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smoky

Smoky

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Mountain tops above the shed visible after Photoshop enhancement

Several fires burning in the nearby forest have created very smoky air. Yesterday I woke up and felt the smoke in my eyes and throat. I looked out the windows. The  mountains had disappeared. I started closing windows and reviewing my emergency plan.

So far I had the big cat carrier assembled, with a mini litter box and an untried cat harness and leash ready in the spare room.

I fretted and made breakfast. Rosalee wanted out and I reluctantly opened the door for her.

Later I learned that a home workshop across the lake had caught on fire and the wind was blowing our way. Eventually the mountains reappeared.  Today again I have the windows and doors shut. The smoke is not as bad as yesterday but worse than every day excepting yesterday.

I have added a small packsack to the emergency pile which I will keep in the van once I fill it with some clothes. There won’t be time to pick and choose if we get a an eviction order. Today I am procrastinating again. Sometimes it is hard to face reality. Reality just keeps getting more and more demanding.

Yesterday I put this year’s dried catnip in a tin. I am not bit sure whether to harvest more or let the big plants carry on going to seed.

Rosalee in the mullein patch

Rosalee rolled on my dried catnip while I was putting it in the tin. I took a sample over to Carly the calico cat across the lane. Carly enjoyed the catnip very much. She rolled on a bee. I tried to shoo her up. She moved a bit and the bee flew away.  Close call! 

I expect to be changing domain registers for this site soon. And possibly servers too, as my plan is coming to an end at wordpress.com. I’ll leave a forwarding address if/when I go! I have posted 12 times since I got this plan. That’s $10 a post. I do love WordPress.com but it seems an extravagance at the moment.

alertw

Warming Up

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At last! No more wood stove fires! Down come the heavy drapes. Out come the summer clothes. Sunscreen, big floppy sun hats. Gardening like crazy.

Rosalee spent her first night out. This is not a habit I wish to encourage. But if she doesn’t come when I call, and I can’t find her, at midnight or so I lock the door and go to sleep and pray nothing catches her. Coyotes, cougars and lynxes roam around at night. Cats disappear never to be found. Or are found partly eaten.

My walk to the lake today started off badly. I startled a blue heron. It rose up squawking, and flapped away. I hardly ever see them here any more. Then I upset a new duck family. I was far away from them, but they quaked loudly and swam off quickly. On my way through the willows, edging around the high water, I scared another pair of ducks off.

When I got to the site of the old wharf, I saw the lovely lady merganser with nine little chicks swimming with her. She saw me and turned around and swam slowly past the boathouses and out to open water. I was keeping my distance but she didn’t want company.

The water is running fast now with spring runoff. I watched fearfully as she got to the centre of the narrow arm of the lake. She was far away and it was hard to see. I kept taking photos. When I got home and blew them up, I was relieved to see that she made it across. Either the babies all hung on to her, or they were already strong enough swimmers to keep up.

Lady merganser with her brood

April Showers

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Seasonal low water level at the lake

Writing my blog has become a chore. Photos take time to edit. I have nothing much to write about. I remember how much I wanted this new website. That was last year. A different world.

Roselee has become self effacing… That is a polite way of saying cowardly. Other cats have been coming into the yard, and Rosalee responds by staying indoors. When I see an unwanted kitty visitor, I go out and grab the hose but the by the time I have turned it on the visitor is gone.

Perhaps if I got rid of the catnip… It is a hardy perennial. Leaves are starting to sprout up now. I pick it for tea for myself. I find it very calming. And Rosalee is extremely fond of it. A polite way of saying addicted? Cats will be cats.

It looks like a good day to get outside and do some gardening. I have yet to find any cat leavings (a polite way to say– well, I’m sure you can guess…) Yes. I’ll do some more clearing and maybe a little planting. Yesterday I put in some arugula and black mustard seeds.

The garden is now open for day visits

A Windstorm

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Well, here we are. The fire is going. The snow has stopped snowing. The electricity is humming along after a 3 day outage. I heard a snow plow on my street earlier. And I heard a neighbour’s snowplower start up awhile ago too. Lucky me nipped into town for groceries yesterday when it was sunny.

What, me worry?

Rosalee and I have had our ups and downs this year. My are pretty standard: family, money, home maintenance, keeping warm, keeping healthy, being there for Rosalee… The threat of Covid hangs over us all out here. Dependence on electricity, internet, and driving is our way of life. When a big windstorm comes along, it is scary,

Rosalee woke me at dawn. She was unsettled. I thought I heard someone on the porch. Someone opening the door. I called out. I got up. The screen door was wide open. The shovel I keep by the door had blown down the steps. The heat was off. Brrrr!!

What to do first? I pulled the screen door shut tightly. Then checked the phone for Hydro messages.

I got dressed and got the fire going. I had heard branches falling on the roof. I went outside. What a wind! I staggered around the yard picking up blowable things, tucking them into sheds. I took down the clothes line. The support had blown over and the line was at eye level. Not safe. I walked all around the yard, then went out on the street for a better view of the roof. No visible damage. Only small branches seemed to have fallen. A few birds were calling from the shelter of trees. They sounded afraid.

Later I went out walking. No people outside! A group of turkeys trotting down a back lane was the only sign of animal life. A gust of wind made me stagger once but I kept my balance. My favourite tree, a very old fir which some people want cut down, was standing tall, looking very strong and safe.

This tree could be 100 years old. It is growing on an unused public fire lane.

I ate sandwiches for lunch, moved food out of the fridge into buckets and put them outside. I put a bit wet towel on top of the freezer. By then Hydro was predicting a few days before the lines could be cleared.

The winds stopped about 3 p.m. Had I been energetic, I could have made a little snow house for the frozen food (all fruit plus a few loaves of bread). But I didn’t. I figured my electronic gadgets would last three days before I had to start the van to charge them. I hunkered down.

My candles and flashlight were ready. I cooked a bit on the stove even. Something I once did a lot.

After three days the power was back. The frozen fruit had melted. I am going to chuck it all out,. Garbage or compost, not sure. It is frozen again now. No need to decide right away,

I think the most amazing thing of all this was that I went out in the garden and was able to pick some cabbage and kale leaves. Usually in January the garden is under several feet of snow. Not this year.

Calico Ducks

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While I concentrating on distant bufflehead ducks, I failed to notice these remarkable creatures paddling along the edge of the lake right in front of me. As I quickly changed focus and started to chat calmly and amicably to them, they began swim back in the direction they had come from. I decided not to follow them.

They got about forty feet away and watched me for awhile. And then they came back and stopped right in front of me , giving me lots of time to take pictures. One even came out of the water. After several minutes, they resumed their journey, paddling off in a casual flotilla.

They stopped by someone’s dock and looked like they were going to stay there for awhile. I chose a different way home to avoid startling them. I believe they are Muscovy ducks, which some people in BC raise. As far as I know they are not indigenous to this area. They seemed cautious of me, but not afraid. Perhaps they are escapees. I have not seen them since and hope they are safe.

The buffleheads were lovely also. Smaller, and not so trusting. One male with the white head, and 3 females. I had seen them a week before when it was still warm and sunny, fluttering around, squawking and splashing and diving and having a grand time. They seen more sedate now in the cooler weather, keeping away from the shore.

Buffleheads

Birds

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The dark headed Stellar jay was in the sunflowers. Usually they zip away as soon as I approach the window but this one was not shy.

Jay

He shared the biggest flower head with the chickadees. They took turns, the chickadees flitting in one after another, then staying clear when the jay came back for more.

Rosalee was very close by. I dashed out and got her out of the garden. By the time I got back inside she had returned. She’s a good jumper and climber. All the time I watched, she made no aggressive move towards the birds. She just sat staring. She is fast, but I pray the birds are faster.

I wish the birds would coordinate their feeding sessions with Rosalee’s nap time Now, for example, she is at the front window in her little carrier fast asleep. No birds are in the garden.

Today I have a clear day and will return to yard clean up, including leaf raking and rearranging all the bits and pieces of burnable wood stashed away in baskets and boxes here and there under tarps. A. truckload of firewood came, but my supplier is behind schedule and I am not positive he will finish the order. I have some big rounds of fir, gifts from a tree faller, but I am not strong enough to split them by hand. Once the snow comes, it will be hard to haul them out.

Chickadee

New Camera

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A NEW CAMERA

Rosalee was a little suspicious of the hefty package I carried in, but seems OK with the new camera. She will be looking at it a lot as I learn to operate it. Second hand, bought online privately, came in the mail a week after ordering. Rosalee gave it a good sniffing out, and then let me point it at her.

Eventually I hope I get to take some nice sharp photos with this camera. In the meantime… I haven’t had much time to try it out. Too cumbersome to stick in my pocket like a cellphone. I feel very invasive pointing its huge telephoto lens at anything. And the cold air makes my hands numb so I am fumbly with the little dials and buttons.

I have read several articles about this camera. Some goo-ishly positive, some sharply critical, and some, fortunately, informative and seemingly unbiased. Just looking at the manual was intimidating , I found a cheap ebook on Kindle that was much easier to understand.

I took it away to a quiet place where I didn’t feel self-conscious and clicked away. I like the feel of it and think I can get to understand it enough to work for me. I am not very demanding. I hope to take some nice close ups of birds, cats, and perhaps the moon even.

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Creating a new routine

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When I had two cats, there was always a tension at home. Two cats on guard all the time, taking little paw swipes at each other when they passed close by each other. Lots of hissing.

Rosalee got pushed out a bit because I felt I had to care for Muffin, who was ill, and make life as pleasant for her as I could. Now with Muffin passed on, Rosalee is redeveloping her own routine. I noticed today that going in and out a lot has become one of them. Since it is getting very cold here, I suspect she will be spending more and more time indoors. Me too.

Snow on the mountaintops.

So far today I have opened the door for her at least 10 times. Every time I do the cold air comes in. Today I will be out soon to try cleaning up the yard a bit. I have to get my winter tires accessible too. They are at the back of a shed which is littered with cardboard boxes and odd bits of firewood and kindling.

There is leaf raking and clearing frozen flower stocks.. Then there is the garden where almost everything has been killed by frost. I ought to prop up the sunflowers so the birds can eat them more safely than if they fall on the ground. Rosealee may keep me company. Or she may have a long nap inside now that she has eaten most of her food.

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