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This month’s calendar squirrel has his face stuffed into a dandelion bloom gone to seed.
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As far as pleasantly scented flowers go, he’s clueless.
And if our resident red bitch tries this? I can only hope she’s deathly allergic.
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Tag Archives: flowers
What’s blooming?
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Day lilies.
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Day lilies are what’s blooming at Casa River.
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Almost everyone in Maine has this orange variety, for some reason they’re prolific, hardy and can withstand our crazy weather better than the others.
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It’s a shame they don’t last longer…
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They’re a wonderful blast of color.
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These two are my favorites.
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Deep, dark…
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And gloriously rich shades.
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The battle continues.
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Remember my pretty little petunia?
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It’s not pretty anymore.
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And my colorful little leftover flower bed?
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Not nearly as colorful now.
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Yes, the baby woodchucks are on the move and munching their way through my gardens… not to mention my wallet.
Cute? Yes. But cuteness will only get them so far.
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I spread this around my garden today and if it doesn’t work?
I may have to invite the real thing for dinner. ( Kidding, but tempting.)
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You little rat bastards.
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I was not pleased.
Not at all pleased to find the marigolds everyone told me to plant to because animals hate them flowers I’d so lovingly tended were being beheaded.
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My first thought was woodchucks because those little devils have decimated my gardens in the past. So I liberally sprayed everything with coyote urine. ( Helpful hint – don’t do this on a windy afternoon like yours truly. People will shun you for days.)
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The next morning?
Another beheading.
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The day after that? Two.
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Third day? Three decapitations and multiple plants nibbled down to nubs.
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I was livid and rethinking my woodchucks are so cute! policy. Until….
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I watched a mouse come out from under the baby barn and try to drag a marigold blossom in. Mice? Since when do mice eat marigolds? Do I have a mutant strain of blossom munching rodents nesting in our lawn mowers? Turns out I do, and though I never ever resort to poison?
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When I found multiple piles of rodent poo, I did. No mutant mouse is going to nest in the husband’s new $5,000 zero turn tractor. Uh uh. Not happening.
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Guttering and gardening.
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The new guttering installation continued and moved to the back deck.
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Where a lovely rose I planted last year is starting to bloom.
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And since things were not going smoothly with said installation….
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I concentrated on the gardening.
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Look… my first gay feather!
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Installation complete, it was time for the hose.
The water test did not go well.
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Not well at all ….
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So…. peonies!
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And Lord Dudley Mountcatten who was watching water leak from the gutters through an open window. When the cursing started, I moved around front.
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To the old stone garden bed under the crabapple tree the previous owners had made. I added some hostas and New Guinea impatiens this year.
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And constantly wonder why they didn’t use the same size stones all the way around.
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Purple haze and cats on ice.
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While I enjoy a good Hendrix riff as much as the next girl, the purple I’m talking about is of a different variety.
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Irises!
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Japanese Iris to be exact.
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They’re smaller and easier to deal with than their larger cousins.
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But still put on a lovely show.
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These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, before Maine started its horrible drought and heat wave. Things were still green, instead of the crunchy brown they are now. It’s amazing how fast the change can come. Today’s temperature?
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91 and feels like 104…. at 9:00am!! Unheard of in my state. Our two window a/c units are working overtime and barely keeping up. Even His Lordship is feeling it….
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Which is why I put him on an ice pack.
When I tried to remove it?
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I got the look.
😳
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Garden fluff.
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Even with the drought we’re experiencing, the Rhodies were magnificent this year.
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And the Barn Mahal porch has color coordinated pots of pretties as well. I find orange and yellow really pop against the red.
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This little petunia almost looks painted.
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Whether it will survive the woodchuck onslaughter is another matter entirely.
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Do you have a bed where all the leftovers end up?
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This is mine. A mini bed by the bulkhead doors where my first ever gay feather is getting ready to bloom…. and the neighboring hostas have launched an invasion.
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Love this combination Lantana.
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When the woodchucks decimated my gardens 2 years ago I searched for flowers they hated and planted them. Foxglove? Check!
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Astilbe? Healthy and woodchuck nibble free.
Did you know astilbe is also called False Goat’s Beard? What’s up with that… are there goats who need to travel incognito?
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Apparently, yes. Yes there are.
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Chillin’….
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Do you see him?
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How about now?
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten saw him.
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Though eating him was probably higher on his list than it would be on yours.
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Yes, it was a little chipmunk scampering through the rhododendron in front of my kitchen window.
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The day was hot, the shade the bush provided was cool….
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So the little guy just stretched out… and chilled.
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What’s blooming today?
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Salvia, geraniums and New Guinea impatiens are blooming in my little stone wall garden bed, but unfortunately now and then I find a hole.
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See the empty space on the left? Thank you Mr. Woodchuck, please tip your server. 😡
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Happily my strawberry shortcake foxglove is on the list of woodchuck avoided plants.
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It’s also rhododendron time.
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And this year, they’re glorious.
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Every season I tell myself to cut them back, then they give me a riotous bloom and I cave.
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This year I planted three tick weed (coreopsis) behind the marigolds. Sadly, they must have been on the ‘favorite woodchuck snack’ list because one morning I looked out and they were munched down to nubs. Solution?
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Giant headed yellow marigolds. They’re not my favorite flower, but they’re not a woodchuck’s either … so that’s a win.
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As is this pink cosmos. Such a happy flower. I smile just looking at them.
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I love my town
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What passes for news in my little corner of the world might seem silly to some….
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But I like to think of our Facebook page as the New York Times of happy living.
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You’ll be glad to know this crisis was averted.
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I’m not sure if this a thing in your area, but in Maine late spring means it’s time to thin and divide the perennials. Some people sell them in their front lawn, but more often than not the bounty is simply shared.
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Go home Freyr. I don’t care how tasty the tuna is down the road.
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That’s one fluffy little cock.
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Damn. No one ever drops roosters off at our house.
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