We had snow showers yesterday morning! Now, some people might think that the long weekend was crappy, weather wise, but, we will have another long weekend next week, and the week after that, and the week after that one, too. Har, Har, har.




We've had a Rose-breasted Grosbeak at the feeder the last couple of days.

We saw a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and a White-breasted Nuthatch at the Fowler's on the weekend. On the last trip to town we saw a Turkey Vulture. We are getting pretty good at identifying birds, except for the little brown ones.

One strange bird that we didn't get to see was Richie. Rumour has it that his truck made a hard right turn into Fannie's and wouldn't leave the parking lot. I didn't start that rumour, I'm just passing it on.

Happy Birthday Razor!

(yesterday, Tomiko time)

I used the Lloyd Robertson video filter to smooth out the road map on his face. No one knows how old he is, they are just surprised that he made it this far!





Grasshopper with her first small mouth bass. The bass was released since the season doesn't open till next month.




Grasshopper also caught the first pickerel of the season. This fish was released to spawn again. The score yesterday was three to one, but who is keeping score? Definitely not me.

Sun set pics.

Happy Birthday Squeegie! Thirty years old! How did your age catch up to mine?

No Kaeden, I'm not one hundred years old.




We have tons of swallows this year. I hope they stay for bug season. We also have one bat. A single bat. How is that going to help with the plague of bugs?




Nope, that's not Tomiko Tessie. Just a log. The lake is still turning over and you have to keep an eye out for logs popping up.




Yesterday we put out the navigation lights. I Frank-Einsteined another solar light from three broken lights. I have lost three or four lights from Gull "Sht" rock the past couple of years. I also installed another gull deterrent given to us by the city dump. The other deterrents that I installed haven't slowed down the gulls, in fact, they seem to take great pleasure in breaking them. You'll also see that Doc Shaw's pet owl is missing. Wind? Waves? Armorous gull?

LOOK! A peregrine falcon!




It's just another deterrent from the city. It hangs from a twenty foot pole and flies like a kite. How am I going to install them on rocks in the middle of the lake? This might take some more Frank-Einsteining, with a little millwronging thrown in.




I guess that spring is officially here when the trailer park trash move back in. There goes our peace and quiet.

Happy Birthday Sis!

I don't want you to "LII" about your age.








Jason, there is NO dirt to be found on your Mom. She is so squeaky clean, she makes Mother Theresa look naughty.


This nuthatch hit the door on the deck and went for a loop. I put it out of harm's way, (George), and after a half hour or so, it recovered and flew away.




A pair of mergansers.




With the snow melt and the couple inches of rain that we got over the weekend, the water level is very high. We checked out the beaver dam and water is flowing over and around the dam. The level should drop eight to ten inches, barring more rain.

Too busy this week to blog or to take pics. We got Linda settled in for the summer. Oh! Linda brought us a nice present, all the way from Florida. Five Cm's of SNOW! YAHOO! Thanks Linda, you shoulda been here last week when we had temps in the high twenties.

I helped Razor and Whitey build a deck on BK's cabin and put in the docks.

Razor and Whitey are thinking about having a wake for Bitchy Richie on May 24 weekend, if they can find enough people who care.

I have to send out a "good day mate" to Jan and Elsie, down under, in the penal colonies. Jose says hi, too.

OK, I got a couple of pics for you. I was offered five bucks not to post them, but I got a better offer to put them up. Remember, the same as last year, if I disappear, look for a guy with a bullet and a back hoe. Some people get jealous that I look better in a wet suit.

And the winner is ......Barb !

Yup, the ice is gone.

Open water and loons this morning.




After I posted yesterday the ice had retreated enough that I put the dock in. And, what good is a dock with out a boat? So the boat went in too. We went for a test drive to Frasertown. I had to break a lot of ice to get there, but we made it. But this morning it was all gone.

Too many gulls sitting on the ice.



Sun going down from Frasertown.

Ice report.

Yesterday morning.

This morning.

I think the boat will be in the water tomorrow or Saturday. Only five peeps left alive in the ice pool.

They are back already!!



Still lots of ice. I spent the day in the lake in chest waders repairing ice damage to the ramp to the dock.





Blogger, dial up and VISTA CRAP troubles, later.

Another hot one, +24 today. Too hot, too fast. Still lots of ice, but it's getting darker. The boat is ready to go too.




While I was outside working on some firewood that came up through the snow, Grasshopper decided to use my secret recipe for bread. Just because it looks funny doesn't mean that it's not edible, does it? I guess I'll find out

Too hot to post pics today! +27c!!! I think that I have heat stroke. All kinds of birds around, waking me up toooo early. We've been hearing owls intermittently all day long, most dependable after the 6 o'clock news. The eagle has been around lately to. Saw a bat last evening, earliest that that has happened. Lots of butterflies and moths. Still lots of ice and it's still safe for walking.

I've put a new link on the right to Richie's blog that he uses to keep his one friend up to date.

+17c today, the thermometer in the sun reads 22c. There are all manner of bugs out, moths, beetles and noncarnivorous flies.


Every spring it just boggles my mind that the ice remembers every snowmobile track, despite all the snow and rain.




It was so windy yesterday that the aluminum dock blew off the ramp.



Son of a beach!



The buoy that marks the water pump is now floating in it's own personal hole. The ice is still 10 to 12 inches thick, with about half of that being good solid ice.

Two of the Little Tomiko Lake Ice Pool judges check out the ice.




This rabbit has been sitting on this spot for the past couple of days. Good thing that we are keeping Kita tied up.

NEWS FLASH !!!!


Well, I guess it'll be a long, long, long time before Richie and Leanne come for a visit as they will have to start a college fund soon. TT and Grasshopper say congratulations Leanne! Razor and I will just have to try and remember the friend that we used to have.

Ben, Razor found another sled for you to get towed on.

So, you might be wondering how our snow is doing. Just fine, thank you very much. We woke up to about 10 cms of snow this morning, a far cry from the 20-25 that they were calling for.

Kita was so excited, he ran laps around the house.







Snow angels.

I read in the paper that this was the worst winter in years, but it's been an easy one here. I bet that Razor can count on the fingers of one hand('cause that's the way that he counts) how many times that he used the grader to plow the road. Beep, beep, time to punch down the bread.

PS. I saw two seagulls harrassing a bald eagle on Thursday. Another reason to dislike gulls.

+4.5c and raining cats and dogs. An hour ago, a thunder storm passed west and north of us. We also had a storm pass by Monday night.

A flock of geese yesterday.

Snow is almost gone from the front hill.

We also had 2 ducks yesterday, along with juncoes, tree sparrows, white throated sparrows, grackles and a grouse. I think Grasshopper got a pic or two of the grouse.

Changes in the last 24 hours. Temp stayed in the plus range over night. Saw two "scout" geese looking for open water this morning. No fire in the wood stove over night.


Two robins in the tall tree on the left. (Put on your bifocals)

A while later, four red wing black birds in the same tree.



What's left of the ramp off of the lake.

And there are a bunch of sea gulls here already.

No, Sis, I'm not looking forward to bug season. I'm just resigned to the fact, like death and taxes, or, death taxes.

One hour after the last post, the temp dropped and we almost had a white out.




The next morning was one of those "Burl Ives" kind of scenes.

Even the bunnies rejoiced the clean white snow.



The frozen wake of the Yammie.

We went to town on Thursday and are all stocked up for slushy season. Yesterday I took out the tree line to Bedrock, so the ice may as well go away so we can get the boat and dock in. OUCH! I guess my time is up! Later...

OH, the horror, OH the devastation!

The terrible damage that 1.5 inches of rain can cause.








Slush and water are ankle deep on the lake.

I guess we should go to town this week and bulk up for slushy season, before we are reduced to eating "chicken chow meow". Ya gotta be watch out for the hair balls.