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.

I've Been Busy, Okay?

Yeah I know, I should have blogged before now, but I just never find the time! In fact, I don't really have time now; but if we never take time, how can we ever have time, right?

We went to visit Craig and Karen in July, and had a blast as usual. They introduced us to several new toys: Rock Band (which we enjoyed way more than we expected) and remote-control build-them-yourself vehicles. We laughed ourselves silly playing with Craig's big yellow truck. Here are a few pictures:

The truck is put together from a kit. Craig built and painted it himself, and is able to do repairs as needed (and it goes through enough trials that it does need repairs sometimes!).

I don't have any photos of us playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero. That's a good thing, probably.

Renfrew is for the birds?

This is the sight that greeted us on our arrival back in town yesterday afternoon: a huge flock of gulls!
















It could be the ones that normally hang around the dump outside of town. Perhaps something disturbed them. Or, perhaps they just felt like going for a fly.

At any rate, it was awe-inspiring, in a way. And kinda gross. The few gulls that hang out at our cottage lake are good to have around, as they clean up any dead fish and keep the shores clean; the thought that this many gulls are able to thrive on the garbage lying around our town is not pleasant.

Goodbye, Phantom

We were sorry to have to let him go, but Phantom was becoming more ill as every day passed, and it was time. In this picture, taken June 5, he was taking a walk on the deck at the cottage. Even this little exercise was difficult for him, as his sense of balance was faulty.
We'll miss him, but we're glad to know he enjoyed his life as much as possible, right up to the end.

Canoe on the water!

We had a wonderful anniversary vacation! I don't have time to post too much here, but HAD to put up this pic of my honey Iain in the canoe he built, finally on the water. It paddles beautifully, and will be nice for camping and for touring our lake.

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers to Ocean Spray. At Easter dinner, I was unhappy with the quality of a can of whole berry sauce (not enough berries!). I wrote online to the company and they replied within a couple of days, addressing my concerns, and not with a form letter. They also sent me coupons for two free replacement cans in the mail! Great reaction, and I will of course continue to buy their products.
Jeers to Hallmark.com, who I contacted about the fact that you can't purchase anything from their U.S. site without a U.S. address credit card - not even e-cards, which don't require any effort at all (they will allow the free ones to anybody, so why not accept payment for the others?). I wrote suggesting that they rethink this policy. The reply was generic and didn't address the point of my letter at all:
"Thank you for contacting Hallmark. Premium E-cards must be paid for with a credit card from a U.S. bank and with a U.S. billing address. Our free E-Cards, however, can be sent to any valid email address anywhere in the world from any valid email address anywhere in the world. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks,Hallmark Consumer Care"
Now, I obviously already knew this. It's why I was writing to them! This is unfortunately typical of the "customer care" you get at a lot of websites.
Guess I will keep sending free e-cards, if they don't want my money.

Easter

Had a nice weekend, with dinner at Janet's & Jay's on Saturday. Turkey, ham, and all the fixings, and they were GOOD! Kyle was able to join us, which was very nice, but it seemed odd to have Easter without Sheila. We also missed Brian and Matt, who were ill.

My Mom and Jay have a chat before dinner.

Carolyn baked several of her famous pies. I think Iain had three pieces of the cherry.

Janet is a great hostess, and took care of everything! She even made a birthday cake for Pam, who turned another year on Saturday.

James gives Mason a ride while Iain carves the turkey. Poor little guy wasn't feeling great, unfortunately.

Myles relaxes with a brewski. Janet is bustling in the background (wearing stripes).

I really did intend to take more pictures, but I admit to feeling a bit self-conscious with my camera. I know some people don't like having a camera on them all the time. So, there are no shots of us playing Guitar Hero. I'll tell you right now, I was not a hero - got booed off the stage (I really thought I could do Enter Sandman - but it's harder than it looks!).