.
The face he makes when you put out broccoli…
.
.
But he clearly wanted carrots.
.
.
🤣
.
.
Our resident raccoon happily eats alongside the skunks. Although usually at a safe distance.
.
.
But when he’s having a drink and little mister stinky is also thirsty?
.
.
The better part of valor is to relinquish the water dish.
.
.
And stay upwind of the stink hole.
🤣
.
A funny.
.
.
George and Billy.
I love them both.
.
.
Yes, that’s a Maine temperature reading on our deck. The mandevilla love it, but I certainly don’t.
.
.
What I did love was my husband, immediately pulling over to the side of the road to help this young man who was delivering heavy metal sheets of roofing to a job site. The poor kid turned a corner and out they flew, onto the road with cars flying by and going out of their way to avoid him. The panels were heavy and he couldn’t lift them by himself…
.
.
And I swear he’d still be there if my husband hadn’t stopped.
Most people suck.
I married a good one.
.
.
Rewarding my husband’s good deed, we had lunch at one of his favorite spots. My first cocktail?
A watermelon cucumber cooler – cucumber infused gin, watermelon juice, lemon juice, salted basil simple syrup topped with sparkling water.
Perfect for summer and absolutely delicious.
.
.
Cocktail number two?
A guava daiquiri – rum, guava puree & lime juice.
Tasty, but a little too sweet.
.
.
Fried haddock bites for me.
.
.
Lobster bisque, not pictured, and a lovely strawberry and basil with chicken salad for him.
Royal River Grill never disappoints.
.
.
Cat humor.
.
.
Funny.
.
.
And very true..
I have the puncture wounds to prove it.
😉
.
.
One question.
One minute, tops.
.
.
This is a tough one. If we still had a mortgage, I probably would have said that because it was a doozy … but that’s not a life long bill. It just felt that way.
And with the uncertainty in the Middle East, filling our tanks with heating oil this winter is going to make my cry, no doubt about that.
But I think I’ll have to choose groceries.
.
.
We may not live in a mansion, may not drive Ferraris, but we like to eat … and we eat well. Which results in some eye popping receipts at the grocery store. Have you priced a decent pot roast these days? It’s criminal.
So yes. I’ll pick free groceries for life.
With all the money I’ll save, I’ll be picking out that Ferrari before you can say 5 pound boneless chuck.
How about you?
What bill do you want paid for life.
.
.
Woodchucks and skunks abound at Casa River, but trash pandas come and go in irregular intervals.
.
.
We’ll see them for a week or two and then they’ll disappear.
.
.
This week brought a nice chubby fellow.
.
.
Raccoons are fun to watch. They have very expressive faces and extremely dexterous paws.
.
.
They also love water. So much, I have to provide a nightly bowl or they tip over my birdbath which still has the cracks and chips from last year’s visitors.
.
.
Cute.
.
.
But occasionally destructive.
.
.
No matter.
.
.
We welcome them all.
.
.
Because we all need something else to grumble about today.
.
.
Rumford is a distressed old mill town. It’s definitely depressing, so I won’t argue with that one.
.
.
On behalf of all Mainers, thank you.
.
.
Looks like eastern Canadians are the least murderous, and we’re right behind them.
.
.
This is very true. Favorite fishing spots in Maine are passed down from generation to generation.
.
.
I call foul on this one. We’re close to Vermont where cheddar rules and no lousy processed slice of American will top that.
.
.
How do you live in places with these names and not laugh… or cringe?
.
.
Our neighbor grows spinach on his farm in this seaport state. I may have to lodge a protest…
.
.
Huh?
.
.
Now I’ve officially heard everything.
.
.
Do they stink?
.
.
Occasionally.
.
.
Is it an awful smell?
.
.
Most definitely.
.
.
But look at those little stinkers.
You have to admit they’re cute as well.
This video was taken as I was on my way out to spread their nightly snack on the ground under the bird feeders. Skunks have bad eyesight and not very good hearing so I got quite close before he realized I was there.
Pardon the wobbly section, I was trying to spread food and film at the same time.
.
.
🦨💕🦨
.
.
Because stupid news is as good a way as any to start the week.
..
.
No, the magic material isn’t poo, it’s volcanic ash.
.
.
Um, I beg to differ. Any amount of heavy metal in tampons is too damn much .
.
.
Arsenic tampons.
I’ve never been so glad to be menopausal as I am right now.
.
.
You’ll excuse me if I don’t shed any tears for people who are suffering from that horrible affliction of too much profit.
😡
.
.
I know they’ve survived.
Every time my husband tells me…. you sound just like your mother.
.
.
I like fashion as much as the next gal, but homicidal pants is a hard pass.
.
.
Now that’s what I call a bell clanger!
🤣
.
.
I like citrus.
I like lemons.
So when I saw this advertisement I was intrigued.
And apparently quite naive.
.
.
I didn’t think saying your product sucked was the greatest marketing slogan, but then I kept reading.
.
.
And realized the lemons in my fridge had nothing on this one.
.
.
It was at this point I realized maybe their lemon didn’t grow on trees.
.
.
Admittedly I’ve hade some good lemonade and lemon pie, but they never made me scream.
.
.
Yeah, clearly this is an entirely different kind of lemon.
🤣
.
.
A walk around the gardens finds astilbe.
.
.
In light pink and dark.
.
.
Blanket flower.
.
.
And bee balm.
.
.
In similar shades and different places.
.
.
Day lilies are popping.
.
.
.
As is the Russian sage and some dianthus.
.
.
Then there’s this…
.
.
Which is pretty but unknown… as I can’t remember its name.
.
.
Marguerite daisies in front of the baby barn.
.
.
And some candy cane dianthus to finish.
😊
Note – these pics were taken a few weeks ago when our lawn was still green. Sadly, we’re browning and crunchy now from lack of rain.
.
.
Because it’s Friday and that’s what we do here.
.
.
I can’t say any of the Maine adjectives surprised me.
.
.
But I do think my home state of New Jersey is getting an awfully bad rap.
.
.
I have wonderful memories of growing up there and yes, Jersey might be expensive, Italian (though that’s not a bad thing, the food is fantastic) and densely populated…. but I assure you, it’s never boring.
Now you.
Why is your state so….
.
River's world..... 