.
Our resident juvenile red tail hawk dropped by the other day.
.
.
He uses our backyard bird feeders as a training ground for hunting, but that afternoon he was perfectly happy hanging out on the back deck railing.
.
.
Until he spied Lord Dudley Mountcatten stalking him from the window behind the couch.
.
.
Then it was bye bye birdie…
.
.
I have to laugh at the plethora of things that are flying around my town lately.
.
.
CMP, Central Maine Power… otherwise known as the company everyone loves to hate. They rarely get anything right, and freeing a kite from a power line to get it stuck in a tree sounds like something they would do.
.
.
Another lost kite. This one is pretty fierce, I might have been tempted to keep it.
.
.
We’ve had some odd things blow onto our lawn, but never a tent.
.
.
Storage sheds are also flying.
I really need to pay more attention to the skies around here…
.
.
Admit it, you have at least one crazy friend.
You know the one I’m talking about. They’re a little off the rails and do things you would never even dream of.
Wild? Maybe.
Entertaining? Most certainly.
Case in point: one of mine, whom we shall call P.
I grew up with P… and while we weren’t extremely close, I still consider her a childhood friend.
So when I heard she got back at a cheating boyfriend by breaking into his house and cutting his bed in half with a chainsaw?
I can’t say I was surprised.
.
.
While I don’t condone the dangerous behavior?
I have to say, I do admire her chutzpah.
🤣
.
.
When it comes to collecting crap stuff, my husband is the epitome of the phrase ‘the thrill is in the hunt’.
He’ll tirelessly scour flea markets and antique stores for that just right piece of crap treasure….. but once he owns it? It will languish in the closet or be left in a deserted corner to gather cobwebs.
And now?
His cat is displaying the same traits.
.
.
Yes, that’s a half dead mouse.
.
.
And just like his father….
.
.
After he hunts it down, Lord Dudley Mountcatten could care less what becomes of it.
.
.
The husband and I were driving to the grocery store the other day when he saw a sign for an antique show at the fairgrounds. And when my husband sees a sign for antiques?
.
.
We spend the next 3 hours in drafty barns searching for treasure and endlessly gabbing with dealers.
.
.
This little cart was sweet.
The $850 price tag? Not so much.
.
.
Deer antler cribbage board? I’ll pass.
.
.
Vintage clown with gaping open mouth ready to swallow your soul?
Hell no!
But the other half couldn’t leave empty handed.
.
.
So we came home with an antique Boston milk crate with metal hinges and lock ..
.
.
And a bottle of pain expeller with original box and insert.
.
.
49% alcohol? That will cure what ails you.
.
.
I mean really, just look how happy this woman was.
.
.
Fall is tree pruning time and since our two mature apples and one small crabapple were in desperate need, we hired a professional arborist.
.
.
That’s him tackling the out of control crabapple.
.
.
And that’s him strapped onto a branch thinning out our (probably 45 year old) Macintosh.
.
.
There were branches everywhere by the end of the day.
.
.
Which made me glad clean up was included in the price.
.
.
Crabapple before, with a 2×4 holding up a broken section.
.
.
Crabapple after. It looks positively naked, but he assured us it would fill back in nicely next spring.
.
.
Mature apples before.
.
.
Mature apple trees after. The lighting is bad, but trust me… they were thinned out considerably and are probably breathing a sigh of relief as we speak.
.
.
The arborist was here for 5 hours and did a wonderful job trimming and cleaning up. He even raked the lawn.
(The pear tree was also pruned, but I forgot to snap pics.)
Cost?
$400…. which I think was very reasonable.
.
.
I often cruise the Facebook page of the wilderness rehab where we donated apples. They do wonderful work with wounded animals, and I like to check on the progress of the little guys we saw on our visit. This time I stumbled across a photo of ‘Pinky’ enjoying the fruit from our trees.
.
.
Now that makes my heart swell.
And speaking of swelling…
.
.
Today’s acupuncture treatment found 19 pins in my injured knee… and I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say my pain has decreased by a good 30% since starting this prickly journey.
Looking like a porcupine twice a week?
That’s just an added bonus.
.
.
Temperatures are dropping, as are all the pretty autumn leaves. Late fall is setting in and winter won’t be far behind. Pumpkins will be tossed … but before you do, consider this:
.
.
Critters love pumpkins. And if you aren’t blessed with chickens? Please cut them in half and toss them in your nearest woods. Many creatures can’t cut through the rind, but they love the juicy interior.
.
.
Funny, and very true. I’ve never canned a single thing in my life and don’t intend to start now.
.
.
If you’re tempted to wear these on Thanksgiving? Please… for the love of all that’s holy… post pictures.
.
.
Because we love him and he’s simply too cute.
.
.
Walkies are still proceeding nicely. And though I haven’t had to scramble up a tree after him again….
.
.
That doesn’t mean he’s not thinking about it.
.
.
And like the rest of us, Lord Dudley Mountcatten has put on a few extra Covid pounds. He used to be able to slink under this shelf, now he just gets stuck half way in.
.
.
I’m not sure why, but Dudley will walk around the barn…
.
.
But will never get on the porch. If I pick him up and put him there? He jumps down as if burned.
Conclusion: Cats be weird.
.
.
And tired.
The beast must sleep 19 hours of every day. If I sound jealous, it’s because I am.
.
.
This week’s headlines from my little corner of the world.
.
.
It’s duck season in Maine, so you can’t blame the poor bird for trying to find safe water.
.
.
Not being a fan of eggs, I refuse to give this pie the recognition they believe it deserves.
.
.
There you have it. A one of a kind chicken conveyance.
.
.
Keep grandma off the streets!
Buy jam.
.
.
We have chicken neighbors, but the rude things never drop by.
.
River's world..... 