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It’s official… Momma Chuck is back, fresh out of hibernation and voraciously hungry.
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It seems she had no trouble remembering where the salad bar was located.
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And if you’re wondering how I know this is Momma Chuck and not one of the four babies she had under the barn last year…
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I’d say it’s the decided lack of that 18 hour bra I recommended last season.
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🤣
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Hard as it is to believe after the apple tree planting fiasco of 2021, my husband was back at it the other day … ripping up the dead apple twigs and filling the holes with bigger and better new trees.
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He came home with a beautiful flowering cherry I would have loved for the back lawn where I could see it every day….
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So naturally he planted it on the far side of the barn where it’s completely blocked by the building and out of line of sight from our house.
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It will however be prime viewing when playing pool in the man cave.
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It’s a pretty tree and was an immediate bee magnet. In no time flat they were circling and we were stepping away.
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I might just have to buy another for my viewing pleasure.
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Our resident fox is feeling comfortable at the buffet.
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They’re such beautiful creatures and I love seeing him trot up from the woods every evening.
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While he comes for the seeds and nuts spilled from the bird feeders, I also feed him mealworms, apples and berries which he loves.
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And small breed, high protein, grain free dry dog food with taurine. It’s the closest I can come to the fox food they sell on UK Amazon but won’t ship to the United States. Boo to that.
I’m hoping if he makes himself at home the law of averages will let him cross paths with a certain… oh so scrumptious… red squirrel who shall remain nameless.
😈
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Big momma woodchuck is out of hibernation and stuffing her face at a rapid pace.
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I’d thrown out bread for the birds earlier that morning but when I saw her arrive and start munching, I quickly gave her lettuce instead.
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You know, the head of iceberg lettuce my husband brought home from the store after I specifically wrote “green leaf, red leaf, Boston or romaine…. anything but iceberg!” on the grocery list.
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Even as hungry as momma chuck was….
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She left most of the tasteless crunchy white parts.
🤣
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You never know what kind of birds will show up at our feeders in the morning.
Cardinals? Check.
Bluebirds? Yup.
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are back and I saw the first Baltimore Oriole yesterday. But this morning?
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It was a pair of Mallard ducks.
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They’re comical to watch as it’s mating season and the male follows closely behind the female everywhere she goes. She leads him on a merry chase and you know she enjoys it immensely.
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Our resident fox was here early enough the other night for me to grab a few photographs.
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He’s naturally skittish of human presence so I have to shoot through the window. If I get too close, or move too quickly… he’ll scamper off. And when he’s had enough of the paparazzi disturbing his snack?
He lets me know in a none too subtle way.
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💩
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Because my life is a never ending series of nothing important.
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A 48 inch pike. While this man looks proud, they’re actually an invasive species that are destroying our lake’s natural ecosystems. People catch and release because no one wants to eat them.
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A blackberry lime sour from Mast Landing brewery. Pink, tart and strangely creamy. Yum!
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Our local pub has started serving Naan flatbreads. Sweet potato, bacon, caramelized onions, blue cheese with a honey maple drizzle. Double yum!
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Our resident fox is coming earlier in the evening to beat the skunks and raccoons to the buffet.
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We’ve had nothing but rain all month and our lawn is really getting torn up by the deer herd. Going to be a lot of yard work in our future.
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Don’t you hate it when someone beats you to the buffet line?
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The only thing you can do is use your superior size to muscle out the competition.
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Or so I’ve heard.
The next two pictures aren’t the best quality…blame my zoom lens and our resident buck’s propensity for showing up at dusk…. but I thought someone might be interested to see the antler shedding process.
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One half gone, one to go. Talk about being lopsided.
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Right after the shed. What’s left are big boney bumps with an active blood flow.
It always looks painful to me, but I’m assured it’s not. Though how any anter-less naturalist can vouch for that I don’t know.
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As I mentioned before, spring has brought an abundance of showers to my little corner of Maine. As proof…. I offer the new visitors who dropped by this week.
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A pair of mallard ducks who’ve made our backyard puddle their temporary home.
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We had ducks as pets years ago and I’ve always enjoyed watching them. They’re quite comical.
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But this pair is wild and flies off if they spot me. So for now, this is as close as my zoom lens will get me.
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Winter in Maine was virtually nonexistent this year. One good snow storm and enough wind to blow down even the sturdiest of little piggy houses was about it. Now that spring is starting to emerge what we are having is rain.
Lots of rain. Rain every other day. And while that can be a bit depressing….
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It’s hard to argue with the beauty it leaves behind.
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I don’t know why, but we’re blessed with killer rainbows at Casa River. And even though there’s no pot of gold at the end…
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There is a cat…. which is the next best thing.
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😊
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River's world..... 