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Our backyard has been seeing a lot of visitors lately.
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And baby chucks are learning where the buffet is located.
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Yes, damn it.
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She’s still here.
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I don’t think momma Chuck is enjoying the competition for apple slices.
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But babies like the grain as well. And climbing in the food bowl is always fun.
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One brave little chucker ventured out from under the barn to have a nosh with his mother.
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Okay, he stayed quite close to momma…
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But he’s still the only one we’ve seen out in the open.
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They’re silly critters at this age.
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And he was having a blast scampering all over the rock wall.
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There’s a big wide world out there to explore little guy….
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Enjoy!
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You never know what serious news stories will be discussed on my town’s Facebook page. The economy? Yes. Climate change? Sure. But I live in Maine…. so likely as not? It will be this:
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Bear poop beats the G-7 Summit any day.
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The conversation got heated and had to be removed by admin. We take our poo identification seriously up here.
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Now that’s my kind of neighbors.
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Someone is selling peony blossoms for $3 a pop?
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Woot!
I’m going to be rich.
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I’ve read that the cost of rental cars had gone up, but $3,000 for a week?
That’s beyond insane.
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Ever since we painted the barn/man cave the perfect shade of red, I’ve been sputtering about recovering the porch furniture because now… it clashes.
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I recently bought some color coordinated fabric and found a local woman who’s going to do the job.
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Me… sew? Yeah, that’s not happening. So while I was waiting for the seamstress to tell me she was done with prom and wedding dress alterations, I saw this:
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WTH?
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The edges of all the cushions had been shredded!
I ranted, I blamed woodchucks. I cursed, I blamed mice. I sputtered, I blamed chipmunks. But guess what?
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The real culprit..
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Was a bird looking for nesting material.
Mother Nature. She has all manner of ways to drive you crazy.
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Baby woodchucks are on the move.
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I spotted three.
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Make that four.
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And they’re cute as a button.
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I’m not sure if they’re actually living under the barn this year, or momma just brings them in for a nosh now and then.
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But I enjoy watching the little devils munch either way.
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Do you see him?
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How about now?
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten saw him.
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Though eating him was probably higher on his list than it would be on yours.
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Yes, it was a little chipmunk scampering through the rhododendron in front of my kitchen window.
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The day was hot, the shade the bush provided was cool….
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So the little guy just stretched out… and chilled.
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The bowl of deer grain is popular, with everyone but the deer for whom it is intended.
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Our resident woodchuck, (named Chuck because we’re creative that way) loves it…
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But so do our new friends the ducks.
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It’s first come first serve at Casa River, and no matter how much posturing and maneuvering the waterfowl did…
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Chuck reigned supreme.
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And even barked at them when they got too close. I’ve been known to do the same around my margaritas, so I don’t judge.
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Yes, she’s still here.
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Though thankfully this year she’s keeping her distance and not nesting in our attic.
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How long that will last probably depends on how long her memory is.
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Forcibly knocking her children out of my gutter’s downspout was traumatic I’m sure.
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I’m hoping she took up residence in the neighbor’s new tree house. I mean come on, it’s a house. In a tree. What does she want… an engraved invitation?
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And damned if she doesn’t look like she just gave birth.
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We’ve sealed up every hole we could find, but that won’t stop her.
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She’ll just chew through another wall.
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How can something so small can be so destructive?
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten spotted her from the window and was very interested.
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Which might be just the incentive I need to allow him to go outside.
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Last year we had a mother woodchuck and five babies.
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So far this year I’ve only seen one. One with what appears to be ripped abs…
A woodchuck 6 pack. Who knew?
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He (she?) seemed to know exactly where the buffet was laid….
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So maybe this is last year’s baby all grown up.
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River's world..... 