Tag Archives: maine

Uncategorized

Meanwhile, in Maine.

27 Comments

.

I love living in my state and especially in one of its rural towns.

.

.

We’ve had our neighbor’s horses, goats and chickens all wander over to say hello but as of yet, no cows.

.

.

I want cows too!

.

.

That’s a traffic jam you’ll never see in the city.

.

.

Whaaat?

.

.

And people think Oregon is weird….

.

.

🤣

Closer to home, the geese are on the move.

.

.

A few cold nights is all it takes for these birds to say sayonara and head for warmer shores.

.

.

We were invited to dinner at a friend’s house recently and I made my cappuccino mousse trifle with raspberries.

.

.

It’s always a hit and in exchange? Our British ex pat friends shared a lovely bottle of gin they picked up in Scotland that I’d never even heard of.

.

.

Ooh la la.

If you’re a G&T fan? This is delightful. Smooth, crisp and oddly… almost creamy. It’s made with hand harvested sugar kelp seaweed and is a true small batch gem from the Outer Hebrides.

It’s not available in Maine, so I may have to make a pilgrimage to Boston soon.

🍸

.

Uncategorized

Half a tree is better than none.

31 Comments

.

There’s a crabapple tree in our stone garden bed.

.

.

We didn’t plant it, but it sprouted and grew well…. so we let it be.

.

.

Ten years later it perfumes our yard with blossoms in the spring and provides shade for the flowers and respite for the birds.

.

.

Until this week when it literally split in half.

.

.

The lower section on the left broke away from the trunk and got tangled up in the other big section resulting in a mess.

.

.

Knowing it was going to break off and wreck havoc in the first storm, we decided to cut off the broken parts.

😰

.

.

Which were absolutely loaded with fruit.

.

.

I hated to do it, but there really was no choice.

And as with most projects around Casa River as soon as we started…. things went wrong.

.

.

After a few initial swipes with the chain saw?

The chain fell off. And when we tried to fix it?

.

.

It started to rain which drove us into the shed.

Grrr.

.

.

Half an hour later we were back at it.

.

.

With me sighing as each branch fell.

I hate cutting mature trees.

.

.

But kudos to my husband for not destroying my blooming sedum.

.

.

Only one blossom lost.

.

.

The garden bed looks like hell because my knee hurt too much to tend it this year and we’ve had a horrible drought all summer.

.

.

My knee isn’t the only thing crunching around here.

Everything is brown.

😩

.

Uncategorized

Henry the Hawk and a squirrel who knows how to work a pole.

31 Comments

.

We have a new backyard visitor who is showing up every day, twice a day.

.

.

He’s a juvenile Coopers Hawk who has discovered our backyard bird feeders.

.

.

We’ve named him Henry and he’s quite content to hang out in the gardens and wait for a meal to fly by.

.

.

He’s young, and his hunting skills need some fine tuning.

Honestly? He misses more often than not.

.

.

But he’s one very chill little dude.

.

.

In other news, we seem to have a squirrel ready for the stripper Olympics.

.

.

I say this because his pole acrobatics are quite impressive.

.

.

That’s a 9.5 right there.

🤣

.

Uncategorized

Eerie skies, a plethora of lobster and how you know you’re getting old.

66 Comments

.

Now and then, right before sunset in the summer… we have an eerie backyard light.

.

.

Sadly none of those rain clouds dropped anything on us.

.

.

But they made for pretty pictures.

.

.

Now that is a bowl of lobster stew.

No tiny minced pieces or disappointing puree there. No sir.

.

.

Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve finally reached the age where a new sheet of stamps excites me. I may have oohed when I first saw this one.

Sigh.

.

.

I’d live here anyway, but it’s nice to know we have high rankings.

.

.

This is now a skunk water dish.

Other backyard critters need not apply.

.

.

The husband at a yard sale, or more precisely a barn sale.

The barn was filled with rusty old things and he was in heaven.

See the sign posted on that giant cabbage shredder?

He bought the shredder.

😩

.

Uncategorized

A rainbow, a recipe and Cluck Norris.

36 Comments

.

Porch geese have been around for years and women have been dressing them in seasonal costumes equally as long. But a bar in downtown Bath has taken it to the next level.

.

.

Cluck Norris.

Best. Porch. Goose. Name. Ever.

.

.

I’m always saving these lists of helpful hints but rarely try them. Though chalk in the jewelry box sounds easy enough.

.

.

Just sayin’…

.

.

A skunk-less rainbow this time.

😉

.

.

Only in Maine.

Fun fact? The house where I grew up on the Island was built in 1842 and had a large two story garden shed in the back yard. At the rear of the building? A three hole outhouse.

Because togetherness is everything.

🤣

.

.

This was yummy.

.

.

Though I added some sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil. Next time I think I’d half the mozzarella amount or use Parmesan.

Meanwhile in the backyard…

.

.

Someone else is looking well fed.

🤣

.

Uncategorized

Atta boys, a beat up mayor and a Yankee gator.

49 Comments

.

The WordPress attaboys had slowed for a while but then this popped up the other day.

.

.

I highly doubt they read all my comments and picked out ten to be thoughtful.

.

.

Those numbers don’t add up.

And yes, I’m still mad at myself for missing a day when my streak was over 1,400.

😡

.

.

The unofficial mayor of Bath, Maine is clearly a scrapper.

.

.

And his recovery was front page news.

.

.

Someday I’m going to meet him in person. Or is that in feline?

.

.

Never let it be said broccoli doesn’t belong on pizza. With a garlic crust, Alfredo sauce, 3 cheeses and grilled chicken? Fabulous.

As was the blackberry mojito.

.

.

I hope these are true.

Smelly Onion beats the Windy City hands down.

.

.

You never know what will pop up in small Maine towns.

.

.

That’s impressive carving right there.

.

Uncategorized

It doesn’t get more scenic than this.

39 Comments

.

If you have to eat lunch?

.

.

You might as well do it with a water view.

.

.

On the coast of Maine.

.

.

In the town of Camden.

.

.

Down at the harbor.

.

.

At Peter Ott’s.

.

.

There’s a view out every window.

.

.

And the smoked peach with ginger Collins is fabulous.

.

.

Blackened shrimp with citrus slaw appetizer.

.

.

View to my right.

.

.

Grilled chicken Caesar salad for me.

.

.

Plus a smoked peach and ginger sangria.

(It was the fresh fruit puree of the day, what’s a girl to do?)

.

.

Creamy garlic lobster linguine for the husband.

.

.

Followed by a harborside stroll.

.

.

Not a bad way to spend the afternoon.

.

.

👍

.

Uncategorized

Yummies, funnies and slightly used socks.

22 Comments

.

I have a delicious shrimp recipe for you.

.

.

They may not look pretty…

.

.

But your mouth will thank you.

I used jumbo shrimp and doubled the topping amount. They were fabulous.

.

.

Even my husband laughed at that one.

😉

.

.

If it’s called kitty bingo? I expect a cat to pull the balls and call the numbers.

.

.

But borrowing slightly used socks? That’s a feline bridge too far.

🥴

.

.

It’s been hot in Maine this summer, but it’s also been humid.

.

.

How humid?

.

.

That humid.

.

.

I am.

I really am…

.