Okay, I admit it.
The little rat bastards fellows are cute.
Sitting on the railing….
With vibrant day lilies blooming in the background…..
Voguing for the camera like some fur covered super model.
Though I highly doubt Naomi Campbell ever pooped on her runway.
Cute, yes…
But you’re still a giant pain in my ass!
Woodchucks are still being tormented by starlings.
And are sometimes drastically outnumbered.
Deer and fox happily dine together.
Squirrel keeps an eye on deer.
But calls in back up.
Until another fox shows up.
Who is so chill he lays down and eats like a Roman.
How chill?
He even smiles for the camera.
Deer, fox and squirrels depart, woodchucks return.
It’s the circle of life.
Otherwise known as an average afternoon in our backyard.
*note – these pictures were taken before the drought turned our lawn a lovely shade of brown*
This week’s harvest from our neighbor’s CSA yielded scallions, cabbage, beets, Swiss chard, basil, parsley, garlic scapes, a tomato, a zucchini and raspberries.
Needless to say the raspberries were demolished with ice cream the first night and since we craved more, we headed across the road to their farm stand.
I can’t say I’ve ever seen a tractor trailer box renovated into a turquoise and gold farm stand…
But hey, it works.
Fairy tale eggplant?
There are so many off color jokes I could make right now my brain is threatening to explode.
And in case you’re wondering how the veggies don’t bake in the heat?
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Just as we were about to leave, our neighbor’s daughters showed us all of her father’s left over apple trees. He’d planted as many as he could for his new orchard and didn’t want the rest.
You know where this is going…. right?
Free trees?
Yeah.
It’s been 100 degrees in the shade, the ground is solid concrete because we haven’t had any rain for weeks… and my husband wants to plant more trees.
Stay tuned.
Where else can you go shopping and be greeted by a chicken?
Although what this poor devil did to be locked up in a rubber prison I don’t know.
Where else can you go to find a library that sets up a walking story time for kids?
Where else can you get alerts about runaway goats?
And offers of free hay?
The same place that airs their poopy grievances on Facebook, that’s where.
I love my town!!
As any gardener can tell you, things happen.
Flowers don’t bloom, leaves turn brown and sometimes…. things pop up without you having any idea how they got there.
Case in point?
The pots on our back deck.
I swear …..
I didn’t plant that.
But it’s thriving all the same.
Our buck finally showed up at a light enough hour for me to get some decent photographs.
Yes you, you handsome devil.
And while I love seeing him….
I fully appreciate his wariness and reticence to visit the nightly buffet.
When you’re that handsome you have to be careful.
His rapidly growing rack will make him a prime target of every yahoo with a rifle in a few months.
And the thought of his beautiful head mounted on someone’s wall makes me physically ill.
But for now, he and his family are safe.
And we enjoy our rare sightings.
Even if his rude wife does keep sticking her tongue out at me.
We’ve been having an unusually hot dry summer so I was a little worried our blueberry harvest would be small.
But the bushes are positively laden with fruit.
And in some places, look like grapes.
We did our first picking the other day…
And I see pie in our future.
As well as coffee cake, crumble, lemon blueberry pound cake, buckle and muffins.
If we can beat these little bastards to the berries that is.
No one wants pancakes that squirm.
I was finally able to grab a few pictures of our resident buck.
Which is getting harder to do as the summer wears on.
But this father son shot was pretty sweet.
Junior’s antlers are growing.
And it always makes me wonder what the felt feels like.
Naturally there are woodchuck photos.
And some close ups.
We have one lone chipmunk this year.
And yes, those pesky red squirrel babies are still here.
Using our deck railing as a cafeteria.
As well as a toilet.
Yes, I’m talking to you.
Clearly your mother didn’t tell you not to shit where you eat.
Bad form. Very bad…..
I was sitting in the living room reading when movement caught my eye.
On closer inspection:
Knowing this was not going to end well, I went outside to chase the little red bastard investigate.
Momma squirrel was back.
When she saw me, she ran.
And I thought, there.
That was easy.
But she wasn’t running because I’d scared her.
No.
She was just looking for a place to stash the apple chunk she’d stolen from the deer.
I found this piece, and 4 others in various nooks and crannies of the table and chairs.
The next morning? 3 more pieces.
So now, everyday when I go outside?
I have to pull half eaten apple pieces out of our patio furniture before the ants descend.
Good times.
I hate that squirrel!
Just when I think this horrible year can’t get any worse…..
2020 snickers and rubs its hands together in glee.
That’s right, a Great White Shark is in Maine waters and has killed a woman. We used to think this was impossible ….. but it’s 2020.
All bets are off.
Shortly after the tragedy, these pictures were taken off the coast of the Island where I used to lived.
Lunch.
That’s my Island in the background.
*Gulp*
And if Great White shark appearances in Maine aren’t crazy enough?
This happened early Wednesday morning:
It felt like a bomb had exploded in our basement.
And if that’s a 2.2?
I’m never moving to California.
Of course, we’re Mainers.
Tough….
Resilient.
We will rebuild!
River's world..... 