Tag Archives: backyard

Stone garden border project… day 1, disagreement 1.

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Work began on the perennial bed stone border recently… though not without incident.

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The existing bed measured 10×20… and when I first discussed the project with my husband I told him I wanted to expand it by at least 4 feet due to the apple tree that took up residence a decade ago. He heard me, but clearly didn’t care.

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Because when I looked outside the other day and saw him staking off level lines at the edge of the dirt… I said something.

Big mistake.

Huge.

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He heatedly explained the stone needed to be laid on flat earth and if I wanted him to do it, they would be laid inside the bed border. Period. End of discussion. Numerous hours of anger to follow.

Ladies? Never doubt the existence of male menopausal mood swings. They’re real.

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His way means I lose a good foot on every side, making my garden bed 4 foot smaller instead of larger. Not what I wanted. Not what I’d planned.

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But apparently what I’m getting.

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It’s hard to argue when I’m clearly not the one doing the majority of work. And I’m sure it will be lovely when completed…

But it would be nice if just once, we could come to an agreement without acrimony.

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Random nonsense

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Have you seen the new yellow watermelons at the grocery store?

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I had to try one… and to be honest I wasn’t that impressed. The texture was a little strange and I don’t think it was nearly as sweet as the red.

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No wonder it always looks like dolphins are having fun. They’re high.

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I’ve had this houseplant on a window shelf for years. I can’t remember the name, but it’s always been a small steady presence…until this month when it decided to grow long tentacles and turn into an alien. If I disappear from WordPress suddenly? You’ll know why.

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Don’t think raccoons are accomplished acrobats? I beg to differ.

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We’re dry in Maine. Unusually dry for this time of year. As in parts of our lawn are crunching and half the state is in drought conditions. Me? I’m still dragging 300 feet of hose out to the back 40 to keep our new trees alive. It seems we just can’t win when it comes to picking a time to plant.

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Whaaat! Not my ice cream.

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Whew. Only Floridian ice cream.

Sorry Florida..

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Misc. wildlife.

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All kinds of critters are showing up for the evening buffet at Casa River.

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Some of them a tad more odiferous than others.

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I wish it was still legal in Maine to de-scent a skunk and have one for a pet. A friend of mine did that back in the day and the little fluff ball was wonderful. Affectionate, playful and litter box trained. More than I can say for some of my friend’s husbands now that I think about it.

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Baby chucks are always the first to pounce. Carrots, apples, lettuce, melon and blueberries? Love them.

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Spinach, celery and strawberries? Won’t touch them.

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We have one young lone deer showing up for grain a few times a week.

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We probably won’t see the herd back until fall.

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Let’s play.

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Admit it. You have nothing better to do right now…

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Seeing that our yard/property is covered in flowers instead of vegetables and the pear tree, apple trees, and blueberry bushes aren’t ready to harvest yet ….

I’m going to have to go with woodchuck.

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Kidding!

( But with all the fruit I feed them, they’d probably be sweet. )

So what’s on your dinner table tonight?

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What’s blooming?

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This week at the Casa River gardens…

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Pink Astible. Guaranteed woodchuck proof, they hate it.

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A new hot pink bee balm I just planted. Dark red and purple are common, this one is as bright as a peony.

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My little rose is hanging in, but not quite as full as previous years. Fertilizer is on the shopping list.

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The geraniums are wonderful this year. Our local nursery is about to have a half price sale. This could be dangerous.

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A line of Stella Doro day lilies. Smaller than other varieties but still a nice burst of color.

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In which his Lordship searches for woodchucks.

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While Lord Dudley Mountcatten prefers watching squirrels and birds, the abundance of baby woodchucks scampering around the royal landscape can be perplexing. He spots them, but then they scurry into a hole.

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Usually this hole, which is really more of a tunnel dug under a burning bush after we removed a dead cedar.

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His Lordship is a patient soul and knows they’ll pop their heads up sooner or later.

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Catching them? Well that’s a whole other issue.

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After he sees one, he searches everywhere.

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Sorry buddy. I don’t think they’re in there…

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Waking up to a horror.

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Warning- disturbing, graphic images of a dead animal ahead.

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Still here? Okay then…

I woke up the other morning and thought I saw something strange on the front lawn. Still in my pajamas, I asked the husband to investigate. He came back inside with a strange look and a reticence to tell me what he’d found. After much shuffling of feet and stalling.. he told me Momma woodchuck had been killed.

I couldn’t believe it. She’s a tough old lady and I literally watched her chase off a fox last year.

Much as I didn’t want to, I had to see for myself.

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Poor thing.

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Something… coyote? fisher?… had ripped it apart. But as awful as it was, I told my husband the good news. It wasn’t momma chuck.

He thought I was nuts and proceeded to deal with the corpse. He said I couldn’t possibly tell one woodchuck from another … but I knew.

And a few hours later?

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Momma chuck and her baby enjoying some leftover deer grain.

Silly man. He should never doubt my ability to identify the critters I feed.

❤️

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