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One of these squirrels is doing it wrong.
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But he was steadfast.
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And made it work.
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They’re determined little fellows.
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🤣
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Wrong way Charlie.
Tag Archives: maine
It’s a colorful time of year.
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They’re baaaaack!
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And the minute I spotted my first Baltimore Oriole of the season I ran outside with oranges and all natural grape jelly.
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In no time flat …
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The feeder was busy.
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They’re such beautiful bright creatures.
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Only here for a short time to take nourishment for their annual migration to Canada….
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They’re always a welcome sight.
❤️
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Sliding squirrels, creamy shrimp and disgruntled chucks.
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Our grey squirrels are determined fellows. As evidenced by the never give up attitude of this little guy during a recent rainy morning attempt at reaching the bird feeder.
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Wet poles be slippery.
🤣
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If you like shrimp?
Give this recipe a try.
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In a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Pat shrimp dry; season all over with Old Bay.
Arrange shrimp in a single layer in skillet and cook, turning halfway through, until translucent, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.
In same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes .
Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add wine to deglaze skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated,
Stir in broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until orzo has absorbed most of the broth and is almost cooked through,
Add cream and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and reduced,
Return shrimp to skillet along with any accumulated juices.
Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice; season with salt. Top with parsley.
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My tweaks – I didn’t have vegetable broth but used low sodium chicken broth and it was lovely. I used salted butter, so I left off the salt at the end. And since my husband isn’t a spicy food lover, I ignored the red pepper flakes. There was plenty of flavor so I think that was overkill anyway.
Use large or jumbo shrimp. You won’t be disappointed.
Yum!
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Mother Chuck is back and her runt from last year’s litter is still here.
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Though not for lack of trying to kick him to the curb.
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There are daily squabbles over food and squealing arguments over bolt holes.
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Momma isn’t subtle, but Junior refuses to take the hint.
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Blowing coat and taking name.
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We have green grass!
And deer.
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Our resident buck has finally dropped that pesky second antler and is in the process of blowing his winter coat.
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No, we don’t say shedding in Maine.
No, I don’t know why.
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I always think adult male deer look wonky with those big knobs on their heads in the spring.
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But judging from the tongue sticking out of his mouth, he doesn’t much care what I think.
😉
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I’m afraid I don’t understand the hype.
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A new grocery chain opened its first store in Maine last month and the hysteria was off the charts.
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I’d never shopped in an Aldi before and had no idea what to expect, but everyone was raving about how much money you could save so after waiting a few weeks for the craziness to die down…
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(Actual picture of how happy people were to shop there.)
The husband and I drove to Portland to check it out.
Marketed as a discount grocery, I expected no frills and that’s exactly what I got.
This was a brand new store…but the first thing I noticed when we walked in was how dirty and disorganized it was. Apparently their cost cutting measures include a lack of brooms and dust pans and employees to operate them.
Starting with produce, which was stacked haphazardly in it’s original shipping boxes, I was hard put to find a banana, apple, pepper, tomato or cucumber that wasn’t heavily bruised, browned and looked ready to toss.
There was no deli, no bakery and no seafood counter. No frills, for sure.
There was also no rhyme or reason to product placement… cheap fake flowered wreaths were next to the mayonnaise. Plastic outdoor thermometers were next to the crackers. And did I mention you have to “rent” a shopping cart? They’re out front where you pay a quarter to unlock one and get your money back when you return it.
I was unaware that 95% of the products are their own versions and not brand name. Having been burned one too many times with tasteless substitutes I had no desire to fill a cart with mystery cereal or soup.
We walked out of there with nothing. And it’s a good thing, because there were only two registers open with no DIY kiosks and the lines to check out were insane.
I seriously doubt I’ll ever go back, so if you’re an Aldi shopper? Please tell me what I’m missing, because I don’t understand the allure.
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Today’s post is for the birds.
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Pardon the nasty dead section under our bird feeders. We may be seeing a little green grass but warm gardening temps aren’t here yet.
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That being said, the bluebirds don’t seem to mind.
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They’re such bright little creatures.
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And we weren’t the only ones who thought so….
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Because this Kestrel showed up shortly after the bluebirds fled.
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The smallest hawk, he’s not one we see often.
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But he made himself at home that day …
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Flitting from the deck railing…
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To the bird feeder post.
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Fortunately for the bluebirds, he went away hungry.
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Sunset, tots and Momma Chuck.
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There’s beauty in living in wide open spaces.
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Sunrises out your back door and sunsets like this out your front.
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❤️
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We tried a new pub recently.
Front Street Tavern and Grill in historic downtown Bath, Maine.
The building was old but lovingly restored with lots of exposed brick.
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The garlic Parmesan wings were so good we had to order two batches.
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And sometimes you just have to go for the tots with your turkey club.
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Sadly the menu was a bit too “pub food” heavy for my full meal wanting husband so I doubt it will be on our regulars list, but they made a nice raspberry margarita and I’d recommend it for lunch.
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Momma Chuck is back.
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And making up for lost winter meals.
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She’s a great salad/veggie scraps recycler.
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We don’t throw much away when she’s in town.
❤️
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Here kitty, kitty…
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We have a lot of interesting backyard visitors at Casa River.
Some are regulars… deer, skunk, fox, raccoons, woodchucks… some show up less frequently … owls, ducks, woodcock, porcupine, ring necked pheasant,
But last week?
Even we were surprised to see who was hanging out by the bird feeders.
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At first we thought it was the neighbor’s cat Silas who drops by now and then. But on closer inspection?
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We realized this was a different type of kitty altogether.
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A bobcat!
He was beautiful. And we were thrilled.
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In 22 years of residence, this was our first encounter.
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Stocky, with big paws, pointed ear tufts and a stubby tail.
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He was a gorgeous wild boy.
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And yes, our domesticated feline was on high alert.
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The bobcat sat by the feeders for a good ten minutes, where I noticed him licking his lips. I told the husband that was a sign of feline nausea but he didn’t believe me.
Until the bobcat walked across the back lawn and puked under our bedroom window before trotting off to the woods.
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I’m hoping this elusive and rarely seen kitty felt comfortable enough to come back someday.
💕
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We’re fawn-ed of them.
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Our backyard fawns are growing up.
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It’s such fun to see the young spotted babies make their way into adulthood.
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We get used to seeing them.
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They get used to seeing us.
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Until the neighbor’s dog starts barking and they all flee to the safety of the woods.
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Around town funnies.
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Every once in a while I check out local Facebook pages… you never know what you’ll find.
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Exciting.. and quite possibly dangerous.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if my husband has something similar in our cellar.
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I didn’t know this was a thing.
But I am hoping that isn’t the (newly painted) mortar round from the previous story.
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Send recommendations, but please be quiet about it. The poop requires silence.
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Did your mother have a button box, drawer or tin? I don’t remember my mother sewing very often when I was a child, but we were never allowed to throw out a button.
Waste not, want not.
😉
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River's world..... 