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We might be down to one baby woodchuck.
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Although he/she isn’t a baby anymore.
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To be honest it’s hard to tell this one and momma apart anymore.
I like to think our veggie buffet bonanza has given him/her a good start in life.
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I know it’s definitely expanded their waistline.
🤣
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Our chuckers are social eaters. They happily munch alongside deer, skunks and raccoons.
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And yes, wild turkeys as well.
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Until said turkey gets a little too friendly.
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And is chased from the buffet for the duration.
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When the summer weather turns hot, our bird bath becomes a popular place.
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I’ve been filling it three times a day, not because the birds have an unquenchable thirst….
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But because their mad orgiastic bathing spills most of it to the ground.
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🤣
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There’s always something that needs to be repaired at Casa River, and sometimes that something is the Barn Mahal porch.
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For some reason ( read – crazy Maine weather, massive frost heaves and lack of gutters ) one section of the porch lifted over the years with the result being smashed and then rotted wood under the corner post.
A cousin was called to assist… as there was heavy lifting required and yours truly sucks at that.
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I also suck at not exclaiming WTF! when I go outside to check on the repair progress.
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I doubt that set up was OSHA approved… but it did the job and supported the roof while the post was removed.
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Rotted wood.
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Please note I am not standing on the porch to take pictures.
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Rotted wood replaced….
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Corner post cut and reseated.
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With a hammer, because fine tuning was required.
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And yes, it’s a bit crooked now.
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But my bat was rehung and the roof is still over our heads… so I’m calling it good.
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For months we’ve had a nightly fox visitor for whom I lay out little piles of expensive dry dog food with taurine. ( It was recommended by a vet friend and is the closest I can get to the food U.K. Amazon refuses to ship to the United States) We love seeing him (her?) scoot across the lawn and settle in for a nosh. But last night?
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I was seeing double.
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Two beautiful foxes happily munching.
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Brother and sister? Husband and wife? Friends with benefits? I don’t know…
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But they’re both gorgeous!
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💕💕💕
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I woke up to this the other day.
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Husband was having his coffee, I was reading the news and Lord Dudley went running to the back door.
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Where a little inter species communication commenced.
I was all for letting our little back deck visitor in, but was prohibited to do so by my grumpy husband.
Boo to unadventurous spouses.
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I think we’re down to two baby woodchucks now.
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There were originally seven…. and I’m choosing to believe momma just booted them out of the den as opposed to the more disturbing killed and eaten by predator explanation.
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The two remaining siblings stay pretty close together.
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Especially when feeding.
❤️
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Since the stone border was complete, it was time for the next step. Garden soil.
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Thankfully our local Agway had a giant pile and it was only a few miles away.
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(Action shot)
Though why my husband kept bringing back such small piles I don’t know.
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He made 7 trips, half a yard each time. And I kept spreading it while he went back for more.
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I’m hoping it’s good soil.
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But I’ll mix some fertilizer in before I plant just in case.
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Another action shot.
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It should not surprise you to learn that halfway through the process the husband decided I was raking incorrectly and relieved me of the job.
🤣
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Viola!
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The what seemed like never ending stone perennial garden border construction is complete.
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Yes, it’s much smaller than I wanted.
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But I’m pleased with it all the same.
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It was a lot of work and the husband did a great job.
But the best part? Our marriage survived all the arguments it caused.
Next up? Dirt and flowers!
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P.S….. I wrote this a few weeks ago. The lawn is actually the crunchy brown from yesterday’s post.
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Our carefully tended lush green lawn is gone. Baked to a crisp by record breaking heat and dry weather.
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How dry? Severe drought dry…
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How hot?
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Feels like 108 degrees before 10 in the morning hot. I live in Maine FFS! This is not supposed to happen.
That bright green patch of sod we laid?
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Dead.
My full and healthy for the past 20 years boxwood shrubs?
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Dying.
The brand new flowering crabapple tree we planted on June 7th over my mother’s ashes?
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Might soon be joining her in the hereafter.
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It’s beyond depressing at this point and moving toward the panic stage. We live in the country and rely on a well for water. As much as I’d like to water the garden, I can’t. Hell, I’m down to doing laundry twice a week and not flushing for number one.
(TMI? Sorry.)
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As I type this, yet another flash thunderstorm is moving past us without a drop of rain falling.
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Now that’s just cruel.
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