Maine is a quirky place.
The landscape is rugged….
And the weather is challenging to say the least.
So we tend to have a sense of humor about most things…
Even road signs.
Like this one I saw the other day.
Can you read the note to boaters?
” Attention Boaters!!
Unless your truck and trailer can fly, you can’t get to the boat launch!
Just sayin! ”
I woke up this morning to fog.
Hanging over everything like a gentle blanket of white…
In some places there was a sharp delineation.
As if it cut by a knife.
But as it started to lift…
I looked way out into the back yard by the woods and saw…
A piner!!
I did!
And in the 17 years we’ve lived here?
Not one single porcupine sighting… until now.
There’s elusive creatures, solitary by nature. Shy, quiet and slow… but apparently willing to high five in Philly.
(I totally need to visit Philly now, damn it.)
Sadly, while we see plenty of them dead on the side of the road…. we’ve never seen one at our house since the majority of our property is open lawn or field and they prefer the wooded areas.
So… a piner!!
I was thrilled… and attempted to creep across the back lawn to get a better picture. Naturally, I don’t creep well and he spotted me….. and shimmied down the tree before I could get close.
But I saw a piner on our property and have blurry photos to prove it.
Yay me!
Here’s a piner eating corn on the cob.
Note to self – buy corn on the cob.
I’m beginning to wonder if my town has a problem.
A pig problem.
On the contrary, I love pigs….
But I’m starting to think they’ve all heard about the backyard buffet we lay out and are on their way.
You see, they’ve been escaping at an alarming rate.
Every time I check our local FB page –
Well, they’d be pretty hard to miss now wouldn’t they?
And as much as I love seeing new wildlife at out house, technically these guys aren’t wild…
And usually make a mess of their lawns.
So unless they’re housebroken and well groomed?
Kindly keep your piggies corralled.
I’d hate to explain that accident to my car insurance company.
Because my photo files are filled with critter pics.
A wet fox.
Two wet foxes.
Okay, okay… moving on.
Baby woodchuck.
These pics are a month or two old, they’re not babies anymore.
I can’t tell you exactly how old because my stupid camera’s date and time setting is broken and everything registers 1/1/1980.
Why? I have no frickin’ clue.
Buck, on the field line.
Doe, in the field.
Wet skunk.
Wet skunk and deer.
This next one is blurry, but how often do you get a shot of a deer sticking her tongue out at a skunk?
Skunk Rule #1?
Do not be rude to skunks.
They will make you pay… and the photographer’s house will stink for a week.
More woodchucks….
Eating apples.
And woodchucks eating deer grain.
More deer.
And deer eating deer grain.
More skunks.
More foxes.
Skunk and fox.
Please remember Skunk Rule #1.
There is no Skunk Rule #2…. when the tail goes up?
Run.
More woodchucks.
I’d like to tell you that’s all the photos…. but it’s not even close.
That’s all for now though.
A restaurant review in which we make cocks out of mocks.
I’ll explain later…
Pepper’s Landing is a new seafood place we’d been wanting to try.
It follows the latest trend of slightly industrial looking spaces, with exposed duct work and open rafters.
Being Maine, naturally there’s a live lobster tank.
And being allergic, naturally they sat me right next to it. Cruel and unusual punishment to be sure.
There was also this handy technical breakdown for the lobsterly challenged among us.
I got a huge kick out of this as no Mainer worth their salt would ever eat the body (carapace). Of course no Mainer would ever call it a carapace either.
Though “Do not eat head” is always sound advice in a restaurant.
But call me crazy, I don’t think advertising your lobster as “stringy” and “gamey” is going to win many converts.
Moving on…
I opted for a blueberry martini, which was delightfully potent… but my girlfriend chose the Blue Atlantic mocktail….
And then added two shots of Grey Goose.
Putting the cock in her mock.
Fresh blueberries, fresh basil…. it was fabulous! And what we drank from then on.
We saw some massive bar pretzels going by, but opted for blueberry bbq wings…
And crab quesadillas instead.
Wings? Quite good.
Quesadillas? Not nearly enough crab.
Perhaps they fought back in the kitchen…
I chose the seafood pasta, which was basically scampi…
And though it looked bland…. it was fresh, perfectly cooked and with just the right amount of garlic.
Husband went with baked haddock in sherried butter and lobster cream sauce with asparagus.
Pardon the blurred photo, I think the Grey Goose was kicking in.
Dessert was cheesecake for the husband.
And a traditional Maine Whoopie Pie for me.
Slightly disappointing as it had been frozen and hadn’t thawed out properly. One should not risk breaking a tooth when one eats a Whoopie.
Rating?
B – , but worth trying again.
Day lilies.
They’re vibrant…
And colorful…
(Is it me… or is that mildly disturbing?)
They’re prolific…
Long lasting…
(Well that explains why my refrigerator died. They wanted it to.)
And easy to care for.
Plant… forget… and enjoy.
The same goes for Hostas, although they prefer some shade.
Everything is in marvelous bloom right now.
Except the sunflowers the chipmunk from Hell planted in my petunias.
They may take a while.
Happy gardening!
Autumn is closing in.
And it’s my favorite time of the year.
The air is crisp, the trees are full of apples….
And if you’re lucky enough to live in Maine like I do?
Mother Nature puts on a glorious show of turning leaves.
(Yes, those are my photos. And yes, those are my apple trees.)
But this year?
There’s something I’m not looking forward to.
The annual Pumpkin Spice’d every damn thing but condoms invasion will be rolling out shortly, and while that’s annoying enough….
This year?
There’s a new kid on the pumpkin spiced block.
It’s true… as well as disgusting.
Yes.
Pumpkin Spiced Spam.
Forget changing leaves and brisk breezes — pumpkin spice is the official harbinger of fall. And, for better or worse, Spam is entering the flavor fray.
While there’s no amount of money that could convince me try it and report back….
If one of you would, I’d appreciate a first hand account of how truly awful it is.
I like:
This beer we found at a liquor store in New Hampshire.
It had a rich, dark, oaky finish….. and also made me laugh.
I like :
This meme my husband’s niece posted on FB.
It’s uncannily accurate.
My husband can spot a red tailed hawk in the top of a tree on the northbound side of the highway while flying down the southbound side at 90mph…. but can’t find his socks. Which are in his sock drawer, where they’ve been for the past 35 years.
Someone please explain that to me.
I like :
This giant pink flamingo my husband’s nephew brought out to the Island for the kids to float on.
Did I mention he’s a rough, tough lobsterman…
And it didn’t quite fit on his boat?
I like :
Reusable grocery bags.
Less plastic and less waste to clog our landfills.
Of course I’m proof positive that saying is pure crap.
I’m 55… and not a single thing about me feels new again.
Tried to photograph 4 fawns frolicking around your back yard… at dusk…. through a window?
It’s not easy.
And most of your shots come out looking like this:
Or this:
They look rather like ghost deer…
But I assure you they were corporeal beings.
They just rarely stand still.
Or face the camera.
The video is poor quality, and a bit shaky…. although it gets slightly better halfway through.
But you’ll see what I mean about frolicking.
Multiple Bambis!
There.
You have now fulfilled your cuteness quota for the day.
We hadn’t been to the Topsham Fair in years, and after going the other day I remembered why.
Maine has some fabulous county fairs….. but this isn’t one of them.
With a $12 charge per person to get in? There should have been more… everything.
We started with the livestock, because I do love me some critters.
I got up close and personal with sheep….
While the husband chatted up a cow.
This cow was lying down.
As was her owner…
And it took all my willpower not to yell at him to drop his phone and learn how to spell her name properly.
Sorry El….
This cow had a little speck of something on her nose…
Which proved to be no problem.
Yes, that’s her tongue. And she knew how to use it.
Did you know…
Cows can’t vomit?
I live to enlighten.
We saw ox, and horses.
Some huge.
Some small.
We saw pigs…
With lots of baby pigs…
And goats..
With some pretty big…
Sorry…. but holy crap!
How do you walk with balls that big?
We strolled around looking for the chicken barn….
Only to discover there wasn’t one.
Very disappointing.
And then we walked past the “Decorate a Bale of Hay” contest.
Which… yeah.
Was a bit odd.
I temporarily lost the husband to some old rusty crap.
And found him checking out some sweet old vehicles for sale.
We meandered through the collection of carriages and sleighs which we always love…
And found a cannon…
With a strategically placed ball.
In a sack.
Tell me someone doesn’t have a sense of humor….
We made the obligatory walk through the exhibition hall.
But the Blue Ribbon rhubarb failed to thrill.
And aside from the carnival rides we didn’t ride and the roach coach junk food that we didn’t eat, that was it….
Until I spotted George.
And fell in love.
I mean… look at him!
George is an Emu.
Homely…
Humble..
And despite the prehistoric raptor like gaze, quite friendly.
Here’s some riveting video of him drinking water.
And a little something closer up.
He’s over 6 foot tall, with coarse dense feathers.
Yes, we bonded…. and I petted him.
Totally worth the $12 admission price.
River's world..... 