Cross Country Ski Adventure

Today, I made the exceedingly bad decision to go cross-country skiing for the first time since my teen years.  I had downhill skied in my 20s, and had enjoyed that, but hadn't been back on cross-country skis in probably 32 years or so.  The winter before last, I had purchased second-hand waxless cross-country skis.  I didn't try them last winter.  Having found local trails that seemed appropriate, I thought this would be the right time.  

I journeyed up to the trail with my skis and easily remembered how to do the bindings (yes, they're the very old 3-prong sort that require zero skill to use).  I stood on the skis and surveyed the trail ahead of me.  How delightful.  This would be great exercise and perhaps even a bit of fun as well. 

So off I went, full of vim and vigour, trying to get that easy stride motion back into my 51-year-old limbs.  I thought I was sort of getting the hang of it at one point, but things rapidly began to decline.  First of all, I was using waxless skis.  Now, when I was a youngster, my Dad would wax our family skis and he knew what colour wax to put on and did it all for us, so I never learned much about the waxing process.  When I learned (2 years ago) that waxless skis existed, I was pleased at the thought that I didn't have to go through that whole process of waxing and removing wax from skis.  All very convenient, I thought.  And I suppose it would be, if I went out in the right temperatures...which did not cover today's outing.  It said -2C on the weather station, and "feels like -4C," which I thought would be OK.  Wrong!

So, just a short period of time into my ski experience, I began to feel unsteady, and noticed that I was developing significant build-up of snow under the foot area on the ski.  This made it sort of like walking in high heels on snow, but high heels that had a v-shaped point on the bottom that aligned in the direction of one's foot, such that on each step, the tendency for the ankle to veer far to the left or right, was equally likely.  It got to a point that every 3-5 steps I took, my ankle would twist completely out to the side, sometimes on both legs at once.  I began to worry that I was going to break an ankle.  However, the folks who kindly groom the trails really frown on walking on the ski trails, so I carried on, trying to scrape the undersides of my skis off on trees every so often. Not very helpful for more than 3 or 4 glides.  Speaking of glide, there really wasn't any.  It was more just a matter of walking with skis on, after a while, but with the high-heels-ankle-twisting-outward-to-90-degree-angles-with-my-leg aspect.  This was really putting a dent in my enjoyment of the experience. Someone who had been before me (see the nice trails below) seemed to have no difficulty at all, but I was definitely not sharing their experience.

Then, there was the hill.  I came to a hill that was a wee bit steeper than I had expected, but given that I had no glide and given that my skis had so much build-up of snow on them, I figured I could just sort of walk down the hill.  I guess there's a point at which some principle of physics kicks in...might have been gravity...momentum...path-of-least-resistance.  One of those sorts of things.  Anyway, after a step or two, suddenly, I was no longer looking down the hill.  I was looking at the sky, shortly after having the wind knocked out of me when my back solidly hit the ground.  I had that "what just happened...?" feeling for a moment, and then had to sort of re-orient myself so that I could stand up again, having made it some way down the hill on my backside.  It took me some effort to actually get upright again, and I felt like a drunk ostrich, limbs all splayed around and a total lack of coordination.  I finally managed to orient both skis in the same direction, find a tree willing to assist with the uprighting process, and gather the contents of my spilled pockets (why, oh why did I not wear the jacket with the zipper pockets this time?).  I stood up and began to brush some of the snow from my backside and...suddenly, with a tremendous sense of deja vu, I was looking at the sky again.  Drat.  A few bad words may have slipped out.  I once again righted myself and slowly, sideways, eased down the rest of the slope.  

The longer I went on the trail, the more the build-up on the skis persisted, and the more I was twisting each ankle.  It was a wonder I made it to the end of the trail at all.  I'm sure it took me at least double the normal time to complete the trail, and it was definitely not a fun outing.  So today I have learned that I will not go skiing again when the temperature is too close to zero (Celsius) and I will not wear my jacket with the zipless pockets.  I may be sticking to walking for the next little while, until it gets quite a bit colder again. I'm at home for now with sore ankles and an offended back and shoulder.  This is not particularly helping with my quest to find ways to enjoy winter that are more active than snuggling under a blanket with my knitting and an audiobook.

Of note, since I was spending some considerable time flailing about on the ground, I did notice that the snow fleas were out in abundance.  If you're not familiar with snow fleas, which are not actually fleas, but rather springtails of the Hypogastrura genus, you can read more about them here.  They are very helpful little soil critters.  They only come out on warm winter days, another sign that it was too warm for good skiing.  They're actually dark blue, but they mostly look black against the snow.  Anyway, that was probably the highlight of my ski adventure.  

Winter Walks

 I'm not a fan of winter.  I love bright green growing things and warm breezes.  I like watching my chickens dig in the dirt instead of huddling in the coop.  I like to dig my own hands in the dirt, rather than stare morosely at my snow-covered raised beds.  Really, I just want to hibernate from about mid-December to about mid-April.  However, this year I'm trying to get outside more often and exercise, and try to find things to enjoy about the deep freeze.  Therefore, earlier this month, I bought snowshoes.  

I've been out on them a few times and it's good exercise.  I didn't realize how much different it would be to regular walking.  There is a park quite close to me that has some snowshoe trails.  In theory, they are quite pretty.  I prefer them when all is bright green and growing, but still, at least it gives me a place to go and wander.  As you can see in the photo below, there are also ski trails, and I will try to get out on my skis soon as well.

But when I sit down for a short rest and I'm faced with this...it's just not very appealing to me.  It all seems so bleak and grey and dreary.

The trails get used quite heavily, and after a few days, snowshoeing wasn't really as effective.  Using snowshoes on trails with packed snow is sort of like trying to snowshoe in your living room.  The snowshoes just get in the way.  However, I'm still going for walks.  A couple of days ago, it rained for several hours, which is quite unusual for this time of year here.  That made all the trails a slushy, icy mess, because it went back into deep freeze mode the next day.

Today I went for a walk with my yak-trax on my boots, to ensure that I didn't have any tumbles.  I've found two new-to-me trails not far from where I live that go through the woods and provide me with 2.5 km loop walks.  So I'm trying to do one or both of them at least 3 days a week.  A friend of mine has gone with me a few times and she took a picture of me looking at lichen on a tree the other day.  We have to maintain 2 metres of social distancing to be able to go on the trail together, but at least it's a good way to connect for a while.

I'm also finding lots of lichen to photograph and I've purchased a field guide to lichens to try to learn how to identify the species in my area.  In the meantime, I still take the odd photograph to record my snowy walks and try to appreciate the winter quiet.  

I like walking beside this creek, which is still running and not frozen over.  It makes a very soothing watery soundtrack for walking.

So I'm half hibernating, and half trying to get outside.  It's still something I have to force myself to do, but maybe eventually I'll start to appreciate some aspects of winter.

A visit to Nova Scotia

The province of New Brunswick, where I live, shut its borders in early May in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  That meant that only essential workers and law enforcement could cross the provincial borders to either Quebec, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, or Prince Edward Island.  Of course, the border to the US was also closed.  Last weekend, after several months of the closure, the four Atlantic provinces decided to form an Atlantic "bubble" because all the provinces have very low numbers of active cases (I think it's 6 or 7 cases between all four provinces now).  I was really pleased because I was finally able to visit my parents in Nova Scotia.  I hadn't seen them since Christmas, even though they only live a couple of hours drive from me.  The borders to the rest of the Canadian provinces and to the US are closed, although land owners can come in but they have to self-isolate for 2 weeks before they can go anywhere public.

Anyway, as you can probably imagine, there was a bit of a frenzy of travel on the first day that the 'bubble' opened, and that was the day I left for Nova Scotia.  I left at 8:45 am, and normally, it would take me about 7 or 8 minutes to get to the border.  Instead, due to the line-ups, it took me 1.5 hours to get to the border!  This was because there was a LOT of traffic, but also because every vehicle was stopped to question the occupants about their destination and determine the place of residence of the vehicle occupants. This is for contact tracing purposes.  I was stopped in traffic, so it was OK to take a picture.  

Traffic later in the day was backed up for 5+ hours, and they had to install porta-potties as a result of the line ups.  When I was in line, there were people walking their dogs and just getting out of their cars to wander around for a while as they waited.  It was kind of crazy.  I didn't see anyone relieving themselves in the ditches but apparently that happened later in the day.  Ugh.  

Anyway, it was absolutely wonderful to get to see my parents and spend a few days in their company again.  It's amazing how we take these things for granted until suddenly the opportunity is gone.  My parents lived through the second world war in England, so they had years of experience with food rationing and restricted movement.  People of my generation have never had to deal with this kind of situation.  Fortunately, for me at least, it wasn't a significant hardship, especially since I already work from home.  The biggest things I missed were visiting my parents and getting together with spinning or knitting friends.

My parents' garden was absolutely lovely to visit at this time of year, with loads of roses in bloom and many other flowers.  In addition, of course, I was busy photographing insects.  Here are some of the pictures I took on my visit.  Here are some of their roses - just glorious.  The one in front is named a campfire rose, and the blooms change colour with age, from yellow to pink (or pink to yellow, I'm not sure!)

This is a scarlet malachite beetle (Malachius aeneus) on a foxglove flower. It was the first time I had seen one of these.

A close-up of a campfire rose bloom.

This is one of the David Austin rose line, but I'm not positive which one.  Lovely blooms and ever so fragrant.

This is a European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum) taking a rest in a foxglove flower. They are called wool carder bees because they scrape and gather hairy fibres from leaves and flowers to use as nest material and carry it with their legs in little bundles, so it sort of looks like "wool."

A beautiful double columbine flower.  Such a rich colour...looks like grape jelly!

I don't often take panorama shots, but here is one I took of their backyard flower beds. 

A stunning Japanese maple, flanked by foxgloves (shared from my garden!)

Yet another beautiful rose coming into bloom.

It's absolutely delightful to sit and take in the glorious colours in their backyard, and as long as the neighborhood kids aren't making an infernal racket, it's really peaceful and inviting.

This is my first observation of a bee from the subgenus Hylaeus, or masked bees.  I haven't been able to make a species ID on it.  They are very small bees. 

This was also a first time observation for me.  It is a hawthorn mining bee, Andrena crataegi, confirmed by bee expert John Ascher on iNaturalist. 

Finally, here's an ever-so-ordinary honey bee, Apis mellifera, but still a lovely insect to observe.

All the bees were going crazy on the masterwort (Astrantia) blossoms, so I'm hoping to get some for my garden as well.

I'm so glad I took the time to visit and enjoy the hugs and love that only parents can give!  

Spring carries on!

Spring is continuing here in my little corner of the world.  In fact, we've had a few days now that feel distinctly summer-ish.   I thought I'd write a little bit about the latest activity around here.

The garden has progressed wonderfully.  I'm really excited about the progress in the greenhouse.  I have a local helper who is coming out several mornings a week and he is just fabulous.  I keep an ongoing list of tasks that I'd like help with, and he comes when he's able to do so and puts in a few hours of time to help out.  This means that a lot more is getting done here, so I feel good about that, while he's able to supplement his income and enjoy seeing the progress of his work, which I think is rewarding for him.  It's a win-win!  I hope I'll be able to share some of the bounty of the garden with him and his family later in the season.

Here's a view inside the greenhouse.  My helper placed paver pathways inside the greenhouse so that I have space to walk and tend to the plants.  He also placed the cross strings at the bottom and top of the rows.  I planted the tomato transplants and put the upright strings in place.  The plants will grow upwards and I will gently wrap the string around the main stem as it grows, thereby supporting the plants.  This will make pruning much easier, and will facilitate easy picking of the fruit.  The plants are already doing well and looking healthy.  I planted some tomatoes in a raised bed as well, just for comparison.  I already see a significant difference.

The raised beds have been all planted - kale, cauliflower, broccoli, broccolini, carrots, parsnips, shallots, onions, peas, runner beans, kohlrabi, beets, fennel, melons, squash, tomatoes, potatoes, and herbs.  All the beds had some compost supplement as well.  I have ordered the parts for installing a drip irrigation system for the new raised beds.  I'm hoping we can get that installed soon after the parts arrive.  Here are the four new beds and the 2 small new raised beds by the greenhouse.

Marc has also been very helpful this weekend with the planned expansion of the chicken outdoor run.  They will now have more than double the area they used to have for free roaming, while remaining protected from ground and air predators.  Marc spent a lot of time yesterday and today putting in the posts and building the supporting structure.  Next will be chicken wire and hardware cloth (at the bottom).  Eventually the new area will connect to the old, but the idea was to build as much of the new area as possible so that the chickens didn't have to be confined to the coop for a long time now that the weather is warming up.  The new area will have a partially roofed area that will allow for winter dust bathing because it won't fill up with snow.  Happy chickens!

Here's the view from the top so you can see how much bigger the enclosed area will be.

The initial 11 chicks that I hatched are all doing well and are learning to go to the roosts at night instead of hanging out on the floor.  They are such a lovely bunch.  I hope quite a few are hens but it all remains to be seen.  Another 13 chicks are currently being raised in the house, and there are just a few still to hatch.  Of course, a large portion will be roosters and will end up being soup stock, but that's part of raising chickens.  This black and white one is the biggest one.  I suspect he's a roo.

Learning to perch!

I love the unusual plumage on this one.  I hope she's a hen!

Sir Francis' area isn't quite finished yet, so today he got to go out and enjoy a temporary enclosed area with a swimming pool for his personal pleasure.  He's going through a major moult right now, so he's doing a lot of bathing and preening.

Moth season is in full swing and there have been some fabulous visitors so far.  Yesterday I had an absolutely stunning male luna moth (Actias luna) who was really fresh and undamaged.  

Today I had a modest sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta) - such beautiful hindwings.

Not a small moth!

So that's a bit of an update from me - hope things are going well in your part of the world.  

Moth Season 2020 has Begun!

As anyone who has read my blog for a while will know, I'm a big fan of moths.  Each year, I look forward to finding new and different species of moths, along with enjoying the familiar ones.  It's kind of funny that I like moths, considering that I also use a lot of wool yarn, but there are only a few species of moths that actually lay their eggs on wool and other animal fibres.  I'm not very interested in those ones!

I'm also developing greater interest in bees (especially native bee species), beetles, and other interesting insects I find in the yard.  There is so much biodiversity just in my own yard.  I don't need to travel or even leave my yard to find a wealth of interesting species.  Today, I wanted to share some of the best of my observations of the past week.  I catalogue all of them on iNaturalist, and you'll see that as a running widget on my blog, but here are some of the highlights!

Here's a lovely tri-coloured bumble bee (Bombus ternarius) enjoying a dandelion.  I get a lot of these bees at this time of the year, and many right now are queens.

This is a three-banded lady beetle that I found in my greenhouse building.

This is a species of nomad bee.  They are solitary bees that lay their eggs in other bees' nests.  Bad behaviour!

Another kind of lady beetle, but this one is the fourteen-spotted lady beetle.  As you can see, it's white and black, rather than red and black.

One of my favourite moths is the ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa).  It's such a rich red-brown colour and has such a fluffy "mane" around its head.

This is a metallic flea beetle.  The colour is just amazing!  They are difficult to identify down to a species level.

This funny looking cutie is the American lappet moth (Phyllodesma americana).  I think it looks like it's wearing a dress.  This is an easily recognizable moth that is quite widespread.

This is the olive and black carpet moth (Acasis viridata).  No, they don't eat carpet!  I love the colours on this one also.

This colourful critter is the red cross shield bug (Elasmostethus cruciatus).  They feed on alder, and I have a lot of alder around here!

There are a group of flies called bee flies, which look like bumble bees in some ways, but they are smaller, and not at all related to bees.  This one is the pygmy bee fly (Bombylius pygmaeus).  It has a long proboscis (mouth part) like a straw for drinking nectar.  

This is a colourful zale moth (Zale minerea).  I know it's just browns and creams, so not exactly colourful, but the patterns are amazingly beautiful in my opinion.

This one is actually colourful!  It's a Comstock's sallow (Feralia comstocki).

I had never seen one of these beetles before today.  It's the ribbed pine borer beetle.

This is the otter spiramater moth (Spiramater lutra).  Again, it's a beautiful moth even though it's mostly just brown and black.  

Not everybody likes insects, but I think they're missing out on a lot of beauty if they don't stop to take a closer look sometimes!