All posts by Rivergirl

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A lazy, hazy 4th.

July 7, 2019 Rivergirl 22 Comments

It’s hot in Maine. Really hot. Surface of the sun hot.

Too hot to drink hot.

Okay… I got carried away there, it’s never too hot to drink. But we’ve been in the low 90’s with high humidity for days and that’s simply too hot for me. I don’t like hot and come from a long line of women who detest sweating.

(Actual portrait of my ancestress)

So on the 4th? We headed to our friend’s camp at the lake for the day.

There were cute young people in hats…

And boating…

And swimming…

And frozen raspberry margarita consumption for those who were doing neither.

There was food, fun and friends.

There was some of this…

And a lot of this…

And even a few fireworks on the opposite shore.

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Not a bad way to spend the day.

Or night.

Hope your holiday was equally satisfying.

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Wild Kingdom… the River edition.

July 6, 2019 Rivergirl 22 Comments

It’s not just the woodchucks who show up for a nosh at Casa River.

We have a beautiful pair of foxes who are denning down in our woods.

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Hey now… I’m sharing the sights and sounds of my backyard.

Please be respectful.

Early morning shots through a wet window are a little blurred.

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This is sharper.

Then there are the daily seed raiders…

This not pregnant anymore doe just dropped her fawn in the woods 2 houses down and is late in blowing her winter coat.

Of course if we had this type of deer, our seeds would be safe.

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But if we had these?

We might not be.

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Yikes!

And do you remember the Catbird nest with it’s bright blue eggs?

Well….

New life is popping there too.

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Although momma Catbird doesn’t like it when I photograph her babies. Turn up your volume to hear her cry.

And then there’s this fellow…. who I stumbled on by accident and took one quick out of focus shot of before I hightailed it inside.

At least I wasn’t looking at the business end.

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Some garden fluff.

July 5, 2019 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Japanese Iris season.

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I like it.

The butterflies like it.

Life is good.

I also like shopping at ginormous greenhouses.

Rows upon rows of blooming beauty.

The colors.

The pointy planters.

The endless succulents.

It doesn’t suck is what I’m saying…. and I always come home with a car load.

And yes, there’s that.

This particular greenhouse even had a Dr. Seuss tree.

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And something called a Sensitive Plant that I couldn’t stop touching.

Have you seen these things?

They’re bizarre.

Touch them, and they cringe like Melania when Donald rolls over in bed.

But I didn’t buy one because…. let’s face it, it has to be touched. And I’d never get anything done if I sat around touching my plant all day now would I?

And while I’m sure some of my readers have a similar problem?

Please…

Try to refrain from sharing.

There are some mental images I just don’t need.

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There IS such a thing as too happy.

July 4, 2019 Rivergirl 12 Comments

The automatic ice maker in our refrigerator is on the fritz.

Again.

Just in time for the annual 4th of July heat wave.

I am not happy.

The ice cube tray I now have to use?

Entirely too happy….

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Sorry.

I had to….

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So I got excited.

July 3, 2019 Rivergirl 31 Comments

No, not that kind of excited.

Although now that I think about Chris… well, never mind.

I got excited because at 11:00am last Saturday the husband told me he was going to clean out the barn and set up a small yard sale.

My husband was going to get rid of his crap?

I was happy!

I was thrilled!

Hell, I admit it.

I was positively orgasmic.

I looked out the window and saw him sell something to a biker.

Yay!

All the useless Harley knick knacks and paraphernalia…. gone!

All those extra Kawasaki parts and accessories…. gone!

And then I looked out the window again.

And saw my late mother’s plant stand that I use on the porch…. gone.

My glass hummingbird feeders…. gone.

I was no longer excited.

And when I went outside to check exactly what it was he was selling?

Yeah.

It was 100% mine.

Bags of clothes slated for Salvation Army donation, kitchen ware I was going to give his niece who’s moving into her first apartment, books that I trade with a friend.

He even had my hydrangea fertilizer on the table.

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But the worst part? The part that really had my jaw clenched….

He set this all up, and left.

Went to visit his brother and expected me to sit there and sell all the items I had no intention of selling in the first place.

The man has a death wish.

There’s really no other explanation that makes sense.

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Things I like today.

July 2, 2019 Rivergirl 23 Comments

1. Kicking back on the barn porch on a summer evening after a long day of mowing and trimming the lawn?

Wonderful.

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Margarita in a can?

Not so much.

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But it’s alcohol.. with a view.

So I like.

2. With a shout out to Mona at Wayward Sparkles who introduced me to this marvelous piece of mechanical engineering)

I read her blog and thought, damn…. I have to have one.

And then I thought, gifts!

So I had to have 2 more.

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Are you all here?

Good.

Viola!

A bell you can ring to summon the elixir of the Gods.

In pink no less!

I believe this little darling will be getting quite a work out at Casa River.

If only I could order the hot cabana boy to go with it…

I like.

And finally, ladies…

Do you have old, dry wood?

No, I’m not talking about your husbands.

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We have stained wood moulding, doors, window frames and sills, and built in stained bookcases etc. basically every piece of trim is unpainted wood. They’re original to the house and tend to dry out/fade from sunlight and winter heating.

So I found this on Amazon –

Half a bottle did 12 doors and frames, 5 windows and frames and 2 large tables.

It’s good stuff. Witness the before and after…

Brings back the shine and feeds your thirsty wood with very little effort.

I like.

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Thank you..

Thank you very much.

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The pollen apocalypse.

July 1, 2019 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Forget zombies.

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Forget nuclear war.

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The pollen is here and I swear it’s going to kill me before the other things have a chance.

This year we’ve seen a crazy increase in pollen. While we normally have a few days of yellow dust choking our air every spring, here we are starting July and we’re still covered in the crap.

How much pollen is too much pollen?

The barn porch furniture is covered.

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The kitchen porch is covered.

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The back deck is covered.

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It’s in every outdoor crevice.

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And running down the driveway in streams after a rain.

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Nothing escapes it.

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Open your windows?

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It covers the stove.

And the washing machine.

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You know those crazy videos you see on the news…

The ones where someone shakes a tree and clouds of pollen emerge?

I saw our neighbor do that but didn’t have my camera handy….

It’s insane.

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I knew it!

June 30, 2019 Rivergirl 25 Comments

Chickens.

They’re marvelous creatures.

Much maligned….

And underappreciated.

But now..

I’ve discovered this.

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And all is right with the world.

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Baby chucker update.

June 29, 2019 Rivergirl 28 Comments

What…

You thought I’d run out of cute baby woodchuck pictures?

No, they’re still here.

And still adorable.

So there will be baby woodchuck butt shots….

Baby woodchuck eating apple shots…

Baby woodchuck following momma shots…

Baby woodchuck napping on the deck in the sun shots…

And various baby woodchucks just looking too damned cute shots for days, okay weeks, to come.

There’s even woodchuck baby I’m too ~~fat~~ fluffy to take a bath without falling over videos.

Which, btw…. took me two and half hours to upload to YouTube with our slow as molasses internet connection.

A little appreciation would not be unwelcome.

That’s better.

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In case you didn’t know….

June 28, 2019 Rivergirl 39 Comments

Don’t worry..

I do.

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Did you know…. after the battle of Waterloo in 1815, dentures were made from the teeth of dead soldiers? They were given to wealthy people who experienced tooth decay due to consuming too much sugar.

I’m not sure how bad my teeth would have to be before I wore a dead man’s… but I’m guessing pretty bad.

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Did you know….. mosquitoes are attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas?

This explains why I’m swarmed every time I start my morning with a smoothie.

Did you know…. castoreum, the vanilla flavored food additive used in baked goods can be listed as “natural flavoring” because it comes from the anal glands of beavers?

Thankfully it’s hard to procure and prohibitively expensive, so I doubt we’ll be finding it in our Twinkies anytime soon.

I’m sure the beavers aren’t thrilled either…

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Did you know…. preparing an Egyptian mummy took upwards of 70 days, and dead noblewomen were allowed to ripen for few days prior to the procedure so the embalmers wouldn’t find them too attractive.

Makes you wonder just how desperate for a date those fellows were….