Well now you can.
We had a lot of visitors this past winter.
These are pictures from back in January because I’m still playing catch up from the vacation posts.
Our buck kept his rack a lot longer than usual.
But it didn’t stop him from apple picking.
Or sticking his tongue out at the photographer.
Cheeky little bugger.
Father and son…
Or daughter, it’s hard to tell at this stage.
Now that the Virginia vacation saga is finally over, it’s time to clear out the photo files.
If you remember… before we left for the Cape Cod vacation in November, the husband was desperately trying to finish the remodel on our baby barn from Hell before the snow started flying.
He started putting the siding on….
Which was a nightmare of non squared corners and uneven ground.
Yeah, there was a lot of that.
His answer? Plant a shrub in front of it.
He was still using his 1950’s power tools and probably wishing for a larger wheelbarrow.
Siding around the window resulted in some very colorful language.
As did turning the 3rd corner where things didn’t exactly line up.
Unfortunately that’s as far as he got before the weather turned….
And now I have to stare at this split personality horror show until spring.
In other news, our neighbor and her daughter fed our deer while we were gone.
She sent me this picture while we were in Williamsburg, and wanted me to know the child took her responsibility seriously.
And for that she was rewarded.
Flowers for mom and a thank you deer for her daughter.
That little guy cost me a fortune but he was hand made and too damned cute to resist. Look at those feet!
It snowed right after we got back.
But the white stuff sure does make a nice contrast for the sunrise.
We were happy to see our resident buck was still around.
He’s an impressive fellow….
And clearly his women agree.
He’s got quite a little harem going.
With 4 fawns that we know of.
Funny thing is….. as much as I love to travel, it’s sights like these that always make me glad to be home again.
Crazy weather this winter left the wildlife a little shell shocked.
Snow, rain, ice, warm temperatures, then more snow and ice. They didn’t know what the hell was going on.
We had skunks in January and fox in February.
And deer?
Yes dear, we had deer.
Veritable herds of deer.
Who we love to watch.
I mean really….
How can you not?
Such beautiful creatures.
They almost make the slow internet speed we have to suffer in the country worthwhile.
The driving tour of the Yorktown, Virginia battlefield was a strange one and meandered all over the place.
Through the woods.
And past open fields with miles of split rail fencing.
Seriously, it went on forever.
There were creeks and swamps.
And every now and then, a sign.
We saw plenty of fluffy white butts.
And they roamed at will.
We even made friends with a few.
This little beauty had no fear and sidled right up next to my window.
Up our way that would be dangerous.
But this was protected land and they knew it.
Near the end of the tour we saw something a bit odd.
A buck with a funky horn.
And while I can’t say I’ve ever had to tote a rack around (on my head anyway) this did look a little strange.
So this was December 23rd and the husband had spent the last 48 hours trying to talk me into driving down to North Carolina for Christmas Day. When we’re on a trip for the holidays? We usually let it pass without much fanfare. No exchange of gifts, maybe just a special meal. But since our daughter of the heart came to visit with us those few days… he was bound and determined we would celebrate with her this time.
While I normally would have agreed, she had a slew of family members staying the night in a one bathroom house and I didn’t want to stress her anymore than necessary. We checked a few hotels in the area but all of them were full. Husband wanted to go for the day…. but it was a 4+ hour ride down and a 4+ hour ride back. Almost 9 hours on the road is not my idea of a fun Christmas… but he wore me down. Which meant we had to spend the rest of that day (and night) shopping for gifts because I wouldn’t go empty handed.
And leave it to me to decide on the one gift that was utterly unfindable on the 23rd of December. And believe me we tried.
Yup.
I had to give her this.
Because she loves wine…. but can no longer drink it because it gives her headaches.
I was going to give her the gift of wine back! Or die trying.
Which we nearly did.
We tried every single freakin’ store for 150 miles. Large malls and small gift shops. Specialty stores and wine outlets. Big chains and obscure holes in the hall. We walked, we searched, we cursed. (Okay, maybe that was just me.) We shopped until we almost dropped. Everyone had heard of it… very few carried it. And if they did carry it? They were sold out by the time we got there.
Do you know how aggravating it is to look for something for 7 hours straight and then be told by a laughing salesclerk, “Oh, we just sold the last one 10 minutes ago. You should have been quicker.” That woman is lucky she still has her tongue…. because if I could have reached the butcher knife on the other side of the counter? She’d be laughing with a bloody stump right now.
And if that isn’t bad enough?
I didn’t find the perfect gift, but I did find this:
No.
No…
Noooo!
This is wrong on so many levels … I can’t even. What twisted soul thought, “How can I take a perfectly good candy and ruin it beyond all measure? I know… I’ll add Kale!”
All over the world children are weeping. I hope you’re satisfied Archie.
At 9:30 that night the husband was screaming Uncle…. and grumbling about food. We were both too exhausted to care at that point and stopped at the first place on the way back to the resort. An Outback Steakhouse.
I’m not a lover of chain restaurants and hadn’t been to one of these in 20 years.
But $5 Boozy Cherry Limeades sounded pretty good….
And for that price? I had 3.
Their Blue Cheese Wedge salad left a lot to be desired…. and the husband’s French Onion soup was only fair.
But his filet was blood rare and he made short work of it.
My grilled filet and shrimp skewer combo was filling…. and I’ll leave it at that.
There’s a reason we’re not chain restaurant fans, and if we don’t go back for another 20 years?
I’m okay with that.
I could bore you to tears with all we saw that day, but let this suffice..
A portrait of an evil cherub who looks like she’s ready to stab Fido with an already bloody knife.
But no.
It’s just a 17th century pacifier. “Your mouth is sore sweetie? Here… suck on this metal and coral pointy thing.”
No wonder she looks pissed off.
“Inveterate dysenterical fluxes”.
Doesn’t that sound like fun?
The museum was filled with artifacts unearthed from the original site.
And things thrown down the communal well.
Naturally, the husband was appalled at the waste of all those perfectly good rusty tools.
The takeaway from most of the history we read?
We might romanticize the idea of the first settlers… opportunity, adventure, a brave new world etc., but in reality? It was starvation, illness and death.
And Pocahantas…. of whom much is written and little is really known.
The only actual image drawn during her lifetime is this English portrait:
A much later Anglicized version of her true self.
Child trading. A fact of which I was heretofore unaware.
So there you have it, historic Jamestown.
Where a t shirt we saw in the gift shop said it all…..
Leaving Jamestown, we got back on the Colonial Parkway…..
And saw some deer.
Some swamps.
And a whole bunch of these strange mounds.
Too small and numerous for beaver.
Any southerners care to weigh in on what constructs them?
The Parkway slides along the James River….
And was a lovely, peaceful, traffic free drive.
Except for the black vultures.
Which are neither lovely nor peaceful….
And often cause their own traffic jams when they discover a fresh kill.
And no, I didn’t include a photo of the canine corpse.
With apologies to Kevin Costner….
I’m talking about the deer.
When snow covers the ground and grass is hard to find?
Shoveling a path is a sure way to attract a crowd.
Or a herd, as the case may be.
We were really glad to see our resident 12 point buck survived hunting season.
And visits daily with his harem.
Of course he also chases them away when the treats run low.
Cheeky bugger.
Here’s a little clip in between snow storms.
Done with the caves, we thought we were done with the park but there was still a little left to explore.
A nature path through the woods.
Leading past a sugar shack…
And an old tree.
Do I post fascinating stuff or what?
Stop that!
There was a rock set up for climbing….
As well as one with some munchies on top.
And you know what?
Still better than kale.
We kept hiking.
Up some rocks…
And some stairs…
And oh boy! The husband’s face says it all…
More stairs.
To be honest there wasn’t much more to see. But we found a gazebo on our way back down… with rather questionable graffiti.
Okay.
I’m not sure that needed be to advertised…. but whatever floats your boat.
One more smooth path down…
And we neared the exit.
Where I had to stop and feed those precious European fallow deer again.
Such little cuties.
Polar Caves… the end!
Half a day experiencing it , 5 days blogging about it.
Say what you want about me… (and I’m sure you will)
You can’t say I’m not thorough.
The Polar Caves in Rumney, NH was one of the few tourist destinations on my list. While we usually prefer natural wild places, I’d read good reviews on this multi generational family run spot and figured we should check it out.
Happily we showed up on the last day of the year that they’re open and didn’t have to fight the crowds.
I knew I was going to like it when we saw a large oak tree in the parking lot with this sign underneath…
You have to appreciate that kind of thoughtfulness, if not their spelling.
I had my doubts after buying tickets in the ticky tacky gift shop and walking outside to find the usual giant Adirondak chair.
And when we saw the creepy anorexic polar bears?
I figured I’d made a mistake.
But the small petting zoo charmed me…
With it’s precious European fallow deer…
That we had to feed…
And pet.
I mean really…. could you resist that face?
They make the funniest noise when they vocalize, almost a squeak.
And after having his say, this guy almost fell asleep.
Look how small they are. I told the husband I could easily fit a couple in the barn, but he wasn’t amused.
There were also some gorgeous Chinese pheasants.
Although they were hard to photograph due to the cages and a moat around the outside that keeps pesky children’s fingers away.
The tails on the males were pretty impressive.
As were their colors.
But this little guy stole my heart.
Look at him…
He’s a Dr. Seuss bird come to life!
Just some deer…
And last month’s backyard fall leaves.
I fear for our resident buck this time of year.
Bow season in October, rifle season in November, black powder season in December.
Three months of abject slaughter I will never understand.
I’m tired of the culling argument. Mother Nature takes care of her own…. and hunters don’t want the small and the weak.
They want the big racks. (Of course they do, they’re men.)
They kill the strongest, largest and healthiest buck they can find…. which means those genes won’t get passed on.
Meanwhile, Momma’s fawns are growing up.
No more spotted Bambis.
And the does enjoy a treat before cold weather sets in….
Bird baths.
They’re not just for birds anymore….
These little guys never used to drink here until an apple tree sprouted in my garden bed a few years ago.
Now they’ve realized they can safely climb onto an overhanging branch and jump in.
Like I do…
Actual photo of me last Saturday night.
Pardon the quality of these shots, but it was dark and I was shooting through a window.
I’ve often wondered why the deer don’t stop to slake their thirst.
Now, I have proof that they do.
River's world..... 