Tag Archives: nature

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White Mountains trip Day 2…. Upper Jackson Falls

November 14, 2019 Rivergirl 44 Comments

Yes… we’re still on the second day of our trip.

And yes, we’re still at the Falls.

Hey, just be glad I’m weeding through the 1704 photos and only giving you the highlights.

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Working our way up the falls took some time.

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But it really was lovely.

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Nothing like hanging out with Mother Nature to lower your blood pressure.

The closer we got to the top, the more people just plunked themselves down on the rocks and made themselves comfortable…

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And why not?

It’s a great place to read, unwind…and enjoy the day.

At the top you cross a wonderful iron bridge…

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Look both ways…

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And say thank you Jackson Falls…

I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with you.

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And your rocks.

(Or maybe that was just me.)

Done with the Falls, we headed into town for some sustenance.

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And found the cutest pumpkin display ever…

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Next to our destination.

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It looked promising.

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Warm and inviting.

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A vintage inn and tavern whose bar was packed to the rafters that late Saturday afternoon.

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I wanted to love it.

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I mean come on, they had ski lift seating….

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And a sign for the Woodchuck Trail. Who doesn’t love that?

But the service was terrible, the beer was warm and the food? When it finally came, over an hour after we ordered, was barely edible.

Sorry Martin, I didn’t even bother with pictures. Dry meatless ribs and a soggy Rachel sandwich do not warrant photographs.

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But martian pumpkins and gourds?

Definitely do.

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White Mountains trip Day 2…. Lower Jackson Falls

November 13, 2019 Rivergirl 31 Comments

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When I say Falls, I’m not talking Niagara…

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In October, these are dotted with bright foliage…..

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And cascade gently down the hill.

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No barrel required.

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Which is good, because it’s a hard look to pull off.

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Selfies you shoot into the sun so you can see your hands holding your phone reflected in your glasses are so much easier.

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Did I mention there were rocks?

And tranquil pools…

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As well as some pretty nice views?

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Well there were.

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Autumn woes.

November 9, 2019 Rivergirl 33 Comments

Just some deer…

And last month’s backyard fall leaves.

I fear for our resident buck this time of year.

Bow season in October, rifle season in November, black powder season in December.

Three months of abject slaughter I will never understand.

I’m tired of the culling argument. Mother Nature takes care of her own…. and hunters don’t want the small and the weak.

They want the big racks. (Of course they do, they’re men.)

They kill the strongest, largest and healthiest buck they can find…. which means those genes won’t get passed on.

Meanwhile, Momma’s fawns are growing up.

No more spotted Bambis.

And the does enjoy a treat before cold weather sets in….

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White Mountains trip Day 2… Moose, mountains and fall colors.

November 8, 2019 Rivergirl 36 Comments

Moose.

When you think of Maine? You think of lobster… and moose. But let me tell you, I’ve lived here on and off since 1978 and have seen exactly one moose in the wild. Granted we live in the Mid Coast region and they’re more prevalent up north, but still… one in 41 years is not a good ratio.

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So when we crossed the border into New Hampshire after leaving the Moose Cave in Grafton Notch….. and I saw numerous signs warning of the dangers of moose crossings?

I thought, yeah.

We’ll never see one.

Until we did.

Right there on the side of the road…

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A moose!

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Happily munching away on some swamp grasses.

A real live moose!

And I was halfway out of the car to get some really good pictures when the husband said no. This was a teenage male and though he was probably too young to rut…. it was that time of year.

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So I had to stalk him from an open window instead.

But I saw a moose!

My second in 41 years…

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And then all too soon he was tired of us….

And headed back to the woods.

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Goodbye moose….

I may not live long enough to see another wild one of you, but thanks for showing up and making my day.

As I said before, the fall colors were all over the place. We had an early turn this year so by the time we got to the mountains, many places were past peak foliage. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t still spectacular…

Rusty oranges…

Muted greens and yellows…

Peaks of reds.

Even speckled with rain, I’ll take them.

It’s different around each bend.

And around each bend?

Another outhouse for the husband to christen.

The journey continues….

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White Mountains trip… Day 2. Moose Cave.

November 6, 2019 Rivergirl 39 Comments

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Down the road from Screw Auger Falls in Grafton Notch you’ll find a trail to the Moose Cave.

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Easy walking through the forest….

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And steps that run along a gorge.

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We did a lot of looking down.

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The fractures in the granite were impressive and show you what the force of running melt water can do.

And then before we knew it…

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We saw a sign, but no cave.

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Oh, wait….

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I guess that hole was it.

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Not my idea of a cave…. but I did feel sorry for the moose.

Action shots of my senior citizen husband with the bad back and sciatica….

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Once a Marine, always a Marine.

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Uncave-like cave seen, experienced and photographed… we took an alternate trail out.

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Some granite steps…

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And a tree root staircase later….

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We came upon a moss garden.

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What kind of moss you ask?

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Reindeer moss.

Isn’t that exciting?

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Look how excited I was…

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Mutilate the moss?

No…

I would never.

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White Mountain trip… Day 2. Screw it.

November 4, 2019 Rivergirl 29 Comments

Though our condo unit wasn’t the greatest, I have to admit the mountain sunrises were rather nice.

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But before I jump into the day’s activities…. I have to tell you about our first night. We spent it in a spacious king size bed with 6 snuggly goose down pillows and comforter. At 2:00am I rolled over, stretched out my leg and felt… something hard. ( No, not that. I’ve been waking up to that for years…. I recognize it.)

This was down at my feet. Hard, light weight and bumpy. But I was half asleep and wrote it off to part of a twisted sheet.

It wasn’t.

When I got up the next morning and made the bed?

I found these.

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Yup.

Four rubber duckies hiding at the very bottom of the bed where the comforter is tucked under the mattress.

I don’t know about you, but that was a first for me.

Free ducks!

Give this resort 5 stars…

Mints on pillows? Pffft. That’s for amateurs.

Plastic waterfowl is where it’s at.

Anyway –

Leaving the resort everyday looked like this…

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So free ducks aside, I’m not complaining.

We passed this ski season bar everyday as well.

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Poor lonely mug.

Our first excursion took us to Grafton Notch.

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And yes, that’s really the name.

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(Here’s where we begin the rocks and trees, trees and rocks part of our story.)

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Clambering around the granite boulders, you find the falls.

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And you have to admit, for rocks…. they’re pretty awesome.

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Walk the charming leaf strewn path…

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Across the cute little bridge…

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And there are more rocks.

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The mini falls and pools are a favorite swimming spot in summer, and rage with fury during the spring snow melt.

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Falls seen, experienced and photographed, the husband begins what would become his epic “I will leave my mark on every state and national park portapotty I can find” challenge.

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Who says we don’t know how to have fun on vacation?

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Because everyone needs a drink.

October 27, 2019 Rivergirl 24 Comments

Bird baths.

They’re not just for birds anymore….

These little guys never used to drink here until an apple tree sprouted in my garden bed a few years ago.

Now they’ve realized they can safely climb onto an overhanging branch and jump in.

Like I do…

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Actual photo of me last Saturday night.

Pardon the quality of these shots, but it was dark and I was shooting through a window.

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I’ve often wondered why the deer don’t stop to slake their thirst.

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Now, I have proof that they do.

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More random critters.

October 19, 2019 Rivergirl 12 Comments

The photo files need purging again so…

Mother woodchuck and her last baby.

The other 3 have taken off for parts unknown.

And I get the feeling this final child isn’t the brightest bulb in the pack.

Someone needs to tell him we eat from the bowl, not sit in it.

Or lie in it for that matter.

Our beautiful buck is back.

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Which makes me nervous as it’s hunting season.

Fingers crossed no one breaks up his family.

This little devil was perched on the feeder bar waiting for an unsuspecting meal the other morning…

I saw feathers on the lawn later in the day, so mission accomplished.

The flies have been thick for the past few days and target the deer mercilessly.

It’s my opinion this doe was sticking her tongue out at the flies…

And not the photographer.

Finally, who needs video games….

When you’ve got real live angry birds right on the back lawn?

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This is not what you want to find when rebuilding….

October 15, 2019 Rivergirl 42 Comments

Our old baby barn/shed has a dirt floor with heavy duty rubber mats on top. Due to numerous woodchuck holes and tunnels, we had to drag all the mats out. That sounded easy enough until I realized each one of them weighed the equivalent of an African elephant…

Seriously.

A pregnant, morbidly obese African elephant carrying a suitcase I packed for an overnight trip.

Did I mention they were all covered in pounds of dirt as well?

So as we’re moving the next to last mat…..

This.

A chipmunk burrow with tiny scraps of paper, plastic and leaves.

Upon further examination…

A maze of tunnels, which I thought was pretty cool, until… it moved.

Do you see the leg?

Yeah.

Not a tunnel.

A nursery…

Which means we had to find the other end of the tunnel and relocate them. Not an easy task.

Five minutes after we found them?

Momma found us.

And she wasn’t happy.

She ran around squawking and chirping and looking for her babies.

After a while I think she found them, because she stopped searching and started stuffing.

Stuffing her little cheek pouches full of all those little scraps of paper….

And scurrying back for more.

Within minutes she’d cleaned up the whole lot.

Watch her cram a dried leaf that’s almost bigger than she is below.

(And please pardon my husband’s cursing. Things were not going well with the rebuild at this point…)

After we wasted time relocating chipmunks, we realized we had to relocate a bird’s nest as well.

So many evictions.

I felt like an evil slumlord.

Back to work…. and things did not go well.

Which was completely the husband’s fault.

He had the crazy idea he could square the building properly (After 40 plus years of Maine frost heaves? Madness!) and changed the original footprint….. which in turn threw everything off kilter.

More good times.

Did I mention he uses tools from the 1950’s picked up at a yard sale or the dump?

This little jewel feels like it weighs 50 lbs.

But he has the original box… and vintage lube.

So it’s special.

P.S. For those of you who pay attention, this post is actually out of sequence. That back wall is gone now. Apparently my blog scheduling has run amok.