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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. This year’s squirrels are absolute porkers!
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Check out this Jabba the Hutt wannabe hanging out on our driveway the other day.
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That’s some seriously impressive girth.
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And as a friend commented on my Facebook page…
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It’s looks like I’m not the only one laying on some winter poundage.
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I don’t know why, but this year?
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Our backyard squirrels are positive porkers .
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Look at this guy…
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If that’s not the definition of chonk…
I don’t know what is.
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I often cruise the Facebook page of the wilderness rehab where we donated apples. They do wonderful work with wounded animals, and I like to check on the progress of the little guys we saw on our visit. This time I stumbled across a photo of ‘Pinky’ enjoying the fruit from our trees.
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Now that makes my heart swell.
And speaking of swelling…
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Today’s acupuncture treatment found 19 pins in my injured knee… and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say my pain has decreased by a good 30% since starting this prickly journey.
Looking like a porcupine twice a week?
That’s just an added bonus.
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I’ve eaten apples.
I’ve baked with apples.
I’ve given apples to friends, to neighbors, to a pig, to workers and to strangers.
The deer have eaten apples. The raccoons have eaten apples. Even the fox have eaten apples.
And yet…
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We’re still loaded with fruit. There was only one thing left to do.
Gather up enough to fill the trunk of our car and take them to a wildlife rehabilitation shelter in the neighboring town.
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Oh. My. God.
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I fell in love a dozen times over.
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And my heart broke a dozen times as well.
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Abused animals. Sick animals. Animals that had been hit with a car on purpose.
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How can people be so cruel.
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If you’ve ever looked into a porcupine’s eyes and heard his little squee ( it sounds just like a baby)…. you know what I’m talking about.
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More marshmallow please.
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Seeing these little guys chow down on our apples?
Almost brought me to tears.
❤️
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This one should be fun.
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For me it’s an easy choice. The Poconos.
We’d never been… and though we’re long past the heart shaped red velvet mirrored honeymoon beds the area is known for, 6 years ago we decided to take off for the mountains and spend Christmas there.
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I booked a week at an amazing place, full of atmosphere. ( Think the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining, minus Jack, his ax and the twins )
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It was old, built of stone, and so huge I couldn’t get a photo of it in one shot.
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It was an old resort like you see in the movie Dirty Dancing. Rich people would escape summer in the city and live here for months. It had multiple dining facilities, a spa, a theater, game rooms, multiple bars, a library, a stable and even its own post office… complete with a personal hotel zip code.
The best (read weird) part? We had the entire place to ourselves.
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I’m not kidding, we were there for a week and didn’t see another guest until Christmas Day. Talk about eerie.
And while the interior of this grand old dame was impressive…
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It was beyond strange being the only inhabitants.
Have you ever eaten dinner by yourself in a dining room that seats 400?
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Or breakfast in a room that seats 300?
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Trust me, it’s a little creepy.
Thankfully we weren’t murdered in our bed, but in retrospect the odd accommodations turned out to be the highlight of the trip.
For a full week we toured the area and never found anything the least bit scenic. Rows of strip malls, trash lined roads and extremely tacky “family fun resorts”?
There were plenty of those. And in true “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em… we’re going to have a good time if it kills us” fashion… we bar hopped every tacky resort we could find.
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Indoor purple waterfall?
Check!
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Bizarre robotic decorative Santas?
Check!
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Elephant driven sleighs at an African themed resort called Kalahari?
Check!
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Giant topiary squirrels?
Yeah, those too.
And while the husband and I manage to have a good time wherever we go?
The Poconos are definitely at the top of our been there, done that, don’t need to do it again list.
So how about you? To what place are you never returning…
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I don’t know about you, but I still need a laugh.
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I think that’s where most of us are right now.
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A night out has definitely changed over the last year and a half.
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This is so true it isn’t funny.
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Amen to that.
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That’s been my go to phrase for quite a while. The news gets more depressing every day and the utter lack of respect, not to mention the down right hatred between Americans makes my heart hurt.
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Too true.
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We haven’t seen a woodchuck for weeks now.
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And while my flower gardens are sighing in relief…
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I have to admit I miss the fat little buggers.
( note – spellcheck always changes buggers to nuggets… and is that really better? )
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It’s ironic that now the ground is littered with apples from our trees, the apple munchers have left the building.
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This is the fourth year in a row we’ve had a woodchuck family move in.
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So I guess we’ll say so long chuckers.
( which spellcheck changes to chiclets every damn time )
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See you next year.
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People think I’m crazy for the daily and nightly buffet I lay out for our wild visitors…. but ya know what?
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I’ve totally been phoning it in.
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If you can access the Dodo from your phone, check out the video. It’s a riot.
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We had a little excitement here at Casa River the last time I took Dudley for a stroll. While rounding the corner of the garage his Lordship pounced… and came up with a mouse.
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I hadn’t seen or heard it…. but His Royal Highness was on it like white on rice.
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And yes, it was a violent attack.
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Problem is, once the instinct to chase and catch faded…..
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He had absolutely no idea what to do next… looking to me for guidance.
And while I normally save all captured creatures… we’ve been having a slight mouse issue. Winter’s coming and I’m sorry, but I don’t want the little devils nesting in my warm car or house…. so I instructed Lord Dudley Mountcatten to finish it.
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The poor thing was mortally wounded and dragging his little back feet anyway.
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In typical I will enjoy torturing you by tossing you into the air cat fashion, Mickey was flying to and fro.
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But finally, the deed was done.
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Live mice? Fun toys.
Dead, non moving no matter how much you bat at them, mice?
Kinda boring.
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It’s not much of a stretch to say this house is run solely for the comfort and convenience of the cat.
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When his Lordship wants to look out the window?
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His Lordship looks out the window.
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Even if his parents are trying to stop the sunlight fading their furniture.
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River's world..... 