Our new storm door is Lord Dudley Mountcatten’s most favorite thing in the world right now. As soon as we swing back the kitchen door in the morning and allow him viewing access? He’s perched. Watching the world go by at perfect kitty height.
He watches birds. The rain. Squirrels. A leaf blowing by. It doesn’t matter… he’s there. And riveted.
So when I heard him cackling the other day I figured it must be something good.
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And it was.
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A baby woodchuck climbed the stairs to the landing and lay down on the welcome mat.
During a recent pilgrimage to our favorite New Hampshire butcher shop/restaurant/pub, I saw a sign for “The Cow Palace” and made my husband turn around.
A palace of cows?
You know I had to see that.
Turns out it was an ice cream shop, which is fine… I love a good scoop of coffee or mint chocolate chip.
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There was a pond.
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A barn.
A cow themed parking sign.
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And a crowned cow on the wall.
But.
No.
Actual cows.
Boo to false advertising.
😡
And boo to my eagle eyed husband who saw a sign for an estate sale down the road, climbed up to the top of their barn and came down with a broken Amish wooden scythe that he had to purchase and bring home.
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.
Sigh.
Junk collecting is an addiction, don’t let anyone tell you differently. And if there was an Antiques Anonymous? I’d be signing my guy up for weekly sessions.
Upon returning home we found a pissed off cat…
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Who had to access his viewing window in the laundry basket because his mother forgot to move it before leaving.
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I have a feeling I’ll be paying for this transgression later.
Today our country turns 250 years old. I should be celebrating, but I’ve lost the joy.
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I’m a first generation American on my father’s side, his family came from England in 1920. He was 10 years old.
I’m a second generation American on my mother’s side, her parents came from Austria in 1923. My grandmother was pregnant. Birthright citizenship, it matters.
I’m the proud wife of a Vietnam veteran.
The proud daughter of a World War II veteran.
The proud great granddaughter of a Civil War veteran.
The proud 4th great granddaughter of a Revolutionary War veteran.
I’m proud of their service, their sacrifice and their dedication to the freedoms we hold dear … but I’m not proud of what the country they fought for has become today.
And I doubt they would be either.
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That being said, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday filled with whatever brings you joy.
Because it’s Friday and the weekend is almost here.
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We live in Maine for many reasons but high on the list? The scenic beauty.
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Rocky shores, coastal plains, virgin forests, rolling pastures and small pristine mountains. I love the change of seasons… the crisp colors of fall, the winter wonderland of snow.
I lived down south for 17 years and while parts of it are beautiful, it was never home. Too hot, too flat, too depressingly brown for Christmas.
So give me the blue zone. The cool air, the lakes, the mountains, the northern coasts. Quirky New England villages and Montana’s wide open valleys. I’ll be a happy camper. (Metaphorically speaking as I don’t camp.)
Every spring Maine has a pollen problem. The trees explode with new growth and yellow powder covers everything. And since winter hung on a little longer this year? The pollen season has stretched into summer.
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This was I-295 southbound a week ago.
Not fog. Not smog….
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Pollen. Choking the air.
Makes me glad I don’t have allergies.
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It’s rare, but woodchucks do climb trees. As evidenced by this photo I took of a youngster checking out our apple tree branch.
Even rarer?
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Capturing a picture of the young woodchuck kamikaze diving off said branch.
He was fine and wandered off shortly after the drop.
😳
Warning – little bit of grossness ahead.
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I bought a rotisserie chicken for a chicken and dumpling casserole recipe the other day. But as I started carving it?
Eewww …
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I can honestly say I’ve never seen whatever the hell this was before.
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A big blood spot on the breast and something disgusting that looked like pumpernickel bread in the meat.
What the hell!
Was it an infection? A tumor?
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Either way, it was disgusting and completely off putting.
Needless to say we ordered pizza that night.
🤢
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.