Sunday, May 17, 2020

Dorothy Has Nothing on Us! Next Stop Kansas? Critter Day Again, What Else?


The Ridge
On Sunday, May 17th Bill was up ahead of me by about half hour and then I joined him downstairs. It wasn’t raining, we shouldn’t get the precipitation until late afternoon if the meteorologists are correct. The temperature was 9C/49F when I got up but it was windy. Maybe if I’d slipped out for a walk right then, it wouldn’t have been as strong, but I didn’t. The gusts soon reached 21 mph.

First thing, we had our swan back again
We had our drinks and then Bill had his shower. I sat in my comfy chair with my book. It is called Long Road to Mercy and the main character is Atlee Pine, an FBI agent. I wasn’t getting 'into’ the book during the first few chapters so, although I tried, I was able to put it down during distractions easily. Now is a different story and I just want to keep flipping through chapters. The last couple of days was a big help in that regard, picking it up often.

He didn't stick around for long but we were happy to see him

Right in the middle of the picture, I caught him flying off
just above the tree line

It is just a speck 
Bill wanted to take the fireplace unit out and see if he could determine the cause of the ‘ever-run’ even after we shut it off. Yes, it was fine for 4 or 5 days and then started acting up again. You can’t fault him for trying and because it works perfect often, he is able to eliminate some things. Then he went out to the Hangar. 


working on the fireplace but it is a puzzler
At one point when he came in his hair was in a new style. “Strong winds, eh?” was all I could comment. I soon found out what new style my hair would be in after a walk in the wind.😊 
Here it is close up
He took a coffee back out with him and I made one for me soon after. When it was done, I slipped on my long hoody and braved the winds. It’s a good thing we now know someone in Kansas as with the strong gusts, we may end up there soon! Rain and wind are the warnings for a couple of days. I enjoyed the walk despite the gusty-ness and walked to the north, past the place with the dogs. They didn’t bark as I got close so I kept on going. They must be inside.

This is a nice property north on B.C.Rd
The house on the left is where the dogs live
Up over a couple of hills, I took a picture of a ‘cabin’ Bill spotted on one of the properties along Baptist Church Road. We hadn’t noticed it before and you really do have to be looking in that direction to see it. It looks to be a decent size, 2-storey and well hidden in the trees. Then I turned around and headed back. I remembered Nancy’s words for going uphill – ‘baby steps’ – and that has helped me many times to get up and over easily.

The winds were making ripples in the pond
Back home, I let Bill know I’d returned and we chatted in the Hangar for a bit before I made my way up to the Suite. The Baltimore Orioles, the birds not the hockey team, were plenty this morning. 

3 in one shot

This guy is enjoying the lower orange

They cleaned that orange out in short work, there were 3 of them frequenting the tree. Then while we were eating lunch later, Bill saw the raccoon climb up the corner of the Bunky to where I’d hung the bird feeder. I put it there trying to deter Chippy from being such a pig and trust this guy to find it!

The raccoon is a contortionist too
I won't give him a name as I don't want him around forever


 
Cleaning up seed from under the feeder
I chased him away a couple of times. The feeder is empty but the tray is not and he is doing his darnedest to remedy that. Finally, I moved it to a small tree branch that he can’t reach. The chickadees and finches were happy about that too as now they could access it again. He is going to be a pest so we have to come up with ways to deter him. As he approached our recycle bin, I threw water on him and he hightailed it off somewhere to dry off. 

After I moved the feeder to the tree, these little finches were happy
After dishes, Bill went out to work again and I began mixing up the cream cheese and heavy cream for Jell-o that is setting in the fridge. 

A few desserts made up
My sisters and I have received notification that the yearly Walk for Alzheimer’s will be taking place in a different format. Obviously. We can still collect donations and we can still walk on our own turf. I have decided to do it here, on our country roads. I can go at any time during the day and walk as far as I want. The walk is May 31st and hopefully the weather will be in our favour. We’ve had a few cold walks!

My Trilliums are ready to bloom

Bear paws
  I was tickled to see our dear friends have already responded to my email and are sponsoring me for this very important cause. Of course, I’ll be mainly walking for Mom but also to aid in the research against this nasty disease that we are experiencing first hand with her. I sent a thank you letter off to J & S and then sat with my book. If you wish to sponsor me with a donation, let me know and I’ll send you the information too.

Windy
It’s no surprise that I finished my book today, since that’s mostly what I did for the bulk of the day. I did get the Creamy Jell-o made as well and made biscuits for supper. 


The geese showed up on our hill behind the Suite which surprised me. There were two families up there in the grass area that Bill cut the other day. 

This is the long grass they had to walk through to get down to the pond
I’ve never seen them up there before. They were really honking as they made their way down over the steep cliff  to the pond. Babies and all. 

Love the way they swim together



From my inside perch, I could see Bill's wind sock blowing
I just had to bake the biscuits and reheat the leftover chili so at 6, I called Bill up for supper. As always, chili is a nice easy meal and it tasted just as good the third time. 


This was definitely an inside day for me, only venturing out this morning a couple of times. We didn’t get much rain today, just a bit between 5 and 6 and likely we'll get more through the early morning hours. Tomorrow sounds like a wash out. I enjoyed the quiet time to finish my book and now I’ll have to see what I can find to read next.

One little goldfinch says
Good night!

Thank you for stopping by. Your comments are always welcome.


10 comments:

  1. I just can’t believe all your critters. The raccoon will be happy to eat almost anything in your trash can of food value. He’s an acrobat for sure!!

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    1. Definitely no lack of living wildlife up here, Nancy!
      The raccoon won't find garbage sitting out and even our recyclables get washed before we toss them outside so he won't like that collection either!

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  2. Just blow on down here to Kansas. We'll take you in!!
    We've had the same problem with our fireplace not shutting off. Dean unplugged it for awhile and then plugged it back in. It's only happened twice that I can remember.
    You really do have a lot of animals/birds around your place. I hope we see a mixture too, as long as they do not create problems. The orioles are so pretty and the oranges just add to the color.

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    Replies
    1. Well, I'm glad we're not the only ones! It's just odd how it works fine, then doesn't then is okay again. ?? Hard to figure stuff like that out.
      Be careful what you offer! Today, Monday, we've had gusts to 31 mph and it isn't even 7 am!
      The critters are fun, not the coon if he is a problem, but I enjoy seeing them all. :)

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    2. Dean told me this morning that we had to replace a board with the first fireplace while it was under warranty, so I hope that is not your problem. Since that was over 5 years ago, we had forgotten about that. We do deal with lots of unusual issues in our rolling homes, don't we?

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    3. Thanks Cheri. Not sure if ours if under warranty. Probably not but appreciate the input!

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  3. I love seeing the little geese families..too cute! Good for Bill for trying to fix it, hate when things like that happen and then it works for awhile. uhhh. Well, the winds are up this morning already here too. darn. Allergies are up too! Your chili and biscuits look so yummy!

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    1. Bill does try to fix most things as I'm sure Ken does. This time it didn't work even after we Googled suggestions.
      Windy day here again, needs to calm down!

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  4. That Swan could have been scouting a place for a nest. Keep your fingers crossed he may be back.
    I was going to suggest checking the Switch but with most everything being electronically controlled today it could be as Dean suggested.
    One thing the Raccoons can't hold on to is Metal Siding or Shepard Hook Hangers. As long as they know they can't eat there they'll stay away.
    Your Chili looks inviting.
    Be Safe and Enjoy reading through the Rain.

    It's about time.

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    1. We're hoping the Swan is doing just that! :)
      Bill used his spray to clean it out but to no avail. When it is in the shop, we'll get them to check it for us. Love having it.
      Hopefully, we can keep deterring the coon, there's no food laying around except the oranges! LOL
      Thank you, the chili was good on a damp day.

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