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It’s early June in Maine and that means rhododendrons.
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For a pure burst of color they’re hard to beat.
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And I’m not the only one who loves them.
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Dozens of big beautiful bumblebees happily sip nectar.
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It’s a lovely time of year.
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Momma woodchuck has four children this year, and they’re keeping her busy.
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Like any overworked mother, there are days when she just needs a break.
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Times when she wants to ditch the kids who hound her and follow her everywhere she goes.
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On those days?
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She just has to climb a tree.
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Didn’t think woodchucks climbed trees?
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Beleaguered mothers do.
😉
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We have visiting raccoons in the backyard.
The raccoons attempt to drink from our birdbath but can’t always stretch far enough to make that work.
So along with their food, I put out a pan of water last night.
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To which the raccoon didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention.
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At one point he practically sat in it, but wouldn’t drink.
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Enter a baby woodchuck.
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The raccoon is three times as big, but was terrified of the little chucker.
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And when baby made a mad dash for food, the raccoon startled… banging into the pan, spraying water over them both.
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That sent baby chucker back to the shed….
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And made the raccoon realize what the pan was for.
😉
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Our raccoons are multiplying.
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First there was one, then two.
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And now we have triplets!
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They waddle across the lawn together…
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And eat right next to each other as well.
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Triple the cuteness!
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And speaking of cuteness, I found an old picture of my husband with his pet raccoon.
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Teddy was 3, my husband was 16.
🦝❤️🦝
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I had a feeling there were baby woodchucks under our barn… and the other day?
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Momma brought one to the buffet.
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An average litter is four, sometimes she has five..
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But there always seems to be one brave little scamper who ventures out first.
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This little guy showed up for carrots by himself yesterday.
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But he doesn’t quite have the standing up/balancing thing under control yet.
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Watch the clip until the end.
🤣
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I know it’s not polite to remark on another woman’s weight gain.
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But our resident Mother Chucker is looking quite…
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Round.
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How she gets that big eating salad all day is beyond me.
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😊
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It’s been a long cold wet spring and I was beginning to wonder if anything would ever bloom again.
Then…
Bam!
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After a few days of warm sun…
Our apple-less apple tree by the road burst forth with gorgeous white blossoms.
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I wish I could send scent through my blog because it is unbelievably fragrant.
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The birds love it.
The bees love it.
I love it.
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Life is good.
😊
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It was pouring rain recently and my big tough Marine husband was watching a hummingbird struggle to feed in the downpour.
Though I tried to explain hummingbirds live in tropical rain forests where deluges are common, he said, “These hummers are in Maine. They need help.”
So what did he do?
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He went outside and got drenched…
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In order to rig an umbrella over the feeder.
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As soon as it was installed?
Grateful hummingbirds.
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Of course the wind was blowing and securing it took repeated trips.
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But the little guys loved it.
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With one fellow happily perching there for an hour.
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❤️
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The following is a sunset over our neighbor’s gigantic greenhouses.
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We’re getting used to them, but that doesn’t mean we’re happy about it.
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Preach.
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May is a beautiful time of year. The grass is green and the birds are orange.
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Baltimore Orioles fly in for about a month on their migration north so I make sure they have ample oranges and grape jelly.
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These are for Mark.
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Because they all feature his favorite fruit.
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The man likes Spam, but not watermelon.
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That’s just wrong.
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Our nightly raccoon .
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My husband had one as a pet when he was a child.
It’s very tempting..
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❤️
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Well…
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Not technically.
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My husband won’t let me.
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🤣
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River's world..... 