Tag Archives: photos

Uncategorized

His Lordship is a bit of a weirdo.

23 Comments

.

The weather is getting warmer, the grass is getting greener, and Lord Dudley Mountcatten wants to go out for a walk every afternoon.

.

.

Not to say that he actually wants to walk on the grass. No. His Lordship will do almost anything to avoid that. Nearly three acres of groomed lawn… and the wee beast sits on the concrete cover for the septic tank. WTH?

.

.

He’s a very delicate walker.

.

.

Hiding in the iris, hoping a bird will land nearby.

.

.

Get lost mom. You’re blowing my cover.

.

.

Face planting in the grass.

I have no idea, don’t ask.

.

.

Giving the pear tree a good once over, but no attempt at climbing today.

.

Uncategorized

Random backyard nature and some soup.

22 Comments

.

Now that the apple tree (I didn’t plant but grows better than those I do) is spreading it’s branches we have more squirrels coming to visit our feeders.

.

.

We have a wide open backyard and they prefer tree cover for safety. Like this hefty momma hanging out on the garden bed border.

.

.

What a chonk!

.

.

This my friend, is the perfect bowl of chowder. Found at the Freeport Cafe, an unassuming little place on Route 1.

Thick, rich, creamy and loaded with clammy goodness. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Driving along Maine’s back roads you never have to wonder where the rednecks live.

.

.

They tend to leave their calling card.

.

.

Smaller than the pileated, but still pretty.

He’s called the Red Bellied Woodpecker. Though I never have figured out why.

.

Uncategorized

Apple of my eye.

21 Comments

.

If you’re a loyal reader you’ll remember we had a massive wind storm two years ago that did serious damage to our beloved ancient backyard apple trees. We had a professional arborist in to trim and prune them back and last year they were barren. No blooms, no apples.

But this year?

.

.

Ooh baby.

.

.

They are positively bursting.

And if you’re wondering how big they are?

.

.

That’s the Barn Mahal for scale.

.

.

I wish WordPress had smell-o-vision because trust me… it’s glorious.

.

.

My little you never planted me but I grew well anyway crabapple is starting to spread out, but is lagging behind in bloom time.

Now I just need to fill my new rock bordered bed with perennials for a burst of summer color.

🙂

.

Uncategorized

Motivational posters and still more pickles.

24 Comments

.

I have a few Facebook friends who share nothing but motivational posters.

No family photos. No vacation albums. No silly animal videos.

Just these.

.

.

Most of them are pretty.

.

.

Some of them are cute.

,

.

Okay, you got me. That one makes perfect sense.

And while I’m sure my friends mean well spreading their words of wisdom, I’ve never been a motivational/self help type of girl. I don’t read the books, I don’t cross stitch the sayings on pillows.

My idea of good advice runs more along these lines.

.

.

Kind of the anti motivational motivation.

It’s just how I roll.

And in case you were wondering? My pickle algorithm is alive and well.

.

.

No, they’re not.

Trust me on this.

.

Uncategorized

It’s been a long time coming….

18 Comments

.

It was a long and nearly snowless winter.

Spring was late and with no snow to melt, extremely dry.

One lousy April shower and May took its sweet time showing us some flowers. Heck, we even had frost last week.

But finally….

.

.

The lilacs are popping.

.

.

Which means vases of that heavenly scent are scattered throughout the house.

.

.

And while a little scraggly…

.

.

The expensive dark cherry tree we planted last year is hanging on.

.

.

The blooms are gorgeous.

.

.

So my fingers are crossed it grows big and strong.

.

.

In front of the barn?

.

.

The choke cherry tree is in blossom. The fruit is inedible and sometimes poisonous, but the delicate spring blooms are sweet.

.

Uncategorized

She’s back!

18 Comments

.

Yes, I’m still bird nerding out that a female pileated woodpecker has found our backyard .

.

.

Two sightings in twenty years and now twice in one week.

.

.

Woot!

.

.

Needless to say I’m making sure that particular feeder is always full in case she drops by.

.

.

A bag fills the cylinder once with 1/4 left over, and I have to fill it every other day.

.

.

Pricey, but worth it.

(Photo includes another of my coffee table metal sculptures since you seemed to like the hermit crab.)

🙂

.

Uncategorized

No need for firemen.

28 Comments

.

Lord Dudley Mountcatten was eyeing our Bradford pear tree the other day during his walkabout.

.

.

If you recall this did not end well the last time.

.

.

Because while His Lordship likes the idea of climbing trees, his experience with execution is decidedly lacking.

.

.

But the blooms must have been calling his name because up he went.

.

.

It started with a pre climb scratch.

.

.

And then a jump.

.

.

And that was basically it… because the daft bugger has no idea what to do once he’s actually on the tree.

.

.

So, yeah.

He literally just hangs there until he falls off.

.

.

And then walks off the embarrassment on the rock wall.

🤣

.

Uncategorized

Calling all bird nerds…

28 Comments

.

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.

.

.

Yesterday evening at 7:41pm I walked by one of the windows that looks out over our backyard and saw this.

.

.

We’ve lived in this home for over 20 years and I’ve only spied this elusive creature twice.

.

.

They’re big, usually 20 inches long.

.

.

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 .

.

.

To say I was thrilled is an understatement.

There was a female pileated woodpecker in our backyard!!!!

.

.

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.

.

.

Not exactly a riveting video, I know.

But I had to share.

❤️

.