The abundance of wildlife sightings this year is quite astonishing and the yards around Lac des Roches look like they belong in a petting zoo. The normally elusive fox and coyotes are on regular hunting excursions through several yards in the area and are not deterred at all by the several new dogs around the neighbourhoods. Moose sightings are common, even in the water. The deer seem particularly plentiful and tame. Recent reports of violent attacks on pets and people by relatively docile deer in urban areas around the province serve as a reminder to all that wildlife are just that, wild. We need to exercise cautious around all wildlife.
Fresh snow
The morning snowfall of June 30 and the temperatures hovering around 0 C was not a Canada Day joke. The weather this year is getting a little crazy and very unpredictable. The "winter that wasn’t" was followed by the "spring that came late" and it now looks like we are heading into "what summer"? One seasonal resident asked me the other day, how much snow we got this year. My estimate of six inches should have been, "six inches and still counting. " Don’t put those toques and mitts away just yet.
Pollination questionable
The Saskatoon berry bushes were in full bloom in mid-June, just when the cold and damp storm patterns rolled in to give us some relief from the months of near-drought weather. We can only hope that the few pollinating insects that seemed to have braved the miserable weather were enough to turn the little green buds into tasty berries later in July.
Do not disturb
This is the time of year to reminder residents fledglings, which appear to have fallen from their nest, should be left alone. Often, what appears to be abandonment by their parents is often just a normal part of their training to be a bird. If the situation is not part of the training, as difficult as it may be, leaving the bird alone will allow nature to take its intended course.
Leaf miner
The aspen tree leaf miner is slowly making its presence known this year. Practically overnight, the leaves on the smaller trees in the area have turned from dark green to silvery white as the leaf miner weaves its tunnels around each leaf and robs the leaf of its chlorophyll. Once again, we will miss seeing the once-vibrant colours of the trembling aspen when they turn orange in the fall, as the faded leaves provide only a dull orange tinge before they drop for the winter.
Safety glasses
As I was setting out to do some daily chores around the yard last week, a neighbour asked me what I was doing that required the safety glasses I had just put on. My reply was, "everything". I explained that not only was it annoying to have a dust spec or the odd fly bother my eyes, but there had been one too many close calls where harmful flying debris almost cost me an eye. He agreed that it was a good idea, that "in a blink of an eye" accidents do happen, I encourage everyone who doesn’t wear protective glasses as a rule to consider investing in some relatively cheap safety glasses and protect your eyes.