Sukiyaki

Came across this today, and wow! does it bring back memories.


Yes, I am that old.

The video is nothing, but the music - listen to the music....

Now that's more like it.

It appears we have indeed defeated the squirrel! No pictures of him since we put in the baffle. Several other interesting ones to share with you, though:


This first one is a jay coming in for a landing. I just like the movement captured, and how spooky he looks.





This next one shows our White-Breasted Nuthatch, and one of our Chickadees.







And we ARE getting some pigeons; they don't miss a trick (or a free treat).

The fight for the feeder

This is what happens when you try to take bird pics using an automatic camera:

Not just one, but about a hundred out of focus pictures of a squirrel.

So, we have devised a clever plan to baffle this squirrel....we hope:

This is the top off a munchies platter from the local grocery store, with a hole poked through it and a fastener applied.

Wish us luck!

The birds have found the feeders

We had a couple of Goldfinches in their winter plumage help themselves to some niger seed.

Also, a White-Throated Sparrow found some edibles on the ground. We have also had Juncos, and the sunflower seed has attracted Chickadees and White-Breasted Nuthatch.

Our resident Chipmunk and the one of the many neighbourhood Squirrels have been snacking on the peanuts, but so has a Blue Jay.

But he prefers to hide them for later: right after this picture was taken he tucked the peanut into the hedge!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's a beautiful fall day, Thanksgiving Monday. Iain and I are waking up with our coffee and will soon be heading to Ottawa to see Mom and Kyle. She has promised us a nice mid-day dinner!

This has been a fun weekend. On Saturday we puttered about the house, getting the outside somewhat ready for winter: putting away the bird bath and solar lights, picking up some of the leaves as Iain gave the lawn one last mow. Yesterday began with another good church service, and then we had a family dinner at Myles and Dodies' place. Missed seeing some family members who weren't able to come, but enjoyed the company of many. Also happy to spend some time with Pastor Tom, and with Hugh (our very multi-talented church pianist), who joined the table.

Invariably the question arises this weekend: "What are you thankful for?" As always, I find the answer hard to nail down, because I am so blessed in my life, and have too many things and people I could name. So I will just say I am thankful for the day, and leave it at that.

The view just a minute ago

Just looked up from my computer, and this was the sunset!

And now, back to computing....

Iain is spending the evening working one of the gates at the fair. I was wondering what to do with my time tonight, and he suggested that I could blog a bit. He probably will be surprised to see his handsome face looking back at him when he checks my updates!

The picture was taken when we were camping in Algonquin park. The moon was huge and gorgeous, as you can see. It shone brightly all night; flashlights weren't necessary for midnight perambulations in the camp. We were on Sec Lake. Our site was just a short paddle from the boat launch (maybe a mile?), and was on a small peninsula, so we had water on both sides, and a view of both sunrise and sunset.

This is the sunset that same evening. I entered this picture in the fair as a "landscape" entry. One of my many non-winners *sigh*. I have a lot to learn about photography!

These pictures look very calm, but there was a rain and thunder storm when we first arrived, and a lot of wind; so much so that by the time we were ready to strike camp there were a LOT of tarps to be taken down. It was a bit embarrassing, actually - a real Tarp City. But at least we were comfortable.