FFF Nature Friday - WHooooo Do You See

 Thanks to Rosy for hosting Nature Friday. 

 

It was an exciting week for us in the owl department. We have lived in the hills for 8.5 years and while we have heard the owls, we have not seen them.

Our first spotting was Sunday morning on our morning walk. Down the road I spied one sitting in a tree. It was just before 8 am and she was staring at us. I regretted not having any device to caputure her image. So imagine how excited I was on Thursday morning when during a zoom consult, I saw movement from the corner of my eye and there she was! I actually paused my meeting to call the Man (who captured this picture). She was there for about 15 minutes before moving on.

Thanks to Yamini for hosting FFF.

The little birds sound the alarm

An intruder to them who may do them harm

But when I look it is beauty I see

Wisdom and grace have come to our tree.

Thankful Thursday - My Settee - By Phod

 Dear pals,

You may remember that almost a year ago, Lady's adopted Grandma died. In her will, Lady and Aunt C inherited the contents of the house. One of the items the Lady took was Missy G's settee. Lady has purchased an inexpensive cover for it. I think it, with the throw pillows Lady found, is the perfect place to sleep. Missy G would totally approve of my enjoyment of this! Lady says she can hear her laughing! Missy G had a great laugh and laughed often. 

I am thankful to have such a comfy and special place to relax. 

Wordless Wednesday - Hailey Hunts

 

Winter Fun

 Well the cold has finally arrive, but this didn't stop the Man from making us our first fort. On Saturday he blew out some of the snow from the front lawn to give us a place to play.

Lady said it was hard to photograph, but we hope you get the idea.

Here in picture one Phod is going over the wall!

In picture 2, Hailey is checking it out. She is not that impressed. 

Here in picture 3 you can see Phod and Man walking through it. Phod likes it as it is easier to run here then in the deep snow! 

Mischief Monday - Humouring The Humans

  Dear pals,

While I can appreciate the value of the internet, I wouldn\"t know all of you without it, it really has it\"s disadvantages.

Lady discovered people were teaching their animals to talk using buttons. She also discovered these buttons can be purchased rather inexpensively on the internet and now I must humour her through training sessions. We all know she knows what I want.

This short video was taken during my first training session. I think it is clear I am not the one who needs training.

The ever patient Hailey

PS Lady hopes the video works. She had no end of trouble trying to get it in. She even tried buying the Blogger app . . . there were sooooooo many HBO words! so she has attached it here several different ways with hopes one will work! YouTube

Nature Friday - So Much Snow

 Thanks to Rosy for hosting this fun hop! Last Saturday we got about a foot of snow. Here are some nature shots from this.

Thankful Thursday - by Phod

 Dear pals,

I am thankful for all the snow we go. It wasn't too cold (it was just around freezing) and I got to run and play in it a lot!  I was so happy! Here are a few pictures of me having fun! 

=

Wordless Wednesday - Birthday Outtakes

 

Lake Walk - By Hailey

Last week we shared that Lady lost her mind got brave and took us for a walk on the lake. Lady mentioned she freaked because it was a little slushy, but it was only slushy on top, it was still a good 6-8 inches thick. Don't worry, it has been a bit mild so Lady won't be going out anytime soon.

While we were down there we ran into our neighbour Callie. She wanted to play. I told her it was against Covid rules to have close contact with anyone outside your household (if you live alone you can join one other household). She said people rules are stupid and we had a bit of a play! 

I have to agree with her in some ways. Yes, Covid is very serious and we need to be careful, but it is probably a very low risk activity to say hi to your neighbour from a healthy distance. It is probably good to have those brief check ins with people because this is hard, especially in the winter which is hard for everyone.

This is Man telling Callie she can't come on our walk with us. 

This is looking back at the skating rink the neighbours dug out. Bertie asked if we skate and the answer is no, neither Lady nor Man skate. Lady's mom tried to get her to learn as a child but Lady just sat and cried. Snowshoeing is Lady's only winter sport. 

This year has been hard, but we have been blessed with a mild winter that allows us to get out and enjoy!

 

Mischief Monday - Cone and Covid

First, Phod would like to report mistreatment because he has had to have some cone time over the past few days. Seems his ears are bugging him and he won't stop scratching them (which is making them worse). So for periods of the day he is having cone time.

Second, we thought we would give a little Covid update. We live in the province of Quebec. The numbers here are not good. We are in a lockdown. This means only essential businesses (gas, pharmacy, food) will allow you in the store. Other businesses can do curbside pick up. Everything but gas and pharmacy have to be closed by 7:30. It is now illegal to be outside your house (with some exceptions) from 8pm to 5 am. You are allowed to take your dog for a walk, but not your husband pretending to be a dog (click HERE if you haven't heard this story). The children are still going to school.  

Now I, the Lady, work in our neighbouring province Ontario. They have no curfew, but non-essential businesses are only doing curbside pick up as well. The kids are all doing online learning (no going to school). In March of 2020 when we had the first lockdown, my work was not deemed essential. However, it has since been made essential, so she can see her clients. While part of Lady would like to have a vacation, it is in the best interest of her clients to continue to access services. Autism treatment is really healthcare. So approximately 2 days a week I go and see people (I am doing a combination of telehealth and in person).

As for the vaccine, the roll out is going slow here in Canada. The belle province of Quebec is giving the 2 doses 90 days apart (which goes against all the science and has me frustrated). I expect I will have access to it maybe by the summer. I suspect the Man, given that he can work from home forever, will be one of the last people eligible. We will both go when it is our turn. 

It occurred to me this morning that the worldwide deaths of about 2 million so far, would be like 2 of Ottawa (our nearest city) disappearing. It made me sad. Stay safe and healthy dear friends!

Nature Friday - A Contrast - Summer vs Winter

 Thanks to Rosy for hosting Nature Friday.

In the summer our lake looks like this:

In the winter it looks like this:

We only learned this, this year. This is our 8th winter at the lake and the first time Lady has braved going on it when it is frozen. She really wishes she had the camera the first time we went so she could show you how confused Phod was. He kept looking for the water! Anyway, we have enjoyed our 2 walks on the lake, even if Lady freaked out time two due to a little slush in one spot (the ice is very thick, you can see the snowmobile tracks on it). We will see if she will ever take us again!

Thankful Thursday - Birthday Presents - by Lee

Today I am thankful for birthday presents, even if Phod did not just let me have all the things.

See two crazy birds arrives and I really wanted the puffin but

Phod gabbed it.

So I settled for the parrot.

Phod was then jealous I had my birthday toy, so when I took a break he took the parrot too!

No worries because later I started taking the birds apart. 

Lady also made me cheesy bake-a-bone.

 
So even if I had to share and had to tolerate a hat, turning 11 was still a good day. 

Wordless Wednesday - Happy 11th Birthday Hailey

 

Getting Ready For The Big Day Tomorrow

There has been a lot going on in the world, including a new lockdown for us. Our peeps can only leave the house between 8pm and 5am for an emergency, work, or to take us out. So I think I will just nap and get ready for my big day tomorrow! 

Mischief Monday - The Long Leash - by Hailey

Now that the snow has returned the peeps have decided that sometimes I can be on my tie out, not attached to anything and wander in the yard, under their very close supervision. The reason they are allowing this is because the snow makes it harder for me to run too fast and the tie out has knots and gets easily caught if I get into the bush. It is not ideal as it does slow me down and is hard to drag around. But it does give me more freedom than when I have to be attached to a person.

You can see how closely I am supervised at times

My peeps encourage me to stay in the yard (meaning the open area that would have grass if there wasn't so much snow).

Lady thought it was funny that I had so much snow on my nose. 

Technically, I am still in the yard, but my peeps don't like me to be this far into the bush

So I humoured them and came back out. 

Overall, I give this way of spending lunch a B! 

Now, if I can just figure out how to convince them to let me in the bush more!