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We had our first baby woodchuck sighting of the season the other day.
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Momma gives birth under the Man Cave/Barn Mahal every year and this summer it looks like three.
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They really are adorable.
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Scampering around trying to convince mom to share her apples.
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I know my flower gardens will suffer.
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But damn, they’re cute.
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😊
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It’s been slow going but the tear down of our old front porch is fully underway.
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All the decking has been removed and even though the posts are not load bearing my husband propped up a temporary support .
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In his typical professional fashion.
Sigh.
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Sure.
That looks stable…
🥴
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Lots of rotted wood had to be removed because there was no j channel under the door, or under any of the porch siding.
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He’s trying to keep as much of the old frame as he can. Even if it is a wee bit crooked. Those cement posts are buried 3 feet down and there’s no way we’re moving them.
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Does my husband know what he’s doing?
Not really. Just enough to be dangerous.
That’s what makes it blog worthy.
🥺
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Never let it be said my husband doesn’t keep life interesting.
The other day was picture perfect. Clear skies, bright sunshine and fabulously moderate temperatures in the low 70’s. The kind of day that lends itself to outdoor adventures.
So when my spouse told me to get dressed because we were taking a ride up the coast, I was thrilled.
But I should have known better.
Oh, we drove up the coast…
But not to a scenic coastal village.
No…
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My husband took me to the dump.
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But not just any dump.. the huge, drive your truck in and throw absolutely anything under the sun away dump… which for him consisted of the old front porch he’d just torn down.
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Lucky me.
The place recently implemented a hard hat rule so I had to stay in the truck and missed being narrowly hit by flying trash.
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As you’re dumping, they’re pushing the refuse back with bulldozers … which can get a little hairy.
And oh…
Did I mention the smell?
Let’s just say it wasn’t the beach rose and crisp ocean air I was expecting.
😳
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Lilacs.
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From a scent perspective they’re hard to beat.
We have two giant bushes on the edge of our property that were planted by the original owners in the mid seventies.
One is dark purple.
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One is white.
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So of course my favorite color is the pale lavender that we didn’t have.
But my girlfriend did and about ten years ago she gave me some of hers.
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That’s it in the foreground next to our old ones.
Alive, but not in any hurry to grow.
At this rate I’ll be dead before it blooms…
🥴
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It’s been a long time coming but my favorite apple tree by the road is in full bloom.
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Technically it’s a weird variety of crabapple that doesn’t fruit.
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But who needs bitter fruit when you have this preponderance of fragrant blooms?
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The scent is pure heaven.
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But be careful sniffing..
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The bees love it as well.
🐝
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Tear down of our old rotted front porch has commenced.
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This is the part I’m more than happy to have my husband do.
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It keeps him busy and there’s no finesse or fine tuning required.
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Of course once he starts… he looks around and thinks about replacing more than just the decking.
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And as with any project at our house…
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Rotted wood we never knew about is discovered.
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He was hoping he wouldn’t have to replace the frame underneath…
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But so much of it is bad he’ll have to.
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Sigh…
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My spouse is getting ready to rip down our front porch and rebuild it. And if his contracting skills… or rather his lack of… aren’t worrying enough?
There’s this.
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My glorious rhododendrons, which due to all the rain we had this spring are bigger and fuller than they’ve ever been.
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Yes, the porch is old and rotted.
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Yes, the support posts aren’t supporting anything.
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No, the railings aren’t level.
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But… but…
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My rhodies are huge and just about to burst into full bloom.
They’re also right in the way and I know my husband is going to butcher them so he has room to work.
😱
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We had a new guest at Casa River yesterday.
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Running up and down the driveway at lightning speed.
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They’re cute little fellows we rarely see on our property.
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A shorebird who often nests alongside fields..
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The killdeer emits a shrill shriek of a call and is famous for pretending to have a broken wing and luring predators away from its nest with its supposed injury.
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Cute.
And smart.
Not to mention fast.
❤️
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With overcast skies and rain in the forecast my husband and I headed to the Barn Mahal for an afternoon of entertainment.
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Stepping on the porch, I realized we had a squatter.
Do you see it?
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In the upper corner to the right of the door.
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Someone has built a nest.
❤️
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After beating my husband at two games of Scrabble, we switched to pool… where my husband is guaranteed to win.
I like to play but I’m not very good. Can’t bank to save my life, but I won four out of ten so at least it wasn’t a rout.
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How long did we play?
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Long enough to require a keg change.
🤣
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We tried a new restaurant the other day which is something I love to do. If it was up to my husband we would go the same three every time we eat out because he’s an absolute creature of habit.
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City Farmhouse Kitchen and Bar in South Portland.
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The description was urban style with farm to table food. Sounded intriguing, so away we went.
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On first glance the cocktail menu looked stellar. Fresh fruit purées, homemade bitters and local herbs.
Yes please!
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I started with the strawberry basil mojito… which was so good I ordered two.
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I could happily have emptied a pitcher with my less than palatable crab cakes. The tiny things came out of the kitchen in a flash and had that hard crunchy coating that screamed frozen.
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On the plus side my husband’s lobster bisque was divine.
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It was an attractive place, modern with a few strange “farmy” touches.
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Like the fake grassy turf above the bar televisions.
🥴
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Sadly the main portions of our meals were disappointing. The husband’s roasted squash ravioli with root vegetables and sage brown butter were hard as a rock and dry….
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While my chicken tagliatelle with spinach, mushroom and pine nuts was dull as toast. The porcini cream had no flavor and the pasta was pasty.
My third cocktail however, the Indian Summer, was lovely.
Bombay Sapphire Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Fresh-Pressed Lime, Splash of Cranberry, Muddled Pink Grapefruit, Splash of Bubbles.
Conclusion?
Go for drinks and not much else.
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River's world..... 