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I’m going to share a few more reasons I love my state.
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Maine police are searching for a child’s stuffie. You don’t get that kind of service in NYC.
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Yes. This is for real .
She’s 103 and still hauling traps. Maine women are built to last.
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Oh yeah, this is real too.
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If only I could talk the husband into going.
You know the tee shirts are going to slay….
🤣
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Later that afternoon the crew moved to the other side of the property. After much deliberation, discussion and dawdling.
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It was smooth sailing until the time came to replace the culvert over what we call the auxiliary driveway.
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Where massive roots from the neighbor’s old weeping willow trees were proving problematic.
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This was cause for more serious discussion, deliberation and dawdling.
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Turns out our two neighbors to the left were also getting new culverts.
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Surprise!
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And if you’re wondering how many state DOT workers it takes to stand around and watch one of them tamp down dirt?
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The answer is nine.
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Though when it came time to smooth the dirt by hand? They all disappeared.
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Some gathered beside a trailer, surrounding the temporary mailbox they wouldn’t move.
🥴
To he continued…
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Now that we’re having the back deck redone, the chucks are having a hard time adjusting.
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They have a tunnel/burrow under our bedroom windows on the right and like to run under the deck on their way to the buffet.
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Only problem is….
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Right now there’s nothing to get under.
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No safety, no privacy.
The chucks are not pleased.
🤣
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As you know, the state of Maine decided to dig out the ditch in front of our house… even though we wanted to fill it in.
The head mucky muck said they would call my husband and give him fair warning when the crew would arrive so he could plan to be here during the process.
You know where I’m going with this right?
On the very day my husband ended his (unhappy) retirement and went back to work at the office?
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Yeah.
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Bright and early at 6:45am, with no warning whatsoever.
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I scrambled to get dressed and went out to talk to the crew, trying to explain the problems we’d been having. No one cared. Their instructions were to dig out a ditch and that’s what they were going to do.
I told them about the temporary mailbox situation and said it was too heavy for me to move, but could they please drag it out of the way when they shored up the sides of the ditch.
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As you can see…
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That did not happen.
They went right around it.
WTF?
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It was a noisy, dirty day at Casa River and I knew all they were doing was making the ditch worse. The carefully tended grass on top?
Gone.
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But look, they spread some dry seed.
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Which they then dislodged with a leaf blower.
Again… WTF?
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In the bottom of the ditch, they spread a rolled line of hay like fiber.
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What that’s supposed to do I have no clue.
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They dug and they swept, but if you look closely they did nothing to build up the sides of the ditch or the top which is what caused the caving in problem in the first place.
😡
To be continued…
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At the end of day four, which turned out to be an 11 hour day – our contractor arrived at 7:15am and left at 6:15pm- this was the result.
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Five deck boards.
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Five.
Count ‘em… five.
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Three ‘picture frame’ and two others.
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After 11 hours… at $55 and hour.
Let me do the math for you… that’s $605. Which works out to $121 per board. Granted there was a lot of measuring and cutting around the existing railing posts, and at $96 per board we’re glad he’s precise and doesn’t waste material, but wow.
Sorry Mick, but in this instance… time is definitely not on our side.
😳
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And if you can, I’ll try not to judge.
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Woodchucks, a hoarding husband and a ditch from Hell? They’re welcome to it.
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Bowel nesting?
That’s a mental image I didn’t need.
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Is there a right and wrong way to sit on the toilet?
Turns out there is.
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Small angles. Got it.
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I don’t know about you, but I leave setting the “go” routine to my colon.
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I don’t blame them. Humans make me nervous as well.
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It wasn’t me, I swear.
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🤣
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When His Lordship wants to lie in the sun?
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His Lordship will find whatever sun is available.
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No matter how small.
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Yes, the pickle posts just keep on coming though I’m sure I don’t know why.
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Even liberally doused with Jameson, I’m not apt to crave a pickle cupcake.
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I don’t like dirty martinis…. so I’m passing on dirty tequila as well.
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Oh, hell no.
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I can think of lots of better ways.
Blech!
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Pickle-sicle?
Uh uh. And my spellcheck agrees, it changed pickle-sicle to pickle-suck.
🤣
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Because nothing says I love you sweetheart quite like pickles.
Not.
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A trip up the coast to Belfast brought us to Darby’s Tavern.
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It was built in 1865 and still has its original tin ceiling.
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The bar screams prohibition era retro.
And speaking of the bar…
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A ruby red grapefruit martini hit the spot.
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I think the Babe approved.
Darby’s is famous for it’s “from scratch” kitchen, and lunch did not disappoint.
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I started with homemade cornbread with blueberry maple butter. Ooh la la! So good I didn’t want to share.
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But the husband started with a sinfully rich cream of broccoli soup and kept reaching for my bread.
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Above the bar? The antique Budweiser lamp my husband has been trying to cajole off his brother who owns the same one . When you switch it on, the lamp lights and the Clydesdales start walking. Real man cave material, but Darbys wouldn’t sell theirs either.
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I ordered off the specials menu, though I had no idea what made a crab’s toe peek.
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Didn’t matter, it was delicious. Toes et al.
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Husband chose a broiled haddock in scampi sauce with a fresh green salad and maple Dijon vinaigrette.
Good drinks, good food, good place!
👍
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Warning: disturbing avian photo to follow, but trust me… no birds were harmed in the making of this blog.
If you remember, our contractor had just laid rubber protective tape over the framing of our back deck.
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I can’t say I examined it too closely after he told us it would protect the boards from water damage. I figured he knew what he was doing…
Until yesterday when I heard something strange out back and went to investigate.
What I found was a small sparrow hanging on the board, with one wing stuck to the tape. It’s little bird companions were tweeting and pecking and trying in vain to free it. I didn’t take a picture, I didn’t have time. I just wanted to save the poor thing.
Which I did, and it flew away happily.
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Although with a few less feathers attached.
Feeling pleased with myself for saving the small fellow I went back in the house, until I heard something strange out back an hour later.
Another bird was caught in the tape.
I saved that one as well and hoped that was the end of it.
Nope.
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Bird number three… who I did take a quick picture of before I scooped him up and freed him. This one bit me for my trouble.
Not wanting to continue the sparrow torture sessions, I grabbed a knife and made small cuts in the tape so it would lay down flat around the upright posts.
Thankfully no more feathered friends were trapped after that.
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River's world..... 