Day 54 - 23rd February 2019 - Blue Jay, Mourning Dove and Hooded Mergansers

Temperature is near -15 this morning, it's a cold one, but the stars are all out and promises to be a nice day. The calm before the storm tomorrow. We've had several storm days last week, winter has come when we are now ready to think about spring. The days are getting longer and in a few weeks, time will "Spring Ahead ". It's been a busy week. We have the living room upside down doing a few renos - new hardwood floor, fresh coat of paint. I leave most of this to Larry except when he enlists my help to use power tools! This means that furniture is everywhere but where it should be and I can no longer find anything. Oh well it will soon be back to rights and look great. A few more rooms can use some fresh paint this winter so we will continue along with these projects for another month. By then spare time will be spent in the wood pile. Managed to get to both Knitting and Yarn sessions this week - weather co-operated on those days but no Thelma & Louise this week. The yard is filled with birds every day, but nothing new to report. Last Sunday we took a drive up the road to check the river and lakes - Ring-Neck Ducks at Lake Philip and have been in the river below Lake Deception all week as well as 2 male Hooded Mergansers above Lake Philip in the river. No sign of the Common Mergansers at East McKay Lake that day.

Blue Jay cracking sunflower seeds

Mourning Dove

A glimpse of Hooded Mergansers through the bushes.





Enjoy your day!

Day 48 - 17th February 2019 - Evening Grosbeaks

A nice morning out there  - stars are twinkling, temperature is -4/-5, little breezy and the lake is moaning and groaning. So it's been a rough week  - I came down with the plague (the only nice word I can use for the affliction) and am finally feeling like myself this morning. I started to actually feel better yesterday afternoon and that food would once again be my friend. Seems it's been a hard winter, but will consider myself lucky as there are others much worse off. Today it's time to buzz around and get some things done in this house, Larry's been good at tending to the sick but has had other projects on the go and the house work has fallen by the wayside. So I need to spend a few hours playing catch up. When I've not been knitting, watching tv or generally lazing around the last few days, I've been enjoying the birds at the feeders. No one unusual but it's nice to see the Goldfinches, Nuthatches, Chickadees, Sparrows, Grosbeaks, Woodpeckers Blue Jays and even the Mourning Doves.

He really is a stunning fellow - Evening Grosbeak. Normally I depend on the Blue Jays to add some brightness to winter but this year I've had these guys every day.

Just a few of the 26 that were at the feeders a few days ago - I've had as many as 42.
Enjoy your day!

Day 43 - 12th February 2019 - Evening Grosbeaks, Mourning Dove and Blue Jay

A cold morning (-12/-13) but on an up note the wind has died out, stars are all shining in the sky. Looks like a messy system on it's way tonight - snow, freezing rain/ice pellets and then tomorrow it will  change over to rain. So might want to buzz around today, getting a few things ready for a power outage....just in case. Things are getting back to normal with me, I'm just really careful moving my neck and how long I stay in one position. It doesn't quite feel as strong as it used to. But all is good and I can do pretty well most things again. Haven't tackled exercise class yet but that's coming soon. The feeders have been busy - Evening Grosbeaks are daily visitors now, sometimes only a few but then like yesterday 25 +. Not seeing as many Goldfinches, but the feeder they like needs to be refilled and put back out. The bird world is fussy!

Evening Grosbeak at the Christmas tree

 A few more of them - too many fat birds have snapped the perch off.

Mourning Dove and Blue Jay





Enjoy your day

Day 38 - 7th February 2019 - Evening Grosbeak, Blue Jays and White Throated Sparrow

A little cool, temperature is below 0,  a dusting of snow in the last hour or so. I had a very uneventful week, I've been  suffering with this pulled muscle in my neck. The Voltaren seems to have been helping tremendously and I've had Larry massaging my shoulder and neck so things are starting to come around. Today is the fist day in  a week that I've been able to type for any lenght of time. Actually yesterday I managed to get myself mobile and go to "Knit & Yarn" - I was going shack wacky and needed some social interaction. I packed a pillow and off we went. Besides I really didn't want to miss Edsel Roache showing us how to make lobster bait bags. I think it was just what I needed - laughter is after all the best medicine. I did do a little knitting but was very careful to keep my head up and not let my neck drop down.  This morning I'm not quite as slow moving - only a couple of hours to feel pretty good. Needless to say I can't quite handle Big B.and haven't been roaming so will have to find a few pics from the archives.

Evening Grosbeak

 Blue Jays, thieving the suet

White Throated Sparrow




Enjoy your day!

Day 33 - 2nd February 2019 - Blue Jays and an Evening Grosbeak

Cold (-13) and clear this morning, stars are out, lake is groaning and moaning. It's Groundhog Day - in a few short hours the little rodent will come out and decide if we have 6 weeks more of winter or not. On the south shore of Nova Scotia, we do things a little different- we have Lucy the Lobster who will come out and predict the end of winter. So if you are out and around Cape Sable Island causeway - check out Lucy this morning! I'm sitting with an ice pack on my neck this morning, not sure if Ive got a pulled muscle or a virus, but I've got a pain that goes down my shoulder blade and up into my head.  After a little self diagnoses on google, I'm opting for a pulled muscle.  My social life went down the tubes yesterday - didn't go knitting or play marbles. Actually I went back to bed for a couple of hours in the morning and I'll probably do the same this morning since I've been up since 3:30am.  Looks like a lazy day of ice and heat for me and hopefully in a day or two I'll be back to normal.

Blue Jays stealing the suet from the Woodpeckers!

Evening Grosbeak waiting for a feeder






Enjoy your day!

Day 32 - 1st February 2019 - Evening Grosbeaks, White Throated Sparrow and Song Sparrow

Good Morning February ! Cold, - 10,  snowing, maybe winter  has arrived? At least the wind has died out, but I'm sure that won't last. I always find February to be the worse month - might be short (only by a couple of days) but can pack a punch.  Yesterday there were snow flurries (at times looked like a blizzard) and blowing snow all day or at least here in the country. By the time we went to town around noon it was clear there, what a difference a few miles to the north makes. The tooth is looked after and all went well.  Feeders are busy every day now, lots of activity when it's cold and/or snowing. It's Friday so that makes it Knit & Yarn day - hoping the roads will be fit to travel on and Marble night. Yes Fridays really are the highlight of my social life.

Evening Grosbeaks hanging out on the fence

 The Chubby White Throated Sparrow was resting in the Christmas Tree waiting for the ...

Song Sparrow to vacate the feeder.







Enjoy your day!

Day 31- 31st January 2019 - Evening Grosbeak, Blue Jay and Starling

Here we are at the last day of the first month of they year - that flew by! It's cold, -5/-6, wind is blowing and it's snowing.  Looks like we'll have cold and flurries for some of the day. I'm off to the dentist later, this is the day to get rid of the bothersome tooth. Maybe I''ll buzz around and do a few things this morning because I'm sure later I won't feel like doing a lot. I hate the feel of the freezing coming out.  Had a good day at knitting, always fun, lots of laughs and I love to see everyone finish projects and start another. Yarn is so different now than it was almost 40 years ago when I was doing a lot of  knitting. Some of it is makes up beautiful patterns and it's cool to watch it knit up. I'm knitting hats and headbands with faithful Briggs and Little wool, hopefully will have a good stock of them done to sell in our gift shop when I go back to work for the season.  Feeders were busy again yesterday morning. Had a few stray Starlings stop in.

Blue Jay

 One of the Evening Grosbeaks, waiting his turn

Starling - I rarely have them in the winter months, but every once in a while a few will stop in.




Enjoy your day!

Day 30 - 30th January 2019 - Evening Grosbeaks

A little snowfall overnight, still a few flakes in the air but it's going to change over, rain on it's way but a few ice pellets in between. Temperature is hovering right around 0, so anything could happen. It's "Knit & Yarn" day so hopefully it will be straight rain by the time we are ready to go. I could use a little knitting today. My upload speed really sucks today and I should call and see what's going on with the internet but then it straightens out again and I forget. Got some stuff done around the house yesterday and by lunch time it had warmed up a bit (or the sun was stronger) and I went for a roam in the hood. The lake was noisy - snapping, cracking, moaning and groaning. I counted 33 Evening Grosbeaks in the trees and feeders yesterday, probably the most I've had at one time. Lots of Blue Jays and Mourning Doves of course along with Goldfinches, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Sparrows and Woodpeckers. No sign of Purple Finches yet. Well it's a short and sweet post this morning - too much on my mind.

Evening Grosbeaks



Enjoy your day!

Day 29 - 29th January 2019 -Ice and Mallards

Brrr....it's a chilly morning. Temperature around -7, a bit of wind but the stars are twinkling in the sky and a sliver of moon is peeking through the trees. It was a beautiful sunset last night over Beaverfarm Lake - bright red/pink. I'm home today and have the house all to myself - rah! Not that I mind Larry being home, but there is something to be said for some time on your own and I get so much more done. I'm sure he feels the same way sometimes. I think it's going to be a cooking/cleaning kind of day. Have a little computer work to do too and maybe a roam in the hood later. Yesterday I puttered around, made stuffed peppers for supper - they were good, Italian sausage, salsa, spinach brown rice and cheese. Had a small flock of Evening Grosbeaks at the feeders along with all the regular birds. There seems to be a large number of Blue Jays and Mourning Doves and way too many Squirrels.  A meeting in town mid afternoon and then exercise class last night.

Pieces of ices were floating down the river













Seems a little cold to be napping in the brook

There are Mallards of all different colors and of course the white Duck.





Enjoy your day!

Day 28 - 28th January 2019 - Mallards, Ice and Common Mergansers

Here it is Monday the start of a new week again. Foggy and +2 this morning,  oh how the weather flip flops.  Yesterday was a nice day, since it was Larry's birthday we didn't work too hard. Started the day off with breakfast at the Fire Hall, then a drive up the road to check out the lakes and see what was around. He had seen a Hooded Merganser a few days ago in Lake Philip. No sign of him, but there were Common Mergansers and Goldeneyes in East McKay Lake. A quick trip to town before lunch and then we settled in around home for the day. I puttered and made a seafood quiche for supper, Larry put  a little more wood in the basement and that's what we call an exciting Sunday. Today, needs to be a day of some work around here and cooking then I have a meeting in town this afternoon.

Mallards and the White Duck at the head of the harbour

 Water and ice, the water was really running fast by Hodgeson's bridge

Males and a Female Common Mergansers at East McKay Lake.






Enjoy your day!

Day 27 - 27th January 2019 - Boats, Common Eider and Gull

Temperature is -5, stars are all out, looks like another nice day in the making. It was a beautiful morning on Cape Sable Island with little to no wind. We had a good time checking out the hot spots, not that we found anything really exciting  but it's great to get out there and look. Even ran into Johnny & Sandra so caught up on the CSI birding news with them. There were lots of Gulls around, but truthfully they  are hard on the head when  you are trying to identify them, I commend anyone who has taken the time to study Gulls and know one from the other in the various cycles. Common Eiders, Long tail Ducks, Scaups, Mergansers, Mallards to name a few others. From there we stopped at Barrington Passage and did the grocery shopping, wasn't all that busy at either story and headed homeward.  Larry's been putting some wood in the basement from the woodshed, replacing what we've used. Breakfast is at our Fire Hall this morning, so maybe I'll treat Larry on is birthday and we will go up. Have to do some lunch box prep and muffins for him sometime today.  Need to run in town, maybe we'll take a scout around and see what's around  at the head of the harbour and waterfront.

Calm morning, a few boats still at the wharves.

Common Eider - immature male. 

I was shooting right into the sun, but I like the silhouette look of this Gull losing the crab he had been carrying.




Enjoy your day!

Day 26 - 26th January 2019 - Chickadee, Fungi and Ice

It's a little cool out there but not bad, temperature is around -4, stars are all out and the lake is groaning. Looks like another good day in the making. I think we'll head out to Cape Sable Island  this morning and see what's around, hear there are some interesting Gulls and a Duck out that way. Never know what we might find. Of course there will be grocery shopping at Barrington. We had a great day knitting on Friday, so much fun and laughter, world problem solving. Lots of Canada Geese and Ducks down that way, maybe Sunday will take a spin down there and check things out more closely. Being Friday, it was marble night, Larry's team won again. Since there were 7 of us I sat out, knitting and watched. Sometimes I wonder if they've ever played before! It was also a night for cake, since Larry has a birthday this week.

 Chickadee - like small acrobats

Fungi

Little bit of ice, clinging on.


Enjoy your day!

Day 25 - 25th January 2019 - Gull, Grebe and Loon

That was a wild and windy night. Glad it's calm down this morning. Our power went out around 10pm, back around 1am. Then it must have flickered or went out again during the night as I woke up and the digital clock was flashing. It must have been wicked along the coast, not sure I can remember it blowing that hard before. But once again it's mild  +6, makes it easy on the wood pile. Had a good day in town yesterday, even got a few things done around here before I went. Tried making bagels, didn't turn out bad, might need to cook them another couple of minutes longer and shape them a little bigger. Larry thought they were great until I told him they were made with yogurt. Although he said he wanted blueberries in his  the next time so he must be planning on putting the yogurt out of his mind. I used cinnamon and dried cranberries. It's not really cheaper to make them, but they are healthier and easy so will do them once in a while.  Had lunch with the girls, a few errands at the mall and that was it. Even managed to go to exercise class last night. Although by the time I got home my stomach was happy. It's Friday and another social day - Knit & Yarn! rah! and then marbles tonight. Saturday looks like pretty good weather and with all the wind we've had, might be a good day to get out and chase some birds.

I've had to dig out some photos from my archives.


Gull

Grebe

Loon



Enjoy your day!

Day 24 - 24th January 2019 - Loon, Common Eider and Guillemot

This morning is certainly a change from the last few days, temperature has jumped up to +10. Blowing hard, rain last  night with more to come throughout the day. The antibiotics are done, so now I can hopefully get back to feeling like normal again. It's Thelma and Louise day but before going to town I need to get a few things done around here this morning. I'll just say things are getting a bit cluttered and have  to find their way back where they belong. A quick whip around will do it! We had great day at Knit & Yarn, Ive got another hat almost done so will be starting something else on Friday (well probably another hat or a headband). Short and sweet this morning - some days are like that!

Loon in his winter plumage. 

Male Common Eider

Guillemot






Enjoy your day!

Day 23 - 23rd January 2019 - Chickadees and a Song Sparrow

Cold again, -12 this morning but a clear bright sky. Well as is norm with our weather, the temperatures are going to rise snow and then rain coming through tonight and Thursday.  I picked Larry up a Farmer's Almanac for Christmas and it claims a snow storm for the end of the month. Guess we'll have to wait and see on that one.  My contribution to the grant writing is completed, done for another year, I think, I hope. To town yesterday, after an appointment, Margie and I had lunch did a few errands then it was homeward bound. Since it's Wednesday, that means Knit & Yarn day so Gina and I are off to Becky's shop in Lockeport to knit up a storm with the rest of the ladies. I am seriously going to miss these outings when I go back to work.

Chickadee - they sure like the Christmas tree.

 Chickadee - he's got his seed.

Song Sparrow





Enjoy your day!

Day 22 - 22nd January 2019 - Song Sparrow, Chickadee and Junco

It's cold out there this morning with the wind blowing and the temperature at -12 , but the moon and stars are shining brightly in the sky. Almost as bright as if it were daytime. This month is passing by rather quickly, really only another week and it will be gone. Just today and tomorrow left of the antibiotics and they will be done,  I'm so glad. The last few days have been the worse I've felt since I had a flu bug a few years ago. Next week the tooth gets extracted and all should be well again. Yesterday was a frustrating day, our landlines all went out the night before, my internet was wonky - and of course both of those things I needed to use. Did get a little work done on the last of the grant apps and will do up the rest  in a while and send  to Cady for input and finishing touching. Will be glad to have those gone. Then I'm off to town later this morning for an appointment and some errands. After two days in the house it will be good to have a short excursion.  I love watching the birds at the feeders and around the yard in the winter. Doesn't matter that there aren't always new ones but to see the interactions between species is very interesting. Some are quite happy to share a feeder, others want their own. Size does not always mean anything, I've seen some of the small birds put the run to bigger ones.

 One of our 6 chubby Song Sparrows

Chickadee - they are moving so fast these days it's hard to get a pic. 

We have  5-6 Juncos in the yard this winter too.





Enjoy your day!

Day 21 - 21st January 2019 - Downy Woodpecker, Evening Grosbeak and a Gull

It's a mild morning, wind seems to have died down some and not raining at the moment. It was a day of all seasons yesterday. Started off with snow - we probably got a couple of inches, then ice pellets with snow and finally rain around noon or so.  By early evening the wind really picked up and was blowing hard and the rain was coming down but it was mild, the temperature had gone up. Power went out at 8pm. Figuring it would be that way all night and possibly longer I took my kobo and went to bed to read. Around 11pm the flashing digital light on the clock woke me up and I could hear the tv on downstairs - short outage, no complaints from me.  I got some cooking done in the morning, lunches done up  for Larry, meatloaf, s/s meat balls, veggies and quoina - 8 days and a batch of muffins. Sometime this week I'll do another batch of something so he's got some variety. Did them both in the Instant Pot - a little playing around with the time but they came out good. By afternoon I was curled up with a blanket, watching tv, knitting. It was a lazy afternoon. It's Monday so time to get some things done.

This Female Downy Woodpecker comes every day to the suet .

 High up in the willow tree and flock of Evening Grosbeaks sat, managed to get a shot of one.

Gull  - coming in for a landing.




Enjoy your day!

Day 20 - 20th January 2019 - Male and Female Ring-necked Ducks and Barred Owl

Temperature is -5, windy and it's spitting a fine snow, maybe laced with a few ice pellets. So it's suppose to be a messy storm day - wind, snow, ice and then rain but we will get more rain than anything I think if any of the weather predictions are right. Since I  writing this a 1/2 hour ago it's turned to straight snow coming down fairly fast. Just in case I always have a jug or two of water, some flashlights, lanterns etc. Needless to say, sounds like a good day to be inside, get some cooking done this morning then curl up and knit/read and watch a little Netflix (if I still have internet).  It's been somewhat of a wasted week, I've not been feeling great so doing the bare minimal is more up my alley right now. Counting down the antibiotics til they are done, only 3 days after today then hopefully I'll feel myself again.  Suck it up princess and move on, lots of people are in worse shape. Yesterday was groceries, Larry went to the Shelburne Fire Dept. yearly get together last night, so I went with the girls to Chase the Ace at the IOOF hall in Jordan and supper. It's a good fundraiser for their hall but we weren't the winners yesterday. A quiet evening with the knitting needles and some tv. Can life get anymore exciting?

 The Ring-necked Ducks have returned to the river - Males.

Female Ring-necked Ducks

Barred Owl




Enjoy your day!