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I used to have 3 bushy coleus.
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And then I noticed they’d been nibbled.
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Every morning when I woke up they were a little smaller.
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Until all that was left were the nubs. It’s not woodchucks, and this tiny garden bed is right alongside the kitchen door by the garage, the deer won’t come in that close.
An unidentified muncher.
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Who left me one leaf to remember them by.
😨
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The little guys (girls?) are branching out and feeling more comfortable in the backyard.
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We often see 3 but rarely all 4.
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Momma wanders off now and then but usually shows up at apple time.
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Not that she shares mind you.
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As much as I despise them for eating my flowers, it’s hard to stay mad when you see the little ones scampering around.
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We have a raccoon who visits nightly. And while he’s a cute, pudgy old fellow… he’s extremely destructive when it comes to our birds feeders. Every morning we wake up to one or two on the ground, often in pieces. A month ago I started taking them down at dusk and putting them in the garage overnight. When I went to bed early last week and forgot? The husband got lazy and left them on the kitchen porch.
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Not a good idea.
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Not at all good.
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Alternate title : The Bitch is Back.
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Still on our roof.
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Still trying to chew her way back into our house.
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Look at her.
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Taunting me.
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We’ve sealed up every entry point we can find.
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But she keeps looking.
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Did I laugh when she scrambled on top of the gutter, slipped and fell in the downspout?
Damn right I did.
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I came home from the store the other day and stepped up on our kitchen landing.
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Which is when I saw it.
Do you see it?
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Let me give you a hint…
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We hadn’t seen the little red bastards for a while, but it was right there.
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A stolen apple wedge. Prominently placed where I couldn’t help but see it.
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That bitch is taunting me now.
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Yeah, yeah… still the husband. Soul mate, best friend, whatever.
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But today I’m talking about critters.
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Whimsical…
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Magical….
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Absolutely adorable….
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Little critters.
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Yes, even the pesky red squirrel.
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And the mice that make their winter nests in our garage.
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The fact that these creatures are ephemeral and disappear with the first gust of wind just makes it bittersweet.
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We hadn’t seen much of mother red squirrel lately, which after the last pregnant photo I took of her.. was a very good thing.
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But she showed up yesterday…
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Looking kind of rough. Motherhood must be taking its toll this time around.
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Now if only I could coordinate her visits with this new addition to the backyard wildlife sightings….
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He could solve all our squirrel problems in one fell swoop.
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The late season Bambi is back and not looking quite so evil this time.
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Eat up little one, winter is coming and you’ve got a lot of pounds to pack on before the white stuff falls.
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The big buck was here as well.
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As was his son from last year whose felt is starting to shed.
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Hard to believe we still have a spotted fawn this late in the year. Makes me worry.
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Fall is here and with such a terribly dry summer the pickings aren’t good.
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The rut will be here shortly.
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And this guy will be very busy.
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Okay, we don’t live in the mountains.
But there was fog over the woodchucks this morning…
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So I’m rolling with it.
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My little fellows are quite used to being served breakfast now.
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Spoiled?
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Maybe just a bit.
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Our resident skunk who visits nightly.
Like everything else around here, he’s ass backwards with a black striped tail and white tip.
Regardless, he’s still a little stinker… and if the tip goes up?
Run.
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Two CH-53E Marine Corps choppers flying over our backyard during some rare state of Maine training.
We lived in the flight pattern of these babies down south when my husband was active duty, and trust me, when they go by? You feel it.
As does your house.. because everything that isn’t nailed down rattles.
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The sunset up the road from our house the other night.
You may ooh and ah at will.
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A sign I bought for the husband’s future barn bar.
Beer.
Making friends more interesting for centuries.
