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Yes, I’m still bird nerding out that a female pileated woodpecker has found our backyard .
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Two sightings in twenty years and now twice in one week.
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Woot!
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Needless to say I’m making sure that particular feeder is always full in case she drops by.
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A bag fills the cylinder once with 1/4 left over, and I have to fill it every other day.
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Pricey, but worth it.
(Photo includes another of my coffee table metal sculptures since you seemed to like the hermit crab.)
🙂
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was eyeing our Bradford pear tree the other day during his walkabout.
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If you recall this did not end well the last time.
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Because while His Lordship likes the idea of climbing trees, his experience with execution is decidedly lacking.
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But the blooms must have been calling his name because up he went.
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It started with a pre climb scratch.
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And then a jump.
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And that was basically it… because the daft bugger has no idea what to do once he’s actually on the tree.
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So, yeah.
He literally just hangs there until he falls off.
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And then walks off the embarrassment on the rock wall.
🤣
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Every night when the sun starts to set?
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We have a visitor. Sometimes two…
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Apples, berries and some taurine rich grain free dry dog food are the reason.
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They come to nibble seed that falls from our bird feeders but I can’t resist putting out a better snack.
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❤️
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If you care nothing for the feeding and rare sightings of our fine feathered friends please feel free to skip this post because I’m about to gush like a horny ornithologist.
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Yesterday evening at 7:41pm I walked by one of the windows that looks out over our backyard and saw this.
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We’ve lived in this home for over 20 years and I’ve only spied this elusive creature twice.
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They’re big, usually 20 inches long.
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They like deeply wooded areas and though we hear their jackhammer like drilling occasionally it’s rare to see them out in the open no less hanging on our suet nugget feeder having a nosh .
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To say I was thrilled is an understatement.
There was a female pileated woodpecker in our backyard!!!!
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The sexes can be distinguished by the amount of red feathers on their heads. Red halfway down the face to the eyes? Female. Red all the way down to the beak? Male.
River the bird nerd at your service.
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Not exactly a riveting video, I know.
But I had to share.
❤️
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I walked outside this morning to fill the bird feeders and found this.
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A pile of feathers.
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Having a hawk who uses our backyard as his personal hunting ground, this isn’t unusual… but seeing this around noon was.
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A young starling made numerous trips to the pile and gathered all the feathers in his (her?) beak.
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I’m sure they make wonderfully soft nest liners…
And are the perfect example of Mother Nature’s ability to recycle.
❤️
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Twenty one years ago… when we moved back to Maine and bought our house in the country, I gazed across the road at the giant empty field and dreamt of cows.
Yes, I’m that person. The one you take on road trips who points out the window and yells cow! every time she spots one.
I’m not sure why. I certainly didn’t grow up with bovines in New Jersey, but I’ve always found something immensely soothing about watching cows graze quietly in a meadow.
As you know, the property across the road was sold to an organic vegetable farmer… and while over the years he’s had goats and chickens and ducks, nary a cow has been spotted.
I’d given up my dream of wandering across the street and making hooved friends.
But last weekend?
I spotted something wonderful next door.
Something I never thought I’d see….
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Woot!
Cow!!
Well, a two week old calf to be precise… happily munching our neighbors front lawn. One ecstatic phone call later I learned he’s actually a class project for a grand daughter. Feed and raise a cow? That was never part of my school curriculum, but yay!
Our neighbor told me she has a feeling the adorable (cow!) project will more than likely be a permanent resident when all is said and done.
And I am beyond thrilled.
Cow!!!!
💕
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We’ve had a crazy spring. Or really, a crazy non spring. Cool, overcast and dreary with a little scattered rain here and there. Not nearly the April showers we needed.
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I had high hopes for a deluge when we were driving home under these skies last week.
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They were ominous and promised some good rain.
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It was falling somewhere.
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But not in our backyard.
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This was taken on the other side of town.
Oh well, maybe next time.
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There is a platypus on our spare bed.
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If you’re wondering why, I have one word. Hysterectomy.
And the two word reasons for these?
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Renal arteriogram and uterine artery embolization.
Okay… that’s actually five, but you get the idea. Every time I go into the hospital my husband buys me a stuffed animal for company.
They’ve been on our beds for years but it’s only recently that Lord Dudley Mountcatten has decided the platypus makes a good snuggle buddy.
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Most afternoons you’ll find him here, napping with his new friend.
At times it’s hard to tell where he ends and the platypus begins.
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But whatever you do, don’t disturb his slumber.
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There will be Hell to pay.
😉
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I dare you not to smile at this story.
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We’re often in Brunswick and I have to say, I’m sorry I missed Chuck.
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I’d go bar hopping with that handsome fella any day.
P.S…. don’t Google ‘beaver meme’ first thing in the morning looking for a featured image.
No good can come from that.
😳
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Just a couple of things that made me smile.
Like this picture of a receipt from our local pub one of the bartenders posted .
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I’m afraid to ask what she did to deserve that kind of tip….. but kudos to her all the same.
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Cats.
Proof positive you can nap anywhere.
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I know what to do.
Run!
😳
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No doubt about what they sell here.
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This photo popped up in my Facebook memories the other day and made me cry.
Our beautiful boy Huffington. A stray who wandered in, stole our hearts and was tragically run over by a car two years later. As a pet lover you always hate to say you have a favorite, but this guy was special.
And to be honest? He got more use out of that exercise bicycle than we did.
😉
River's world..... 