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All Creatures Great and Small

Roger — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 02:55:18 +0000

Visitors seen around the yard today include the habitual doe and her 2 bambis, and some “bugs” on the milkweed plants beside the back porch.

Pond Renovations

Roger — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 03:29:25 +0000

Since putting in the ponds nearly 2 years ago it has been a constant battle to keep the water clean. I’d only bought a cheap filter at Menards when first getting this set up, and it became apparent that we needed better to try and keep the water clean. Other measures were needed too, like more area covered by lilies or other vegetation. The water lilies we’d had from Menards were tired and not doing very well.

A couple of weeks ago we bought a new water lily, along with some water lily food, and some chemical to help clear the water. The new lily has done amazingly well, the chemical powder to clear the water was slowly working it seemed, and the olde tired water lilies were responding to being re-potted and actually fed for the first time. But it seemed like we still needed a better water filter. Hours spent searching, researching and reading online came up with the thought that we needed a Bio-Pressure-UV Filter – this has mechanical filtering, bio-filtering, and a UV light to kill algae.

Ebay turned one up for $72 plus shipping, and that arrived yesterday. So after much pondering on just where and how to put it, today was spent digging, organising, piping with bigger pipes than I’d used previously, and generally tidying up.

A couple of pictures show this in progress. There’s still more to tidy up before I take the “finished” pictures…

A view showing the new filter (centre of picture), with the pipe coming up to the top of the spillway in its new trench. The garden to the right is to be a butterfly garden.

Another view of the work in progress, with the mess laying around waiting tidying up.

Yard and Garden 7/7

Roger — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:02:12 +0000

A few shots taken today in the garden this afternoon, and then this evening from the kitchen window. An update to the water garden, and then a visit from bambis

Yesterday Lisa and I went to Apols Landscaping and oohed and aahed at the amazing selection of water lilies and other aquatic plants they have in an amazing array of ponds, and came home with a water lily, a couple of other plants, some “stuff” to take care of the water with, pellets to feed water lilies with and just for a laugh 5 tadpoles.

So the 2 puny lilies I’ve had for a couple of years got repotted and fed and put into one pond, and the new water lily given a pond of its own, along with the tadpoles and assorted snails that were hangers on.

The new waterlily purchased yesterday. It had 2 blooms yesterday - 3 today.

Then tonight after dinner Lisa looked out the window and a bambi was on the patio right outside the kitchen. By the time I’d got my camera, it had raced off to join its sibling across the lawn, and then Mum turned up.

OK - we're done, and I'm out of here, now follow along...

Tree Trimming

Roger — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 03:13:59 +0000

When we moved here in 1998 there were a number of pine trees planted, including a couple “near” the driveway. At first there was about 4′ of grass between the tree and the driveway, but as time passed the tree became wider and wider and wider, to the point where a few years ago I had to cut a small flat on the side of it to keep it a bit clear of the driveway.

Now to today where the tree was now seriously impinging on the driveway. First step – cut what I could reach while standing on the ground.

Partway Done

I’ve cut it back about 4 feet from the edge of the driveway – the extent can be seen in the overhang over the tractor and trailer. Hopefully it will fill in a little bit, and next time it’s trimmed still be well back from the driveway. Once I’d cut all I could reach from the ground it was time to move the trailer in and use that as a platform to reach higher.

Now standing on a ladder on the trailer to reach even higher.

Once I’d cleared it as much as I could reach from the trailer, next level is to work from a ladder sitting on the trailer. (the blocks and jacks at the back of the trailer are holding it steady to stop it bouncing on the springs).

The End Result. Hopefully this will hold for a few years, and from now on be a bit easier to keep up with - all the thick branches are cut now.

The UPS driver will be much happier now that he doesn’t have to scrape the side of his truck through this, and then re-adjust the side mirror. A gallery of a few more images is below:

Behind the Vege Garden

Roger — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 01:48:15 +0000

I looked out the kitchen window this morning and “spotted” this scene.

You Just Know that she's saying to the young'un - come back here in a few months and there'll be tomatoes, pumpkins and all sorts of yummy things!!

another “bambi” was off to the left. They left before I could get another photo.

Lunch at the Wren House

Roger — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:31:29 +0000

A few weeks ago I posted a couple of photos of the wrens who were getting ready to move into the Wren House hanging in a tree beside our garage.

Well they did move in, and while we were away, the produced at least 3 chicks. I took a few pictures of them being fed today – Yum!!!!!!

Two gaping mouths sticking out through the hole looking for lunch

Trying to decide who gets the insect and who gets the caterpillar.

A photogallery is below…

Cultivating with Giants

Roger — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:24:17 +0000

Mid afternoon yesterday the distant sound of a diesel engine alerted me that someone had decided it was time to cultivate the large corn field behind our house. This field was last cultivated in almost the depths of Winter on 21 December 2009 – see this post for images of the 4″ thick ice that was being “cultivated” along with the dirt and mud.

Looking out I see the now familiar 480 horsepower Case IH coming, with a truly massive cultivator behind it.

The cultivator was at least 50 feet wide I think - 16 long paces across the swath of tilled land it left behind.

After it had made one pass I walked across the tilled ground – 16 good long paces, so at least 50 feet – 16 metres – probably!!!! I’m not sure of the exact size of the field – probably in the 50 acres region, and it was “done” in less than 3 hours – now that’s progress!!!!!

A photogallery is below.

Just Peeking Out

Roger — Mon, 24 May 2010 21:51:56 +0000

Our neighbour gave me a wren house for Christmas 2 years ago. I hung it in a cherry tree right by our garage last spring and a wren moved in and we got wren babies.

Last Christmas the neighbours gave me another wren house which I hung on the porch, and this spring there is at least 1 pair of wrens singing up a song around the garage again. These 2 pictures are of one in the house in the cherry tree.

Taken through the foliage of a cherry tree right by our garage. A very songful wren is sitting in the wren house peeking out at me.

From a slightly different angle. No blurry branch in the way, but a couple of blurry leaves right in foreground.

Luckily the power of the 12x zoom on my Canon PowerShot S2 IS lets me get these photos from some distance away. They are the full frame of the image.

There’s a Fungus Amungus…

Roger — Sat, 22 May 2010 02:27:59 +0000

I spotted these two growths of a fungus on a couple of dead trees in our yard.

The first image below is 1 of 4 fungi that were growing around the base of this dead box elder tree.

Just above ground level on the dead and slowly rotting remains of a multiple stemmed box elder tree that I cut down a few years ago.

These next 2 shots are the same growth on a different tree.

This double layered fungus is on the trunk of another dead tree in the hedgerow on the west side of our property.

Another view - see that the bottom one has caught and is holding water from a recent rain.

Spring Blossoms

Roger — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 04:28:16 +0000

The trees are in full bloom at the moment, so I’ve taken a few pictures of some of them to share here.

This tree given to me in August of 2004 at the death of my Mum has amazing blooms this year. Thank You Friends!!!!!

A photo gallery of some pictures is below (click the first (or any) image to open a larger version in a slide show)