.
Our resident juvenile red tail hawk dropped by the other day.
.
.
He uses our backyard bird feeders as a training ground for hunting, but that afternoon he was perfectly happy hanging out on the back deck railing.
.
.
Until he spied Lord Dudley Mountcatten stalking him from the window behind the couch.
.
.
Then it was bye bye birdie…
.
.
When it comes to collecting crap stuff, my husband is the epitome of the phrase ‘the thrill is in the hunt’.
He’ll tirelessly scour flea markets and antique stores for that just right piece of crap treasure….. but once he owns it? It will languish in the closet or be left in a deserted corner to gather cobwebs.
And now?
His cat is displaying the same traits.
.
.
Yes, that’s a half dead mouse.
.
.
And just like his father….
.
.
After he hunts it down, Lord Dudley Mountcatten could care less what becomes of it.
.
.
Because we love him and he’s simply too cute.
.
.
Walkies are still proceeding nicely. And though I haven’t had to scramble up a tree after him again….
.
.
That doesn’t mean he’s not thinking about it.
.
.
And like the rest of us, Lord Dudley Mountcatten has put on a few extra Covid pounds. He used to be able to slink under this shelf, now he just gets stuck half way in.
.
.
I’m not sure why, but Dudley will walk around the barn…
.
.
But will never get on the porch. If I pick him up and put him there? He jumps down as if burned.
Conclusion: Cats be weird.
.
.
And tired.
The beast must sleep 19 hours of every day. If I sound jealous, it’s because I am.
.
.
With Thanksgiving right around the bend, my mind naturally turns to food. Visions of a glistening, perfectly roasted, juicy bird take center stage… and I can guarantee you it’s not this kind.
.
.
A plant based turkey?
.
.
An already stuffed with God knows what plant based turkey?
Not on my holiday table.
🤢
.
.
Backyard color.
(Disclaimer-this pic was taken before the N’Or Easter. The wind stripped her bare)
.
.
But yes, the burning bushes are burning.
.
.
I have to ask… wouldn’t duct tape work just as well?
.
.
Lord Dudley Mountcatten doesn’t care.
.
.
I’ve always found this to be true.
.
.
Harnassing up Lord Dudley Mountcatten and taking him for a walk has become a more frequent activity….
.
.
But it certainly hasn’t gotten any easier.
.
.
I spend most of my time standing still, watching him wait for a mouse.
.
.
But the other day I managed to get him out front and headed toward the barn… until he saw it.
Do you see it?
.
.
On closer inspection the reflection from my glass table seemed possessed…
.
.
And His Lordship was having none of it.
.
.
For those of you who haven’t seen the header image on my blog this month…
.
.
Flying woodchuck witches seemed more than appropriate.
.
.
Birds?
Yeah, we got ‘em.
.
.
Flocks of hundreds of starlings that fly in and empty our bird feeders in record time.
.
.
I’m guessing “Your nuts are in this box” is not a package most men expect to receive.
.
.
Can you see the beautiful buck hidden behind the blueberry bushes?
.
.
It seems Lord Dudley Mountcatten has had enough of the glorious fall foliage.
And finally, in honor of Halloween…
.
.
I wish I’d seen this sooner.
It’s a holiday yard decoration I could totally get behind.
🤣
.
.
Since Lord Dudley Mountcatten has shown surprising mouse hunting skills, I bought him a catnip replica to practice his moves.
.
.
As you can see….
.
.
He was not the least bit impressed.
.
.
And judging from that look, nothing good is going to come from my mistake.
.
.
He’s on a roll.
.
.
While it’s disturbing to realize how many mice we must have scurrying around our outbuildings…
.
.
It’s nice to know His Lordship is doing his part to control the population.
.
.
But his boredom with the dead mice is instantaneous.
.
.
And yours truly is always left to deal with the remains.
.
.
🥴
.
.
Lord Dudley Mountcatten falls asleep in some weird positions.
.
.
And sometimes he simply slips out of position defying gravity on the way.
.
.
.
I’m proud to say he eventually fell off and landed on the floor.
Yup.
That’s my boy.
.
.
The husband and I reluctantly stopped at a tourist-centric restaurant last week which is something we try hard to avoid. Why do we dislike the tourist places? The seafood is usually sub par, ( it was ) the decor is usually tacky ( plastic lobsters, fake fishing nets) and the menu usually contains pictures they think tourists want to see.
.
.
This is the world’s largest lobster roll, it sells for $100 and if you finish the whole thing by yourself? You’re made a member of the clean plate club. But that picture? Just… no.
.
.
Required photo of Lord Dudley Mountcatten watching a flock of starlings.
.
.
Finally…. An advent calendar I can get behind. Or under as the case may be.
👍
.
.
It poured the other night and as you can see…. the husband’s latest roof repair did not hold up. And if that wasn’t bad enough, my latest patch job turned out to be perfect for funneling water down the wall and creating liquid filled bubbles. This has been going on so long I’m tempted to just wrap the house in plastic and call it good.
🥴
.
.
I’ve been known to have an epiphany or two while drinking, but wine that tastes God? That’s a whole other ball of wax.
.
.
Color me surprised. I had absolutely no idea.
.
River's world..... 