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The baby woodchucks are growing and seem to be everywhere at once.
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One little guy likes to grab a carrot slice and eat it in privacy on the stone wall.
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Which I must admit makes for some cute pictures.
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Our momma fox is coming earlier than usual now and usually shows up by 4:00pm.
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Chances are her babies are running her ragged and she appreciates the easy source of food.
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Poor momma.
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She’s so tired she eats lying down.
❤️
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As we wait for the smoothed dirt to dry on the newly torn up and backfilled driveway, a word about the inconveniences of this repair/replace project.
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Ours cars now have to sit outside in the elements for the week it’s taking the crew to do the job and probably for 2-3 weeks after that. Forget the fact that Ethel, my Subaru, is a garage virgin and has never spent a night outside…. not being able to use the driveway means the only place we can pull into our property is way out here.
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Which makes walking to your car in the rain and hauling groceries back to the house a right royal pain in the *ss.
And since we contracted to have the culvert replaced?
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Our mailbox had to go as well.
Trying to predict what time the postman will drive by so I can run out there to meet him is getting old fast.
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As I was cleaning the bird bath the other day I spied momma chuck.
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She’s made under the Barn Mahal her home for the last few years, so needless to say she feels comfortable there.
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She also seems to enjoy the porch.
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Whether it’s taking a bath on the steps…
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Or chilling on the deck.
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I’d say comfortable is definitely the right word.
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The rough work on the driveway repair was coming to a close.
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Small loads of the top layer of dirt were finessed.
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With numerous wheelbarrow trips.
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Though not everyone was hard at work.
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Lots of dumping. Lots of spreading by hand.
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And then the crew whipped out a big power saw and started cutting away part of the road.
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I didn’t realize they were allowed to do that, but clearly they are.
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And when I say cut, I mean rip up big chunks as well.
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Nest step? Smooth and pack the dirt.
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And at the end of the day we were left with this.
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Which we were told was a little too wet to pave so it would have to sit for a few days to dry.
We were also told not to drive on it. And since a lot of people use our driveway to turn around?
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The husband built a blockade.
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You can’t use it, but keep reading anyway.
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Giving new meaning to their slogan “we’ve got the beef”.
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And I’m supposed to care about this why…?
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How glad are you to be a loyal reader now?
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Approachable size. 
I’m dying.
🤣
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I can barely stand myself in this universe. Meeting another 100 versions of me is not on the top of my bucket list.
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I don’t envy that town’s Chamber of Commerce. Spinning cannibal crickets to the tourist trade has got to be tough.
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Woke up on Friday to rain, so I thought driveway repair work would be postponed.
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I was wrong.
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There they were, not bright… but definitely early.
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And working in the rain.
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Dirt was dumped.
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Dirt was spread.
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And mud was made.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was on the move the other day and headed right for his favorite pear tree.
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Please note His Lordship is actually airborne in the next photo.
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As usual, once His Lordship achieved tree grip…
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He was clueless about the next step and simply hung there.
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For quite a while as it turns out.
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But finally, he ascended.
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And posed nicely for the photographer.
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What to do once he’s up there or how to get down proves a bit more difficult.
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Work continues on the driveway.
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Dirt and gravel are brought in, dumped, spread …
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And smoothed.
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At times it looks like some weird sort of race.
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Bigger boys, bigger toys.
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Was my husband out there chatting during the process?
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I think you know the answer to that.
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It’s a good thing I don’t like to nap during the day.
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Because when they do the section in front of the garage, they’re literally right on the kitchen porch doorstep.
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A storm was rolling in and made for nice background skies so I snapped a few iris shots.
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I really should plant more of these.
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They’re such a lovely pop of purple.
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On the other side of the property ….
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Momma chuck was hanging out on the barn porch.
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Probably looking for some more marigolds too munch.
😖
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When the paving crew reached the end of the driveway tear down, it was time to remove the rusty old culvert.
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How rusty was it you ask?
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Rusty enough that it literally fell apart in their hands. Mind you, this was the same culvert the state deemed perfectly serviceable last year when a road improvement project skipped by our property with nary a glance.
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In the middle of the removal process?
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Someone had to go out and chat.
Please take note it wasn’t me.
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Old rusted culvert out, new plastic culvert that should last for 50+ years in.
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And since my husband was supervising?
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He had them lay and cover the full 40 feet instead of the 25 originally planned as not to waste the extra length he’d paid for.
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Naturally, this required more chatting.
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River's world..... 