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.

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.

The following morning he was still around, so now we were a little concerned that he was a homing pigeon who was lost. Sure enough after winning his trust a little more we were able to get close enough to see the numbers on his band. I then scoured the internet for websites for pigeons and sure enough found one where I could register that we had found him with his number etc. I did this on Monday evening and received an email from  the website giving the owners details in Woodstock Ontario. As by then it was quite late we decided to wait until the morning to call him.

The following morning there was no sign of the pigeon, but we had received an email from the owner’s son confirming he was AWOL. Apparently he had been released in Havelock to return home to Woodstock, but had ended up at our house instead. I told him that although he had been around for the past two days we had not seen him that morning but would contact him as soon as he turned up. However about an hour later he let us know that the bird had in fact made it back to the loft. Great news for all. He must have left the evening before and finally gone home. Lets hope he doesn’t end up in a pigeon pie for getting so lost.

We have also managed, with the help of a zoom lens get a couple of photos of the killdeer. Previously I reported that only three of the original four babies had survived, but I am glad to say I was wrong. We still have four and they are now almost as big as the parents. In fact unless they are with the parent as a comparison we cannot tell them apart. I think they will be off soon to pastures new.

And last but not least a photo of one of our favourite birds, the flicker. This is the female and it is so hard to get a good photo of them as they are almost always constantly hammering their heads into the ground. However, this one is not too bad.

These photos are of a toad who decided to sun himself on our deck this morning.

Eye eye!

The other babies have been the rabbits. We have seen two young rabbits chasing each other round the garden. Know rabbits there are more where they came from.

The chipmunks also have babies as we have seem females who are obviously nursing, so hopefully in a few weeks we will have baby chipmunks everywhere. Here is one of the males we have, posing for Chris in the garden.

We finally ordered and received our new geocaching GPS unit and even have a book – Complete idiots Guide to Geocaching – so there is no stopping us now. As we tend to go on drives to no where in particular during the summer we thought we may as well go geocaching as we travel. For anyone not aware of geocaching it is like a high tech treasure hunt which is now really popular all over the world. So now we will drive aimlessly with a purpose!

We are just getting used to the GPS unit and looking into the etiquette of it all and we will get started. We have to buy some bits and pieces to leave in the caches etc, so we will soon be on our way. I will no doubt bore you all with tales of what we find as we go along!

Talking of tales or tails – most of the squirrels in our garden seem to be pregnant – well the females at any rate. The males just have smiles on their faces! None seem to be nesting in our bird boxes yet as they did last year, but no doubt we will soon be seeing tiny squirrels in the garden.

The killdeer look to be having another set of chicks as only one is patrolling the front garden – the other is presumably on the nest. We have observed them having gratuitous sex in the garden – for all to see – they have no shame! So hopefully all the x-rated stuff will produce some more babies who will hopefully fare better than the first batch.

However, yesterday we heard a right commotion in the garden. The killdeer are very noisy, vocal birds especially when something is threatening their young. We could hear them shouting and flying around but could not see what was upsetting them. Suddenly I noticed that there was actually three adult birds, not two and the intruder was dive bombing them.

Well for about an hour this carried on and then seemed to settle down. Once again we could see the two adults, but unfortunately no sign of the babies. At first we thought maybe they were being hidden in case the other bird came back, but after 24 hours and no sightings we can only assume the worst – the babies are no more.

The adult are still about and hopefully they will have another brood – they certainly have time as this batch came out in mid May whereas last year it was mid June, so they have time to lay more eggs and have more babies – hopefully.

Also some of our squirrels appear to be pregnant. Their little tummies are swelling and it’s not just the nuts they are eating! So hopefully we will have some more baby squirrels too. The raccoons are also pregnant and we are doing our best to keep them away from the garden so they don’t bring their broods with them when they have them. Baby raccoons are adorable, but there are too many of them and they are pests, so best to keep them away if at all possible.

Lets hope all three survive as we really love seeing this lovely little birds running around the garden. Will post some pics soon.

Love is in the air for the grosbeaks too. We definitely have one pair and have also spotted a second female. So either the male has two women on the go or there is another male around that we have yet to spot.

Here is the grosbeak pair.

Aahhh, how sweet!

The weather is still a little unsettled. Warm one minute and cooler the next. We have had some really big, long and torrential rainstorms with accompanying thunder and lightening. Hopefully it will start to settle soon and we can get some real summer weather.