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We haven’t had a lot of snow this year.
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Or last year or the year before that unfortunately … so when the pretty white fluffy stuff does fall and stick?
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I wake up early to photograph it in that lovely pinkish blue morning light.
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And while I do enjoy it…
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Our contractor who still has to replace the siding from the bedroom window replacement does not.
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Can’t say I blame him.
🥴
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When last I left the bedroom picture window saga, the old had been removed and the new was on its way.
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Carefully, across the ice covered snow.
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This baby was heavy, and awkward to lift as there’s really no place to grab.
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You knew it wouldn’t be easy, right?
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Did I mention it was about 12 degrees that day?
Good times.
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Hallelujah, it was in.
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Secured, insulated and awaiting new trim and sills.
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And speaking of insulation..
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Sometimes the spray foam has a mind of its own.
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A rather disturbing mind as it turns out.
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Or maybe that’s just me.
😉
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The ice was here to stay… so work on the bedroom windows was fraught with slippery hazards.
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After the two small windows were installed our contractor needed another set of hands to help him with the big picture window…. so out went my husband.
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The jerry rigged planking platform was less than ideal.
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And the supports were definitely not OSHA approved.
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Mind you, that’s all ice covered snow.
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*Gulp*
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They did it, so naturally I had to document the event.
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That thing was heavy, and awkward to maneuver.
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I was cringing the whole time… expecting a slip and a crash.
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But it exited without mishap.
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And a giant air conditioned hole was left.
The crazy part of the removal? When they took it out we found this on the sill.
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A handful of screws.
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The old window was sitting right on them. How crazy is that!
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Winter a/c.
You gotta love it.
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If I was a dishonest person, I could get rich doing my husband’s laundry.
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He’s forever leaving things in his pockets.
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I think I need this book.
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I have long suspected my spider plant was in cahoots with my succulents. Maybe now I can prove it.
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Mr. Hawk is back.
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And currently driving His Lordship crazy.
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I’m not sure what makes this French…
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But Martha Stewart assures me it’s a good thing.
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As seen at a local convenience store.
Better than sour balls I assume.
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That sums it up quite nicely I think.
😉
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A Coopers Hawk has discovered our bird feeding station.
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And while I haven’t seen the telltale sign of feathers on the ground…
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It’s only a matter of time before some poor slow moving dove succumbs.
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Birds of prey are glorious creatures and though witnessing an innocent death is never easy, it’s most definitely part of nature’s plan.
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Not the most riveting video, but I’m sharing anyway.
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As you can see we have no snow, but the wind was blowing and the hawk was puffed up against the cold.
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This next photo?
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Mid poop.
🤣
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Hawk visitors.
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Another reason I love living in the country.
❤️
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In my younger days I was a sun worshiper.
A summer lover. A beach bum who loved nothing more than sultry hot days and long walks on burning white sand.
Now? I like a different kind of white.
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I want cold crisp air and a blanket of snow.
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While most people crave warmth as they age, the older I get the more I look forward to winter.
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It’s beautiful…
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And peaceful.
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I love the gentle colors …
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And the stillness of the season.
❄️
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Though we have the occasional opossum in our backyard nibbling at fallen bird seed, I’ve never given them much consideration as a pet….
Until now.
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Damn you Facebook for having an opossum lovers page and making me want to adopt one.
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Now I want to give an opossum a bath…
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And dress him for the holidays.
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I even want to put one in a box.
And give him a manicure.
❤️
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It wasn’t for me as I spent a miserable night wide awake and trying to get comfortable with sciatic pain.
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I’m never sure how I tweak that particular nerve, but boy it lets me know when I do.
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Rolling out of bed this morning was a slow painful process…
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But I definitely had a gorgeous view.
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I’m off to sit on an ice pack and crunch some Tylenol.
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Hope your day is starting a little better.
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I never used to be an early riser. When my husband and I were first married you’d rarely see me out of bed before 8:30.
Now that I’m older and hopefully wiser, I greet the dawn more often than not.
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It rarely disappoints.
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❤️
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Since the renovation project is at a standstill, walkies have resumed at Casa River.
And with cooler weather coming on that means mouse hunting.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten can hear them scurrying under the foliage and through the rock wall and after long patient observation…
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He’s airborne.
Straight up in the blink of an eye.
Just like an arctic fox.
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He chases birds in the burning bush as well but that’s not nearly as entertaining, though it is more colorful this time of year.
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No worries, he never catches any.
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Catching His Lordship in full arctic fox mode is difficult but I managed one good shot.
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Unfortunately for him none of these flying leaps resulted in a captured mouse.
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Maybe next time…
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River's world..... 