Filed under Home & garden …

My Big (Bird) Year, 2022

On January 1 we took part in a bird count in Mahone Bay with Kevin, an experienced birder from the Valley. He recommended a movie called “The Big Year” with Owen Wilson and Steve Martin which we watched that night. The kids weren’t interested in watching with us, but it was so good that I … Continue reading →

Spring Peepers 2022

First peep: April 5!! This is a day earlier than last year’s record. The temperatures have been around 8 to 10° C for the last few days with plenty of sun (but dropping to frosty temps overnight). Although we did have a whacky spring squall (and a snow day off school!) on April 4. I heard … Continue reading →

Spring Peepers 2021

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 →

Summer Highlights 2020

With COVID restricting travel throughout most of 2020, we stayed within Nova Scotia for our summer hols. We explored Wentzell Woods almost daily in May and June as lock-down continued. At the end of June we booked a weekend in North Cabin at Milford House (made friends with a flying squirrel who was sharing Lily’s … Continue reading →

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 →

Bird Nest Bonanza!

During COVID-19 lockdown we’ve spotted more bird nests in the garden than at any time in the previous 10 years. Here they are — in order of discovery (all spotted within a month from mid-April to mid-May, 2020): Cardinal nest on the way into the wood was the first nest of the year. She laid … 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 →

A Mild Autumn and First snow!

October was glorious this year — warm and sunny and golden. This was Thanksgiving at Milford House: The good weather continued into late October and November. This view of the window box outside the back door was taken on November 5th! We don’t normally have flowers still in bloom in November. Dandelions were even sprouting … Continue reading →

A soggy spring

It was a cold, wet spring on the whole (and an especially wet May) and everything was a week or two late as a result. April 21, 2019, saw the first few pink blooms open on the magnolia, the first lilac buds and the rhubarb shoots just poking through. May 8 we spotted our first … Continue reading →