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After an odd winter disappearing act, the deer are back.
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And they are just the sweetest things.
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We’ve had herds for two decades now…
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But it never gets old.
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Living where we do has some drawbacks.
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But this isn’t one of them.
❤️
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Spring is just around the corner and though the temps are still cool in Maine, 90% of our snow is gone.
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Of course that doesn’t stop His Royal Highness from finding the one batch left in a shady corner and getting stuck in the middle of it.
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And since the snow has melted?
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was rolling.
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In some stinky fallen bird seed and loving every messy minute of it.
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Needless to say he got a thorough brushing and wipe down before re-entering the house.
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Eggs.
It literally hurts to buy them these days. $9.09 for a dozen, $12.75 for 18.
Damn.
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The husband and I took full advantage of this primo parking spot at the grocery store the other day. Hell, with what they’re charging for eggs they should offer valet service too.
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Easter is coming.
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You’re welcome.
( hollow out eggs and mix filling with above ingredients )
😊
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Look who’s back!
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I spotted our first woodchuck yesterday.
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And immediately tossed out some lettuce and broccoli to welcome the little guy back.
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I’m saying little guy but it might be a girl. I only know it doesn’t look like our old momma chuck of years past.
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She’s been around for a long time and sadly, I think it’s time for the next generation to take over.
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A rare photo of Lord Dudley Mountcatten walking in the snow a few weeks ago.
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That winter stroll lasted all of two minutes. His Lordship does not like cold feet. 🥶
If you’re a vinyl collector like me, you’ve flipped through endless stacks of records in flea markets and antique stores looking for an elusive LP. More often than not what you find is Herb Alpert. Specifically, the Whipped Cream album. Seriously, it’s everywhere.
If you can relate to that frustration, this next bit is for you.
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Lord Dudley likes to watch television. And the other night he came running into the living when he heard a bald eagle screech.
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To say he was fascinated is an understatement.
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No. Just… no.
I love my margaritas but refuse to add beets.
Blech!
🤢
Misspellings annoy me. Which is why I joined a funny group on Facebook called the Grammar Police where people share photos of grammatical blunders.
I posted this recently.
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It was immediately removed.
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I thought it was funny.
Apparently, they didn’t.
🥴
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Maine winters can be long, and out here in the country you take your entertainment where you can find it.
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Often times, that’s on a frozen river.
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Smelt, a small oily fish people enjoy fried…
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… run thus time of year and intrepid Mainers set up ice fishing shacks.
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Sitting in a plywood box in sub zero temps staring at a hole in the ice isn’t my idea of a good time.
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But to each their own.
🐟
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The husband and I found a (not so new, but new to us) brewery in Lewiston recently.
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Baxter brewing is housed in the old Bates mill complex …
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And has a fabulous tasting room space.
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I love when companies repurpose old buildings. This was a hydro powered textile mill back in the day and if you look closely in the far corner of that picture you’ll see a raw rock wall. During heavy rain storms it weeps… wear waterproof shoes if you sit there.
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The beer?
Yeah, there’s lots of it on tap.
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That chocolate orange stout?
Primo!
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They also have a full bar and since I’m a sucker for fresh herbs in my cocktails…
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I sampled the thyme after thyme mule with pear and lime ginger beer. Yum!
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At the bar we spied an outdoor mural we missed on the way in.
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Along with the beer?
Food.
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Sadly it wasn’t as good as the booze.
The husband’s French onion soup was sent back because it was basically just a bowl of soggy bread.
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My dumplings were tasty but a bit overdone with hard edges.
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The generator that powered the mill.
It’s massive and would have cost a fortune to remove so they just painted it and left it in place.
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The husband liked his chicken tenders, though I thought the coating was too heavy and too dry.
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I should have known better than to order a smash burger… I don’t usually like them as they’re thin and well done… but the bartender said the maple honey cream sauce was amazing so I took the plunge.
Sauce aside, it was a dry hockey puck.
Am I the only one who hates this smash perfectly good meat to smithereens trend?
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Poor pub food aside, the atmosphere and beer were good enough to warrant a return trip.
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We’ll just order something it’s harder to screw up. Like nachos, or salad.
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😊
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These winter pictures popped up on my Facebook memories recently and I thought it would be fun to share.
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Backyard deer on their path. They don’t stray very far from it once it’s cut.
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That’s my husband shoveling out our neighbor who thought she could make it down her driveway in her car before plowing.
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She couldn’t.
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And here’s my husband a year later pushing his snowblower next door….
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To help dig out her husband’s plow truck.
My husband is a good neighbor to have.
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This is Mr. White, a beautiful boy who is no longer with us. He always wanted to go outside in the winter…
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But didn’t really like it once he got there.
❤️
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Are you tired of winter snow photos? If so, you have my permission to depart the pattern now…. because that’s all there is today.
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No adult beverages on the deck last week I’m afraid.
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The above is a rare deer track free shot of the backyard. Taken early in the morning, it didn’t last.
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The wind has been killer this season. The above is a shot of my husband shoveling the driveway when it was 6 degrees with 53 mph gusts.
Yours truly stayed inside.
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Driveway clearing after a storm is the Maine equivalent of the office water cooler. Everyone crawls out of their snowbound homes and chats.
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And if you’re lucky, your neighbor cracks through the ice crusted snow your snowblower won’t with his tractor plow.
😊
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As many of you know, we’ve battled a certain red squirrel in the past.
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She’s chewed holes in our barn, our garage and our wood shed.
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She’s gnawed her way into the eaves of our home and given birth to a large brood we physically had to evict. She attacked my husband when he was cleaning gutters and built a nest in his truck engine, destroying wires that required it to be towed to the repair shop. I could go on, but I think you get the gist.
She’s a menace.
So the other day… when I saw she had a friend?
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I was concerned, but before I could fully process the horror? I saw this…
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Four!
There are now four red menaces in residence.
We’re doomed.
😫
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After 3 years of virtually no snow, this winter is keeping our shovels busy.
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Strolling out to the man cave for an adult beverage requires some effort.
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The bird bath is disappearing.
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And the shrub hats are growing.
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As is the hump on the patio table.
❄️😊❄️
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River's world..... 