Wilderness

The past few days has been the most incredible summer-like weather and we are just enjoying every minute of it. Cleaning up the yard, organizing the patio furniture and just being outside without shivering is a real treat! The early mornings are fresh with the sounds of woodpeckers, Canadian geese honking, frogs chirping and songbirds chanting their melodies. I even saw a coyote yesterday up close as I was driving and he was scampering into the woods. That was pretty amazing. My neighbor has even told me that she's seen the odd wolf coming out of our property in the past few weeks. This confirms my theory from months ago when I saw what looked like giant dog footprints across our lawn (and also the occasional pile of bird feathers dotted with blood left near the feeders).

Spring Has Sprung

Today was just the most beautiful spring day. The sun shone brightly all day and the color of the sky is now warming up. My woodland marshes are buzzing with a cacophony of toads and frogs. It's so loud by evening that they can be heard even with the windows shut. I've seen loads of lovely songbirds - orioles, finches, warblers. My son and I went exploring behind a large pond we now have, only to discover a large piece of quartz and an abandoned, rusted out personal vault. Go figure. It would have been nice to find a bag of money, but we didn't.

Rescue

The winter thaw has been continuing all week long which has led to creeks about to flow over, massively squishy earth and loads of mud. Not a good situation when you have 2 pooches racing through it all and dragging it inside. Into the shower they go several times a day now. Keeping my floors clean is an all-consuming job. But spring is in the air. Just this week alone right near my house, I've seen packs of white-tailed deer, a coyote with meal in mouth trotting through the corn field and loads of Canadian Geese (who like to rest in our marsh). It's wonderful to hear all the bird calls now. But late today I had to perform an emergency rescue from the marsh. Dixie, my big girl, saw the geese and took off - flying down the hill & with a leap she went right out onto the ponds (which are still partially frozen). But after she was done with that, she couldn't figure out how to get off the ice. So as my son cried in horror and my dog shook with cold and fear, I trudged down the embankment, into the icy cold marsh water and pulled my dog to land. I thought I'd have trouble getting out as my boots were then lodged in thick, heavy mud/water. It's hours later and my feet are still cold. Always an adventure here in the country.

Earth Hour

Last night was an interesting global experiment - have as many people and buildings as possible shut off all electricity between 8pm and 9pm. Being that my son's school was hyped on the topic, we also participated. And to my surprise, so did my 2 visible rural neighbors. We lit a bunch of candles, pulled out the Game of Life and played the old board game as a family. It was a lot of fun and the first time we all played a game like that together. Hopefully we saved some electricity, but more importantly it gave us a reason to all be together as a communicating family in quietness...that is a real rarity in today's modern world.

Raccoons at Night

We've been dealing with a small army of raccoons lately. Seems they have discovered our bird feeders and have decided to make them their nightly pit stop. If I wasn't such an animal lover, I'd probably have a problem with these little bandits cleaning up the seeds each night around 9:30pm. However, they are adorable and fun to watch. They seem completely unaware of our presence, even when we shine the flashlight on them. They simply sit up, stare calmly at us as if to say, "What's your problem?" The last 2 nights, they have been brazen enough to climb onto our deck and railing to invade a small hanging feeder. That usually stirs up the dogs (inside). If it's not chipmunks in the morning, it's raccoons at night now. It feels like the animals are closing in around our little island. I guess it's been a long, hard winter for them too.

Happy Easter

As you can probably tell, I've been away from the blog scene for a while now. I think just the shear length of this winter has closed me into my own private isolation. Being that there has been some sun lately and I did see my first robin (on the first day of spring), there may be some light at the end of this arduous tunnel. However, the next little while is sure in no hurry to warm up. Tomorrow is Easter and it should be loads of fun watching my son go on his annual egg hunt. He has told me that he's writing to the Easter Bunny tonight to make sure that the eggs are hidden in difficult spots. I'm sure that won't be a problem. Although I think he was a tad worried that he might not find us now that we've moved to the country. I assured him that any house with children is definitely a stop on the route.

Black Cloud Week

So I haven't been writing for a while. Well, I've been in a bit of a hibernation mode. It's been a black-cloud mode for me the past little while. Last week was just one that couldn't end too quickly. It started out with a fight to release an item out of customs' hold in Mississauga, which only delayed the process further because of the need for them to examine my item. I've concluded it would be easier clearing a new Mercedes from the Middle East than it is to release a piece of used furniture from the States. A multitude of problems at my disorganized place of employment, a flat tire in rush hour Mississauga, needing yet another tow out of country snow, my dog running away after a fleeing deer and a weekend of stomach flu all topped out the week. And yes, let me point out that this virulent bug has taken my household by storm - now holding my husband in it's clutches. I'm simply left with a nagging dry cough, so we'll see where that ends up. On a good note, our dog did come back shortly after the panic. Now, I welcome the sunshine and end of this storm.