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Nothing earth shattering, just a woodchuck family having a nosh.
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Carrots and broccoli are their favorites.
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And they make short work of it.
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Momma had five children…
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But we rarely see them all together anymore.
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Just chucks.
Tag Archives: food
Otto’s, part two.
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Did I mention Otto’s By The River was a funky little restaurant?
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I think their furniture proves it.
But aside from lovely cocktails and the owner trying to make my husband vomit (see previous Otto post), the reason we’ll go back is the food.
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My crab dip was literally one of the best I’ve ever had… and I love crab. I’ve had a few.
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The husband’s butternut squash soup? Thick, hearty and a meal unto itself.
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Butterfly pea tea lemonade? Tasty and pretty.
I forgot to photograph my chicken Caesar wrap but it was equally as good as the special my husband plowed through.
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A perfectly cooked venison filet with mushroom and caramelized onions, garlic mashed and green beans. To say we were too full for dessert is an understatement, we positively waddled out the door.
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Next to this fabulous building.
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It was a post office, then a state government admin site … but now it’s for sale. A developer is thinking of making it into condos that would go for $750k each.
Must be nice.
But hey, for that price at least you get a great view of the sturgeon.
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Though not all of them look thrilled at the prospect.
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🤣
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Otto’s On The River.
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We discovered a new restaurant last week that is definitely going on our ‘must return’ list.
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Located in downtown Augusta, Maine’s capital… but nowhere near most attractive city.
There’s been a rejuvenation movement in the old section of town for the past few years. New businesses remodeling old buildings, fresh plantings… and most importantly, whimsically painted sturgeon.
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Otto’s was indeed by the river.
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And if it hadn’t been so hot we might have sat outside.
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This is a fun and quirky place.
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And though the main dining room was closed for lunch, we had no trouble bellying up to the bar.
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One fabulous summer sangria in…
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We were enjoying the vibe and chatting with the owner’s sister who was mixing drinks.
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Before long the owner came over with menus, and seeing that my husband was drinking beer… asked him if he wanted this little bit of ale that was just poured. They only have bottles and cans, nothing on tap… he said it was just the extra that would otherwise be tossed.
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Never one to turn down free beer, my spouse took a large swig… and almost threw up.
Turns out it was the olive juice the bartender was using for dirty martinis
Omg. I’m sorry… but I laughed.
I laughed hard.
The poor owner was beside himself apologizing and felt terrible. He was worried we’d leave a bad review and never come back.
To be continued…
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A new chucker trend.
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Bowls are for eating.
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But if you’re a woodchuck in our backyard….
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They’re also for sitting.
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And there’s a lot of that happening lately.
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🤣
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Miscellaneous missives.
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Have I mentioned the baby woodchucks like the deer grain?
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They really like it.
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So much so .. they sit in the bowl and repel all foreign invaders.
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The pickle algorithm is right. I don’t believe that’s refreshing at all.
Blech!
🤢
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Are you as tired of seeing AI artwork passed off as real photography as I am?
There’s something about the quality of it that’s very telling.
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I like fruit art as much as the next girl, but come on. No one is that good.
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And come on…
That’s not even close to believable.
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Mark – this is for you.
Please order and report back.
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I dare you to beat our backyard sunrise.
❤️
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A Jaguar yard sale and the redneck country club.
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A girlfriend I hadn’t seen in a long time was having a yard sale so we decided to surprise her and drop in.
Little did I know it would turn into a dangerous visit.
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Dangerous because she was selling her convertible Jaguar.
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No, we didn’t come home with it.
Though for a while there, I thought we might.
We chatted, had a nice visit … and before we knew it the lunch hour had arrived. Not being familiar with her area, we asked for dining recommendations and were pointed to a golf course.
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Open to the public, it had a lovely mountain view…
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And the most redneck, down home clubhouse I’ve ever seen.
This sign was in the ladies room.
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See what I mean?
But yeeha ambience aside, the food was quite tasty.
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Chicken broccoli Alfredo for the hubs, ginger chicken teriyaki stir fry for moi.
Goes to show you can’t judge a kitchen by its tacky rest room decor.
😉
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A walking buffet?
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In our backyard the birds eat at the bird feeders.
In our backyard the woodchucks eat under the bird feeders.
But now?
The birds are eating on top of the woodchucks.
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And that’s definitely something new.
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This juvenile starling rode around on momma chuck’s back for quite a while.
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Eating bugs I assume.
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And momma didn’t seem to mind at all.
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It was wonderfully bizarre.
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This last picture is my favorite.
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Nothing to see here folks. Just a bird riding a woodchuck…
Carry on.
🤣
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News you can’t use.
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Because you can never have too much useless news.
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That’s a whole lotta fingers to lick.
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You mean we haven’t already ?
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Had to throw in a little local Maine news because clearly this bear is living his best life.
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AI MTV?
Say it isn’t so..
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A review doesn’t get much harsher than digital diarrhea.
It must be seriously bad.
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He just doesn’t like pants.
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We tried a new small batch brewery last week .
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Advertised as a farm setting..
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It was really just a big house with a big lawn and a couple of chickens.
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But no matter, they had a tasting room.
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And a bar with a menu.
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That… and interesting beer is all we ever need.
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So we tasted.
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And tasted.
And since I couldn’t discern any recognizable plaid on the owner’s kilt, I had to ask.
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Turns out he’s not Scottish or clan affiliated. He just doesn’t like pants.
And since we kept tasting, we ordered some food.
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My husband went with The Perfect Scallop…
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Which was less than perfect . One large scallop cut into thirds, which pretty much ruined it. It was presented on some kind of bizarre cheesy foam and as you can see… was not meant for hearty appetites.
Since I was drinking I threw my normal culinary caution to the wind and ordered their exotic smash burger of the week … which was of all things, kangaroo.
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Was it awful? Yes. Dry and tasteless.
Do I regret ordering it? Absolutely.
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Even the chickens were upset.
🤣
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Not a dolphin in sight.
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The husband and I drove out to Harpswell recently to have dinner at Dolphin Marina.
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It’s a beautiful spot.
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And well off the beaten path.
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A working marina.
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With a nice restaurant at its tip.
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One disappointing summer sangria in…
( I told the bartender it was tasteless, he told me a lot of people were saying that. Then for heavens sake, why are you serving it!)
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My crab cakes were fab.
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Husband went with a cup of lobster bisque which was rich, heavenly and crammed with lobster.
It was also served in a coffee cup and cost $28. Gulp.
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The fog was rolling in…
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Which made for an eerie light.
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The watermelon mint spritz? Much better.
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My pan seared Parmesan haddock was lovely.
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As was my husband’s lobster pasta.
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Too full for dessert after enjoying the homemade blueberry muffins that come with every meal…
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We headed home.
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Enjoying the views along the way.
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River's world..... 