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I saw something online the other day and need to ask my Arizona readers if it exists…
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What say you southwestern friends….
Is the #1 place for #2 for real?
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This begs the question .. why?
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His Lordship.
I’d like to say he’s leaf peeping but he was actually bird stalking.
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Remember the old Hugh Grant movie Four Weddings and a Funeral? These words were spoken in the eulogy and always choke me up.
❤️
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I found an interesting bottle of wine at the store the other day…
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And since I prefer white to red, am thinking I might just install it in the man cave/Barn Mahal as a musical curio instead of cracking the top.
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Being a long time Dead fan it seems more appropriate.
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R.I.P. Phil.
💀
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Continuing north through the Carrabassett Valley on our leaf peeping day trip we passed Sugarloaf,
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A popular ski resort I’ve often heard of but never visited.
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First impression?
It’s huge.
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Long winding valley roads filled with spectacular autumn color.
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It took us a while to find the main lodge..
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And though we were hoping to stop in for lunch and a toddy their annoying restaurant was only serving breakfast and dinner.
Boo to that.
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So we explored instead.
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Past golf courses and condos and glorious trees.
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I love this time of year!
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😊
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🍁🍁🍁
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Heading for the mountains in Maine is never a bad idea this time of year.
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So we took a leisurely drive and did some leaf peeping.
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These were taken near Kingfield.
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Which is an area known for logging.
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Apparently by bears.
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I do love autumn.
The cool temps, the crisp air, the apples, the pumpkins.
And yes, the color.
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Mother Nature puts on a wonderful show if you take the time to look.
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Albert Camus said…
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower”
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Surrounded by this scenery, it’s easy to see what he meant.
😊
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Because wasting your time is what I do best.
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Let’s see…
I’ll arrive with Jell-O shots, jalapeño poppers and some jerky.
Not the most appetizing ensemble, but J is not the most food friendly letter.
What are you bringing?
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On our road trip to the Carrabassett Valley we saw a sign for a bridge.
But not just any bridge, no…
The Wire Suspension Bridge spanning the Carrabassett River in New Portland is a unique structure, the only survivor of four such bridges built in Maine in the 1800’s and probably the only such bridge still standing in the United States.
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Built in 1866, it’s definitely unique.
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The bridge was renovated in 1961, when the tower bases were capped with concrete, the towers were rebuilt, steel suspender rods were replaced by steel cables, and a new timber deck was installed. The tower framing timbers and main support cables are the original material. The span between towers is 198 feet.
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As you walk across it you can feel it sway .
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And when you watch a car drive across it the wood literally bends under the weight.
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Under the archway?
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Floor to ceiling graffiti.
Boo to that.
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Yay for autumn color though.
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An engineering marvel in its day….
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It’s stood the test of time and is still in use 158 years later.
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😊
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Every fall I have to make a pilgrimage.
And while I used to drive to South Berwick, Maine this year I had to drive farther … down to Dover, New Hampshire because the cider I crave has moved in to larger new digs.
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This is small batch hard cider and has a very limited distribution range. Even if I do manage to find an elusive 4 pack in a store up our way, it’s never the seasonal flavors I want.
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With that many varieties, we had to do a flight.
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Which made me add a melon crush and a ginjah baby to the three packs of squashed I brought home. .
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You’re looking at $90 worth.
The prices make me gasp every time… $18 a four pack, which is $4.50 per can.
Insane.
But then so is the apple-y goodness.
😉
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As I said before, the fall color in my area has been less than spectacular this season. Not wanting to miss the full glory of a Maine autumn, we headed north for some serious leaf peeping.
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Ah, that’s better.
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The Carrabassett Valley rarely disappoints.
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I have a friend who hates the fall and sees the changing of the leaves as a sign of death. She says it’s depressing because it means winter is right around the corner.
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Winter is coming, ‘tis true, but the last gasp of nature’s beauty before the temperatures plummet is a show I never want to miss.
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And no, that’s not dirt on my lens, they’re falling leaves.
❤️
To be continued…
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My husband needed something in the little storage room at the back of our garage the other day.
We rarely use it, but the woodchucks certainly do.
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It was all he could do to open the door…
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And even that required a shovel.
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From one little access point, they sure did make a mess.
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Once things were removed we found this:
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Tiny shredded strips of a tarp that used to be whole.
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An entire morning was spent putting things right.
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And not without my husband spouting a few choice words for our furry little digging friends.
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🥴
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I’m sorry, but I seriously love this silly group of people and their irreverent haggis sightings.
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For those of my non Scottish friends, the definition of haggis is as follows:
Traditionally, a Haggis is made from the lung, liver, and heart of the sheep. These are mixed with oatmeal and a few spices and stuffed into the sheep’s stomach. After being boiled, the Haggis is brought to the table with a great deal of ceremony. A piper ushers in the Haggis and all raise a glass of Scotch whiskey and “brrreath a prrayerr for the soul of Rrrobbie Burrrns!” It is then served with “neeps and nips,” mashed turnips and nips of whiskey. I think you have to drink a lot of Scotch before you can truly enjoy this dish, but a party of Scots without a Haggis is simply not heard of.
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While I proudly lay claim to Scots ancestry, I cannot honestly say I’ve ever enjoyed their much beloved national dish.
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But that doesn’t stop me from chortling over the continued quest to spot the elusive wild haggis.
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Wily creatures, those haggi.
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Ouch!
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😳
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❤️
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River's world..... 