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Flowers.
That’s what you get for the outrageously high property tax bills the town of Kennebunk sends out twice a year.
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But what lovely flowers they are.
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Every free space in the village is filled with them.
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It’s impressive and quite beautiful.
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Is it any wonder President Bush’s family has their summer home in Kennebunkport?
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I’m going to bore you with more autumn photos.
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Because even walking around the backyard is lovely during this season.
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Blueberry bushes aren’t very attractive most of the year, but the red is pretty striking now.
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And you’ll be happy to know the un-manning of the man cave porch continues… with 5 chrysanthemums and two pumpkins complementing the wreath.
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Apples?
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Our trees are bursting with more than we can use. But why are the best ones always so damned high up?
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The woodchucks have left the building.
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After momma chuck and her spring brood of voracious garden nibblers cut a swath of destruction through my flower gardens this spring….
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And fattened up quickly at our all you can eat buffet this summer….
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They have now moved on to where ever the hell it is woodchucks go in the fall.
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And all I’m left with is empty flower pots and leftover photos to sort through.
😊
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I can’t say this with any certainly, but I’m guessing the demise of our cedar tree was woodchuck related.
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It stood in that corner for almost 20years with no issue and then, wham! It was dead. Upon removal we found this…
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A hole, next to the trunk. And on further examination…
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A hump of dirt with a strategically placed pile of poo. On the other side of the hump?
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Another hole, which meant woodchuck tunnel. I figured they must have destroyed the roots of the tree with their digging, but in actuality the tunnel goes under these other bushes that weren’t affected at all.
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So it’s a mystery, but either way? I’m left with an empty space and a stump.
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Because while my husband loves to cut things down with his chainsaw? He could care less about the mess he leaves behind.
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I saw this the other day and was sorely tempted.
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I totally need cherry tomato toting ants.
In other local news….
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Such a neighborly thing to do.
And lately a dip in the pool has been sounding wonderful with temps being hot, hot, hot.
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Of course this is Maine, so while it felt like 104 one morning…
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Two days later it felt like 45.
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I replanted my left over garden bed with geraniums after the baby woodchucks ate all the petunias.
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But not before the little bastards darlings chewed all the leaves off my gay feather.
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At least they left the blooms this time.
🥴
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Now I’m wondering what an appropriate beef jerky card message would be.
I wanna hold your ham?
Nice to meat you?
Don’t go bacon my heart.
I have a t-bone to pick with you?
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I don’t often catch the baby woodchucks nibbling my flowers but this little dude was quite brazen.
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Strolled right up on the deck and started chewing the bloomless petunia I’d transplanted from the garden to a pot because they were eating it.
Yeah.
That worked well….
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I really wish they were month lilies.
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Because they’re a wonderful pop of color in the garden and a day just isn’t enough.
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I have them scattered here and there around the property.
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And while this dark pink is my favorite, it’s never grown larger… though I planted it 17 long years ago.
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This line of hostas and day lilies was here when we moved in… and though it’s not a good spot, I’ve yet to relocate them.
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This double ruffle is sweet.
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But the stormy sky behind my backyard patch?
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Not at all sweet.
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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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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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Moving around the corner of the house with the husband’s new toy….
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More shrubbery was tamed. (Yes, I’m aware we’re missing a few shutters. They’re in the garage, where they’ve been since they blew off the house 4 years ago. That’s how long I’ve been bugging the husband to put them back up. 😖 )
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And in the other corner?
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The flowering quince bush from Hell. I annually curse whoever planted this abomination of a plant.
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Every year we wack it down.
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And every year it grows back up to the roofline. If we let it go unchecked? I believe it would swallow the house in one gulp.
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It’s pretty when it blooms, and yes….
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It produces (inedible) quince fruit, but it’s an utter nightmare the rest of the year. Did I mention the beast is also full of thorns? Good times when you have to gather it up, stuff it in a garden cart and haul it down to the woods, over and over again.
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The woods that are wayyyy down there. At times it seemed like the trimming would never end.
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But we finally got it down to the last few branches.
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Before….
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And many sweaty hours after….
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Is it pretty? No.
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Heck, with the husband wielding the trimmer it isn’t even straight. But it’s smaller… and we can see out the windows again.
That’s a win when battling demonic shrubbery.
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River's world..... 