First peep: April 6!! This is the earliest date yet for the peepers in our back yard — what’s more, friends have been hearing them along the Fauxburg Rd and in the Valley for more than a week already. Today’s temperature reached +13° C and that came after a very wet few days — perfect … Continue reading
Filed under Animal …
The iNaturalist app
At the beginning of April we downloaded the iNaturalist app on my phone and have been slowly but steadily uploading our nature observations. (The website is much easier to browse through: iNaturalist.ca) So far, we’ve uploaded 57 plants and animals. Our “finds” include salamanders and spiders, lichen and fungi, trees and shrubs, beetles and bees… … Continue reading
Spring Peepers 2020
We’ve had a mild, sunny few weeks (give or take a few showery days) and we listened for peepers for a few nights before we heard them on April 13: a very average date for the last 10 years after a pretty middle-of-the-road winter. I need to do some more research on average daily temperature … Continue reading
Spring in Quarantine
March 22, 2020: The world has been rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic and we’ve been in quarantine for a week since Matt came home from a work trip overseas. Today the premier announced all provincial parks and all beaches are now closed and people will be fined $1000 for violating the social distancing laws. We … Continue reading
Spring Peepers 2019
The first peep of 2019 was April 14. It was a glorious warm and sunny day 15 degree day today following a mild, rainy day yesterday. No surprise at all that the peepers were out tonight. Today was also the day the daffodils unfurled and the crocuses bloomed on the front lawn. But no … Continue reading
Finally… a porcupine!
It was an absolute scorcher of a day — over 30°C this afternoon and humidex values closer to 40°. I was in the kitchen after dinner when I spotted what I thought was a raccoon out in the field. We’ve seen a few recently. I put my glasses on and took another look… and yelled … Continue reading
Baby raccoons (x3)
These two sweet and very small baby raccoons were huddled up against the school wall last week. It was the Thursday before the end of school (June 28) so no students were present. The mother raccoon had left the babies all day — Milo and Charlie spotted them earlier in the day — we had … Continue reading
Spring round-up 2018
Here are a few of my favourite “finds” this spring in Nova Scotia. Here’s a painted turtle laying her eggs on the side of the Dynamite Trail — photographed by a friend, Callen, who spotted her while we were out for an evening bike ride at the end of May near Oakland Commons Pond. They … Continue reading
Pseudoscorpion
We found this awesome little spider on our bathroom wall tonight. It was only around 1–2 mm long and a rich brown colour. We thought it was a large tick at first (urgh), but soon noticed its large scorpion-like pincers. Sure enough, it turned out to be a pseudoscorpion or false scorpion, an ancient arachnid that … Continue reading
June round-up
A few highlights from the month. First, some dates: June 12 – the first chick hatched June 13 – first firefly of the year spotted in the yard around 9:45pm. June 16 – found a little sparrow nest in the clematis June 21 – Milo spotted a snapping turtle on the rocks behind a local … Continue reading
witches whiskers 