Tag Archives: nature

Skeleton bikinis and a naughty woodchuck.

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As seen down the road from our house.

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This giant skeleton was installed last Halloween and has been making me laugh every holiday and season since.

He was a pilgrim for Thanksgiving, Santa for Christmas, Cupid for Valentines Day, and a very large leprechaun for St Patrick’s Day, For Easter he wore colossal bunny ears and now that summer is near?

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Someone sewed him (her?) a seriously plus sized bikini.

🤣

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Proof positive tequila and online bumper sticker shopping are not a good mix.

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Momma Chuck.

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She takes her carrots seriously.

And speaking of chucks, we noticed our grill cover had been looking a little worse for wear…

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We have hellacious wind here and if it’s not tied down? It’s going to blow. If it is tied down? It’s going to flap.

So we figured this cover had seen one too many N’Or Easters over the winter.

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Until….

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Damn.

Stealing the seat cushion off the barn porch clearly wasn’t enough nesting material this year.

🥴

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A painting snafu.

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My husband went out to the man cave/Barn Mahal the other day to touch up some white paint on the front doors.

Where he noticed the birds had done some white painting of their own….

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Barn swallows love to land and perch all over the building because, well… it’s a barn.

But this time when the husband slid open the doors to paint?

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A starling nest fell out.

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Complete with five helpless baby starlings.

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Husband put the nest back together as best he could, cut a cardboard box down to size and resettled it in place.

Note – the barn doors really aren’t doors anymore as the husband sealed them off and insulated the opening when he converted the barn to a man cave. Probably a good thing, because with our luck the birds might try to nest inside.

😉

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Trees be poppin’!

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A few warm days was all it took for our apple trees to pop out in riotous bloom. I’ll spare you the pictures of the rest, but this beauty by the road deserves a shout out.

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It’s so large now it obscures the man cave/Barn Mahal and part of the shed.

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I wish WordPress had smell-o-vision because it’s heavenly in person.

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But it’s also filled with bees so be careful where you sniff.

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The pictures don’t really do it justice, but trust me. It’s lovely.

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And I have to say I wasn’t holding out much hope for our flowering cherry trees. The deer destroyed the other three we planted but this one held on…

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It’s much smaller and not as full as it should be with a big empty hole on the right side…

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But it’s still alive and blooming.

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So I’m calling that a win.

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😊

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It’s a colorful time of year.

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They’re baaaaack!

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And the minute I spotted my first Baltimore Oriole of the season I ran outside with oranges and all natural grape jelly.

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In no time flat …

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The feeder was busy.

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They’re such beautiful bright creatures.

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Only here for a short time to take nourishment for their annual migration to Canada….

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They’re always a welcome sight.

❤️

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Sliding squirrels, creamy shrimp and disgruntled chucks.

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Our grey squirrels are determined fellows. As evidenced by the never give up attitude of this little guy during a recent rainy morning attempt at reaching the bird feeder.

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Wet poles be slippery.

🤣

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If you like shrimp?

Give this recipe a try.

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In a large stainless steel skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbsp. butter. Pat shrimp dry; season all over with Old Bay.

Arrange shrimp in a single layer in skillet and cook, turning halfway through, until translucent, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to a plate.

In same skillet over medium heat, melt remaining 1 Tbsp. butter. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 2 to 3 minutes .

Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Add wine to deglaze skillet, scraping up any browned bits, and cook, stirring, until liquid is almost completely evaporated,

Stir in broth and bring to a boil over high heat.

Stir in orzo and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until orzo has absorbed most of the broth and is almost cooked through,

Add cream and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened and reduced,

Return shrimp to skillet along with any accumulated juices.

Stir in lemon zest and lemon juice; season with salt. Top with parsley.

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My tweaks – I didn’t have vegetable broth but used low sodium chicken broth and it was lovely. I used salted butter, so I left off the salt at the end. And since my husband isn’t a spicy food lover, I ignored the red pepper flakes. There was plenty of flavor so I think that was overkill anyway.

Use large or jumbo shrimp. You won’t be disappointed.

Yum!

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Mother Chuck is back and her runt from last year’s litter is still here.

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Though not for lack of trying to kick him to the curb.

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There are daily squabbles over food and squealing arguments over bolt holes.

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Momma isn’t subtle, but Junior refuses to take the hint.

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Blowing coat and taking name.

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We have green grass!

And deer.

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Our resident buck has finally dropped that pesky second antler and is in the process of blowing his winter coat.

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No, we don’t say shedding in Maine.

No, I don’t know why.

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I always think adult male deer look wonky with those big knobs on their heads in the spring.

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But judging from the tongue sticking out of his mouth, he doesn’t much care what I think.

😉

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Random snippets.

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We’ve had rain, rain and more rain. Which makes for a gloomy month, but after one warm day? Green grass as well.

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And happy deer at the backyard buffet.

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Are you a Wordle or Spelling Bee addict?

If so, have you tried this new game….

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It’s quite addicting.

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A few relevant quotes for the world in which we live at the beginning of a book I read recently.

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Lord Dudley Mountcatten likes the new couch in our den. He started sleeping on the back cushion to the right so I laid a towel to catch the cat hair. Then he started sleeping on the back cushion to the left so I laid a towel to catch the cat hair.

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His Lordship has attitude to spare.

🥴

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Today’s post is for the birds.

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Pardon the nasty dead section under our bird feeders. We may be seeing a little green grass but warm gardening temps aren’t here yet.

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That being said, the bluebirds don’t seem to mind.

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They’re such bright little creatures.

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And we weren’t the only ones who thought so….

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Because this Kestrel showed up shortly after the bluebirds fled.

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The smallest hawk, he’s not one we see often.

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But he made himself at home that day …

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Flitting from the deck railing…

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To the bird feeder post.

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Fortunately for the bluebirds, he went away hungry.

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Sunset, tots and Momma Chuck.

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There’s beauty in living in wide open spaces.

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Sunrises out your back door and sunsets like this out your front.

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❤️

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We tried a new pub recently.

Front Street Tavern and Grill in historic downtown Bath, Maine.

The building was old but lovingly restored with lots of exposed brick.

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The garlic Parmesan wings were so good we had to order two batches.

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And sometimes you just have to go for the tots with your turkey club.

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Sadly the menu was a bit too “pub food” heavy for my full meal wanting husband so I doubt it will be on our regulars list, but they made a nice raspberry margarita and I’d recommend it for lunch.

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Momma Chuck is back.

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And making up for lost winter meals.

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She’s a great salad/veggie scraps recycler.

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We don’t throw much away when she’s in town.

❤️

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