Cottage Life

Being at the cottage means seeing wildlife that we don't have at home.  Sometimes, it's freaky.

I saw a mass in the Sweetgale by the lake, and thought something was making a nest, though it seemed awfully exposed.  When I leaned in to take the picture, I was unpleasantly surprised to find a Water Snake coiled in the shrub, about two feet off the ground.

I know snakes climb, but I had never seen one so comfortably esconced as this.

Sorry, but this is just creepy.

I don't kill Water Snakes (or any snakes, for that matter, as we don't have any poisonous ones around), but many of my cottage neighbours do. Water snakes have a (quite justified) reputation for being aggressive, and they will bite. You don't want to get bitten by a snake, poisonous or not. They get a wide berth from me, and I don't encourage them to stay around; there are lots of other places on the lake for them to go thatARE AWAY FROM ME!

 

We have a number of active and semi-tame rabbits living on our property and the neighbours'. They love to eat all my flowers, I'm sad to say, but that's wildlife. I'd love to have a little vegetable garden at the lake, just for fun, but it would be overrun by rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, birds, and voles. And probably mice. And definitely raccoons.

Jasper isn't sure what to make of this guy.

With Iain getting close to retirement, mostly working from home, and having Starlink (finally!) delivered, we were able to move to the lake in June. This has been my dream, for years: summers at the lake, like when I was a kid. Except I don't have the energy I used to.

The canvas roof for the gazebo tore when we were taking it down last fall, so we decided to not buy another replacement. Unlike the original product, the replacement roofs didn't fit as well, and didn't stand up as well. So, after 14 years, we disassembled the gazebo.

I can't stand to throw things away, so I was tickled pink that Iain was able to use it for a wood crib!  Once covered with a huge tarp (really TOO huge, we overdid it when we were estimating the needed size), it gave the wood from our much-lamented maple a good drying space.

Did I mention the Starlink finally arrived?  It was an easy install and, say what you will about Elon Musk, the product has performed as advertised.  Really a god-send for us.

We protected it well, in case any of our cottage pals decided the wires looked tasty.

 

They say when a door closes, a window opens.

Our Christmas in 2021 was a bit quiet, with only Stitches here. The house, VERY quiet. No one playing kibble chase, or looking for pets and brushing.

So when January rolled around, I was finding the house terribly empty.

And then this showed up on my Facebook feed:

Here were two senior cats - who reminded me of Snaps and Jezebel - in need of a home. Their owner had passed away and the woman's son could not keep them.

I don't always listen when the angel taps on my shoulder and says "You should do this", but it seemed to be fate. We had always said that if we could adopt a senior cat in need of a home, that that is what we'd do.

So, in mid-January, we had two cats delivered to us:  Blaze and Jasper. The gentleman who delivered them to us brought them in and then said "wait a sec, I've got more stuff". He then brought in a whole bunch of food and litter, and a small basket full of toys. I'm talking about at least 20 toys!

For the first few weeks we kept them in the living room, and had a barrier up so that they couldn't see Stitches, and she couldn't see them.  As you may have noticed, these cats both arrived with extra weight on them.  Blaze, especially, was obese - Jasper was a bit plump but mostly just very furry - and neither of them were very active.  We used a gate to close off the room, and it was nothing that would have kept a typical cat inside, but for these guys it was more than adequate.

After a few weeks we introduced them to Stitches.  Blaze is a typical male tabby: he wants to get along with everyone; so he has not been a problem.  Jasper, however, doesn't like other cats, and to this day he still hisses and growls at Stitches for no reason at all.  Stitches is deaf, thank goodness, and doesn't realize what's happening most of the time.

Next post:  more pics!

Time To Post Again

I haven't blogged for over a year. The last time I wrote here, I was feeling pretty happy, despite Covid being the asshole it has been (and continues to be). I just haven't had much to say that I thought would be interesting to the world; and I was enjoying being retired, and flying under God's radar - not catching Covid, no deaths in my immediate family, just humming along.

So when Snaps got sick in November of last year, and we lost him in just a few weeks, I didn't come here to talk about it. I was heartbroken - fuck cancer - and I still miss him, but I just didn't want to talk about it. But now I do.

Snaps was the sweetest, funniest guy.  He showed up in our back yard one day in August of 2010. He was just there one day and didn't leave.

When I realized he was eating our chipmunks to survive (He popped up in front of my window with one in his mouth) I began to feed him.

As the weather got wet and chilly as it does in the fall, I couldn't leave him outside any more. I mean, look at this face - who could say no?  

He had a rocky start with Onyx, but soon settled in. Being a male tabby, he was loving with everyone, and soon even Onyx accepted him.

He became an indoor cat quickly and completely. We never had to worry about him running outside - he'd had enough of that life - and when it rained he would walk around the house meowing, as though he remembered how awful it was to be cold and wet.

His favourite game was "kibble chase". His kibbles were large and round, and we would throw them down the hallway for him to find.

Every morning he sat on the couch with me for pets, as I read or played an iPad game. And he was often on my lap, or Iain's, in the evening. But his favourite spot was curled up in front of the fireplace.

Or under our mini-tree.

So, for a while, we had four cats. And then three.

During this time we began to take the cats to the cottage in the summer. He had no desire to be outside, but he loved the cottage, where we entertain our friends often, and he loved being with them.

And then there were two.

And then he left us

I never imagined that our wee Stitches would outlive them all. 

But life goes on, and I still feel young enough to have cats in my life. In my next post, I'll bring you up to date.

Why gardening at our cottage has been difficult.

 More so this year than some.  Mind you, we see these ladies EVERY YEAR. They like my south-side-of-the-house garden, and they lay in the same spot, always.

Madame Snapper can just be seen amidst the milkweed and chives.

Here she is smiling (?) for the camera.

And this is one of her buddies, strolling over to the large sandy spot under the pine tree, which is popular with both Snapping and Painted Turtles.

This is a Painted Turtle enjoying the sandy spot.

I don't have pictures of the hail, since we weren't there when it happened, but it made swiss cheese out of most of my hostas, and broke dozens of ferns. Also damaged one milkweed, which I hope did not have any Monarch Butterfly eggs laid on it.

We also have to contend with the squirrels and the chipmunks, who think digging up my plantings to see if there is treasure under the roots is fun.

They're so darn cute, though!

Something we saw for the first time this year was a Giant Hornet a.k.a. European Hornet. Not very aggressive, fortunately, but HUGE! Head to tail he was about 1 1/4" long.

According to my insect books, they are supposed to only come as far north as Maine. It's another sign that North America is warming - everything is moving farther north.

And just for the heck of it, here's a picture of a dock spider that is unsettlingly large. He was hiding, but peeked out to see if I was edible, when I stepped onto the dock.

Goodbye to Jezebel

Another reason that 2020 has been sad for us is the loss of our amazing Jezebel.  We knew this was coming, so it wasn't a shock, but saying goodbye is always hard.

Jezebel came to live with us in 2002, when she was already approaching one year of age. We never knew her exact date of birth, so we gave her  Iain's birthday in June of 2001.  It was because of her connection with Iain that she came to live with us: Iain had gone to the humane society to bring home a new kitten (Phantom) - they were giving us one in place of sweet Sage who had been unhealthy when we got him from them, and had died tragically when he was only about 6 months old - and when Iain was filling out the paperwork for him, Jezebel kept giving him headbonks and looking for attention.  So he came home with two cats instead of one.  And it was one of the best decisions he ever made.

Some cats are born to be queens of their household, and that was Jezebel.  She was beautiful, and had the softest fur of any cat I have ever known.  She had an aura of regalness about her, and yet she could behave like any other silly kitten when the mood struck her.

We were blessed to have her with us for 19 years.  For the last three years of her life she failed, gradually, due to her kidneys deteriorating.  Keeping her on a special diet (Royal Canin E Renal) made a huge difference in prolonging her life.  She didn't like pills, and we didn't force them on her, and I think it was the best choice.  The picture below was taken on the couch at the cottage.  She was not as comfortable sleeping in the last months; and doing a face-plant like this was one way she coped.

We still have two cats in our small house, but the place is feeling very empty.  She was my lap-cat, and liked to sleep next to me most nights.  We didn't need an alarm clock with her in the house, as she would wake us up as soon as the automatic lights came on downstairs.  Profoundly deaf for the last two years, she never forgot how her meow would make her presence known. I think she could still hear just a bit, as she would go into the bathroom (good acoustics there) and yowl at the top of her lungs.

I miss that, and I miss her, very much.  Good memories, though.  Love you, girl.

Animals!

Going to the cottage is extra fun when we see wildlife.  A few weeks ago we saw some really interesting ones.

This guy was displaying for a nearby female, who was studiously ignoring him.

I had never seen a partridge (as we call them - officially they are Ruffed Grouse) in full courting display like this.  When we saw him by the side of the road, my second guess was that he was a decoration - he just looked so perfect!

Another great sighting was this young moose who came across the lake and onto shore at the cottage next to my cousin's.  She stood looking at us for the longest time.  Curious about the people staring at her, I suppose.

Foxy

Today marks 15 years since I lost this guy.  I miss him.  I looked at my blog today and realized I had never mentioned him - but at one time he was a big part of my life.

Foxy came to live with me when I had an apartment on Renfrew's main street, and I already had two cats at that time.  He was the same colour as one I had (Coco) and the young lady who brought him to my door thought that one of my boys had escaped.  I looked at him in her arms, sighed, and said "No, he's not mine, but I'll look after him."  And our friendship was born.

He was about six months old when he came to live with me.  I don't know where he spent the first six months of his life, but whoever he was with lost a great cat.

Foxy could jump - and he had incredible agility.  He liked to sit atop a six-foot tall narrow cabinet I had in the hallway, and he reached the top by first leaping onto a stair bannister (about 3 feet up) and then leapt the rest of the way from there.  The stairs had a large post at one end, which was a shallow pyramid shape, and he would lie on that and turn his head upside down to look at me.

Iain likes to remember the time Foxy somehow managed to get onto the porch roof, and sat outside the second story window looking in.  Since we wanted to go to work we couldn't wait for him to find his way back down, so Iain had to climb up and get him.  Foxy accepted Iain as important to me, but wouldn't allow him to come between us:  if Iain's arm was around me in bed, Foxy would calmly pull at it until Iain moved it, so Foxy could take his usual spot cuddled next to me.  He almost always slept with me, and as he got older he would curl up under the covers next to me.

In the morning when I read the paper, he would settle into my lap while I finished my coffee.  He started and ended every day with me.  And he was a bit of a "guard-cat"; I can remember him hearing someone at the door, and a growl escaping his throat as he listened for an intruder.

He was an excellent hunter.  One time when we were at the cottage, he escaped outside; gone for no more than five minutes, he came back with a chipmunk in his mouth.  Another time, Iain and I came home to find him lying on the lawn, looking rather majestic, and when we called to him we heard a "scree-scree" noise.  He quickly pawed at whatever he was holding down, so we went to investigate.  It was a bat, which we made him let go (at least we were able to save the little guy).

Foxy was 21 when he left us.  He was healthy for all but a day or two at the end (except for the time he decided to leap from a chair back onto the wood stove - that required a visit or two to the vet).  He was a loving little guy, always acting like I was his mom; when he came to the door, I didn't really need or want another cat, but I feel like he was sent to me as a gift.  I was lucky.

Spring is here, finally!

Song Sparrow!

A favourite sign of spring.

And we made a quick trip to the lake.

Staying home

Well, here we are, in the middle of a pandemic.  Not much fun.

From our kitties to you:  stay safe and warm, and ride it out.

It's A New Year!

Well, here we are in a new year!  Christmas kept me pretty busy, with baking and cleaning and shopping and wrapping and decorating.  I enjoy it, but it's nice to get back to normal, too.

The birds have been visiting our feeders.  It's especially nice to see the Cardinals!

Jezebel is still with us - getting scrawnier by the day, but enjoying herself nevertheless.

When she looks out the window, I wonder how much she sees anymore - she can detect movement, though.  When we had her at the cottage, she saw when the squirrel came to the feeder.  However, this is how she spent most of her cottage time:

East Coast Birding

Dodie, Irene, and I are all birders (to a varying degree), so the guys had to put up with a few hours of walking around Sackville N.B.'s waterfowl park.  It's a really nice place for a walk.

Deb with all her friends!

The boardwalk runs right around and through the park, so you're able to get close to the birds.  We saw a lot of birds, but I was most impressed with the Pied Grebe, which I had never seen before.

They are classified as a duck, I believe, but they are ... different looking.

It was much easier to get a good look at it with binoculars!

The view was pretty, despite the cloudy day.

The view is lovely throughout.

We also spotted a Gadwall, a number of Warblers, and a Redstart.  Also a rather shy Muskrat.  I think if I lived in Sackville, I would be here all the time.

This gives you an idea of the size of the place.  When you leave the boardwalk, there is a trail on land that goes all the way back to the park entrance.

Iain was pleased to see his favourite, the Red Winged Blackbird.

Red shoulders rule!

We saw a lot of birds that I didn't catch on camera.  I watched one Black Duck for about five minutes as it poked among the reeds like it was going to build a nest, and then changed its mind.  I tried to photograph it, but all you can see is a lot of reeds - the duck is just too well camouflaged!

Missing Onyx

It's hard to lose our friends.  We didn't have Onyx all that long, in people years; he came to live with us in 2010, when our friend Wendy passed suddenly.  He has been a joy to have here.  The house is empty without him, even though three cats still prowl the place; his personality filled any room he was in.  This picture really captures him in a typical stance, watching for something to happen that he could be involved in.

He was in his twelfth year, but one couldn't think of him as a senior cat - he was simply too lively and playful.  I guess it's not a bad age, but we certainly didn't expect to lose him yet.  So long, dear friend.  Thanks for all the snuggles.

Re: previous post

Yeah, hi there.  I've been m.i.a., and I apologize, but I have at least managed to i.d. the little bird in our backyard:  it's a House Wren! I had been relying on the Merlin app to give a good example of its song, which it doesn't, but online searching helped me find it.

The House Wren is aggressively territorial, and it seemed to find the Merlin app very accurate; when I played its song, the bird came swooping around looking for the intruder.  So, mystery solved.

Back in the Saddle Again

Figuratively, of course – I like horses (most girls do), but I don’t really want to sit on top of one and gallop about.

I’m picking up my blog again.  Someone mentioned yesterday that I hadn’t written anything for a while, and I guess it’s time.  I’ve been in the doldrums since Mom passed away.   Yesterday, we put her body next to Dad’s, and said our last goodbyes on this earth.  So it’s time.

This weekend we noticed that we once again have a backyard visitor that we cannot identify. 

Name That Bird!

The song is exactly like that of an Orange-Crowned Warbler, but the colours don’t look right – I’m hoping someone with birding knowledge will ID it for me.

So, I guess an explanation is in order.

Here we are, at the beginning of November, and I haven’t written here since July.  Mea culpa.  Also, my computer’s fault, at least partially.

Due to the premature introduction of Windows 10 to my laptop, its hard drive ceased to function, rather suddenly.  It’s only now that I feel confident enough in its inner workings to trust photographs to my laptop again, and consequently am interested in blogging, once more.

Sadly, a whole summer has passed, and you’ve missed out (ha ha ha) on all my comings and goings and truly probably not-very-interesting stuff. But now, I’m BACK, BABY!

Some of my favourite moments from this summer:

Having Craig, Karen, and Kyle visit for a couple of days. It’s so hard to get us all together, and this was so much fun!

So great to have them visit us!

Camping with my buddies. We do eat like royalty.

Everyone patiently waiting for me to take the pic.

Discovering a Cedar Waxwing nest in our backyard. They were hatched and gone by the time we got back from our holidays.  So Cool.


Having Onyx and Jezebel enjoy themselves at the lake.


Finding some Crayfish!

These little guys are hard to spot. They also sort of freak me out, because I imagine they'll pinch me when I'm in the lake, swimming.

Almost (but not, thank God) walking into this spider in the centre of her web, on the way to the upper farm.


Finding a smiley-face in our hydrangea bush.


Day-tripping with my pals to see an old-growth forest.


Enjoying the most incredible sunsets.

The pillar of light is caused by the sun's light shining through a con-trail.

Hanging out with Iain – the best of times!


And that was my summer:  short and sweet, and the weather was beautiful!