View By the River

When Terry and I recently went to the Miller's Oven in Manotick, we also wandered towards the river and the mill.

We wanted to see if Canada Geese were again nesting on the cliff - where we had noticed them before.

Yes! The male was strutting about, on guard...

While the female was just sitting there.

I didn't go close enough to see if the female had eggs in the nest  - but I assumed that no eggs had hatched. The birds weren't as aggressively protective as they are when they have their young.

We then went over to check out the dam. It was totally open... Lots of water rushing through with all the melting snow.

Back for Brunch

A few days ago, Terry and I headed back to the Miller's Oven Tea House, in the nearby village of Manotick. We hadn't been there all winter.

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We had breakfast of pancakes and maple syrup...

Delicious! Definitely not "senior sized" portions!

Noticed that this little establishment - run by senior volunteers - was voted Ottawa Best Tea House in 2024. Our waitress commented that it was their second consecutive year winning.

Noted also that they have a special turkey dinner event the week before Easter...

I'll mention it to our neighbors, Earl and Mary. They often like to go.

Squirrel Neighbor

I noticed this squirrel through my kitchen window.

It was looking for food - seeds? - in the eaves trough of the shed.

Then it headed towards the pine tree beside our house.

He or she may be our next door neighbor! 

Oh-no! What Now?!

My two amaryllis plants are both in transition.

The one with leaves is slowly opening up. The other one, with no leaves, that has a beautiful large flower on top, is in trouble! The flower is too heavy for the stem, so the stem just keeled over!

First I tried putting the whole pot (with soil and flower) into a tall vase to support the stem - but the flower faced downwards.

Finally I just cut the flower off the bulb and put the stem into a vase of water. Beautiful! Now I can enjoy the flower as long as it lasts.

I'm continuing to water the bulb in hopes that it will develop leaves and continue developing for another blooming season.

Spring Snow

Yesterday, we woke up to find our world covered in SPRING SNOW!

Not what I was hoping for...

The birds didn't seem to mind it!

Terry and Earl cleared our respective driveways...

I plan to stay indoors all day.

We should be okay as long as the snow doesn’t get so heavy that the power lines come down!

(Hopefully it will all melt soon...)

Squirrel Nest Update

Until new leaves hide the squirrels' nest on our neighbor's red maple, I have a clear view of it high in the tree.

It looks in shabby condition these days - it seemed to "fall apart" the day I watched five small squirrels come out of it... (born over the winter?)... Possibly - because squirrels apparently leave the nest when they are three months old. They become independent not long after. The day I watched them burst out of thr nest, they ran up and down branches exuberantly... and the nest seemed to fall apart... To my knowledge, no squirrel has moved back in.

I looked up "How long does a squirrel's nest (drey) last ?" - and I found no definitive answer.

But I did find a very informative LOCAL online site about local squirrels: carphills.com

 https://carphills.com/?page_id=3771#:~:text=Squirrels%20nest%20in%20tree%20hollows,and%20become%20independent%20soon%20after.

There I read that black squirrels - like the ones in our yard - are part of the grey squirrel family.

I also discovered several fascinating facts about squirrels that I didn't know:

First, that squirrels can drop their tails. One website said the tails can grow back. Another said that this is just a myth... (I photographed a tail-less squirrel a month or so ago.) 

And second, that there is a species of squirrels in our region that are rarely seen because they only come out at night: the Southern flying squirrel.

Fascinating! I wonder if there are any in our neighborhood.

Anne's March Phenology Calendar

I started tracking daily weather and events on a circular calendar after seeing Anne's - last November. 

Here her calendar for March. So beautiful!

She walks outdoors and notices birds and other wildlife - while I do most of my walking in a shopping center).

I see seven different kinds of birds here. I wonder if I'd notice that many in my neighborhood!

Glad we both can walk! Hopefully, now that April is here, I'll be walking outdoors and noticing  spring flowers and wildlife as well!

Never Throw Anything Out!

Accumulating is easy... Tossing is tough!

I'm constantly trying to decide what to get rid and what to keep! Terry and I tend to hold on to receipts and sentimental travel souvenirs for way too long... (We still have a box of receipts from a major home renovation we did in the year 2000!)

But recently - on the same day - I regretted having thrown stuff out, NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE! (My mother would have said: "You never need something till you throw it out!")

My first pang of regret came when I realized that the author of a book I'm reading is the same woman whose investiture I happened to attend in 2011 at the Episcopalian Cathedral in Washington, DC. 

A friend and I had been at a conference near Washington. Before returning to Ottawa on a mid-afternoon flight, we drove to the beautiful cathedral and wandered around. Then we went into the service, not having any that idea that it would be something special. But we were surprised to discover that this church service was the investiture of the first woman Episcopalian Bishop of Washington. 

Years later her name was in the news after she challenged the current US president  - not once, but twice. 

The program for her investiture had a beautiful yellow cover. I kept it for years as a souvenir of this momentous event we had happened upon.

The last time I saw it, I was sorting through books to give away. In my mind, I could hear my daughter's voice reminding me that I REALLY needed to get rid of more stuff. I took the program and... I THINK I put it in the recycle bin. (But NOW I would be THRILLED to discover it tucked away in a filing cabinet drawer!)

The second time I regretted getting rid of something occurred on that same day! (Is there a lesson here for me?!)

The battery on Terry's old IPhone was dying. I wanted to transfer his SIM card to another old IPhone we had. But the phone locked when I put the SIM card in. I  took the phone to the Apple store to get them to unlock the phone, but the apple tech "genius" (That's really what they call them!)... said they would only do it if I showed them my original purchase receipt. 

Of course I don't have it! A phone warranty is good for a year - and this phone is probably 10 years old!

(Lesson learned: Never throw ANYTHING out!)

Early Spring Fun

A week or so ago - before last weekend's snowstorm - my grandson and I were hanging out. Most of the snow outdoors had disappeared ... and it felt almost like spring. 

Indoors we played "Christmas." Jericho set up a tree and a wreath. Then he wrapped up his well-travelled crocheted elf and his favorite book about "Elf on a Shelf"  - which he knows by heart.

We then headed outdoors where he had fun biking down the driveway towards the road.

He was riding one of those strider bikes with no pedals or brakes, so we discussed several stopping options. Driving onto the country road was NOT an option. Neither was driving into the ditch (above)! It could be a steep drop ... and the ditch could have water in it.

But he could turn onto the grass and drive uphill. That would slow him down.

 

Another option Grandma suggested was driving into a snow pile to slow himself down ... so he tried it...

BAD IDEA!  He did it so fast that he ended up flying over the handlebars onto the snow!

What a shock for both of us!

Fortunately he was wearing a helmet and didn't hurt himself! (But we both agreed that sometimes grandma has TERRIBLE IDEAS!)

Watching Flowers Bloom

One of the fun aspects of indoor gardening is watching flowers develop and bloom. 

It was fun, recently, to watch my first amaryllis flower slowly open up...

... from bud to bloom!

Day by day, it changed.

Until there it was! Perfect in every way! 

All this beauty growing out of a simple brown bulb! Amazing!

New (Christmas!) Crochet Project

My grandson isn't the only one thinking about Christmas!

I recently downloaded this pattern for six Christmas-themed "mug rugs" done in Mosaic Crochet. I've admired them for a while - and suddenly, there they were, briefly being offered, as a free download.

They were created by one of my favorite pattern makers - "BebaBlanket' (www.bebablanket.com).

I've purchased several of her afghan patterns online in the past. Now I'm looking forward to starting this smaller project.

More Elf Adventures?!

Just when I thought that our grandson's elf might be wrapped up and put away till next Christmas, Jericho had a new idea: MAKE ME ANOTHER ELF!

I must confess that the first crocheted one does look a little tattered!

When I explained that I was running low on red yarn, he replied: ELVES DON'T HAVE TO BE RED!

This is how a new elf named "Orange" joined the family! In the picture above both elves have just "flown" down the stairs.

Is it really April?!

Hard for me to believe that it's finally April! 

March was a sunny month - as my pictorial "calendar" can testify.

But it did snow several times - including this past weekend!

Now the weather is warming up. 

Most of our accumulated winter snow has melted... except for snow "mountains" like this one near parking lots - made of snow removed when the lots were cleared. I wonder how long this one will be here ...

Hopefully it will be clear sailing in April - with no major snowfalls! I really NEED the warmth and JOY of spring!

Indoors ... and Out

Yesterday Terry and I watched freezing rain come down most of the day. We didn't leave the house...

The roads - and trees - were ice covered - however, the snow didn't fall off the car!

Indoors, my first amaryllis of the season began to bloom!

Actually, there were two bright flowers - and a little bud! So exciting!

It completely took my mind off the freezing rain!

Didn't Expect Another Snowstorm!

Yesterday, we woke up to see A LOT of snow on the ground... and on the backyard hedge!

I didn't expect that!!

(The previous day, there was almost no snow at all!)

Tomorrow (Monday) we may have freezing rain - accordng to the weather network ...

But I prefer to take a "wait and see" attitude.

If we do stay indoors all day, I'll have lots to do. And I'll take consolation in the fact that - at this time of year - the wintry weather won't last that long... (That's my hope, anyway.)

This is Canada - and we can get freezing rain or snow any time of the year!