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A buffet of carrots, green leaf lettuce and raspberries was laid this morning.
And before long there were two nibblers .
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Then there were three.
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And then things started to get interesting.
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Siblings.
Two legged or four, they rarely get along.
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No commentary, I’m just going to post these photos taken from our front porch the other night.
Enjoy the sunset.
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😊
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I’ve always loved bugs and insects, the bigger and weirder the better. My father used to swear he found a new variety in the garden every year and I believe it’s true. Their diversity is amazing.
That being said, you know I was thrilled when I found this little beauty in my flower bed the other day.
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Now that’s a spider!
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Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this product’s Amazon pricing?
🥴
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I think we’re down to four woodchucks now.
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I haven’t seen six together for quite a while so I’m guessing momma finally booted some of their big butts out of the burrow.
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Damn.
I wish they’d had these when I was young and in love with dinosaurs.
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The other day my husband went to the woodshed to pull out his garden cart and came back in the house shortly after.
“I think one of your woodchucks is hurt” he said.
That made me drop what I was doing and rush out back to find this:
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Junior, momma chuck’s full grown offspring from last year.. the one who never left the nest, was wedged in between the cart, some wood and a few landscaping bricks.
Or was he?
I knelt down, spoke softly and determined he wasn’t stuck… just scared.
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We backed off, hid around the corner and waited for 10 minutes but he wouldn’t move.
Wanting to get on with his chores the husband slowly pulled the cart out of the shed and bam!
Junior was off like a shot to hide under the deck.
Not hurt, just antisocial.
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There’s always something beautiful to see when you live in the country.
Last night?
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It was a gloriously pink sky.
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A sailor’s delight for sure.
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But I liked it too.
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We have two hummingbird nectar feeders on our back deck. (Sugar and water only please. Don’t buy that packet with the awful red dye. Use red glass feeders instead.)
2023 has been a banner year for hummers and I don’t think we’ve ever seen this many at one time. But with high numbers come battles, because while they’re beautiful … they’re also quite territorial.
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The minute one sits down to feed, another arrives to chase it off.
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Please appreciate the fact I had to take 20 photos to get these two of the little jewels in flight. Those little suckers are quick.
Here’s a short video of a male and a female. They drank together for a short while.
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And if that wasn’t amazing enough?
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Three hummers. Happily feeding together…
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That’s never happened before.
❤️
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Mother Nature is a beautiful thing and sometimes she rewards my insomnia with an early morning show.
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When the dawn sky looks like this in our backyard, I don’t mind being awake at 4:30am.
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Well, actually I do…. and curse that demonic body altering thing called menopause on a regular basis.
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But at least there’s an occasional benefit.
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Not that it makes up for weight gain, fatigue and hot flashes…
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But it sure is pretty.
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Now that we’re having the back deck redone, the chucks are having a hard time adjusting.
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They have a tunnel/burrow under our bedroom windows on the right and like to run under the deck on their way to the buffet.
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Only problem is….
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Right now there’s nothing to get under.
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No safety, no privacy.
The chucks are not pleased.
🤣
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A trip up the coast to Belfast brought us to Darby’s Tavern.
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It was built in 1865 and still has its original tin ceiling.
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The bar screams prohibition era retro.
And speaking of the bar…
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A ruby red grapefruit martini hit the spot.
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I think the Babe approved.
Darby’s is famous for it’s “from scratch” kitchen, and lunch did not disappoint.
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I started with homemade cornbread with blueberry maple butter. Ooh la la! So good I didn’t want to share.
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But the husband started with a sinfully rich cream of broccoli soup and kept reaching for my bread.
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Above the bar? The antique Budweiser lamp my husband has been trying to cajole off his brother who owns the same one . When you switch it on, the lamp lights and the Clydesdales start walking. Real man cave material, but Darbys wouldn’t sell theirs either.
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I ordered off the specials menu, though I had no idea what made a crab’s toe peek.
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Didn’t matter, it was delicious. Toes et al.
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Husband chose a broiled haddock in scampi sauce with a fresh green salad and maple Dijon vinaigrette.
Good drinks, good food, good place!
👍
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Warning: disturbing avian photo to follow, but trust me… no birds were harmed in the making of this blog.
If you remember, our contractor had just laid rubber protective tape over the framing of our back deck.
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I can’t say I examined it too closely after he told us it would protect the boards from water damage. I figured he knew what he was doing…
Until yesterday when I heard something strange out back and went to investigate.
What I found was a small sparrow hanging on the board, with one wing stuck to the tape. It’s little bird companions were tweeting and pecking and trying in vain to free it. I didn’t take a picture, I didn’t have time. I just wanted to save the poor thing.
Which I did, and it flew away happily.
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Although with a few less feathers attached.
Feeling pleased with myself for saving the small fellow I went back in the house, until I heard something strange out back an hour later.
Another bird was caught in the tape.
I saved that one as well and hoped that was the end of it.
Nope.
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Bird number three… who I did take a quick picture of before I scooped him up and freed him. This one bit me for my trouble.
Not wanting to continue the sparrow torture sessions, I grabbed a knife and made small cuts in the tape so it would lay down flat around the upright posts.
Thankfully no more feathered friends were trapped after that.
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River's world..... 