Tag Archives: animals

I’m calling it progress. I have to…

.

New sub floor sections have been laid.

.

.

And the old china hutch has gone to our farming neighbor…

.

.

Not for fertilizer storage as I predicted, but to house a mineral and fossil collection.

.

.

Which almost didn’t happen as they lost their grip going out the door.

😳

.

.

Parts of the old sub floor didn’t need to be replaced…

.

.

But they did need to be sanded down to a level surface.

Sooo much sanding.

Sooo much dust.

.

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten does not like the noise or the mess.

.

.

But he does like having his own personal viewing platform when work is done for the day.

.

The blog in which His Lordship is inconvenienced but learns to make the best of it.

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes the noise plastic makes when he jumps on it..

.

.

And God knows we’ve got plenty of plastic right now.

.

.

What he doesn’t like is plastic rooms he has no access to….

.

.

And in true cat fashion he’s always on the wrong side of the wall.

.

.

The newly added zippered door helps, though he still has a propensity to sit and stare.

His Lordship doesn’t understand why his house is torn apart, noisy and covered in plastic…

.

.

But he’s trying to make the best of it.

.

.

😉

.

Ceiling repair of the repair, and the plastic barrier that didn’t bar a determined Dudley.

.

Project #7 (8? … 9?… whatever, I’ve lost interest in counting at this point) began with dust protecting plastic being draped.

.

.

Once a mini plastic walled room was in place, work on the ceiling began. I wasn’t looking for perfect at this stage, but I was hoping for better.

.

.

After a mind numbing amount of scraping and dusty, lung clogging sanding…

.

.

A smooth surface was ready for texture.

Our poor contractor tries hard to please and he didn’t want to screw it up by applying too much product, so he set the nozzle to fine and let it dry. It wasn’t close to a match so he sprayed it again. And again. And again. Forced to let it dry in between shots.

.

.

Finally, at the end of the day when he was about to run out of daylight…

.

.

With my husband holding a light so he could see where he was spraying….the optimum amount was reached.

.

.

As usual Lord Dudley Mountcatten did not like the temporary plastic barrier.

.

.

He stared it down, but it didn’t move.

Knowing he gets scolded if he tries to rip his way in, he opted for a more subtle approach.

.

.

The old ‘throw your catnip mouse at the wall and see if breaks through’ maneuver.

He gave up for a while because he knew I was watching but as soon as I left the room?

I heard scratching.

.

.

No mere sheet of plastic will keep Lord Dudley from making his appointed rounds.

🥴

.

Deer, dolphins, turtles, rogue sand, a parking miscalculation and me.

.

Returning to the condo after Boneyard Beach, we met the nightly herd of neighborhood deer.

.

.

They wander the area at will, not the least bit scared of cars or people.

.

.

Southern deer are much smaller than the ones we’re used to seeing up north.

To me these are basically large dogs.

.

.

We wondered where they slept in this area… it’s a beach after all, crowded with houses and very little undeveloped woods.

Did I mention we had dolphins in front of our resort twice a day? Two hours before high tide and two hours before low. They follow and drive the fish and we loved seeing them frolic.

Of course every time I tried to film them they stopped. Pay close attention here and you’ll see one break the surface.

.

.

And speaking of sea creatures, Edisto Island is all about the turtles.

.

.

Brightly painted and prominently displayed.

.

.

Some of them were quite creative.

.

.

On the main drag?

.

.

The sand seemed to be gaining ground.

.

.

And every time we drove by this rental house? We laughed.

.

.

Oops. Major parking dimension miscalculation there.

.

.

Another balcony selfie, slightly squinty as I was looking into the sun.

😉

.

Anything but the scratchy!

.

Prepping for our next renovation project… ceiling repair/paint and new flooring… meant emptying the room.

.

.

After stripping it to bare bones, I realized Lord Dudley Mountcatten was not pleased.

Because along with everything else that had to be moved? His scratching post would have to be temporarily relocated as well.

.

.

His Lordship is very attached to said post….

.

.

And did not easily relinquish his grip.

.

Miscellaneous missives.

.

Furniture shopping continues and my snarky friends are still being helpful. Their latest suggestion?

.

.

Well, it is green.

.

.

The dark eyed Junco is a small bird of the sparrow family that we never see until the snow flies. They’re always the first to appear after a storm and we’re not the only ones looking….

.

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten keeps a close eye as well.

.

.

Well, that’s rude.

.

.

Trim work has started on the bedroom windows which means the man cave has once again been taken over….

.

.

And reeks of wood stain and polyurethane.

.

.

It’s odd how sometimes you read a passage in a book and it just gets you. This choked me up the other day. I hope it’s true….

.

.

Sign seen at a local restaurant.

😊

.

Beautiful Beaufort.

.

The Angus drawn carriage tour of Beaufort continued…

.

.

Past Spanish moss and charming antebellum homes.

.

.

You might recognize this tree if you’re a movie buff.

.

.

It’s the live oak Robert Duvall sat under during The Great Santini. They filmed it in Beaufort as the author Pat Conroy is a native son.

.

.

Beautiful homes, beautiful gardens…

.

.

And some of the most amazing Angel Oaks I’ve ever seen.

.

.

The Angel is the variety of live oak that droops it’s branches to the ground….

.

.

And in Beaufort?

.

.

The town is so enamored of their spreading glory it’s illegal to cut one down or even trim.

.

.

Thank you Beaufort.

.

.

I wholeheartedly agree.

.

.

Our guided tour was a little over an hour of immersive history and I loved every cold, wrapped in a blanket, minute of it.

.

.

There’s a strict building code near The Point that says new construction must blend with the old. I’m not sure lime green was a popular Civil War era color, but they’re charming all the same.

.

.

I wish we’d had time to explore this museum.

.

.

But when we disembarked the carriage a certain someone had to strike up a conversation with the guide.

.

.

Hint- it wasn’t me.

.

.

Though I did enjoy a little quality time with Angus.

.

.

He was a wonderful chauffeur.

.

.

And deserved his treat.

.

I had to throw him a bone.

.

After forcing my husband to endure hours of fabric selection, I offered him a reward for good behavior.

.

.

And we headed northwest from Waterville to Bigelow Brewing in Skowhegan.

.

.

Housed in a barn on the owner’s property ….

.

.

The feel is down home rustic Maine.

.

.

We’d never been here before, but as soon as I saw who was helping keep an eye on things….

.

.

I felt right at home.

.

.

We did an assorted flight…

.

.

And my husband liked the Lying Bastard. Make of that what you will.

.

.

The tasting room has live music on weekend nights…

.

.

And table supports shaped like beer bottles.

The only food on offer is from a brick pizza oven out back.

.

.

And while my crust was burnt, the garlicky chicken broccoli Alfredo pie was quite good.

.

.

Upon leaving we noticed the Xmas decorations were still out.

.

.

But the beer was good enough to bring home, so I’ll forgive them the transgression.

😉

.

The cypress wetlands.

.

After that lovely meal we were ready to walk off some poundage and in the Port Royal area there’s nowhere better than the cypress wetlands.

.

.

The entrance is literally right in the middle of town and the boardwalks put you right in the thick of it.

.

.

I was excited to see a gator.

.

.

And as we started our stroll, a local woman passed by assuring us wide eyed Yankees we would see some.

.

.

Off we went through marsh and swamp and cypress… eyes peeled for alligators.

.

.

Not quite.

.

.

A third of the way through? A viewing platform.

.

.

Which the husband took full advantage of, but left reptile bereft.

.

.

Egrets and herons were abundant.

.

.

Yeah, yeah… so you keep saying.

.

.

As we hit the halfway mark the trees were draped with that lovely moss so evocative of the Deep South.

.

.

I tried for a mossy selfie but my arms aren’t long enough to capture much background.

.

There were some fabulously gnarly trees above and beside us …

.

.

And at times it felt like the forest primeval.

.

.

How cypress grows and roots in standing water always amazes me.

.

.

There were signs everywhere saying “Don’t Touch The Trees!”

So of course…

.

.

There’s my husband, touching a tree.

.

.

On the home stretch, there was a boardwalk right through the wetlands.

.

.

With a sign about alligators.

Which was actually spot on….

.

.

Because we finally saw one lounging on the opposite bank with a bevy of turtle friends.

Score!

.

.

As we were leaving I spotted an unusual stationary alligator.

.

.

He was wire framed and filled with trash.

.

.

An excellent visual on why you shouldn’t litter.

.

.

Cypress wetlands, a great place to stroll.

.

.

The furry, four legged escape artist.

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes to look out the back door and that hasn’t been possible with the plastic barrier in place.

.

.

His Lordship was not pleased.

Just after it was erected, the old door was removed…

.

.

So of course, it snowed.

.

.

We haven’t had snow all winter… but let our contractor start working and bam. White stuff.

.

.

The rotted sub floor and framing was replaced and as work continued with a giant hole in the living room …

.

.

Lord Dudley plotted.

.

.

I guarded against it and tried to keep a close eye on him, but naturally the little devil found a weak spot and made a run for it.

Thankfully His Lordship is not a fan of snow and after a few cursory steps that resulted in wet feet… he just sat on the doorstep and watched birds.

After hustling him back inside?

.

.

He decided a warm sunny spot was more to his liking.

And at least someone was using the treadmill.

😉

.