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Mowing and yard work done for the day, we retired to the barn porch for adult beverages.
Can you spot the baby woodchuck?
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He was seriously chill.
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There’s something very satisfying about spending the day beating your lawn and gardens into submission and then sitting back to enjoy the view.
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Which of course, included another baby woodchuck.
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Life is good.
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Eight years ago the flowering pear tree we’d planted by the bird feeders when we moved to this house died. My late mother, who loved nothing more than sitting on the deck watching our fine feathered friends, told me we needed to replace that tree because the birds missed it. Sadly, she passed two months later… and because she wanted me to make the decision what to do with her ashes, I laid part of her to rest with a beautiful tulip tree in that very spot.
Unfortunately the tree wasn’t hardy enough for the rugged Maine winters and croaked two years later. As did the flowering dogwood we planted after that and the Rose of Sharon after that. Two years ago when our neighbor gave us a few river birches to plant in front of the man cave/barn, we transplanted a flowering plum to my mother’s spot. It did well, for two years.
But now….
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There it goes.
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Undeterred and very determined to give my mother the tree she wanted… we went to an extremely expensive nursery where I paid an astronomical sum for a flowering crabapple.
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It was a beautiful specimen. Tall and bursting with good health.
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So in it went, with my mother.
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My fingers and toes are crossed this one makes it more than two years.
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Because if this one dies, I’m really going to wonder if my mother is trying to tell me something.
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When the weather turns dry and hot I always wonder how wild creatures find water. And since I was throwing apple pieces out to momma woodchuck and her brood, I thought I would try something new.
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A large container of fresh cool water.
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Unfortunately it sat there all day… untouched. She had no interest whatsoever.
Oh well. I tried…
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Did you see this on the news?
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A woman answered a Craigslist ad and brought home a free couch. She noticed it was lumpy on one side and when she unzipped the cushion she found $36,000 in cash. The remarkable part of the story? She called the owner and gave it back. Turns out the furniture they were giving away was from a deceased relative who was notorious for hiding money. The owners were so pleased, they bought the woman a new refrigerator.
What say you? If the money was in your free couch cushion…. would you return it?
In other news, some interesting critters have been spotted on our road.
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This fellow was right around the bend.
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This guy was a little farther down. In all the years we’ve lived here, I’ve never spotted a moose. I’m hoping he’ll make his way to our backyard buffet soon.
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Two ostriches for $880 or three for $190. Someone needs to check their ad copy.
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Walking Lord Dudley Mountcatten has been interesting lately.
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Woodchuck babies are on the move and seem to pop up every time we turn around. Add a few grey squirrels and his Lordship doesn’t know who to chase first.
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That’s one confused feline right there.
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The woodchucks may be more plentiful right now….
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But it’s the squirrels that drive him to distraction. After 30 minutes of active stalking and cackling ..
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It was time for a nap in the shade.
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I can’t help myself when it comes to these baby woodchucks. I have to try and make friends.
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Apple chunks help inter species relationships.
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This little fellow was so close..
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But ducked under the barn at the last minute.
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The little guys are on the move.
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And damn it, they’re adorable.
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One little fellow loves the wagon wheels and uses them like a jungle gym.
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Momma isn’t a doting parent and I’ve actually watched her steal apple slices from junior.
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I know people dislike them and yes, they can be destructive… but thankfully they’ve never wreaked havoc here other than a few holes.
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Maybe they’re being nice and paying us back for the daily treats.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten has been strolling the newly rebuilt stone wall with trepidation. Cats are serious creatures of habit and anything out of the ordinary is met with suspicion.
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But Mr. Sissy Pants doesn’t like to dampen his feet on the morning dew either and will do most anything to avoid wet grass.
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Never walk a straight moist line when you can circle around on dry bricks.
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Yes, he’s in there somewhere.
And if it’s alright with you, I’d rather not tell him about the article I saw the other day..
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The last thing Dudley needs is a throne.
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Have you ever visited a military cemetery and wondered why there are coins on top of the headstones? I get asked this a lot and thought I’d share.
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I once saw a bratty little boy removing coins from graves in a veterans cemetery and while I don’t normally interfere with parents and their children…. you can bet I did that day.
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Judging from the ad photo, I’d say that one.
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I could do without a lot of things in this world, but never my books.
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This is one of our large backyard apple trees. It’s a Granny Smith and has provided us with 20 years of spectacular autumn pies. But last year a massive wind storm ravaged the right side of her and we had to have an arborist in to give her a massive prune. He assured us all would be well but the harvest will be nonexistent in 2022. Sadly there wasn’t a single solitary bloom this spring …. which means a lot less pie this fall.
😫
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The forest of trees my husband recently planted need to be watered and I’ll give you one guess who has to do that….
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Twice a week I man handle 300 foot of hose down to the back forty to give them a drink.
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And once that sucker fills up with water? It is HEAVY.
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But I’ll do it, despite my bad knee and pinched neck nerve because I refuse to let $700 worth of trees die. The husband loves to plant them, but never offers any follow up care.
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After that I was down on my hands and achy knee to plant. It hurts, but is so rewarding.
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Sadly, the mice are at it again. They live under the floor of the baby barn/shed and damned if they don’t chew the blooms off my marigolds and drag them through a hole.
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I plugged it with some stones, hopefully that will stop the raiding.
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River's world..... 