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It’s early June in Maine and that means rhododendrons.
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For a pure burst of color they’re hard to beat.
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And I’m not the only one who loves them.
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Dozens of big beautiful bumblebees happily sip nectar.
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It’s a lovely time of year.
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Momma woodchuck has four children this year, and they’re keeping her busy.
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Like any overworked mother, there are days when she just needs a break.
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Times when she wants to ditch the kids who hound her and follow her everywhere she goes.
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On those days?
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She just has to climb a tree.
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Didn’t think woodchucks climbed trees?
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Beleaguered mothers do.
😉
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We have visiting raccoons in the backyard.
The raccoons attempt to drink from our birdbath but can’t always stretch far enough to make that work.
So along with their food, I put out a pan of water last night.
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To which the raccoon didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention.
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At one point he practically sat in it, but wouldn’t drink.
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Enter a baby woodchuck.
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The raccoon is three times as big, but was terrified of the little chucker.
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And when baby made a mad dash for food, the raccoon startled… banging into the pan, spraying water over them both.
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That sent baby chucker back to the shed….
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And made the raccoon realize what the pan was for.
😉
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Our raccoons are multiplying.
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First there was one, then two.
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And now we have triplets!
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They waddle across the lawn together…
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And eat right next to each other as well.
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Triple the cuteness!
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And speaking of cuteness, I found an old picture of my husband with his pet raccoon.
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Teddy was 3, my husband was 16.
🦝❤️🦝
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I had a feeling there were baby woodchucks under our barn… and the other day?
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Momma brought one to the buffet.
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An average litter is four, sometimes she has five..
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But there always seems to be one brave little scamper who ventures out first.
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This little guy showed up for carrots by himself yesterday.
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But he doesn’t quite have the standing up/balancing thing under control yet.
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Watch the clip until the end.
🤣
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I know it’s not polite to remark on another woman’s weight gain.
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But our resident Mother Chucker is looking quite…
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Round.
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How she gets that big eating salad all day is beyond me.
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😊
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Does anyone else remember these?
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We had a slight hill in our backyard when I was growing up and bouncing up and down it on these bad bears was one of my favorite things in the world.
Simple pleasure, simple toy … no computer, keyboard or screen needed.
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I watch The Last of Us.
Sorry Oregon. You had a good run.
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A few raccoon photos.
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Just because they’re cute.
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And abundant lately.
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😊
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At this point I think Keith could survive a nuclear blast and the radiated winter that follows.
Like cockroaches, but more fun.
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It’s been a long cold wet spring and I was beginning to wonder if anything would ever bloom again.
Then…
Bam!
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After a few days of warm sun…
Our apple-less apple tree by the road burst forth with gorgeous white blossoms.
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I wish I could send scent through my blog because it is unbelievably fragrant.
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The birds love it.
The bees love it.
I love it.
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Life is good.
😊
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While the red squirrels are a constant unwelcome chewing, gnawing, destructive menace… our gray visitors provide hours of entertainment.
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I know we’re in the minority here, but we don’t mind squirrels eating from our feeders.
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They’re usually content to perch in the flat ones and happily munch away, but the other day this fellow was determined to get the last few seeds out of the carriage feeder and that proved more challenging.
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Gravity be damned.
And just when he figured it out?
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Squirrel #2 arrived and kicked him off.
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Undeterred… our intrepid acrobat regrouped and moved on to the suet.
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Gray squirrels….
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Ya gotta love them.
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Well…
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Not technically.
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My husband won’t let me.
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🤣
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River's world..... 