Moose!

With family visiting we headed to Algonquin Park for a hike and the hope of spotting a moose for our guest.  And we weren't disappointed. There were two younger moose happy to pose for photos. 

Salamander/Newt Trail

Our friends who took us on this Salamander trail last year invited us back.  We were all thrilled to be on the look out for newts and salamanders.  It is a beautiful trail that in the neighbouring town, along the river, ravines and woods.  At the top of a waterfall is the jack pot.  We turned over logs and rocks to find lots of red backed salamanders.  Their little feet are so incredibly tiny, they amaze me.

We were all thrilled to see and hold the Jefferson salamander, which was huge! As big as Aria's head !

There was lots of time in the woods, despite the misty weather.  Followed by lunch and trampoline time.  Great day!

A Beautiful Owl

A few weeks ago we were thrilled to be treated to having an owl sitting on the post close to our house.   A few days later I noticed something under the big pine tree at the side of the house. Assuming it was an item of clothing left behind by the kids I asked them to get it while they were playing.  Minutes later they were all rushing in the house,  talking over each other.  It was not clothing, but a dead owl.  The bird was fully intact, it hadn't been attacked by anything as there was no marks or damage.  We were in awe of this amazing bird and the opportunity to see it up close.  We were also very sad.  To have this majestic, powerful bird laying lifeless in our hands.
We happened to be heading to the Muskoka Wildlife Centre a few days later which seemed like a perfect opportunity to talk to someone about the bird.  The naturalist at the Centre confirmed our guess that this was a Barred Owl, most likely an old one.  She showed us the breast bone and how there was very little meat on this one, indicating that it was most likely sick and undernourished.  The bird might have had poor eye sight due to age making it difficult to hunt.  It was at the bottom of the tree, making it very likely that it died and fell out.  We were shown how to take the feathers out, for keepsakes.
 The centre is an educational facility, with a component of travelling around to grounds teaching them about local animals and conservation.  After some consulting we decided to leave the bird with them, where they will bury it in their compost heap.  Here the bugs will clean off the bones of the bird, leaving them with a fabulous skeleton for teaching.  We made arrangements to head back next year to see have the bones look like.

Discoveries along the Path

Scat is very exciting around here.  Our hike at Algonquin Park had us jumping for joy at all the animals signs to follow.  Moose must have been in abundance considering all their markings.  

New Friends

Shai likes to have the ducks follow him around the house.  When he puts them down the two will run behind him wherever he goes, their little webbed feet padding along on the floor.  They do have little claws at the ends of their 'toes' which can be a little scratchy.  Socks on your hands apparently work!

Ducks! We have Ducks!

The first time we went to the farm store to find out about having chickens we learned about the huge variety of birds you could order.  Varieties of chickens, turkeys, ducks, peacocks, and geese oh my! Just having the option of raising ducklings was enough to plant the seed.  Now that the new chickens have settled in, we were ready for our two day old Rouen ducks.  Wow are they ever cute. CUTE! They are so soft, tiny and incredibly cute.  They are yellow and black at the moment, covered in down.  When they are full grown they will look very similar to Mallards.
We don't really know much about raising ducks.  As is our way, we are just learning as we go along.  They ducks will stay in an aquarium as until they get too large under a heat lamp.  Amazingly baby ducks don't know how to swim right away, so we need to ease them into shallow water and build up their swimming strength.  Its a good thing they loved being held close because as you can imagine they are getting lots of love!
It's another wonderful adventure having ducks.  

The Elusive Moose

One of the things that kept everyone moving on the trail were clues left behind by a MOOSE!
There were tracks about the size of my hand following around the edge of the frozen lake.  In a clearing we found a large patch of very long dark brown hairs.  It appeared the moose had a little rest leaving behind its mark.  It was quite an adventure!  We didn't spot it, but we think we were hot on it's trail :)

Giddy Up

With the fair celebrating 125 years there have been lots of new additions; a few vendors, a baby pit stop, new games, a costume contest.  There were also lots of new additions for us as a family this year; I sat on the board, we volunteered in fundraising, the night before we assembled chicken cages, put up fence posts, worked in the concession stand, worked the craft hall.  The biggest and most exciting addition had to have was hands down entering the horse section.  Our friend Angee kindly accepted our request to both teach us how to ride in the fair and to show her animals. 

Lynn is a beautiful, large 1600lb tan coloured horse, whom Ben was going to ride and I was to lead.  Ben had no problems hoping up on her and sitting so high.  I on the other hand totally admit to being nervous leading Lynn.  When we practiced I always worried we were walking to close to each other and she would step on my feet.  She could be a little pushy at times, which meant I needed to be a little pushy back.  Lynn was much better at that than I was. 

Aria was thrilled to be riding on Percy, a beautiful brown big eared donkey.  It was Aria whose love of horses (and donkeys) that convinced everyone to give entering the horse section a try.  She would love to horseback ride as a hobby, so this was an amazing opportunity.  Elias agreed to lead Percy.  When he agreed to lead Percy he also had to accept the donkeys personality and limits.  Percy is a sensitive soul, needing lots of hugs, ear rubs and reassurance to convince him to MOVE.  Since Percy often decides he isn't moving, or is easily distracted by things like chip bags, there is lots of laughter from the audience. 

I wasn't sure how the kids would handle the unpredictability, despite seeing first hand in practice.  Aria wasn't swayed at all, she sat in proper form the whole time, her smile never wavering.  Elias just worked Percy over with lots of love and when the smell of chips took Percy over to the fence he was patient.  He was great at working with him, confident and relaxed,

Elias entered the ring first. He had to lead Percy around the ring, present him in front of the judges, trot and then stand back in position in line.  There was no trot, and positioning was a little wonky, but he did it.  It was a great start.  Next he presented in his age group.  Again he did great.  He was never visibly frustrated with Percy, which I think Percy sensed. They won first place, a beautiful red ribbon.  Next Elias took Aria in and I took Ben.  I was thrilled to be leading her around the ring.  She was a dream.  Angee kept telling me that Lynn loved to show, but I kept thinking of her feet! But of course Angee was right and she knew just what to do for me.  Such a great experience.

The kids went on to play some games on horseback.  I needed to run back and forth from the animal judging so I was thankful for a new friend to lead Ben and Lynn for these.  The riders held a cup of water while riding around.  At the end the winner was the one with the most water left.  There were more ribbons handed out.

The kids loved all of it.  Grooming, dressing, riding, leading.  It was a great experience.  Thanks Angee for sharing your four legged family, your time, patience and skills- we really loved it! 

All Dressed Up

The games were a nice addition to the horse show.  The one the kids were really excited about was the costume contest.  With your horse or donkey, dress up together.  So yes, this year I can officially add to my resume or list of life's accomplishments sewing for a horse and donkey!!!

Ben knew right away what he wanted to dress up as.  He bought a beautiful embroidered two piece navy blue outfit when he was in Morocco and Dadda had a fez hat to top it off.  I made two humps to fit over the saddle and tassels for her halter.  And poof Lynn was a camel!

Aria had a harder time deciding what she wanted to be.  A knight, astronaut and rocket, princess, lots of choices.  She decided a mermaid on her....SEA HORSE! lol! I made her a tail skirt over leggings so she could still ride on Percy, shell accessories.  We glued shells on tulle and wrapped it around Percy and Aria sat on a dark blue covering. 

The other contestants included an officer on an OPP horse, a jockey on a winning horse, a girl dressed in traditional German clothes, Tonto.  The kids tied for first, which was perfect for them.  Their creativity was rewarded with pride long before the ribbons, but it was a great way to end the horse portion of the day.

Puppy Cuteness

She is lots of fun still, which is a good sign.  No one has lost any shoes, although there have been attempts.  We are all enjoying having a dog again.  Shai while walking with me shared that he liked Mica, in fact he loved her and as a real sign of love he said she could ride in his monster truck when he grows up.  Now that is a compliment from my little guy, not just anyone gets to ride in the monster truck!

Introducing Our Newest Family Member

The kids have been asking for a dog for a few years, ever since Marly died. During that time we have been busy with life; Shai arrived, we sold our house, moved, got lots of other animals, had a month long holiday. Phew. We agreed that we would discuss a dog after our holiday, because life would be calm then...right?! While we don't really expect life to be calm, the addition of a dog to our family feels wonderful and right.

With so much love already, we are excited to introduce Mica (although some family members prefer it spelled Myca), named after the black mineral. She is a beautiful four month old black lab. She is incredibly calm, affectionate, while still being a fun playful puppy. It has been a natural transition having her in our family. She has been coming everywhere with us; birthday parties, the beach, hiking, the library, visiting. The kids are smitten. We all are.

Frogging By Day and By Night

The only thing better than catching frogs during the day or at night is doing it with your cousins. Finding frogs isn't something our cousins get to do very often but they do it with heart! During the day the kids caught frogs and tadpoles of all sizes and kinds. Filling a bucket with about 30 or so to show us with great pride. It was quite the collection. That night before fire works, we followed the calls of the frogs to the pond. The kids are getting really good in distinguishing the different call and zoning in on their location; particularly the tree frogs.

At this time of year the tree frogs hang out on reeds in the water calling to each other. In a few weeks they will head out to the trees and then it isn't as easy to find them. The tree frog Elias caught enjoyed hopping from person to person, demonstrating its super cool grip.

Out of the Palm of Our Hands

Feeding the chickadees out of our hands (or off our heads!) is something have grown to love. Before we moved we had a few favorite places we loved to go to do this. We have very friendly chickadees here at the house and have had them come next to us to get some seed. This has been equally rewarding and exciting.

While on our hike at the bog we were followed by lots of birds. When the bag of banana bread came out the number quickly multiplied. The kids quickly held out their hands with crumbs and within minutes were hand feeding lots of chickadees. Soon to follow were the not so little friendly gray jays. It was quite a thrill to have such big birds landing on you. After the jays left a few nuthatches felt daring enough to come have a snack.
This was Shai's first time having the birds land on his hand. It was a little intimidating at first but with a little bit of help from big brother he was a pro!

It was quickly declared the best spot to feed the birds and there are plans to return soon.

A Boy and his Cat

Mozart is such an independent cat. He loves living in the country, having fields to roam, mice and voles to catch. I know he thinks his life is pretty sweet. He only stops in for short periods during the day, to grab a snack or a quick snooze on a nice warm bed. While he is not a lap cat he does love a good scratch or rub. He is a patient and very tolerant cat, often having to put up with attempts of being caught by Shai, usually turning into a tail pull or awkward manoeuvre.

Each of the kids have different animal duties each day. Shai is no different. At nearly 3 he is proud to take care of Mozart, almost never having to be asked. Each day he feeds him, asks for a cup of water to fill his bowl, lets him in and out of the house. The two of them are quite a pair.