We have also started to see turtles travel across our land lately. Every year we see a number of Blanding’s turtles in the garden and we are never sure where they come from or where they are going, but we love them. Here is the latest venturer.

Then yesterday we saw a painted turtle. Although we often see these on our travels, we have never had one in the garden before. At least none we have seen.

When Chris lifted him up you could see more of his markings.

Soon after we saw him he zipped off to wherever he was going.

Also the other day we saw this osprey on a nest. Not the best pics as I only had my pocket camera on me, but you get the idea.

On Monday we didn’t do much other than catching up on things, doing washing and just hanging out. It was Victoria Day here so not much open anyway. On Tuesday we set off in the morning for a trip to the USA. We crossed the border at Thousand Islands and although Chris and I have our visa waivers the girls had to get theirs. It wasn’t very busy there and so we were through in about 20 mins and into the USA.

We stopped off at Syracuse and visited the Carousel Centre where we all spent a few hours shopping. Stacey found Abercrombie & Finch and was very happy. We left the centre late afternoon and traveled to Buffalo where we had booked hotel rooms for two nights. The girls had wanted to go to Canada’s Wonderland last week, but due to the bad weather at the beginning of the week couldn’t, so we suggested Darian Lakes instead. We planned to go the following day, however upon arrival at the hotel discovered it was only open at the weekends. We decided to go out for dinner and decide what to do after.

We went to a great restaurant a short walk from the hotel, had a fabulous meal which was very cheap considering the huge plates of food we got! We then all went back to our room at the hotel to discuss what to do the next day. We had always thought that the American side of Niagara Falls was inferior to Canada and so had never been, but decided as we were so close it would be silly not to.

So the next morning we met for breakfast and then travelled to Niagara Falls for the day. We purchased a Discovery Pass at the information centre for $33 each and off we went.

First we went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride. We had done this before, but it really is the best way to experience the falls so it had to be done. Also it was included in the ticket price. This is me and the girls in our best outfits!

After the Maid of the Mist we went to the Cave of the Winds walk. We weren’t sure what to expect from this but it was brilliant. Once again you are given rain coats (yellow this time) and you have to wear the footwear provided. They give you a plastic bag to put your own shoes in to keep them dry. You then walk along a walkway underneath the falls. This is also a nesting colony for gulls and so there are thousands of gulls in the cliffside. We saw lots of chicks in their nests which were really cute.

The walkway takes you right under the falls and you do get very very wet, but it is awesome. This is Stacey & Amy getting wet.

We then wandered around the area as there is some beautiful parkland and of course stunning scenery. You can stand on the edge in between the American Falls and the Bridal Falls and literally be part of the waterfall. We felt that this side of the falls was in fact much better than the Canadian side as you get to be a real part of the whole thing.

We also went to the Niagara Aquarium, which to be honest was pretty poor and not really worth the effort, but again it was included in the ticket price. All in all we had a brilliant day in Niagara Falls, NY and I would recommend anyone in the area to visit and not miss out on what the American side has to offer.

We ate again at the same restaurant that night and after a terrible night at the hotel (Do not stay at the Comfort Inn University it is terrible) we then went across the border at Rainbow Bridge and back into Canada.

We then spent the day in Niagara Falls again, but this time in Ontario. When we got there it was very misty and the falls were almost invisible so we decided to go to the Butterfly Conservatory first to let the mist clear. There are thousands of free flying butterflies here and we always love to visit. It was the girls first time here and they loved it too. This is Stacey with one of the butterflies.

When we came out of the Butterflies we drove down to the falls and parked in the car park then wandered over to the falls. Took lots of photo of the Canadian Falls as well as the American/Bridal Falls from Canada. Then we walked down to Clifton Hill.

The girls wanted to go to Ripley’s believe it or Not, so we all went. It was very interesting with lots of interesting facts. Our ticket also included the wax museum and the movie theatre, so we did those too. The wax museum was hilarious. Every wax figure had a name tag on, and believe me they were needed. I have never seen so many bad models in my life. Having been to Taussauds in London many times, this place is just a laugh and needs to be viewed that way. The 4D movie experience was pretty good though.

This is Chris auditioning for Star Trek. Yes that really is Spock and Captain Kirk – honestly!

After wandering round town we went to Bird Kingdom and spend an hour admiring the many birds here. It had changed from the last time we went and there was another room with some parrots and lizards etc. Worth a visit if you like birds.

After this we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. The girls loved their lasagna but Chris and I were very disappointed in our meals which cost twice as much as the restaurant in Buffalo but nowhere as good.

When we left the restaurant it had been raining so we walked back to the car (approx. 2km). During the walk it started to rain again and by the time we got to it we were all totally soaked. After this it was a drive back to home via Toronto which turned out to be a doddle, traffic-wise. We sailed through and got home in about 3.5 hours.

Friday we went into Belleville so the girls could spend the last of their money and then went home where they cooked us lasagna which was vey nice.

Saturday was the last day and as their flight was not until midnight, we were able to spend the day together before setting off at about 6pm for the airport. Once again traffic was great and we arrived at the airport at 8:20. The girls checked in their luggage to get rid of it then we all sat in the restaurant and had drinks before they had to leave. This was the worst bit – the goodbyes. Lots of hugs and tears and we finally had to say goodbye at around 10pm. The drive home was very sad and quiet.

Sunday the house seemed deserted and we already missed them being around. We hope that they can come back soon, although work commitments for them means it will not be until next year unless we win the lottery before then.

Phoned my aunt and uncle on Monday morning and told them all about the visit. They were very happy for us all but also jealous that they were not here. Once again we are all awaiting that lottery win!

Final photo of Chris & the girls.

This is what it looked like originally with the broken steps of different heights.

This mid way it looked like this.

Now it looks like this.

Just need to get some flower pots to finish it off and it is done.

Last week we travelled down to Syracuse to stay overnight as a bit of a break. We travelled down on Wednesday, got our visa waivers done and then drove to the Carousel Centre for some shopping, but didn’t really see anything we wanted. We checked into our hotel which was a Homewood Suites and in the evening went to the nearby Denny’s for supper.

Next day we travelled to Waterloo Premium Outlets. Fortunately the weather was lovely as this is an outdoor mall. This time Chris managed to get some shirts and I got a dress from Calvin Klein which was half price. After a few hours there we travelled back home and encountered two traffic jams between Kingston and home. If we had know of the roadworks there we would have gone a different route!

The garden has been a hive of activity. We now have the flickers, towhees, robins, grosbeaks, sapsuckers all paying regular visits. The sapsucker is a bit unwelcome as he keeps hammering on the metal tower next to our bedroom window at 6am which is very annoying. Apparently they do this to attract a mate as if they get their hammering as loud as possible the females love it – but we don’t!

The killdeer have also had their babies and they are running round the front garden. We have seen three babies, although they usually have four, so we will have to keep an eye out on them.

I cannot believe that this weekend is when our daughter Stacey and her girlfriend Amy arrive. Time really flies. Although the weather has been great this week and it is getting warmer (22 C today) they forecast rain and cooler temps over the weekend and beginning of next week. Lets hope it is okay as there is a lot we want to do.

Almost immediately after entering the park and paying our $16 entry fee we spotted two moose, a mother and calf. We have been to Algonquin before and on one occasion spotted one moose, but never two before, so already we were really pleased and it made the visit worthwhile.

Here is the mother and her baby.

We carried on driving through the park to the other end, then turned round. Next we went to the visitors centre where we ate lunch and watched the birds outside on the feeders.

Here are some siskins, male goldfinch and a purple finch.

After filling ourselves with hotdogs and fries (we went for the healthy option) we carried on and then spotted another two moose. We had to do a quick U-turn to get back to where I had spotted them and it was again a mother and baby. Soon after we stopped, the baby moved into the woods, but I managed to get a photo of the mother. As soon as we stopped, other people saw us and they too stopped. Before we knew it there were half a dozen cars parked up taking photos.

All the moose we saw were very patchy with their fur. They must be in the process of getting rid of their winter coats and replacing them with summer ones. This is something we had to do ourselves as it got really warm. T-shirt weather for the first time this year, yippee!

After spending a few hours at the park, we drove home and saw another groundhog. So the total animal count was 4 moose, 1 deer and 2 groundhogs, not bad at all.

Last night it was announced that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by the US. Not sure how I feel about this as it could have bad repercussions. I doubt his people will let it go without a fight – literally! It is good he is gone, but there are plenty more when he came from.

Also, today is election day, so hopefully everyone who is eligible to vote will. Will we wake up to a majority conservative government tomorrow, or another minority? It does seem that if it is a minority conservative that it will be with the NDP in second place not the expected Liberals. We will have to wait and see.

Well this winter finally took its toll on the steps and they were starting to fall apart and become unsteady, so Chris decided now was the time to rip them up and start again. So the other day we went from this:

To this:

We now have a lovely rockery area which we will plant out later!!

The next stage was building a main step from pavers and we are then going to build a deck and steps leading from this to the door.

Since the weather took a turn for the worse we, or rather Chris has had to stop, but we are planning on getting the wood for the deck & steps this week, so we can make a start on the rest of it.

Other news:

Yesterday we saw the pair of flickers for the first time this year. They were hammering away in the back garden. We also spotted the thrasher the other day, but not since.

We definitely have two black squirrels, one very black the other more ginger. They both turn up most days, usually separately. We are hoping they are nesting near by and will bring babies over. Our reds are starting to molt and their coats are getting very tatty. Chipmunks are everywhere!

Weather is still very changeable lately. One day we have 21C, the next it is 4C. We have had rain, snow, thunder and lightening, sunshine, you name it we have had it. The other night we had a huge thunderstorm which woke us up several times during the night. One particularly loud bang which rocked the house had us thinking we had been struck, but we could not see any damage. The next day we found out large areas surrounding us were without electric, but we were okay, so somewhere close definitely got hit.

Whilst I was on the phone to my aunt in Spain yesterday morning we went from bright sunshine, to cloudy skies then snow, all within an hour. She was a bit shocked we were still in danger of snow as it is April. In Spain they are in the mid 20′sC with bright sunshine, but have had quite a bit of rain. When we went to bed last night there was a light covering of snow on the ground, but it had vanished this morning.

Hopefully the weather will get better for May, especially when for when our daughter and girlfriend arrive. We have so much planned to do that it will be a shame if the weather spoils it.

Today is the last day of March and it is once again snowing, but they promise that it will be temporary and that we will have sun over the weekend with temps around 10C.

Lots of grackles and red-winged blackbirds in the garden. The gold finches are also starting to change colour ready for the mating season. No sign of the cowbirds yet, sure they will arrive soon.  The deer are getting more absent as the weather improves, so we are not going to see too much of them now.

Our visiting black squirrel comes by most days. It is the longest any black squirrel has stayed with us. He comes by, eats for a while and then disappears. The reds don’t seem to mind him for some reason and let him stay, very unusual. We have lots of chipmunks about again, chasing each other round the garden frantically. The killdeer are back but we haven’t seen much of them. Hopefully they are nesting and will reappear soon, with chicks.

Visited a new mall (well new to us) last week. Fairview Mall in Toronto. It was pretty big and quite nice, not sure it is any better than say Pickering which is nearer for us, but at least we have explored it. It must be in a very Asian community as many of the people there were of Asian origin. It is also close to Ikea which of course we had to pop into whilst there. A bit disappointed as we didn’t find much we liked but did come back with a new kitchen mat which we needed.

Hoping to get over to the States sometime in April, but will wait for the weather to clear a bit. Might go to Syracuse, or perhaps Rochester. Time to stock up on summer clothes! Most shops are in the transition stage still so not all have very much in the way of summer stuff, but hopefully within the next few weeks that will change.

Oh well, it is Canada!

Yesterday we spotted the killdeer for the first time this year. Bet they are wondering what they have come back to now!

Lots of blackbirds and grackles are arriving and we have seen several robins. The geese are also about and the flock we have in the woods at the back of us have arrived and are honking happily. We have also had quite a few redpolls, pic below.

Chipmunks are up and about and frantically running around the garden and we still have the deer most days, but I’m sure their visits will be ending soon. But the raccoons are out and about. They are cute but a nuisance.

We are still waiting for the arrival of the killdeer who have come back every year we have been here to nest and raise their young. They usually arrive during the last two weeks of March so we expect them any time soon.

The junkos will be leaving us soon, no doubt. But it definitely feels more like spring now.

On another note I have decided against eye surgery at this time. The $4k price tag is too high to justify at the moment. I will readdress the issue sometime in the future perhaps.

Also daughter Stacey and girlfriend Amy will be visiting from the UK in May, so we are really looking forward to that. Planning lots of trips and adventures, so I don’t think our feet will touch the ground whilst they are here.

Wow, finally we have a new bird in the garden.

Since Christmas we have had plenty of snow, but not as much as many other places in the country or indeed New York state under the lake. We currently have about a 6 inches of snow outside but lots more is promised tomorrow night – could be another foot if the forecast is correct. We have also had really really cold temps. This photo was taken earlier this month – 17th Jan. With the windchill it actually felt like -36C.

This has led to several extreme cold weather alerts – thank goodness for heating!

The deer have been in the garden most nights and once again the snow tracks in the garden make it look like Times Square. Along with the deer we have lots of rabbits – five the other evening all eating bird food under the tree, squirrels, birds etc. We have had one unexpected visitor and that is a mole or vole, not sure which. He spent most of yesterday poking his head out of a hole and steeling the bird seed we had put out. Very amusing to watch. Here is a video I took.