Tag Archives: maine

I love my town….

May 24, 2020 Rivergirl 18 Comments

And their slightly off balance Facebook page.

Not off hand, no.

But I hope he finds one. Pigless is a terrible thing to be.

This picture of our local sheriff’s truck was posted by a resident.

Because really, who needs blue lights when you have a chicken?

This post was met with the incredulity and the scathing derision it deserved . Reveal your fiddlehead location? To a stranger!!

Mainers have been killed for less.

Fiddleheads are a precious ($15-$20 per pound) and extremely fleeting commodity in the spring. Locals protect their secret gathering spots like they do their virgin daughters. Personally I can’t stand the slimy things…

But Mainers go berserk for them.

And speaking of barely edible food, some well meaning townie posted this:

Now really, if I’m not going to eat the delicate unfurled leaves of a fern?

You can damn sure bet I’m not baking helicopter seed pods that look like bugs.

Damn.

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Critter cam.

May 22, 2020 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Alright, that’s a lie.

It’s just me snapping shots from the window. But that’s not a snappy title… so get over it.

Our fox is coming every night now.

And sometimes he/she brings a friend.

They’re such beautiful creatures.

And wonderful at keeping the mouse population under control.

As you can see from the bird feeders, it’s Baltimore Oriole time.

They’re gorgeous, but quick.

And catching a good shot is rare.

We put out oranges and grape jelly, which they adore.

Of course, so does everyone else.

A raccoon comes in at midnight and strips the jelly…

And this hairy woodpecker makes short work of the oranges.

Our resident chucker is still here.

Enjoying apples.

And salad scraps.

Life is good in my little corner of the world.

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Score!!!

May 18, 2020 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Making a grocery run with the husband looks a little different these days…

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As does his idea of the word essentials.

But the real news of the day?

This:

We found two of the most elusive items in Maine. Flour and toilet paper!!!

Now I can say I know how a crack whore feels after a fix.

Well, maybe not exactly how.

But still…

We found these precious jewels at an out of the way, generic name grocery store in the back country.

And no, I’m not telling you where.

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A day most fowl… as well as foul.

May 11, 2020 Rivergirl 13 Comments

It started out well enough, with a sighting of a beloved yet rarely seen visitor.

This time he was across the street, walking along the edge of our neighbor’s farm.

He’s a beautiful ring necked pheasant we named Phineas.

They’re not native to Maine and can’t survive the winters, but a man up the road raises them and occasionally one or two will break free. Last year, Phineas brought his woman to our backyard. She was looking for a nesting site… but we never did see any chicks.

Later on in the day….

Saturday, May frickin‘ 9th?

We had ducks.

And snow.

This is the first time we’ve ever had mallards.

Sadly….it isn’t the first time we’ve had snow in May.

The ducks stayed quite a while, raiding the droppings from the bird feeders and the leftover deer grain.

And then a friend joined them.

A fowl day for sure.

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More chucker pics….

May 2, 2020 Rivergirl 13 Comments

Because I can.

I’m seriously in love with this little critter.

I know most people see them as pests and hate them.

But other than a few holes here and there….

This one’s never done any harm.

And a cuter garbage disposal for leftover salad scraps you’re not apt to find.

Last year we had a momma woodchuck and 4 babies.

This year…. only one.

I’ve yet to determine if it’s momma or one of her kids.

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Ice, ice.. baby.

April 29, 2020 Rivergirl 14 Comments

I just pulled these pictures off my camera.

I’d like to say they were taken last winter.

But actually… it was a few weeks ago.

Rain, that turned to sleet, that froze to ice.

Every single surface was coated.

And while I’ve never managed to do it’s beauty justice….

It doesn’t stop me from trying.

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Well, you can’t blame him.

April 25, 2020 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Our resident chucker was a bit ticked off the other day.

He was out back in the sun, enjoying a few apples…

Happily posing for pictures….

And an hour later?

Bam!

One cold woodchuck.

We had a squall move in from out of nowhere.

And I’m sure he was rethinking the decision to come out of hibernation.

No, he wasn’t happy.

With the snow…. or me.

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Because sometimes favors can make you cry.

April 20, 2020 Rivergirl 34 Comments

My SIL called a month or so ago and said she was redecorating a room in her house. Living in Texas makes her homesick, so she asked if I could make copies of some of my father’s Maine paintings and mail them to her.

My late father was the Vice President of a Wall Street brokerage firm who relaxed as a weekend artist. He loved nothing more than sharing his work…. so I happily agreed.

Sadly, my father died a year after he retired and only had a short period of time to paint when we moved from New Jersey to Maine. We were very close, but that particular year was hard for me. It was transitional…. and moving to a rural Island where the only way off was by boat was a huge culture shock for a 15 year old city girl. I was knee deep in silly teenage angst and didn’t spend nearly enough time with him.

Something I will always regret.

So when I started pulling paintings?

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I was a wreck.

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My father died 41 years ago….

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But I cried like it was yesterday.

Grief.

Sometimes it never lets go…..

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It’s snow good.

April 16, 2020 Rivergirl 36 Comments

Ah, spring!

In Maine? We tend to do it differently.

Like last Thursday, when one of our woodchucks came out of hibernation and said wtf?

The deer weren’t too happy either.

And before we knew it, what was supposed to be a light flurry…..

Turned into a full blown storm.

Complete with heavy wet snow weighing down the trees..

And turning everything into a winter wonderland.

Spring.

It isn’t always green.

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Farnsworth Part 2…..

April 14, 2020 Rivergirl 19 Comments

Continuing our stroll around the museum, we found abstract landscapes…

A necklace challenged woman…

And a large amount of love.

The husband still had that ~~what the hell am I looking at~~ puzzled look on his face… and read all the detailed descriptions in hopes of enlightenment.

And speaking of light….

While I’m generally not a fan of realism, the play of light and shadows in this piece were spectacular.

And now?

Behold….

I found a rock!

As well as a nude on a mushroom.

Bet you’ve never seen that before.

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Upstairs we found the Maine gallery.

Which welcomed us with bloody fish guts.

I’d have preferred an apple martini, but whatever.

There were Maine scenes.

Including this melancholy piece of women waiting for their men to return from the sea.

There was an extremely long panoramic of Main Street, Rockland in the 1800’s.

Did you know it’s known as the Lobster Capitol of the World?

You do now.

There was a model ship, which after those amazing examples we’d seen in Virginia…. looked like a 4 year old had built it.

Btw… did you know it’s bad luck to say the word pig on a lobster boat? I’ve known fisherman who won’t even bring a ham sandwich on board…. though no one could ever tell me where that started.