.
When the summer weather turns hot, our bird bath becomes a popular place.
.
.
I’ve been filling it three times a day, not because the birds have an unquenchable thirst….
.
,
But because their mad orgiastic bathing spills most of it to the ground.
.
.
🤣
.
.
There’s always something that needs to be repaired at Casa River, and sometimes that something is the Barn Mahal porch.
.
.
For some reason ( read – crazy Maine weather, massive frost heaves and lack of gutters ) one section of the porch lifted over the years with the result being smashed and then rotted wood under the corner post.
A cousin was called to assist… as there was heavy lifting required and yours truly sucks at that.
.
.
I also suck at not exclaiming WTF! when I go outside to check on the repair progress.
.
.
I doubt that set up was OSHA approved… but it did the job and supported the roof while the post was removed.
.
.
Rotted wood.
.
.
Please note I am not standing on the porch to take pictures.
.
.
Rotted wood replaced….
.
.
Corner post cut and reseated.
.
.
With a hammer, because fine tuning was required.
.
.
And yes, it’s a bit crooked now.
.
.
But my bat was rehung and the roof is still over our heads… so I’m calling it good.
.
.
A beautiful Maine summer day demands a road trip to the lakes…
.
.
Long Lake, pictured here, is in the Sebago Lakes region of our state with the western mountains rising in the distance. The lakeside village of Naples is charming, and perfect for leisurely strolling with random stops to enjoy the views… unless you’re my husband who drove straight through on his way to a store in Windham called the Den of Antiquities.
.
.
This is the view he prefers.
It was a great store with a converted pre Civil War era barn. Treasure was abundant.
.
.
Like this fabulous old slot machine. Please note at $3,950 the price was not even close to fabulous.
Vintage white enamel bed pan used as a display container? Now that’s fabulous.
.
.
I’m still hunting for vintage wooden beer or whisky crates to house my vinyl collection and thought I’d hit the motherload here..
.
.
But in all those boxes, there wasn’t one alcohol related piece of wood in the bunch. Oh sure, I could have bought this …
.
.
But who wants their records stashed in a giant box of rubbers?
.
.
This crate had promise… it said it housed a dozen quarts which denotes liquid, but for the life of me I couldn’t make out the name. Google search came up empty as did all the other customers I asked. Even the owner didn’t have a clue. We shifted it every which way trying to decipher the lettering to no avail. I was struggling to understand what the hell ‘Caitus Guhs’ was when the owner had a eureka moment and figured it out.
Can you?
.
.
When walking his highness the other day, the little devil dashed right under the cedar tree.
.
.
He’s in there, on the left with his leash twisted around the trunk. The reason for his mad dash?
.
.
Her. That pesky momma red squirrel, chattering loudly, scrambling up and down and driving poor Dudley nuts.
.
.
The walk was forgotten and we spent his entire allotted outdoor time staring straight up.
.
.
She’s such a tease.
.
.
For months we’ve had a nightly fox visitor for whom I lay out little piles of expensive dry dog food with taurine. ( It was recommended by a vet friend and is the closest I can get to the food U.K. Amazon refuses to ship to the United States) We love seeing him (her?) scoot across the lawn and settle in for a nosh. But last night?
.
.
I was seeing double.
.
.
Two beautiful foxes happily munching.
.
.
Brother and sister? Husband and wife? Friends with benefits? I don’t know…
.
.
But they’re both gorgeous!
.
.
💕💕💕
.
.
Isn’t it wonderful when you find the perfect combinations? Oreos and milk, Netflix and chill, bacon and, well anything. … but now? I’ve found a new winning combo.
.
.
Exercising while intoxicated? Finally… a workout routine designed with me in mind.
.
.
Photographic proof that even though it’s over 90 degrees and two window unit air conditioners are running full blast, his Lordship must commune with nature through an open window. And no, he’s not at all spoiled. Why do you ask?
🤣
.
.
This is a photo of our local pub’s parking lot after a recent storm moved through. Mind you, we’re a lousy five miles away and didn’t receive a single drop of rain.
.
It must have been a micro burst because it was a total mess.
Meanwhile back at the Barn Mahal…
.
.
We have brown grass.
😫
.
.
I woke up to this the other day.
.
.
Husband was having his coffee, I was reading the news and Lord Dudley went running to the back door.
.
.
Where a little inter species communication commenced.
I was all for letting our little back deck visitor in, but was prohibited to do so by my grumpy husband.
Boo to unadventurous spouses.
.
.
Remember the picture I posted 10 days ago?
.
.
My nemesis, momma red squirrel… doing what I assumed was chilling on the grass near our kitchen landing?
As it turns out, she wasn’t chilling.
She was splooting.
.
.
While I’ve always believed I have a well rounded vocabulary, splooting has been noticeably absent.
Until now.
.
.
The fur on their bellies is thinner than the rest of their body so in essence, they’re performing a heat dump.
Splooting.
There’s nothing like the satisfaction of learning a new ludicrous word.
.
.
I think we’re down to two baby woodchucks now.
.
.
There were originally seven…. and I’m choosing to believe momma just booted them out of the den as opposed to the more disturbing killed and eaten by predator explanation.
.
.
The two remaining siblings stay pretty close together.
.
.
Especially when feeding.
❤️
.
.
Our second trip to the Blind Pig Tavern was shorter but no less wonderful than the first. Jumping back into their amazing craft cocktail menu, I tried a strawberry rhubarb margarita.
.
.
I dislike rhubarb. But this was made with fresh strawberry purée and the rhubarb balanced the sweetness perfectly.
.
.
The pole of shame, reserved for those who don’t pay their bills or stiff the waitstaff.
This visit was a quickie with just drinks and appetizers, but neither disappointed.
.
.
Yes, it looks like they were wrapped in condoms, but the cold marinated shrimp with cherry tomatoes, spring greens and avocado in rice paper with tequila lime aioli was sublime.
.
.
As were the wings and Philly cheesesteak flatbread.
.
.
The pear mojito? Magnificent!
.
.
Their array of dried fruit is impressive and rotates in clever little containers like this.
.
.
The on tap beer list?
It’s folkin’ hoppy.
🤣
.
River's world..... 