No clue where he / she comes from but he / she is a little jumpy…
I readjusted the resting areas a little bit to accommodate the new, large cat :D
Suddenly, I’m quite happy with the fact that I braved nasty, nasty cold with toes to lay down deer feed.
:p
So we got a bit of snow yesterday, and it was essentially a catastrophe. At least in that it was unexpected, early, and it manage knock out the power for a few hours.
Now I love winter, don’t get me wrong… It’s my favorite season, and it’s absolutely beautiful to boot. It seems however that no matter how prepared or unprepared we are for snow in Manitoba, we are at the mercy of a somewhat flaky power grid. I think the fact that we are in a very, very rural environment does not promote the forward-thinking required by our local government to ensure that we have redundancy in our electrical system.
I believe I will start looking for an alternate power source ( either a generator or UPS) to ensure that the next time the grid gives out, our power doesn’t.
But it *is*pretty out there :)
These little ornamental apples just don’t seem to drop!
The birds and deer don’t seem interested in them, either.
The Re-Farmer
Ah, what a day!
When I headed into town to pick up prescriptions and allergy medications, it was snowing, but fairly lightly. It picked up a bit while I was out and about, but not too dramatically.
Then I got a text from my husband.
The power went out at home.
Driving back through our own little hamlet, I could see no lights, anywhere, so I could at least be assured it wasn’t just our place!
Also, it was snowing quite a bit more heavily by then, too!
The power was out for about 2 – 2 1/2 hours in total. The girls and I were about to head out to town, where we could get a data or WiFi signal, so we could check online to see what was going on. The power came back on, just as we were putting on our shoes.
So we stayed home, and instead walked around and knocked snow off of the trees.
I had already knocked the snow off of these lilacs, before I went into town, and it had to be done again, later on.
It was just above freezing, which means it was a wet, sticky and heavy snow. Since it started off as rain, there was also a layer of ice under the snow. All the trees that still had their leaves were drooping like crazy. The girls and I went around shaking trees, or knocking the snow off with a rake or broom, as high as we could reach.
It’s a good thing we did, or there would have been a lot more weight on those branches!
It continued to snow heavily for some time. I was sitting in my crochet corner when a noise out the window caught my attention.
Then I watched as a piece of tree came tumbling to the ground!
Soon after, I went outside to check on the trees and, right outside our door, this is what greeted me.
This is from the Chinese elm, outside our kitchen window. This is also where we park the van, when we drive it into the yard.
Thankfully, it was safely in the garage at the time!
This is the piece of tree I watched from inside, as it fell. It took me a while, but I think I found where it fell from.
This is the dead spruce whose top we watched fall down in a storm, last winter.
I really look forward to when we can have this tree taken down!
The lilacs by the house were again heavily covered in snow.
The cherry trees are drooping so much, you can’t even see that they’re there!
The girls had already knocked the snow off of this just a few hours before. One of the branches was right on the bird feeder platform. As I tried knocking the snow off, I found that it had broken right off.
I continued around the yard, shaking trees or knocking snow off with a rake, but some things, we just can’t reach.
You can see the lower branches, where I knocked the snow off, but the upper branches are still a risk. It doesn’t normally touch the roof there. Hopefully, no more branches will break, and if they do, they’ll be ones that fall into the yard, not on the roof.
Another reminder that this tree needs to come down. :-(
Also…
Snow and ice covered willow branches are hanging heavily over the power lines.
And there’s nothing we can do about it right now. :-(
The Re-Farmer
Well, today was another day of plans changing, or getting switched around.
A trip into town for a medical appointment this morning has been rescheduled. I will still need to go into town this afternoon to pick up some prescription refills – and antihistamines! My husband woke up with half his face all swollen, and we don’t know why. It started with a slight irritation by his eye, so we’re thinking he might have touched something, then rubbed his eye, and reacted. But what? We only know of two allergies he’s got, and there’s no way it’s either of them.
As if he needs that, on top of everything else!! Continue reading
Today it started raining ice pellets, and now it is gently snowing.
It looks so nice and peaceful here.
Hard to believe this area was full of junk, just a few months ago!
The Re-Farmer
The Re-Farmer 