Tag Archives: backyard

Miscellaneous missives.

July 6, 2024 Rivergirl 30 Comments

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Have I mentioned the baby woodchucks like the deer grain?

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They really like it.

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So much so .. they sit in the bowl and repel all foreign invaders.

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The pickle algorithm is right. I don’t believe that’s refreshing at all.

Blech!

🤢

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Are you as tired of seeing AI artwork passed off as real photography as I am?

There’s something about the quality of it that’s very telling.

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I like fruit art as much as the next girl, but come on. No one is that good.

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And come on…

That’s not even close to believable.

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Mark – this is for you.

Please order and report back.

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I dare you to beat our backyard sunrise.

❤️

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An AI triumph.

July 3, 2024 Rivergirl 16 Comments

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A few days ago I posted pictures of a starling riding around on momma chuck.

They were so cute I posted them on a Maine wildlife Facebook page as well .

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Lots of people liked them and left nice comments.

But then Facebook’s AI had to jump in, with its strikingly accurate portrayal of what it was seeing.

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Duck.

Chuck.

It was close… and hey, at least they rhyme.

🤣

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Peonies are popping.

July 3, 2024 Rivergirl 19 Comments

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Peonies are the best.

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There, I said it.

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I’ll take a peony bouquet over roses any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

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They’re full and vibrant and smell heaven sent.

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We have two large bushes near our back deck and they never disappoint.

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They’re too high for woodchuck bubblers.

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For which I’m quite thankful.

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His Lordship enjoys them as well.

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Though that might just have been the sun.

😊

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The b*tch is back…

July 2, 2024 Rivergirl 28 Comments

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I feared this day would come.

And now it has.

She’s back.

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That horribly annoying, utterly destructive red spawn of a demon is back.

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I saw her running all over and around the back deck…

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Which means she’s looking for another nesting spot.

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My loyal readers will remember the hell she put us through when she had her devils brood in our eaves a while back. We evicted her, only to have her chew her way through the wall in the man cave/Barn Mahal.

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She’s no good, I tell you.

A veritable rodent menace.

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A walking buffet?

July 1, 2024 Rivergirl 16 Comments

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In our backyard the birds eat at the bird feeders.

In our backyard the woodchucks eat under the bird feeders.

But now?

The birds are eating on top of the woodchucks.

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And that’s definitely something new.

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This juvenile starling rode around on momma chuck’s back for quite a while.

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Eating bugs I assume.

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And momma didn’t seem to mind at all.

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It was wonderfully bizarre.

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This last picture is my favorite.

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Nothing to see here folks. Just a bird riding a woodchuck…

Carry on.

🤣

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Deck scampers.

June 30, 2024 Rivergirl 17 Comments

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Once the little chucklets discover our deck…

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It’s a constant source of entertainment.

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They love hanging out…

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And playing hide and seek under the grill cover.

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They really are sweet.

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And if they’re playing on my deck…

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They’re not eating my flowers.

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That’s a win win.

❤️

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Iris-istible .

June 28, 2024 Rivergirl 8 Comments

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Our purple Japanese Iris were in bloom recently…

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And they put on such a lovely show I have to share.

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I’m not a fan of the larger Bearded Iris…

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But these smaller beauties always make me smile.

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They’ve spread naturally and take up half the garden bed now.

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If only their bloom would last longer.

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😊

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More woodchuck deck antics.

June 27, 2024 Rivergirl 20 Comments

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Our little chucklets really love the back deck.

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And when I hear them scrambling across it I have to sit back and watch.

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It’s like their private playground.

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Tag, hide and seek…

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The grill cover is fun to duck under.

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The railings?

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A perfect back yard viewing platform.

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Did I mention Lord Dudley Mountcatten enjoys watching them too?

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Even when he has to duck under a blind to do it.

🤣

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When baby woodchucks discover your deck.

June 25, 2024 Rivergirl 20 Comments

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Once or twice a day I hear scampering.

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And when I do?

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I know where to look.

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Out back on our deck where the chucklets are having fun.

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They run across it, they chase each other…

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But they really like the railings.

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In and out.

Out and in.

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It’s a veritable woodchuck amusement park.

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Gardening woes.

June 24, 2024 Rivergirl 39 Comments

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It’s bad enough I have to battle baby woodchucks stripping my flower gardens bare.

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They’re adorable, but it’s very hard to make them stop nibbling.

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I heard shredding Irish Spring around the plants helps, so I’m all in.

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My other problem this year?

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A mouse.

Who beheaded all my lovely marigolds and dragged the blooms under our shed.

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I didn’t even have a chance to photograph the pretty alternating yellow and orange combination before all I was left with was this…

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Because as soon as the mouse ripped off all the blooms?

The chucks ate 3/4’s of the leaves.

But I fixed them.

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I planted a row of taller crown daisies and no one likes those.

😉

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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.