Call it Snow-la-lu instead of Nolalu

Thank goodness for our Kubota tractor and snowblower

We had a white Christmas in Nolalu but the snow was only about six inches deep. Then Old Man Winter blew in. We got 14 inches a few days ago and a few more inches last night.

Merry and Peaceful Christmas!

This is the scene just about any afternoon at our home in Nolalu, Ont. We are so blessed to have so much wildlife right outside our windows. Brenda and I as well as our Chocolate Lab, Cork, wish everyone a joyous Christmas.

Evidence of our prickly neighbour

Birch and pine are its favourites

A white birch with its bark gnawed away shows that a porcupine was here. Cork and I found this tree yesterday and the damage looks recent. I expect we will find more such trees in the future.
Porcupines do not travel far in the winter. When it gets really cold they seem to hibernate right on the tree. They don't move at all for days.

Things are really hopping here in the bush

Snowshoe or Varying Hares seem to be everywhere

There are only a few inches of snow here in Nolalu, ON, which is 50 kilometers southwest of Thunder Bay, but that snow is just about trampled with rabbit tracks. I can see the tracks clearly but spotting the animal that is making them is another matter. This bunny just happened to "show up" on one of my trail cameras.

'How do they know all this climate stuff?'

Moon rises over Thunder Bay as seen from Nolalu, ON

If you don't understand all the information coming at you about climate change, I highly recommend Earth's Changing Climate, a course taught by Professor Richard Wolfson as part of the Great Courses program.

The Great Courses are university-level courses that you purchase to be viewed on your computer or listened to in your car. I prefer listening to these courses instead of commercial radio. Lectures are 30-45 minutes in length and there are usually 18 or so lectures to a course.
Courses like Earth's Changing Climate are designed for non-scientists so don't be afraid that you won't be able to understand. At the same time Earth's Changing Climate gives you all the facts and tells you what is known and not known about climatic processes.
Climate change is going to drastically affect us all. The more you know, the more prepared you will be.

Strange animals showing up in Nolalu

Where are all the grey foxes coming from?

These smaller tree-climbing canines haven't been seen here in recent memory

I was stunned to look out the window the other night and see two grey foxes eating sunflower seeds beneath our bird feeders. They were the first grey foxes I have seen in the 33 years that we have lived in Nolalu.
A neighbour told me he has heard of two other sightings this fall.
I called the local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry office with the news. Biologist Laura Darby said other grey foxes have been seen in Thunder Bay.
That is news because in the past there has been almost nothing but red foxes here, at least in recent history. Red foxes themselves are immigrants from Europe. They were brought to North America with the first British settlers for fox hunts.
So, hundreds of years ago this might have been grey fox country. What happened to them is anybody's guess but they are known to be killed by coyotes.
I'm just guessing but I can imagine the coyote population rose when Europeans settled here. Those mid-size predators thrive around humans, especially around agriculture.
That might explain why the grey foxes disappeared, if in fact they actually once lived here at all, but what accounts for them coming back? Not much has changed, agriculture-wise.
My guess would be climate change.