Chickens are happier free ranging...

"So you think you can keep me penned in?"

"Not likely."

"We are far too lovely and wild to be kept in a box."

"See how the sun shines off of my beautiful feathers?"

My divas are so very irritated with me since I've kept them 

in the coop and run during gardening/planting season.

They really do love being free ranged chickens in our swamp.

So I felt so bad for them one night...I let them out of the coop not even thinking.

I watched them (in horror) run straight for our 

freshly planted rows of peas and beans.

You do not.

Touch the peas.

Since then they have been making their displeasure known to all of the passing 

ducks, swans, geese, loons, beavers, muskrats, turkey vultures and crows.

Also, people passing by walking their dogs.

Sigh.

The result?

We fenced in our garden for the first time ever.

It's just chicken wire...

At first I hated it.

It was like my sweet veggies were in some sort of Fort Knox.

That was when the seedlings were just sprouting.

Now the fence has grown on me.

The chickens are back their free-ranging bliss.

And I have yet to hear any flack about it from the divas.

One day a hen made a swing...

One day the weather turned mild.

(This was back in early January)

It was lovely at first.

I let the hens out of the coop to stretch their wings and 

so they could enjoy their second home (aka under the deck)

I was further down the yard, burning out a stump.

I happened to look up.

Oh man!

I thought that Pigeon, our Silver Laced Wyandotte,

had tried to fly from the deck to the coop...

and gotten stuck in the grape vine trellis!

They deal with the snow...but they don't like it.

They try to fly back and forth to avoid walking in the white stuff.

Their landings just aren't graceful at all.

As I walked over to investigate, I noticed she was rocking back and forth.

It kind of reminded me of the summer birds on our clothesline.

They look like they are having fun...more fun than just "trying to keep their balance".

And it appeared as though Pigeon was doing the same thing.

By the time I got close enough, I realized she was quite fine.

She was balanced nicely on the wire we strung to train the vines.

My how your animals can make you worry...

A day on the lake - Winter Edition

Here's a derrisive issue....WINTER.

Some of us Canadians hate it...

Some of us love it...

Some of us defend our right to freeze our butts off in it...

That's just how we roll.

Our buddy Blaine and his bike.

First off...we live in the Land O Lakes Region.

Check it out here.

Over 5000 lakes, pretty much in my backyard.

(My definition of back yard is fairly broad...but still.)

Second...its good for your health!

I did a post a while back on how getting outdoors 

in the winter time can be a great workout replacement!

It only took an hour to properly pack all of our gear up and head out.

There were 6 of us on this particular trip.

We packed a Thermos of hot chocolate, a few mugs of coffee and tea.

We brought a backpack that folds out into a chair.

We brought some stuff for Owen to do...in between checking lines.

All of our ice fishing and hole drilling gear.

Snacks too...and marshmallows.

A box of newspaper.

Minnows.

Father and son on a borrowed snow machine.

And helmets...can't go far without a helmet.

Riding with Blaine to the fishing spot.

We blazed a trail through the woods across from a relative's house.

We zipped down the frozen creek and lake.

Handsome Husband is also Handy Husband!

He shows Owen the ropes...er...lines...

They have father-son time.

He's also Hercules Husband...when it comes to hand drilling our fishing holes.

"10-12 inches of ice" he reports.

Moose

Clown

We brought some spray bottles filled with water and food colouring.

I had no idea how long they would last before they froze...

but it was only -4 degrees Celcius.

It seemed a great way to keep his attention...when watching a line for a jiggle wanes.

I scoured the shoreline for dead branches.

It seems weird to be walking along the edge of the lake...on the water side.

Owen and I explored up the steep hills to find a deer bed!

They nose up the dry leaves from under the snow.

Some of the beds showed how the heat from the animal melted the snow evenly around it.

(deer scat close by too)

We were pretty high up...but that's part of the fun!

But the best part of the day was the incredible peace that surrounded us.

Calm.

Quiet.

Serene.

Our pal Pepe, who is Uncle Pepe to Owen.

I love seeing him impart manly wisdom to our son.

I love it that Owen has such positive and positively cool men to look up to in his life.

I fix up a fire on the shoreline.

I make sure that I situate it in a safe place.

Owen takes a marshmallow break...

but the fire helps us warm cold fingers when needed.

(You can't keep your gloves on the whole time while ice fishing.)

I am so in love with the rock formations of South Frontenac County.

Takes my breath away.

I'm currently reading "Their Enduring Spirit:  the History of Frontenac Provincial Park 1783-1990"

by Christian Barber with Terry Fuchs.

I'm totally enthralled with the author's description of the geological implications.

Owen loves the rocks too..but for different reasons.

He is at his absolute best when he's outdoors.

A country boy in all his glory.

A 3lb pike!

Now that is a happy country fella!

We ate this lovely pike and gave our blessings.

We live in a glorious part of the world...where we can go out,

be in nature and bring home dinner.

How do you enjoy winter outdoors?

(if you don't do it now...you should seriously start)

If you need some help...here is a list of my favorite things about Winter!

The creatures who creep through our yard....

Living in the woods has been such a revelation to me.

I grew up in a very urban environment...but always felt drawn to nature.

I sought out nature...even in the concrete jungle.

Bike trails, creeks, green spaces.

It just never seemed right.

Now that I live in the woods...I revel in all of it.

Last year I snapped an image of the raccoon tracks in our yard.

You can see it's wee fingers so clearly!

These tracks are the same size as a cat's tracks, but with a distinct difference.

These tracks have thumbs.

Can you see them?

Rabbits are frequent visitors to our property.

We saw them the first year, playing and dancing in our garden.

Yes dancing.

If you've ever seen a rabbit mating display...you'd say they were dancing too.

Since we beat back the brush...we see much less of them.

I don't blame them...we took away their cover.  

(We also have loads of birds of prey in the swamp)

I still giggle when I find rabbit tracks in the snow.

To me, these tracks are easy to identify.

They look like two exclamation points side by side.

Another frequent trail found on our property:

Little rodents scurrying about...we have mice, voles and other small things.

The above tracks stumped me.

I had never seen anything like them.

Not true...at first I thought the three fingers looked like enormous chicken tracks.

Was this so sort of swamp monster bird???

Not quite.

I followed these tracks from tree to tree.

I found the end of the trail and then I realized what they were. 

Beavers!

All of the trees it had passed, I had wrapped in chicken wire.

The trail stopped at an area with 5 freshly gnawed off tree stumps.

You can almost see the trail its tail left in the snow...like a kid dragging a sled behind.

Care to take a guess at what this track is?

Here is another look:

This animal usually travels in packs...but I only saw one solitary trail.

***********************

Next time the snow has freshly fallen...take a walk.

Find a trail and follow it.

Imagine what that animal was doing.

Was it walking?  Searching?

Was it racing away from a predator or finding food?

Here are some tracks identification links:

Wild Things Unlimited - for predators

Wildlife Conflicts Information Website - wide variety of canine, feline and rodentia.

Celebrating the first snow...

It was fall...

Then, after two days of snow...it wasn't fall.

Not at all.

The third day...it was frigid...

But it was beautiful.

Fresh fallen snow...pure and perfect.

Unspoiled.

We stacked wood.

We have been stacking wood for a week now.

Owen's baby sled turned into a kindling hauler.

Chopping your own firewood creates a crazy amount of bark and other burnables.

We weren't the only busy ones...

Beavers seem to have found one of our last few ash trees.

So beautiful.

After all that work in the cold...

it's nice to sit down in front of the fire

Chili with cornbread muffin in hand.

Enjoying the best part of being outside in winter in Canada.

Warming up indoors.

Beyond the edge...

Lately I've been obsessed with going outside the lines...

Going beyond the edges.

Now when I say 'edges', I mean to say we all stay in the lines.

We all drive on the roads.  Walk on sidewalks.  Work in buildings.

I want to go where only my eye can go.

I want to wander to the other side of those lines.

When I drive in the countryside...I imagine what lies beyond the trees.

Have you ever wanted to park your car and just walk off into the wilderness?

(ok maybe that's just me)

In the springtime, I have heard a waterfall near our home.
I never knew where it was...only where I thought the sound was coming from.
I finally jumped without a safety net.
I walked beyond the edge...

There were shapes and colours, raw and natural.

There was mica sparkling in the daylight.

 

There was the gentle trickle of life-giving water down the hillside.

I found rocks gathering in huge numbers.

I found peace.  I found tranquility.

I was a nature creature in the wild.

I think its important for us, as human animals, to reconnect with nature.

I have posted about this idea before...but this post is more about the feeling of being in nature.

The feeling of being free.

The feeling of us as animals...and not just corporate entities.

Where do you go for peace?

A few of my favorite things...FALL EDITION

The Things I LOVE about Autumn...

Crispy leaves under your boots

No bugs on our hikes!!!

hot apple cider

colourful leaves

mulled wine
the colours red, orange, brown

root vegetables

cinnamon and nutmeg

comfort foods like shephard's pie

Pumpkin, Squash and Carrot flavoured everything

Apple picking

HALLOWEEN!

Ches likes the end of lawn mowing!
Owen loves stretchy mitts.

*********************

The Things I do NOT love about Autumn...

Bulking up on comfort foods...
the end of summer
hay fever

Owen doesn't like back to school.
Ches isn't a fan of the end of our garden.



What do you love about fall?