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I spotted our resident Cooper’s hawk hanging out under the flowering plum tree the other day.
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It’s close to the bird feeders so you know he was there looking for lunch.
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A few minutes later I spotted the husband taking a picture of something.
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It was a baby red squirrel and it was scared to death.
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Probably of the hawk.
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So scared it clung to the husband’s slipper and had to be pried off and tucked under a shrub for safety.
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We woke up to another glorious sunrise last week.
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But as I was standing on the back deck taking pictures, I noticed something to the left.
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In front of the woodshed.
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We have a few morning skunks nibbling under the bird feeders now and then and they often scurry into the shed if they spot me.
But this one wasn’t scurrying.
😰
I’m going to issue a warning now.
This poor little guy was dead, and since we love our backyard visitors like family … and I’ve never been close enough to touch a skunk…. I did that morning. I also took pictures, which might be disturbing.
So again, here’s my warning.
Dead animal photos to follow.
Please leave now if you find it distressing.
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Skunks don’t live very long in the wild. On average only two to four years. And since we didn’t see any signs of injury, we’re guessing it was just this sweet little fellow’s time.
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He looked very peaceful. As if he simply laid down and went to sleep.
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I like to think the beautiful sunrise helped him on his way.
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❤️
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It’s apple season in Maine and though I don’t know how they managed with the terrible drought we’ve had this summer….
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Our two mature trees are loaded with fruit.
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Which means…
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It’s time to pick apples…
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And bake pie.
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🍎👍🍎
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Another colorful sunrise, this time with something stinky underneath.
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Stinky..
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But also cute.
💕
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We had a few blue jays at the bird feeders yesterday.
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And for a few minutes it was a sea of blue.
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They’re noisy and knock a lot of seed on the ground.
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But are still a pretty bird to watch.
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Sometimes you just have to stop, take a breath and appreciate a sunrise.
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It’s not hard to do in our backyard…
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☀️❤️☀️
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We have a new backyard visitor who is showing up every day, twice a day.
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He’s a juvenile Coopers Hawk who has discovered our backyard bird feeders.
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We’ve named him Henry and he’s quite content to hang out in the gardens and wait for a meal to fly by.
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He’s young, and his hunting skills need some fine tuning.
Honestly? He misses more often than not.
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But he’s one very chill little dude.
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In other news, we seem to have a squirrel ready for the stripper Olympics.
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I say this because his pole acrobatics are quite impressive.
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That’s a 9.5 right there.
🤣
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Now and then, right before sunset in the summer… we have an eerie backyard light.
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Sadly none of those rain clouds dropped anything on us.
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But they made for pretty pictures.
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Now that is a bowl of lobster stew.
No tiny minced pieces or disappointing puree there. No sir.
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Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve finally reached the age where a new sheet of stamps excites me. I may have oohed when I first saw this one.
Sigh.
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I’d live here anyway, but it’s nice to know we have high rankings.
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This is now a skunk water dish.
Other backyard critters need not apply.
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The husband at a yard sale, or more precisely a barn sale.
The barn was filled with rusty old things and he was in heaven.
See the sign posted on that giant cabbage shredder?
He bought the shredder.
😩
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Porch geese have been around for years and women have been dressing them in seasonal costumes equally as long. But a bar in downtown Bath has taken it to the next level.
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Cluck Norris.
Best. Porch. Goose. Name. Ever.
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I’m always saving these lists of helpful hints but rarely try them. Though chalk in the jewelry box sounds easy enough.
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Just sayin’…
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A skunk-less rainbow this time.
😉
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Only in Maine.
Fun fact? The house where I grew up on the Island was built in 1842 and had a large two story garden shed in the back yard. At the rear of the building? A three hole outhouse.
Because togetherness is everything.
🤣
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This was yummy.
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Though I added some sun dried tomatoes and fresh basil. Next time I think I’d half the mozzarella amount or use Parmesan.
Meanwhile in the backyard…
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Someone else is looking well fed.
🤣
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We finally saw a little rain, and after that some sun.
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Which made for a lovely rainbow.
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But there wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of ours…
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No… it was something stinkier.
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I’m guessing the leprechauns won’t be wanting to steal them.
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😊
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