Just some random photos I cleared off my camera the other day.
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This was the last sighting of our blue eyed fawn from last year.
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Photos were taken in January and though we’ve seen some full grown deer this month, it’s hard to tell if he’s among them.
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Can you see the visitor in this pic?
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It’s a Red Tail Hawk who uses our backyard as his hunting ground.
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Close proximity to the bird feeders makes for some tasty dove nuggets.
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He’s a young hawk and is still mastering his technique.
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While it’s hard to see piles of feathers litter the ground, these birds of prey really are fabulous creatures. And if he swoops down and claims a certain red rodent….. I can’t say I’ll be heartbroken.
It was my original intent to keep him an indoor boy… no fleas, ticks or fear of being run over. We live in a rural area and there’s not much traffic, but we’re also on one of the only straight sections of our road and people fly by when trying to pass. We lost a cat that way and it was heartbreaking.
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All our previous kitties have been indoor/outdoor.
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But I’m thinking how pissed he’ll be if we start traveling again and he’s stuck inside after a taste of freedom.
The husband’s birthday was this month, and for the past decade I’ve been giving him experience gifts rather than material things…. because we all know the man has more than enough stuff. Over the years I’ve gifted him a trip to a spooky old hotel in the Poconos that felt like the Overlook in Stephen King’s The Shining…
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The place was huge!
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So huge I could never manage to get a shot of the entire thing in frame. And we were literally the only guests.
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Room after room.
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Floor after floor.
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All to ourselves.
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I expected to see the twins every time we walked to our room. Uber creepy.
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I’ve given him beer making classes….
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Look at all those serious student faces.
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And seeing him stir an actual pot? Was well worth the student fee.
I even gave him falconry training.
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That was awesome. If you ever have the chance, take it.
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They really are spectacular creatures.
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And hey, where else do you get to walk around with a bag of decapitated quails?
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But last year brought Covid and the romantic getaway to the coastal resort I chose was cancelled. This year? We didn’t go anywhere either so along with a few Marine Corps themed items and a handful of vintage Red Sox collectibles… I got him something for the man cave.
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Doesn’t look impressive you say?
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Trust me, it is.
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I’m imaging many alcohol induced oohs and ahs when we plop this baby on the bar.
We have wild turkeys that visit our backyard bird feeders to scrounge what’s fallen on the ground.
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We’ve had flocks for decades and it’s never been an issue. They’re goofy…. and honestly, I find them quite comical to watch. But this past year, in which my husband has been home 24/7 hogging all the bandwidth teleworking… he’s taken an interest in feeding the birds.
The man who used to complain I bought too much seed and spent too much money on suet nuggets now glares at me if the 50lb pound bag falls below a quarter. And since he gets up at an unfathomable time of the morning ( pre sunrise people… WTF? ) he’s usually the first one out the door to fill the feeders.
If the turkeys visit in the spring, summer or fall? Fine. But in the winter their prodigious piles of poo land on snow and ice which is not nearly as absorbent as dirt and well…. let’s just say Tiny Tim isn’t going to be singing about tiptoeing through that anytime soon.
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Hence the never ending battle my extremely stubborn husband wages on a daily basis.
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This will go on for hours.
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Even when he’s on the phone for work dealing with a man in violation of FAA regulations.
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He chases them, they run to the edge of the property line and wait for him to go back in the house, they return, he chases them…etc, etc, etc.
If you think you’ve never met anyone more stubborn than a retired Marine? You’ve never met a Maine wild turkey.
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The funniest part of his new hobby? As soon as he gives up and goes back in the office….
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The turkeys call in reinforcements and descend en masse. He chased a dozen…. 26 came back.
Winter snow and cold has finally moved in to Maine and I for one am pleased.
It’s winter!
I want snow!
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Our deer are only coming at night now and it’s hard to get pictures through the windows.
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The least bit of movement on their part overwhelms my iPhone’s shutter and results in furry blurry blobs.
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Along with the cold and snow has come the wind, which I could actually do without. Menopausal heating only goes so far, and while I’ll walk outside comfortably in 20 degree weather with only a light shirt… the wind cuts like a knife and even my interior furnace is working overtime.
Required picture of new family member Lord Dudley Mountcatten.
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And yes, I have to report that Ball Wash is back.
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And speaking of hanging, the other day the husband and I were out in the barn and I wanted to play an album. This is not as easy as you might think…. considering the husband put the stereo as close to the ceiling as humanly possible.
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Vinyl could get interesting after a few toddies. Stay tuned.
My birth year seems to have been full of scientific additions that mean absolutely nothing to me.
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But dragon fruit? I had a martini made from those once and it was lovely.
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Elevator music? Great, the next time Barry Manilow comes on at the mall everyone will blame me.
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Fetal position? I’m ashamed to say I have assumed that after a night of too many martinis…. and it was far from lovely.
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Hotdog? Now that I think about it my mother always called them frankfurters. Maybe she was a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan after all.
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And finally Japanese quail, which now that I think about it…. looks a little bit like me after a years worth of non stop Covid lockdown cooking and eating.
