Week 7 - Survival of the fittest

After what has seemed to be a never ending winter, spring has finally arrived in earnest.  This week had temperatures that made my heart sing.  It was cooler on Tuesday but only because it was overcast and raining.  Yes, rain not snow!  Even though we didn't have much snow this winter I'm glad to see precipitation I don't have to shovel.

At the bird feeder, the juncos appear to have moved on.  The English sparrows continue to feed, along with finches, and those darn grackles.  There's also the neighbourhood squirrel who makes an appearance once or twice a day.  Unfortunately the Merlin falcon is back, actually there are a pair of them, and sadly that means there are less song birds around.  

I've been walking every second day though I don't always take my camera with me.  Since you've all seen photos from the pond, I won't bore you with a separate post this week.  I will, however, share a couple of ones I thought were interesting.  

Based on the Ducks Unlimited website, this appears to be an American Wigeon.  The duck had a very interesting call, more like a peep than a quack. 

I believe this may be the female of the pair.  She was busily finding something to eat and paid me no attention.

I spotted something in the grass but wasn't sure at first what it was.  I didn't get too close and with my zoom lens I was able to determine it was a hare. I didn't realize there was a difference between the two but after a Google search, based on the length of the ears I'm guessing it's a hare.  Thanks to those who pointed out what the appropriate term for the rabbits I was seeing in the park.

On Friday I woke to rain, but it cleared up by mid-morning and was a lovely day.  Just before noon I heard a loud bang from the sun room, and when I went to check I found a robin doing circles on the deck just outside the door.  I left it be, hoping it would recover or alternatively die without me watching.  Well, it was tough bird, although at one point it had dropped onto its belly and the tail feathers were fanned out, because every half hour or so I would check and it was still alive. Most of the time it was sitting still with its eyes closed, but occasionally I would see its head move and the wings ruffle. This went on for hours and finally when I checked again just around 6 p.m. it had flown off.

This photo was taken about 3 p.m. As you can see I've got some cleaning up to do, as it pooped several times during its ordeal.  I didn't know if it would survive, but since it was safe from any predators while it was on the deck I was prepared to leave it, overnight if need be.  

This photo was taken about 5:30 so shortly before it flew off.  It has its eyes opened and while it didn't try to fly away while I took a photo, it was definitely aware I was there.  

Isn't nature amazing?  Although it took about 6 hours, what must have been a horrid concussion, the robin's system allowed it to recover sufficiently to fly off.  By the way, I do have stickers on some of the windows that are meant to be a warning to the birds but unfortunately every year I have a few bird strikes.  Usually it means a certain death but this time both the robin and I were lucky.

Buds are opening!

Saturday morning I headed out for a walk, but left my camera behind. Of course, that would be the day I saw the most wildlife.  Over in the school yard were two gophers.  Actually they are Richardson's ground squirrels but we call them gophers. The two were sitting still as can be while a Merlin circled above.  Apparently it didn't spot them as it eventually flew off.  It flew right over my head at a fairly low altitude ...darn I wish I'd had my camera.

As I walked through the park, I heard the song of the blackbirds but wasn't able to spot them in the trees nearby.  I did see a magpie and later it flew across the field as I walked by.  There was a rabbit running about (not a hare this time), and several robins. In the creek were a pair of mallards.  I made my way over to Riverbend where I spotted another new duck, this one with a white bill, which I believe was a coot.  There were a few geese, some ducks, and a couple of gulls but not nearly as many birds as I often see there.  

On the home front, I did a bit of shopping on Friday and placed a small order for items that weren't available for Monday.  I cannot find yeast in any of the stores unless I want to pay $10 for organic yeast.  I think not!  I have enough left for one more batch of buns so hopefully I'll find it again in a couple of weeks. The regular household chores were done this week and I continue to work on my knitting.  I started on a second knitting project, a balaclava (ski mask) for my brother for Christmas.  It should be complete by the end of day Sunday and I'll post a photo next week. A memory: when my son was about three years old, he wanted a "warm facer".  I had no idea what he meant until we were shopping at a local store and he spotted one in a bin.  Aha!  It is now a inside family joke.  

Speaking of three year old's, I have to brag a bit about my grandson Eli.  His mom bought him a couple of apps that help him to learn English and French. One of the games is to match letters to spell certain words in English - he's able to do so with up to eight letter words.  The other evening she posted to Facebook "he was using his French app on his iPad. It kept saying “le poulet est en colere”.  She asked him if he knew what this meant and he said, the chicken is angry.  AND yes, that is what it means.
She is functionally bilingual and I'm sure he will be too.

Of course he's not perfect and can be a naughty child.  Later in the week, he opened the fridge and changed the dial to freezer.  D was definitely not happy with him, as by the time she realized it, all of her fresh vegetables were frozen solid. Oops. He is so curious but sometimes it doesn't work out all that well.

On that note, I'll wish you all a good weekend.  Back to my knitting.  Take care and stay well!